Execution set for this week in Georgia put on hold for now

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia’s parole board on Monday put an execution scheduled for Wednesday on hold, but it was not clear how long that would last.

The order suspending the execution of Stacey Humphreys, signed by State Board of Pardons and Paroles Chair Joyette Holmes, does not provide any reason for the decision. The board also issued a notice saying a clemency hearing for Humphreys scheduled for Tuesday morning is “postponed until further notice.”

Humphreys, 52, was set to receive a lethal injection at the state prison near Jackson. He was convicted of malice murder and other crimes in the 2003 killings of 33-year-old Cyndi Williams and 21-year-old Lori Brown.

During a hearing on the clemency petition Monday afternoon, a lawyer for the parole board said she did not know how long the suspension would last. The death warrant is valid through noon on Dec. 24, meaning that if the execution doesn’t happen by then the state will have to seek a new warrant.

Kimberly McCoy, one of the board members whose recusal Humphreys’ lawyers are seeking, was a victim advocate with the Cobb County district attorney’s office at the time of Humphreys’ trial and was assigned to work with the victims in the case. The other, Wayne Bennett, was the sheriff in Glynn County, where the trial was moved because of pretrial publicity, and Humphreys’ lawyers argue he oversaw security for the jurors and Humphreys himself during the case.

During Monday’s court hearing, it was established that McCoy had agreed Sunday night to abstain from voting on the matter of Humphreys’ clemency application. But it was not clear what that means, particularly whether or not she would be present and would participate during the discussion of the case.

When Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney asked what McCoy understands it to mean if she abstains, McCoy told the judge she would do whatever the court directs her to do. A lawyer for the board said her understanding of abstention is that McCoy could be present during the clemency hearing and could ask questions but would not vote.

Under questioning in court, Bennett testified that he did not believe his connection to Humphreys’ trial would have any bearing on his treatment of the case, that he would consider the evidence and take the appropriate actions. Generally, Bennett said, he was not directly involved in the day to day responsibilities of security for a trial or for the sequestered jurors, and that those duties fell to his staff.

Three members of the parole board must vote for clemency for it to be granted. Lawyers for Humphreys argue that he has a right to have his clemency application heard by a five-member parole board with no members who have conflicts.

Tina Piper, a lawyer for the state, argued that Humphreys has the right to have his application voted on by a quorum of three, not by five members. She also argued that the state Constitution says the parole board shall be made up of five members, so the governor can’t appoint a temporary member because then there would be six.

Williams and Brown worked as real estate agents in a sales office in a model home for a new subdivision in Powder Springs, a suburb about 20 miles (32 kilometers) northwest of Atlanta. Humphreys entered the sales office around midday on Nov. 3, 2003, and forced them to strip naked and give him their bank PINs before fatally shooting them, according to evidence presented at trial.

Humphreys withdrew more than $3,000 from the women’s bank accounts, according to court filings. He told police after his arrest that he had recently taken out some high-interest payday loans and needed money for a payment on his truck.