Stacey Ian Humphreys, the convicted murderer who is slated for execution this week, is arguing that a new Georgia law aimed at abuse victims should spare him from the death penalty.
Humphreys asked the court to reduce his sentence under Georgia’s Survivor Justice Act, arguing in a filing on Monday he is eligible to receive a reduced sentence instead of the death penalty because he was severely abused throughout his childhood.
“His early life and adolescence were defined by chaos, neglect, and abuse of every kind: physical, emotional, and sexual,” his attorneys argued in the filing.
As a boy, he was subject to repeated abuse by his “violent” father, including broken bones, severe beatings and fights, and he was sexually abused by his great-grandmother, according to the filing. Family members attested to the abuse at Humphreys’ sentencing in 2007, and expert witnesses testified about it at the state habeas hearing, according to the filings.
Humphreys was convicted and sentenced to death nearly two decades ago for the 2003 killings of Cyndi Williams and Lori Brown, who were strangled and then shot to death in the model home of a Powder Springs subdivision.
His execution, which would make him the 55th Georgia inmate put to death by lethal injection, is scheduled for Wednesday.
In recent days, Humphreys’ attorneys have filed a flurry of legal actions. A Cobb County Superior Court judge denied Humphreys’ request for a retrial, which has been appealed.
And a judge will hold a hearing Tuesday afternoon in Cobb County on these new filings requesting a stay and a resentencing.
Humphreys’ attorneys argue that he is eligible for a lesser sentence under the new state law designed to acknowledge and address the direct link between the abuse suffered by a defendant and the crime they committed, according to the court filings.
The Survivor Justice Act gives perpetrators who are themselves victims of family violence and child abuse access to a reduced sentence. They must show in court that the prior abuse they endured was “a significant contributing factor to the offense.”
Humphreys’ attorneys say he “more than clears this hurdle.”
Earlier this year, the first Georgia prisoner released under the Survivor Justice Act was freed after serving 23 years of her life sentence, the AJC reported.
In that case, a Cobb County judge ruled that Nicole Boynton was the victim of repeated violence that had been a significant contributing factor in her crime: stabbing and killing her boyfriend, Ronnie Moss II, during a fight at their home in 1999 when she was 18 years old, the AJC previously reported.
Since 1976, when the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty, Georgia has executed 76 men and one woman. The last inmate executed by the state was Willie James Pye on March 20, 2024.
The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles, the only entity in the state with the power to commute a death sentence, meets Tuesday morning for a clemency hearing.
Humphreys’ execution was previously scheduled to take place last year, but the State Board of Pardons and Paroles postponed his clemency hearing and execution due to legal concerns over potential conflicts of interest for two of the board’s five members.
Staff writer Caleb Groves contributed to this report.
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