Clemency rejected for man scheduled to be 1st person executed in Georgia in more than 4 years

By JEFF MARTIN
Associated Press

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia’s parole board has rejected clemency for a man set to die Wednesday night in the state’s first execution in more than four years. Barring an 11th-hour court stay, William James Pye is to receive a lethal injection Wednesday night for the 1993 killing of his former girlfriend. The inmate’s lawyers had argued he should not be executed because he is intellectually disabled and feels remorse for killing Alicia Lynn Yarbrough decades ago. Pye is scheduled to receive a lethal dose of the sedative pentobarbital for his conviction on murder, rape and other charges in the death. Georgia’s last execution was in January 2020.