The Council of State, a panel of top elected officials, refused today to reconsider its approval of the state's execution protocol, saying that an administrative law judge did not have jurisdiction to order the reconsideration.

N.C. Insurance Commissioner Jim Long cast the lone dissenting vote.

In August, Judge Fred Morrison Jr. ruled that the council should have allowed attorneys for condemned inmates to participate in its decision, which revised the way the state carries out executions.

The Council of State's decision today disappointed Elizabeth Kuniholm, an attorney for death row inmate James Campbell.

"I'm disappointed that the Council of State refuses to address the the true merits of the issue," Kuniholm said.

The protocol, which the council approved Feb. 6, requires a physician to monitor a condemned inmate's "essential body functions" and tell the warden of Central Prison if the inmate shows signs of suffering.

The prisoners filed a lawsuit against the the council, contending it should have heard arguments from their attorneys before approving the state's revised protocol.

The council considered the issue after a state court judge decided a near century old law requires it to approve changes to North Carolina's method of execution.

The state changed its lethal injection process to satisfy both U.S. District Judge Malcolm Howard, who demanded last year that a doctor oversee an execution, and the state medical board, which said it would punish any doctor who takes an active role in an execution.

The issue has helped create a de facto moratorium on the death penalty in North Carolina. There have been no executions this year, and it is unlikely any will occur soon.

Before the council took action, Special Deputy Attorney General Lars Nance spent most of the time answering Gov. Mike Easley's questions about how the council should proceed.

A few council members said they had received hundreds of strongly worded e-mail messages prior to the meeting today. But Superintendent of Public Instruction June Atkinson said the only issue before the council was whether Morrison had jurisdiction.