"Georgia Executes Willie James Pye for 1993 Murder After 4-Year Hiatus"

Georgia executed Willie James Pye, its first execution in over four years, for the 1993 murder of his ex-girlfriend. Despite legal appeals citing concerns over the state's readiness to resume executions post-Covid and Pye's intellectual disability, the supreme court rejected the appeal. Pye's lawyers argued that his court-appointed attorney had failed to present evidence of his intellectual disability and troubled childhood. Pye was convicted of forcing his way into his ex-girlfriend's home, raping her, and then shooting her. This execution marks the 54th lethal injection in Georgia since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976, with 35 men and one woman currently under death sentence in the state.