Georgia Supreme Court Ends COVID-19 Death Row Execution Moratorium
Georgia’s highest court clears the way for executions to resume after ruling that COVID-19 vaccine conditions have been met, despite ongoing infant restrictions.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA — The Georgia Supreme Court has terminated a 2021 agreement that prevented the execution of nine death row inmates, ruling that conditions tied to COVID-19 vaccine availability have been sufficiently met despite ongoing restrictions for infants under six months old.
The court’s decision ends a moratorium that had protected the inmates from execution warrants while the state operated under pandemic emergency orders. The original agreement required three conditions to be met before executions could resume: lifting of the COVID-19 judicial emergency order, restoration of normal prison visitation policies, and ensuring “a vaccination against COVID-19 is readily available to all members of the public.”
Legal Battle Over Vaccine Availability
Attorneys for the Federal Defender Program, a nonprofit representing death row inmates, contested the state’s interpretation of the agreement. They argued that COVID-19 vaccines remain unavailable to all public members since the Food and Drug Administration has not approved the vaccines for infants younger than six months.
“Everyone should be able to count on the state to follow its word, but instead the state still refuses to accept the plain language of the agreement,” said Sarah Brewerton-Palmer, an attorney representing the Federal Defender Program, during March oral arguments before the Supreme Court.
The defenders also maintained that jails have not fully resumed their normal visitation policies, arguing that another condition of the agreement remained unmet.
State’s Counterargument Prevails
Georgia Solicitor General John Henry Thompson successfully argued that the defenders’ interpretation was too restrictive. He contended that vaccine availability should be measured by the absence of supply constraints and state rationing, not by universal medical eligibility.
“Under our reading, the condition was satisfied when a patient’s ability to receive the vaccine was no longer restricted by supply constraints and state rationing but by the same background principles that have always governed the practice of medicine,” Thompson told justices during oral arguments.
Thompson emphasized that no medical treatment has ever been available to every person regardless of age or medical conditions. He argued that even if the FDA approved vaccines for newborns, opponents could identify other limited exceptions, such as patients with severe allergies.
“These nine inmates have received the reprieve their attorneys bargained for,” Thompson said. “They cannot be allowed to escape justice permanently.”
Return to Normal Operations
The solicitor general argued that the agreement’s purpose was to ensure justice could be served during the emergency period, but that the justice system has returned to normal operations. The court ultimately sided with Thompson’s interpretation, clearing the way for the attorney general’s office to pursue execution warrants for the nine death row inmates.
The 2021 agreement had specifically prevented the state from seeking execution warrants for prisoners whose petitions for rehearing had been denied during the pandemic emergency. The court’s decision now removes this protection, allowing the legal process to move forward after years of delay.
