A Georgia judge halted Stacey Humphries’ execution with hours to spare, granting him a chance to argue under a new state law.
Cobb County Superior Court Judge Tyler Browning issued the stay late Tuesday after ruling that Humphries, 53, could present a defense under Georgia’s Survivor Justice Act, which took effect in July 2024. The law requires courts to consider a defendant’s history of domestic abuse, dating violence, or child abuse if connected to the crime. Browning found the statute’s wording did not exempt death row inmates from its protections, despite the state’s objections.
Humphries was convicted in 2007 of murdering two real estate agents, Cyndi Williams, 33, and Lori Brown, 21, during a 2003 robbery at an Atlanta-area sales office. Prosecutors said he forced both women to strip naked and surrender bank card PIN codes before fatally shooting them and fleeing with their licenses and credit cards, later withdrawing thousands of dollars.
His attorney, Brian Kammer, argued in court that years of severe childhood abuse shaped the conduct that landed Humphries on death row. Kammer told the court his client had been beaten and whipped, burned with cigarettes, and suffered an untreated skull fracture at age three, according to 9ABC. Humphries also grew up surrounded by domestic violence and drug and alcohol abuse, Kammer said.
The state countered that the Survivor Justice Act was never intended to give condemned inmates another avenue to present childhood abuse evidence after their sentences have been finalized. Prosecutors argued the law was meant for earlier stages of criminal proceedings, not last-minute stays of execution.
Browning rejected that interpretation, noting the plain text of the statute contained no exemption for death row prisoners. His stay, however, came with a significant caveat: if the state successfully appeals to the Georgia Supreme Court before 7 p.m. Tuesday, he may lift the stay and allow the execution to proceed.
Humphries had spent nearly two decades on death row before the scheduled Tuesday execution. If it moves forward, he would become the 55th inmate put to death by lethal injection in Georgia history.
The case highlights tensions over how broadly to apply the Survivor Justice Act, one of several recent state laws reexamining how trauma history intersects with criminal responsibility. Georgia legislators passed the measure amid national debates over adverse childhood experiences and their long-term effects on behavior.
The original 2003 crime shocked the Atlanta suburbs. Humphries entered the real estate office armed, stripped both women, extracted financial information, then shot Williams and Brown before escaping with their identification and cards. The brutality of the killings and the calculated nature of the robbery-spree aftermath helped secure the death penalty at trial.
Browning’s ruling leaves Humphries’ fate in temporary limbo, with the clock ticking on the state’s window to appeal before the 7 p.m. Deadline.