Oklahoma officials asked the United States Supreme Court on Monday to stay the execution of three inmates on death row until the court rules on the constitutionality of the state’s lethal injection process. The court agreed on Friday to decide a case on the constitutionality of the new combinations of drugs that some states are using to execute prisoners, which critics say cause intense suffering.

In a filing with the court on Monday, the attorney general of Oklahoma, Scott Pruitt, said the application to delay the executions was necessary to provide clarity as the state sought to resume its execution schedule. Oklahoma wants the right to resume executions if it finds a different suitable combination of drugs.

The state’s Constitution allows the governor to grant a 60-day reprieve. But because the Supreme Court case probably will not be resolved in that time frame, Mr. Pruitt sought the stay, said his spokesman, Will Gattenby. The Supreme Court is not scheduled to hear the case until late April and is unlikely to issue a decision before June 1.

“Likewise, the application must be filed with the Supreme Court instead of the Oklahoma Criminal Court of Appeals because there is no pending case in the Oklahoma court,” Mr. Gattenby said.