A federal judge has rejected a request for a stay of execution by a Georgia inmate claiming the state's plan to use a new lethal injection drug would cause him needless pain and suffering.

Wednesday's ruling by U.S. District Judge Steve Jones allows the execution of Andrew DeYoung to go forward, although his attorneys are expected to appeal.

DeYoung is scheduled to die Wednesday for the 1993 slayings of his parents and teenage sister in suburban Atlanta.

Defense attorneys said using pentobarbital would cause DeYoung to suffer based partly on accounts of Roy Blankenship's June 23 execution that said Blankenship appeared to jerk and grimace during the procedure. It was the first time the drug was used in Georgia.

The state attorney general's office argued adequate safeguards are in place.

Tags: Georgia, execution, lethal injection, Andrew DeYoung, drug cocktail