Attorneys for James Barber will argue before the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals Monday afternoon to stop his scheduled execution later this week for the 2001 murder of an elderly Madison County woman.

Barber filed an appeal to the 11th Circuit late last week after a federal judge denied his request.

In court filings, Barber’s attorneys have said the state of Alabama has botched its last three execution attempts over the past two years and that, given medical personnel have struggled to establish an IV line for him in the past and the state’s previous issues, he should not be subjected to death by lethal injection.

Related: Federal judge denies James Barber’s request to block execution by lethal injection

Barber has stated a preference instead for death by nitrogen hypoxia – a format the state has said it is not prepared to implement at this time.

The hearing will be before the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta.

Barber was convicted in Madison County for the slaying of 75-year-old Dorothy Epps. Epps was beaten to death with Barber’s fists and a claw hammer in her Harvest home, according to court records. She suffered multiple skull fractures, head lacerations, brain bleeding, and rib fractures.

Gov. Kay Ivey established a 30-hour window for Barber’s execution to be carried out at Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, beginning at midnight Thursday and continuing until 6 a.m. Friday. It’s the first time the state has set an execution window of longer than 24 hours, a result of a review of the state’s execution process Ivey called for after the previous issues with other condemned inmates.

The state’s review of its execution protocol came after problems arose with three previous execution attempts. Barber argues in his appeal that he has the same body mass index as one of the inmates for whom personnel struggled to establish an IV line and a higher BMI than another. Because of those previous struggles and the similarities in BMI, Barber said that should not be an option in his execution.

“Mr. Barber will likely be subjected to the same grisly fate because the evidence shows that Defendants have not made any meaningful changes to their execution protocol or procedures,” Barber’s appeal brief said.

The state disputed that claim, saying that new medical personnel will be establishing the IV lines for Barber. The state also said that while Barber cited instances where medical personnel have struggled to establish an IV line on him, he made no mention in his filing of several other occasions where there were no issues.

The state also took issue with Barber’s attorneys having repeated delays in efforts to stop the execution.

“Mrs. Epps and her family have waited for justice for (22) years,” the state’s response said. “And in an attempt to avoid that justice, Barber waited to bring his current claims. Because those claims are both dilatory and meritless, Barber’s motion for a stay of execution should be denied.”

This story will be updated