3 days ago
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A Georgia justice connected Monday ordered a impermanent intermission to a December execution that was already enactment connected hold, saying questions astir the state's clemency process indispensable beryllium addressed earlier Stacey Humphreys' decease condemnation could beryllium carried out.
Humphreys, 52, was facing scheduled execution Dec. 17, but the process was paused conscionable days earlier helium was to person received a lethal injection.
He was convicted of malice execution and different crimes successful the 2003 shooting deaths of Cyndi Williams, 33, and Lori Brown, 21, astatine the existent property bureau wherever they worked successful Cobb County, northwest of Atlanta.
At issue: Humphreys' lawyers contend that 2 members of Georgia's parole committee person conflicts of involvement that would taint their information successful a clemency hearing.
Humphreys' lawyers earlier this period filed a petition asking a justice to bid the 2 members of the parole committee to recuse themselves from considering his clemency petition.
The lawyers said 1 of those committee members, Kimberly McCoy, was antecedently a unfortunate advocator with the Cobb County territory attorney's bureau astatine the clip of Humphreys' proceedings and was assigned to enactment with victims successful the case.
Another committee member, Wayne Bennett, was the sheriff successful Glynn County, wherever the proceedings was moved due to the fact that of pretrial publicity. Humphreys' lawyers accidental Bennett oversaw information for the jurors and Humphreys himself during the case.
In an bid filed Monday, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney wrote that "pressing 'pause' connected the execution machinery until we reply the non-frivolous question raised by Petitioner concerning the due creation of the Board for his clemency proceeding is the close people of action."
He ordered lawyers for some sides to record further ineligible briefs connected the contented by Jan. 19.
Additionally, the justice wrote successful his bid that Humphreys deserves to person the struggle of involvement question researched and argued thoroughly truthful that a parole committee escaped of conflicts of involvement tin determine his lawsuit astatine a clemency hearing.
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