Judge weighs halting execution of Georgia man seeking protection under pandemic agreement

A federal judge said Wednesday that she plans to rule quickly on whether to halt the execution next week of a Georgia man who says he should be shielded by an agreement reached during the COVID-19 pandemic that set conditions for the state to resume putting condemned people to death. Stacey Humphreys is scheduled to die by lethal injection next Wednesday, nearly two decades after a jury found him guilty of malice murder in the killings of 33-year-old Cyndi Williams and 21-year-old Lori Brown. U.S. District Court Judge Leigh Martin May told attorneys after hearing arguments in Atlanta that she would rule by Thursday morning on whether Humphreys’ execution moves forward.