Parole board can decide execution despite member’s recusal, judge says

Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney agreed with Humphreys that State Board of Pardons and Paroles member Kimberly McCoy has a conflict of interest as she became close with the families of Humphreys’ victims in her previous role in the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office.

Humphreys “enjoys a clear legal right pursuant to the board’s own guidelines to conflict-free members of the body that will be deciding whether he lives or dies,” McBurney wrote in an order, adding “McCoy does not fall into that category”.

The judge rejected Humphreys’ additional argument that his clemency bid must be decided by a full five-member board, saying Georgia’s constitution only requires a quorum of three members.

McBurney acknowledged that if a partial board decides Humphreys’ clemency request, it would be a first in Georgia. In December, the board’s lawyers said they were unaware of any clemency petition considered by less than five members.

Under Georgia law, the board can choose to halt Humphreys’ clemency hearing until it has five members to consider his petition, or proceed with three or four members, McBurney ruled.

A spokesperson for the board declined to comment.

Humphreys’ lawyers did not immediately respond Monday to an inquiry about the order.

McCoy planned to participate in Humphreys’ clemency hearing and abstain from voting on his request to avoid execution, case records show.

McBurney said that plan is not appropriate because McCoy was the state’s advocate for the relatives of Humphreys’ victims, Lori Brown and Cynthia Williams, during his prosecution.

“She became, in one family member’s own words, their ‘rock,’” McBurney said. “She sat with the families at trial, prepared them for the difficult testimony from witnesses such as medical examiners and first responders, and ensured that they were heard when victim impact statements were made.”

Under the board’s “clear” guidelines, McCoy must recuse herself from Humphreys’ case, he said.

The judge felt differently about another board member, Wayne Bennett, who was the sheriff of Glynn County when Humphreys’ trial was held there because of concerns about neutral jurors in Cobb County.

Humphreys also wanted Bennett to be temporarily replaced on the board when it considers his clemency petition.

But McBurney said Bennett’s connection to the case is far more attenuated than McCoy’s and Bennett does not have to recuse himself.

“Bennett’s job, as Sheriff, kept him out of courtrooms and tied up with managing a large organization responsible for running the county jail and providing courthouse security for every activity in the county courthouse, not just Petitioner’s trial,” McBurney wrote.

Humphreys, found guilty in 2007, was scheduled to be executed in December.

A clemency hearing is the final step in a death-row inmate’s chance to avoid execution in Georgia. Each board member votes and the majority decides whether execution is warranted or clemency should be granted.

If executed, Humphreys would become the 55th Georgia inmate put to death by lethal injection. The last inmate executed by the state was Willie James Pye in March 2024.