Texas Executes Man, Georgia Execution Halted by Judge

LeJames Norman, 40, was executed by lethal injection Wednesday evening in Texas for the 2005 shooting deaths of three people during a robbery attempt. Norman was sentenced to death for the killings of Samuel Roberts, 24; Tiffani Peacock, 18; and Celso Lopez, 38.

Norman and Ker’Sean Ramey had entered the Edna, Texas, home with the intention of stealing cocaine, but found none. Norman fatally shot the three residents. Lopez was shot four times, Peacock twice, and Roberts five times. Norman was arrested in Mexico about five months later. Ramey also received a death sentence and is scheduled for execution next week.

The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles denied Norman's requests for a sentence commutation or a reprieve. His attorneys appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court after the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied a motion for a stay based on claims regarding prosecution actions. In 2017, the Supreme Court declined to review Norman’s appeal concerning the competence of his trial attorneys.

Meanwhile, in Georgia, a judge issued a stay of execution late Tuesday for Stacey Humphreys, 53, who was convicted of murder in the 2003 killings of real estate agents Cyndi Williams, 33, and Lori Brown, 21. Humphreys had entered a sales office in Powder Springs, forced the women to provide their bank PINs, and then shot them. He then withdrew more than $3,000 from their accounts.

The stay was granted after Humphreys' lawyers filed a petition seeking resentencing under a new state law that allows for sentence reconsideration for victims of abuse. The judge indicated the stay could be lifted if an appellate court rules before the execution time that Humphreys is not entitled to a hearing on his petition.

Humphreys' legal team also argued that his death sentence was tainted by a biased juror who allegedly lied during jury selection and coerced others. Courts have rejected these arguments on procedural grounds, though Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor has previously expressed interest in further exploring the issue.

Additionally, Humphreys' lawyers argued that his clemency application was unfairly heard by only four members of the five-person State Board of Pardons and Paroles due to a judge’s order for one member to recuse herself over a conflict of interest related to her previous work as a victim advocate. The parole board denied clemency for Humphreys on Tuesday.

Florida has carried out the most executions in the U.S. this year, accounting for more than half of the 25 executions nationwide. Texas's scheduled execution of Norman was its fifth of the year, while Georgia had not yet executed anyone in 2024 prior to this stay.