The state of Georgia planned to execute Stacey Humphreys by lethal injection on September 16, 2026, but Cobb County Superior Court Judge Tyler Browning issued a stay that was upheld by the Georgia Supreme Court citing the Georgia Survivor Justice Act—a state law that allows the courts to consider a defendant’s history of abuse and trauma in sentencing. Mr. Humphreys’ execution would have marked Georgia’s first execution in two years.
Critics have long raised concerns about Georgia’s lethal injection procedures, citing secrecy and alleged First and Eighth Amendment violations. In a 5 – 2 ruling issued on May 19, 2014, the Georgia Supreme Court upheld the state’s law shielding the source and identity of the preparers of drugs and equipment used in executions. The court wrote:
“We conclude that Georgia’s execution process is likely made more timely and orderly by the execution-participant confidentiality statute…”
The ruling lifted the stay of execution for Warren Hill, who challenged the secrecy law. Mr. Hill, a Black man with strong claims of intellectual disability, was executed in Georgia on January 27, 2015.
After the state denied a records request on the grounds that the Lethal Injection Secrecy Law makes certain execution-related information a “confidential state secret” needed to protect those involved in executions from harassment, journalist Max Blau sued the state. The lawsuit led to the release of records concerning Georgia’s lethal injection process. Those records revealed:
- Georgia is spending substantially more on lethal injection-related costs than it did in prior years. Over the past decade, the state’s Corrections Department has spent an average of more than $150,000 annually on those costs, significantly more than the amounts it agreed to pay before 2017.
- Since the COVID-19 pandemic, Georgia has paid more than $1.1 million to at least one contractor working with the Corrections Department on its lethal injection process. One person has been executed during that time.
- Georgia officials may have failed to follow their own financial policies by not maintaining detailed purchase orders in the state’s financial system.
Despite the release of the records, secrecy remains a central issue in Georgia’s execution process. The names of people involved in lethal injections were redacted, and the state’s use of compounding pharmacies to obtain execution drugs continues to raise oversight concerns.
Deborah W. Denno, Arthur A. McGivney Professor of Law at Fordham University School of Law, has described the dangers of lethal injection procedures:
“The lethal injection procedure is more dangerous and inconsistent than ever, and the result is a perpetual effort by states to maintain secrecy at a time when transparency is most paramount.”
- Bonner, T. (2026, September 17). Article of Interest: Georgia Records Reveal Rising Costs and Continued Secrecy Around Lethal Injection. Death Penalty Information Center. Retrieved October 11, 2026, from https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/article-of-interest-georgia-records-reveal-rising-costs-and-continued-secrecy-around-lethal-injection
- Bonner, Taylor. “Article of Interest: Georgia Records Reveal Rising Costs and Continued Secrecy Around Lethal Injection.” Death Penalty Information Center. September 17, 2026. Accessed October 11, 2026. https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/article-of-interest-georgia-records-reveal-rising-costs-and-continued-secrecy-around-lethal-injection.
- Bonner, Taylor. “Article of Interest: Georgia Records Reveal Rising Costs and Continued Secrecy Around Lethal Injection.” Death Penalty Information Center, 17 Sept. 2026, https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/article-of-interest-georgia-records-reveal-rising-costs-and-continued-secrecy-around-lethal-injection. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.
Max Blau, This State Is Spending More on Lethal Injections. A Law Tries to Keep the Details Secret., ProPublica, September 8, 2026
