LeJames Norman, 40, is scheduled to be executed today in Texas for the 2005 shooting deaths of Samuel Roberts, 24, Tiffani Peacock, 18, and Celso Lopez, 38. Norman was sentenced to death after pleading guilty to capital murder in the case, which involved the victims being fatally shot in their home in Edna, Texas.
This would mark the fifth execution in Texas this year. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles voted against commuting Norman's sentence, and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied a motion for a stay of execution. Norman's attorneys have since asked the US Supreme Court to review the decision.
Separately, an execution scheduled for Stacey Humphreys, 53, in Georgia has been halted by a judge. Humphreys was convicted of malice murder and other crimes in the 2003 killings of Cyndi Williams, 33, and Lori Brown, 21. The stay was issued late Tuesday after his lawyers filed a petition seeking a resentencing under a new state law.
A lawyer for the state indicated they would appeal the stay, hoping to keep the execution on track for Wednesday evening. The judge stated he would consider lifting the stay if an appellate court rules before the scheduled execution time that Humphreys is not entitled to a hearing on his petition.