South Carolina is beginning to schedule executions again after a pause for the holidays, with the state Supreme Court setting the next one for Jan. 31.

The state is looking to carry out death sentences for several inmates who are out of appeals but who had their executions delayed because prison officials could not obtain lethal injection drugs.

Marion Bowman Jr., 44, is set to be put to death at the end of January for his murder conviction in the shooting of a friend whose burned body was found in the trunk of her car in Dorchester County in 2001.

Bowman’s lawyers said Friday that he maintains his innocence. His lawyers also argue that putting him to death would be “unconscionable” due to unresolved doubts about his conviction.

The room where inmates are executed in Columbus, South Carolina. (South Carolina Department of Corrections via AP)

“His conviction was based on unreliable, incentivized testimony from biased witnesses who received reduced or dropped sentences in exchange for their cooperation,” wrote Vann, who issued the statement on behalf of Bowman’s legal team.

South Carolina has executed 45 inmates since the death penalty was resumed in the U.S. in 1976. In the early 2000s, the state was carrying out an average of three executions per year. Only nine states have killed more inmates.

Since the unintentional execution pause starting in 2011, the state’s death row population has been reduced significantly.

The state had 63 death row inmates in early 2011, but now only has 30. About 20 inmates have been removed from death row and received different sentences after successful appeals, while others have died of natural causes.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.