By JEFF MARTIN (Associated Press)
In Atlanta, lawyers are arguing that a Georgia man who killed his ex-girlfriend 30 years ago and is intellectually disabled should not be executed.
Willie James Pye, 59, is set to be executed using pentobarbital on Wednesday, which would be the first execution in the state in over four years. He was found guilty of the 1993 murder of Alicia Lynn Yarbrough.
There will be a clemency hearing on Tuesday, but the result will be announced later as the hearings are held privately in Georgia.
Pye's public defenders argue that if the defense counsel had not neglected their duty, the jury would have known about Pye's intellectual disability and low IQ, which would support a life sentence.
They also believe that evidence of Pye's difficult upbringing and family environment should have been presented to the jury to support a life sentence verdict.
Pye's lawyers also mentioned issues in the Spalding County justice system in the 1990s and highlighted Pye's positive influence on others while in prison.
Pye had a relationship with Yarbrough and, along with another man and a teenager, planned to rob the man she was living with, which ultimately led to her death during the crime.
After robbing Yarbrough and taking her from her home, they raped her and then drove her to a remote area where Pye ultimately shot her three times.
Yarbrough's body was found shortly after the incident, and Pye and his accomplices were arrested. Pye and Adams denied any involvement, but the teenager confessed and implicated them both.
The teenager made a plea agreement and was the key witness in Pye's trial, which led to his conviction for multiple crimes, including murder and rape, and his death sentence.
Pye's lawyers argued that the teenager's statements were inconsistent and suggested that Yarbrough willingly left her home to exchange sex for drugs at a motel.
They also emphasized Pye's impoverished and abusive childhood in court filings, highlighting neglect and alcohol abuse within his family.
His lawyers argued that the evidence should have been presented in court to provide a better understanding of the circumstances surrounding the crime and Pye's background.
His attorneys also claimed that Pye suffered from brain damage, possibly due to fetal alcohol syndrome, which impaired his ability to plan and control his urges. They also contend that he has intellectual disabilities and is therefore not eligible for execution, based on the assessments of multiple experts.
Pye’s legal team has long asserted that he should be resentenced because his trial attorney did not sufficiently prepare for the sentencing phase of his trial. A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with Pye’s lawyers in April 2021, but the full federal appeals court overturned that decision in October 2022.
Adams, now 55, admitted guilt in April 1997 to charges of intentional murder, abduction with bodily harm, armed robbery, rape, and aggravated sodomy. He received five consecutive life prison sentences and remains incarcerated.
Georgia conducted its most recent execution in January 2020.
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Associated Press writer Kate Brumback contributed.
