Georgia’s parole board has declined to grant clemency to a condemned man slated for execution on Wednesday night, paving the way for the state’s first execution in over four years.
Willie James Pye’s attorneys argued against his execution, citing his intellectual disability and remorse for a crime committed three decades ago.
Pye, 59, is set to undergo lethal injection with pentobarbital for the murder, rape, and other offenses related to the killing of his ex-girlfriend, Alicia Lynn Yarbrough, in November 1993.
Following a closed-door hearing, the Georgia Parole Board announced late Tuesday its denial of Pye’s clemency request.
Pye’s legal team criticized his trial as a “shocking relic of the past,” highlighting racism and deficiencies in the 1990s Spalding County public defender system.
They contended that Pye’s intellectual disability and troubled upbringing should have been presented to the jury, potentially influencing a life sentence verdict.
Pye, along with accomplices, planned to rob Yarbrough’s partner before assaulting her at a party and later raping her at a motel. He was convicted in June 1996 and sentenced to death.
Georgia’s last execution occurred in January 2020, and the state is working to resume lethal injections after a COVID-19-induced hiatus.
