A Georgia man convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend 30 years ago was executed Wednesday night in the state’s first execution in more than four years.
Willie James Pye, 59, received an injection of the sedative pentobarbital and was pronounced dead at the state prison in Jackson at 11:03 p.m. He was convicted and sentenced to death in the November 1993 kidnapping, rape, and shooting death of Alicia Lynn Yarbrough.
Pai was asked by the director if he wanted to say any final words, and he answered, “No.” I asked him if he wanted me to pray for him and he said he would. One of the priests then said a short prayer, asking God to help Pi experience grace and mercy.
Laken Riley’s ‘heartbroken’ father asks Georgia governor to ‘declare invasion’ of illegal immigrants
Pi was almost still when the drug started flowing. He started exhaling air rapidly about half a dozen times, each time his cheeks widened and his lips quivered. After that, he stayed still. A few minutes later, the warden entered the death chamber and announced the time of his death.
Pai’s lawyers belatedly appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene, but the justices unanimously refused to halt the execution. Defense attorneys have argued that the state does not meet the necessary conditions to resume executions after the coronavirus pandemic, and that Pai’s intellectual disability makes him ineligible for the death penalty. repeated the claim. The state’s response argued that the claim had already been resolved by the courts and was without merit. Georgia’s last execution took place in January 2020, before the coronavirus pandemic took hold.
Pai had an on-and-off romantic relationship with Yarbrough, but at the time of his murder, she was living with another man. Prosecutors said Pai, Chester Adams and a 15-year-old boy planned to rob the man and bought a handgun before heading to a party in a nearby town.
This image provided by the Georgia Department of Corrections shows Willie James Pye. Pai was injected with the sedative pentobarbital and was pronounced dead at the state prison in Jackson, Georgia, at 11:03 p.m. (Georgia Department of Corrections, Associated Press)
The three left the party around midnight and went to the house where Yarbrough was living, where they found Yarbrough alone with the baby. Prosecutors said they forced their way into the home, stole a ring and necklace from Yarbrough, and forced her to accompany him, leaving her baby alone.
Prosecutors said the group drove to a motel where they raped Yarbrough and then left the motel with her in the car. They turned onto a dirt road and Pye ordered Yarbrough out of the car, made him lie face down and shot him three times, according to court filings.
Ms. Yarbrough’s body was discovered on November 17, 1993, hours after she was murdered. Pye, Adams, and the teenager were quickly arrested. Pye and Adams denied knowing anything about Yarbrough’s death, but the teenager confessed and claimed two others were also involved.
The teenager reached a plea deal with prosecutors and became a key witness in Pai’s trial. In June 1996, a jury found Pai guilty of murder, kidnapping, armed robbery, rape, and robbery and sentenced him to death.
Pai’s lawyers argued in court filings that prosecutors relied heavily on the boy’s testimony, but that Pai then gave inconsistent statements. Lawyers said in court filings that those statements and Pai’s testimony during trial show Yarbrough voluntarily left home and went to a motel to exchange sex and drugs. Ta.
Lawyers representing Pai have also written in previous court filings that their client grew up in extreme poverty in a home without indoor plumbing or adequate food and clothing. There is. His lawyer said his childhood was marked by neglect and abuse by often drunken family members.
Lawyers also argued that Pai suffered from frontal lobe brain damage, which can be caused by fetal alcohol syndrome, which impaired her planning ability and impulse control.
Pai’s lawyers have long argued in court that he should be held accountable because his trial lawyers did not adequately prepare him for the sentencing phase of the trial. His defense team argued that trial attorneys did not sufficiently investigate his “life, background, and physical and mental health” to present mitigating evidence to the jury at sentencing.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
A federal judge rejected those claims, but a three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals reached an agreement with Pai’s lawyers in April 2021. The case was then retried in a federal appeals court, and in October 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals overturned the panel’s ruling.
Pai’s co-defendant Adams, now 55, pleaded guilty in April 1997 to charges of malice murder, kidnapping with bodily injury, armed robbery, rape, and aggravated sodomy. He was sentenced to five consecutive life sentences and remains in prison.
According to the Georgia Department of Corrections, 75 men and one woman have been executed in Georgia since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976. Pai became the 54th inmate to be executed by lethal injection. There are currently 35 men and one woman on death row in Georgia.
