ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — Georgia is preparing for its first execution of 2025, raising renewed questions about the use of the death penalty in the state.

The execution is scheduled for Dec. 17 for 52-year-old Stacey Humphreys, a Cobb County man convicted of murdering two real estate agents in a model home in 2003.

Prosecutors said Humphreys forced the women to strip and hand over their PINs before shooting them. He later admitted to investigators, “I know I did it.”

The state plans to use 5,000 milligrams of pentobarbital for the execution, which officials call a reliable method. Critics, however, warn that it can leave a person conscious and trapped inside their own body, describing the sensation as similar to drowning.

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Supporters of capital punishment argue cases like Humphreys’ show why the death penalty exists — to protect the public and provide justice for victims’ families.

But opponents, including faith leaders, say it is time to reconsider. Jayna Hoffacker, leader of Georgia Catholics Against the Death Penalty, said executions deny individuals the opportunity for redemption.

“If you take away that opportunity for people to come to understand the harm of what they’ve done, that’s trying to take away their dignity and their ability to change,” Hoffacker said. “Victims and victims’ family members have said that they waited 20, 30 years for this to happen, and that it happened, and they said that didn’t fix what I was told it would fix. And ultimately, nothing really will.”

Hoffacker’s group is urging lawmakers to revisit the state’s execution laws, citing both moral and financial concerns. Executions can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, while keeping an inmate alive can exceed $50,000 per year.

Advocates on both sides expect renewed debate during the next legislative session, but with Humphreys’ execution just days away, attention in Georgia is focused on what comes next.

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