Overview
- A Cobb County judge granted a last‑minute stay on Humphreys’s scheduled 7 p.m. execution on Sept. 16 to allow a hearing under the Survivor Justice Act.
- The Georgia Supreme Court upheld that stay and agreed to consider certified legal questions about whether the 2025 law applies to inmates sentenced to death by a jury.
- Humphreys’s lawyers have submitted medical evaluations and expert statements saying chronic physical, emotional and sexual abuse in childhood significantly contributed to his crimes.
- State prosecutors and the parole board argue the law was not meant for capital cases and say the clemency board already denied relief, calling the late petition a threat to legal finality.
- Prosecutors have sought expedited appellate review, the trial judge has given the defense time to file evidence for a hearing, and the court’s ruling will determine whether the execution can proceed or be reworked under the new statute.