Key facts
- Stacey Humphreys, 53, is scheduled for execution on September 16.
- He was convicted of malice murder in the 2003 killings of real estate agents Cyndi Williams and Lori Brown.
- Humphreys previously had an execution date set for December, which was halted by a judge.
- The halt was due to legal challenges regarding conflicts of interest for two members of the State Board of Pardons and Paroles.
- A judge ruled one board member must recuse herself, but not the other.
- Humphreys' lawyers have appealed to the Georgia Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Georgia prison officials have scheduled the execution of Stacey Humphreys, 53, for September 16. Humphreys was convicted of malice murder in the 2003 killings of real estate agents Cyndi Williams, 33, and Lori Brown, 21, in Atlanta's suburbs. He is set to receive a lethal injection at the state prison near Jackson.
Humphreys' execution was previously scheduled for December but was halted after his lawyers petitioned for two members of the State Board of Pardons and Paroles to recuse themselves due to alleged conflicts of interest related to his trial. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney ruled that one board member, Kimberly McCoy, must recuse herself due to a material conflict of interest, while the other, Wayne Bennett, did not have a conflict.
Judge McBurney also denied a request to have the governor appoint a substitute parole board member and to stay the clemency hearing. Humphreys' lawyers appealed to the Georgia Supreme Court, which declined to hear the case, and have filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court.
Evidence presented at trial indicated that Humphreys entered a sales office in Powder Springs, a suburb northwest of Atlanta, on November 3, 2003. He forced the two agents to strip naked and provide their bank PINs before shooting them. He then withdrew over $3,000 from their accounts. Humphreys was on parole for a 1993 felony theft conviction at the time of the murders. Police identified Humphreys through witness descriptions and a vehicle matching his, and he was arrested in Wisconsin after a high-speed chase. A handgun matching the bullets used in the killings was found in a rented Jeep he used to flee.