US3 min(s) read
The state of Georgia is preparing to carry out its only execution of 2026 within hours, despite dozens of prisoners remaining on the state's death row.
After murdering two real estate agents in 2003, Stacey Humphreys, 53, is due to be executed on September 16 after spending almost two decades on death row, an area that currently houses over 30 people awaiting execution.
Despite the sheer number of men waiting for their execution dates in the state, a complicated legal agreement that dates back to the COVID-19 pandemic has caused considerable delays to the process.
The 53-year-old was convicted of the November 3, 2003 killings of Cyndi Williams, 33, and Lori Brown, 21, and according to the case against Humphreys, he entered the women's real estate office and forced them to provide their bank PINs before shooting them both.
Investigators also found evidence suggesting that both women had been strangled, with around $3,000 being subsequently taken from their accounts.
As such, Humphreys has remained on death row for almost 20 years, but he is now just hours away from becoming Georgia's only condemned prisoner to be executed in 2026.
The unusual situation stems from litigation that began during the coronavirus pandemic, with a legal agreement temporarily preventing Georgia from seeking execution warrants for nine prisoners on death row.
Although some of the restrictions connected to that agreement have since been lifted, legal obstacles remain for those inmates; however, Humphreys was not among the nine prisoners covered by the agreement.
That meant prosecutors were able to pursue an execution warrant against him independently, putting his case on a separate legal track, and ensuring he faces the lethal injection on Wednesday.
With his execution scheduled for September 16, Humphreys has also selected what could be his final meal.
Georgia is unusual among US states because it does not impose the same kind of restrictions on final meals that exist elsewhere.
In states including Florida and Oklahoma, prisoners can face spending limits or restrictions on particular foods, but in this instance, Humphreys, therefore, has opted for quite an extensive last dinner.
His requested meal includes barbecue beef brisket, pork ribs, a bacon double cheeseburger, French fries, buffalo wings and a meat lovers pan pizza, before he enjoys a butter pecan ice cream and peach ice cream, alongside two caffeine-free sodas.
Several states have executive holds preventing executions from currently taking place, including California and Ohio, among others.
