WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court yesterday denied John Allen Muhammad's request to stay his execution, clearing the way for Virginia to put to death the man who terrorized the Washington region as the Beltway Sniper.

Justices John Paul Stevens, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor objected to the court's haste, saying it "highlights once again the perversity of executing inmates before their appeals process has been fully concluded."

Justice Stevens, writing for the three, said Virginia had short-circuited the process by scheduling Mr. Muhammad's execution for tonight, earlier than the justices would normally have reviewed his petition for the court to take his case.

"By denying Muhammad's stay application, we have allowed Virginia to truncate our deliberative process on a matter -- involving a death row inmate -- that demands the most careful attention," Justice Stevens wrote. He said he did not disagree with the court's ultimate decision that Mr. Muhammad's petition did not warrant the court's consideration.

After the court made its decision, Jon Sheldon, Mr. Muhammad's attorney, expressed a similar concern about the rapid pace of the review. "In its effort to race John Allen Muhammad to his death before his appeals could be pursued, the state of Virginia will execute a severely mentally ill man who also suffered from Gulf War Syndrome the day before Veterans Day," Mr. Sheldon said.

Justice Stevens has raised the issue before about death row inmates being rushed to have the Supreme Court hear their claims. He said it was "particularly unfortunate in light of the limited time Muhammad was given to make his case in the District Court." Mr. Muhammad's lawyers had complained that Virginia law gave them too little time to present an adequate appeal.

Justice Stevens said he remains "firmly convinced that no state should be allowed to foreshorten this court's orderly review of first-time habeas petitions by executing prisoners before that review can be completed."

Washington correspondent Daniel Malloy writes the "Pittsburgh On The Potomac" blog exclusively at PG+, a members-only web site of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.