Missouri death row inmate Ernest Johnson loses appeal

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A man on Missouri death row for killing three convenience store workers in 1994 lost an appeal that claimed a medical condition would make lethal injection too painful.

U.S. District Chief Judge Greg Kays found Friday that Ernest Johnson hadn't successfully argued that Missouri's lethal injection drug, pentobarbital, could trigger seizures due to a brain condition. Johnson still has part of a benign tumor in his brain, and surgery to remove the rest of the tumor in 2008 forced removal of up to 20 percent of his brain tissue.

The Columbia Daily Tribune reports the defense doesn't explain the effects of pentobarbital on seizures or defective brains.

Johnson's attorneys, Jeremy Weis, said he's "disappointed" but plans to amend the complaint and refile it.