A federal judge ruled that the Mississippi attorney general's office did not deliberately fail to respond to lethal injection challenges filed by four death row inmates.

Attorney General Jim Hood had asked U.S. District Judge Allen Pepper to lift the default. Hood contended in court papers that his office erred but it was an honest mistake and did no harm to the inmates' complaint.

Pepper dismissed the default order Friday, which found that Hood had failed to defend the state against a plaintiff's claim. Pepper did not set a trial date in Friday's order.

The inmates' lawsuit alleges Mississippi's current lethal injection procedure causes unnecessary pain and that employees administering the drugs are not properly trained.