Key facts
- LeJames Norman is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection in Texas on Wednesday for the 2005 killings of Samuel Roberts, Tiffani Peacock, and Celso Lopez.
- Stacey Humphreys' execution in Georgia, scheduled for Wednesday, was halted by a judge late Tuesday.
- Norman and Ker'Sean Ramey were convicted of fatally shooting three people in Edna, Texas, while attempting to steal drugs.
- Humphreys was convicted of malice murder for the 2003 killings of Cyndi Williams and Lori Brown in Georgia.
- Texas has carried out four executions this year, while Florida has conducted more than half of the 25 executions nationwide.
- Norman's attorneys have asked the US Supreme Court to review a decision denying a stay of execution.
Texas is set to execute LeJames Norman on Wednesday for the 2005 fatal shootings of three people, while a judge has halted the execution of Stacey Humphreys in Georgia, who was convicted of killing two women in 2003. Norman's scheduled execution would be the fifth in Texas this year, whereas Georgia has not yet carried out any executions in 2024. Florida has been the busiest death chamber, accounting for over half of the 25 executions conducted nationwide this year.
Norman, 40, was sentenced to death for the killings of Samuel Roberts, 24, Tiffani Peacock, 18, and Celso Lopez, 38, who shared a home in Edna, Texas. He is scheduled to die by lethal injection at 6 p.m. CDT at the state penitentiary in Huntsville. According to court records, Norman and Ker'Sean Ramey believed there were drugs in the house and intended to steal them, but they ended up fatally shooting the residents. Norman was arrested in Mexico about five months after the killings. Ramey was also convicted and sentenced to death, with his execution scheduled for the following week.
The Texas board of pardons and paroles voted against commuting Norman's sentence or granting a reprieve on Monday. His attorneys also had a motion for a stay of execution denied by the Texas court of criminal appeals on Monday, and they have since asked the US Supreme Court to review that decision. The Supreme Court had previously refused to review Norman's appeal in 2017 regarding the competence of his trial attorneys.
In Georgia, Humphreys, 53, was convicted of malice murder in the 2003 killings of Cyndi Williams and Lori Brown. A judge issued a stay of execution late Tuesday after Humphreys' lawyers filed a petition seeking resentencing under a new state law for victims of abuse. The state's lawyer indicated an immediate appeal if the judge ordered a stay, aiming to keep the execution on track. The judge stated he would consider lifting the stay if an appellate court ruled before the scheduled execution time that Humphreys was not entitled to a hearing on his petition.
Humphreys' legal team also argued that his death sentence was compromised by a biased juror and that his clemency application was unfairly heard by only four of the five board members due to a recusal. The parole board denied clemency for Humphreys on Tuesday.