The Georgia Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Dec. 8 in the case of Stacey Humphreys, convicted of killing two Cobb County real estate agents in 2003. The justices will decide whether Humphreys qualifies for a new sentencing hearing that could replace his death sentence with prison time.

The scheduling, first reported by the Marietta Daily Journal, came days after the court upheld a stay of execution issued by Cobb County Superior Court Judge Tyler Browning on Tuesday, Sept. 15. Humphreys, 53, had been scheduled to die by lethal injection at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 16 at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson.

At the center of the case is the Georgia Survivor Justice Act (SJA), signed by Gov. Brian Kemp. The law allows people convicted of capital offenses to seek resentencing if they can show severe childhood abuse or violence significantly contributed to their crimes. A death sentence could be reduced to 10 to 30 years.

Humphreys' attorney Brian Kammer argued in Cobb Superior Court on Tuesday, Sept. 15 that his client suffered extreme abuse as a child, including a skull fracture at age 3 that went untreated, cigarette burns and beatings, according to 11Alive. Humphreys did not deny committing the murders.

Both the Georgia Attorney General's Office and the Cobb District Attorney's Office have appealed the stay. They argue the law was meant only for people who acted against those who abused them, according to East Cobb News.

State Rep. Stan Gunter, the Blairsville Republican who authored the bill, agreed with prosecutors. "It was not for somebody that had been abused 20 years ago or more and committed a crime because of, as they allege, that abuse," Gunter told the Georgia Recorder on Sept. 15.

In its Sept. 16 order, the Georgia Supreme Court said the case raises important and novel questions about the new law. All justices concurred except Justice Pinson, who did not participate.

Humphreys was convicted by a Glynn County jury in 2007 of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, armed robbery and kidnapping with bodily injury. Prosecutors said he forced Cyndi Williams, 33, and Lori Brown, 21, at gunpoint inside a model home in a Cobb County subdivision and made them reveal their PINs. He then killed them and withdrew more than $3,000 from their bank accounts.

Linda Brown, Lori Brown's mother, told Fox 5 Atlanta on Wednesday, Sept. 16 that she was furious about the delayed execution and said the state should follow through on its promise.

The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles denied Humphreys clemency on Sept. 15. Board Chair Joyette Holmes opened the hearing with only four members after a fifth was recused over a conflict of interest, WABE reported.

Humphreys has been on death row since 2007. A previous death warrant issued late last year was suspended, then lifted in March. The current warrant, valid through Sept. 23, has been suspended pending the court's review.

Oral arguments are set for Dec. 8. No briefing schedule has been made public.