A Georgia death row inmate scheduled to face lethal injection had his execution halted Wednesday night after a judge granted a stay, court records show.
Stacey Humphreys, 53, remains incarcerated on Georgia’s death row.
The inmate was convicted of murdering Cyndi Williams, 33, and Lori Brown, 21, court records state.
The two victims were real-estate agents killed in 2003. Humphreys was scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection at 7 p.m. Wednesday, records show.
The stay marked a reversal from Tuesday, when Georgia’s parole board denied clemency for Humphreys, records show.
Cobb County Superior Court Judge Tyler Browning issued the ruling halting the scheduled lethal injection, court documents show.
The judge granted the stay to determine whether a new state law could require Humphreys’ death sentence to be reconsidered, the ruling states.
Browning ruled that the inmate is entitled to a formal hearing under the Georgia Survivor Justice Act, according to court documents.
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The measure is a recently enacted state law addressing sentencing for certain criminal defendants whose offenses were significantly connected to abuse they suffered, records show.
Attorneys for the convicted inmate argued that Humphreys endured severe childhood abuse and family violence, court records state.
Those experiences significantly contributed to his later criminal behavior, the defense attorneys argued.
The state disputed that the new law applies to Humphreys, court records show. Prosecutors then appealed the judge’s decision to grant the stay, filings show.
The Georgia Supreme Court declined to resolve the state’s appeal before Wednesday’s scheduled execution, court documents show.
That decision by the high court left Browning’s stay of execution in place, records state.
The legal questions surrounding the new statute will instead be considered through the court’s normal review process, the state Supreme Court said.
The proceeding could help determine how the Georgia Survivor Justice Act applies in death-penalty cases, an issue the state’s highest court has yet to resolve, records show.
Humphreys remains on death row while the courts determine whether he is legally entitled to resentencing consideration under the new law.
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