Attorneys for a man scheduled to be executed Tuesday for killing a Brunswick County convenience store owner have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to halt his execution while justices consider reviewing the case.

Earlier this week 31-year-old Kevin Green's attorneys claimed the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals erred when it ruled in February that he had passed the statute of limitations for claiming ineffective counsel.

The appeals court denied Green's request for a stay on Monday. Green's lawyers sought the delay Wednesday with the nation's highest court.

Green is sentenced to die for the August 1998 slaying of Patricia Vaughan, who operated the store with her husband. Green shot the couple and fled with about $9,000.