RICHMOND, VA. ? A death row inmate set for execution next week for the rape and murder of a young mother has chosen to die in the electric chair, the Virginia Department of Corrections said Wednesday in Richmond.

Barring intervention from the U.S. Supreme Court or Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, Brandon Hedrick, 27, would be the first person in the United States to die by electrocution in more than two years, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

The federal government and most states that allow capital punishment use lethal injection because it is considered more humane than electrocution or other methods.

Inmates in Virginia have the option of choosing to die by injection or electrocution.