Indonesian lawyers for Australian man Myuran Sukumaran hope to file a judicial review of his case, potentially stalling his execution, by the end of this week.
Lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis says the appeal is being urgently prepared after Sukumaran's request for presidential clemency was rejected.
President Joko Widodo says the executions of more than 50 drug offenders on death row are needed because Indonesia faces a "drug emergency".
It began on Sunday with the executions of one Indonesian and five foreigners.
Mr Lubis says the death penalty is cruel and ineffective.
"I agree that we should punish drug traffickers heavily, but there's other alternatives to the death penalty, like jail for life without any remission," he told AAP.
"That's already hard for anyone.
"On the other hand, (the death penalty) also overlooks the fact that this narcotics crime is run systematically, it's an organised crime.
"Those who get punished ... they're not the masterminds of these syndicates."
The lawyer said the law must also recognise that rehabilitation is achievable, as in the case of Sukumaran, and his co-ringleader Chan, whose clemency is yet to be officially rejected.
Mr Lubis wouldn't comment on the appeal specifically.
But the validity of the judicial review is in dispute, with the supreme and constitutional courts in Indonesia in disagreement over how many times they can be lodged.
Indonesia plans to execute 20 more death row convicts this year.
Mr Joko says about 50 people a day, or 18,000 Indonesians every year, die as a result of drugs.
Brazil and The Netherlands recalled their ambassadors in protest at Sunday's executions, and Prime Minister Tony Abbott has not ruled out doing the same if Chan and Sukumaran are killed.
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