A four-day hearing beginning today in Olympia could determine the fate of two men whose executions are on hold -- as well as that of others on Washington state's death row.

Thurston County Superior Court Judge Chris Wickham will hear from the lawyers for Cal Coburn Brown, convicted of murder in King County, and Darold Stenson, convicted of murder in Clallam County. The judge will also hear from lawyers for Jonathan Gentry, who is on death row but whose execution has not been scheduled.

Brown was slated to be executed on March 13, but the state Supreme Court stayed his case less than eight hours before he was to enter the death chamber. Stenson's case was stayed a week before his scheduled execution in November.

Brown raped, tortured and murdered Holly Washa, 22, of Burien, in 1991. Stenson killed his wife, Denise, and his business partner, Frank Hoerner, on March 25, 1993.

Defense lawyers have argued that the drugs used by the state Department of Corrections for lethal injection could constitute cruel and unusual punishment if they don't work properly. There are also concerns that the drugs are not administered by a physician or a nurse anesthesiologist.

A similar issue had resulted in a de facto moratorium on lethal injection in many states last year after the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to take up the case of two Kentucky death-row inmates who contended their executions could be carried out more humanely. At question was the three-drug sequence used in Kentucky.

The first drug, a barbiturate, is used for anesthesia. The second drug, pancuronium bromide, paralyzes the muscles with a suffocating effect. The third, potassium chloride, stops the heart and causes death. Opponents argued that searing pain could result if the anesthesia -- sodium thiopental -- does not work as intended.

By a 7-2 vote in April 2008, the high court ultimately rejected the constitutional attack on lethal injection.

Last month, the four-member team responsible for administering lethal injections to death-row inmates at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla resigned out of concern that their identities could become public as part of the Thurston County court case.