Texas carried out its fifth execution of the year, putting LeJames Norman to death for the 2005 triple murder of Samuel Roberts, Tiffani Peacock, and Celso Lopez during a home robbery. Meanwhile, in Georgia, the scheduled execution of Stacey Humphreys, convicted of killing two real estate agents in 2003, was dramatically halted by a judge's late-night decision, citing a new state law related to abuse victims.
LeJames Norman, 40, was executed by lethal injection in Huntsville, Texas, for the 2005 fatal shootings of Samuel Roberts, 24, Tiffani Peacock, 18, and Celso Lopez, 38, during an attempted robbery at their Edna home. Norman and co-defendant Ker’Sean Ramey, whose execution is set for next week, believed there was cocaine in the house, though none was found. Norman pleaded guilty to capital murder, and his last-minute appeal to the US Supreme Court was denied. He declined a final statement, nodding to family members before taking a couple of deep breaths, yawning, and making snoring sounds as the pentobarbital took effect, dying 30 minutes later at 6:44 p.m. No relatives of his victims witnessed the execution. Concurrently, Stacey Humphreys, 53, convicted of the 2003 malice murders of real estate agents Cyndi Williams, 33, and Lori Brown, 21, in a Powder Springs, Georgia suburb, had his execution halted. Humphreys forced the women to strip, give him their bank PINs, and then fatally shot them, later withdrawing over $3,000 to pay off high-interest payday loans. His execution was stayed by a judge late Tuesday after his lawyers filed a petition seeking resentencing under a new state law allowing abuse victims to have their sentences reconsidered if their crimes are linked to past abuse. The Georgia Supreme Court declined to hear the state’s appeal of this ruling before the scheduled execution time, leaving the stay in place. Humphreys' legal team also argued his death sentence was tainted by a biased juror and that his clemency application was unfairly heard by only four of five parole board members, though the board still denied clemency.
