Ga. Supreme Court overturns pause on executions tied to pandemic

ATLANTA, Ga. — The Georgia Supreme Court has overturned a ruling upholding a pause on certain executions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2021, the state attorney general’s office agreed to suspend executions for some death row prisoners under certain conditions, and last year, a Fulton County judge ruled the pause should continue. But the court disagreed, ruling on Tuesday the conditions that had halted executions no longer apply.

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At the center of the debate is a condition saying executions can’t resume until a COVID-19 vaccine is “readily available to all members of the public.” In 2025, Judge Shukura Ingram noted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration hadn’t approved the vaccines for children under six months old.

However, the Georgia Supreme Court argued FDA approval isn’t required for the vaccine to be considered “readily available.”

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“Although COVID-19 vaccines were in short supply during the pandemic and for some time after, the supply now exceeds the public’s demand,” Justice Carla McMillian said in the majority opinion.

Justice Benjamin Land also noted that the agreement only restricts the attorney general’s office.

“If the district attorney wishes to obtain an execution order without the blessing or request of the Attorney General, there is nothing in the Agreement that prevents him or her from doing so,” Land wrote.

The matter has now been handed back down to the trial court.