Crime & Safety
Tate Execution Delayed
Nicholas Cody Tate's execution over the 2001 killings of a mother and her 3-year-old daughter was halted just hours before it had been set to take place.
The planned execution of Nicholas Cody Tate—the man who pleaded guilty to the killings of a mother and her 3-year-old daughter in Paulding County—was halted Tuesday evening and now may not happen for years, if at all.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that hours before his 7 p.m. execution, Tate signed his petition for habeas corpus, which led to a judge halting the execution.
Tate had been set to become , more than 10 years after the murders of Chrissie Williams and her daughter, Katelyn. Now it could take months or even longer to be litigated, the AJC says.
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Butts County Superior Court Judge Thomas Wilson filed the stay of execution after 6 p.m., according to an Associated Press report carried by the Athens Banner-Herald.
The news devastated Williams' friends and family. Her older sister, Kellie Young, told the AP she was in shock.
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Tate was convicted in Paulding County for two counts of murder, two counts of kidnapping, child molestation, cruelty to children, possession of a firearm during a crime and conspiracy in connection with the Dec. 11, 2001, murders. He has been incarcerated since Jan. 25, 2006.
The judge’s halting of the execution was the latest action involving Tate. The state’s Board of Pardons on Monday , while a judge Thursday .
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