Georgia
Georgia man sentenced to death seeks clemency on grounds of intellectual disability
A Georgia man should not be executed because he is intellectually disabled and feels remorse for killing his former girlfriend three decades ago, his lawyers wrote in seeking clemency for him.
Willie James Pye, 59, is scheduled to be put to death Wednesday using the sedative pentobarbital in what would be the state’s first execution in more than four years. Pye was convicted of murder and other crimes in the November 1993 killing of Alicia Lynn Yarbrough.
A clemency hearing is set for Tuesday. In Georgia, those hearings are conducted in secret, with the result announced afterward.
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“Had defense counsel not abdicated his role, the jurors would have learned that Mr. Pye is intellectually disabled and has an IQ of 68,” Pye’s public defenders wrote in their clemency application.
“They also would have learned the challenges he faced from birth — profound poverty, neglect, constant violence and chaos in his family home — foreclosed the possibility of healthy development,” they wrote. “This is precisely the kind of evidence that supports a life sentence verdict.”
Pye’s lawyers also cited severe problems in the Spalding County justice system in the 1990s and said that Pye has been a positive influence on those around him while he’s been in prison.
A judge on Feb. 29, 2024, signed the order for the execution of Willie James Pye, pictured here, who was convicted of murder and other crimes in the November 1993 killing of Alicia Lynn Yarbrough. The execution is set for March 20 at 7 p.m. (Georgia Department of Corrections via AP)
Pye had been in an on-and-off romantic relationship with Yarbrough. At the time she was killed, Yarbrough was living with another man. Pye, Chester Adams and a 15-year-old boy had planned to rob that man and bought a handgun before heading to a party in Griffin, prosecutors have said.
The trio left the party around midnight and went to the house where Yarbrough lived, finding her alone with her baby. They forced their way into the house, stole a ring and necklace from Yarbrough and took her with them when they left, leaving the baby alone, prosecutors have said.
They drove to a motel, where they took turns raping Yarbrough and then left the motel with her in the teenager’s car, prosecutors have said. They turned onto a dirt road and Pye ordered Yarbrough out of the car, made her lie face down and shot her three times, according to court filings.
Yarbrough’s body was found a few hours after she was killed. Pye, Adams and the teenager were quickly arrested. Pye and Adams denied knowing anything about Yarbrough’s death, but the teenager confessed and implicated the other two.
The teenager reached a plea agreement with prosecutors and was the main witness at Pye’s trial. A jury in June 1996 found Pye guilty of murder, kidnapping, armed robbery, rape and burglary, and sentenced him to death.
Pye’s lawyers have argued in court filings that other statements the teen made are inconsistent with what he said at Pye’s trial. Those statements, as well as statements Pye made during trial, indicate that Yarbrough left the home willingly and went to the motel to trade sex for drugs, the lawyers said in court filings.
Pye’s lawyers also wrote in court filings that Pye was raised in extreme poverty in a home without indoor plumbing or access to sufficient food, shoes or clothing. His childhood was characterized by neglect and abuse by family members who abused alcohol, his lawyers wrote.
His lawyers also argued that Pye suffered from brain damage, potentially caused by fetal alcohol syndrome, that harmed his ability to plan and control his impulses. They also argue that he is intellectually disabled and is therefore ineligible for execution, citing the findings of several experts who evaluated him.
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Pye’s lawyers have long argued that he should be resentenced because his trial lawyer didn’t adequately prepare for the sentencing phase of his trial. A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with Pye’s lawyers in April 2021. But the full federal appeals court overturned that ruling in October 2022.
Adams, now 55, pleaded guilty in April 1997 to charges of malice murder, kidnapping with bodily injury, armed robbery, rape and aggravated sodomy. He got five consecutive life prison sentences and remains behind bars.
Georgia’s last execution was in January 2020.
Georgia
Mom says viral video shows her being booted from Georgia restaurant for breastfeeding her baby
Aris Kopiec says she felt “belittled” after capturing video of a man yelling at her holding her sleeping baby inside Toccoa Riverside Restaurant. (Credit: @ariskopes/Instagram)
A Florida mother says a man she believed to be the owner of a popular riverside restaurant in Georgia yelled at her and ordered her to leave after she breastfed her infant — an encounter she says she recorded on her cellphone that shows a man shouting, “Get on out of here!”
The incident happened at Toccoa Riverside Restaurant in Blue Ridge, according to Aris Kopiec, and has since spread widely online, reigniting scrutiny of the business’ treatment of young families.
Kopiec told FOX Business she was dining with her husband, three young daughters — ages 4, 2 and 4 months — and family friends when her baby began to cry.
She said she latched her infant, covered up immediately, and ensured she was fully concealed from the view of anyone except her own table.
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The Kopiec family dined at the Toccoa Riverside Restaurant together with friends before the viral video incident happened. (Courtesy of Shyla Shoots / Fox News)
“The only people who could see me were at my table,” she said. “I covered myself immediately.”
Kopiec said she pulled her shirt back down and was preparing to take her older children outside when she bumped into either a chair or another guest in the crowded enclosed porch area. That, she says, is when the restaurant’s owner stepped toward her.
“He looked at me and said, ‘You can’t do that here,’” Kopiec recalled. “I wasn’t even breastfeeding at that point. I was holding my baby in one arm and helping my kids with the other. He wouldn’t let me get any words out. He kept saying, ‘I have to protect my restaurant. You need to go to a corner.’”
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A mother says she recorded a Georgia restaurant’s owner shouting at her after she breastfed her child. (@ariskopes via Instagram / Fox News)
Kopiec said she and her friend took the older children outside to wait while their spouses paid inside. Kopiec said staff apologized to the men in the group, but not to her.
She said when she returned to gather her belongings, the confrontation escalated. She said she calmly informed the man she claims is the owner that Georgia law explicitly protects breastfeeding in public places.
“I just told him, if he wanted to protect his restaurant, he should follow the law,” she said. “That’s when he lost his mind.”
Kopiec said the man refused to give his name. After her friend mentioned having his photograph, Kopiec began recording.
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Kopiec told FOX Business that staff at the restaurant apologized to her husband and her friend’s husband, but not her. (Courtesy of Shyla Shoots / Fox News)
In the video she shared with FOX Business, a man standing behind the counter shouts, “Get on out of here!” as Kopiec holds her infant in her arms.
“It was so aggressive,” she said. “I knew I had to get my kids out of there.”
Kopiec left the restaurant shaken.
“Honestly, I felt like I was in the wrong,” she said. “My instinct was to apologize. But then I reminded myself — women have a legal right to breastfeed. I did nothing wrong.”
Public records and local business listings confirm 67-year-old Tim Richter as the owner of Toccoa Riverside Restaurant. In September, a spotlight from the Fannin County Chamber of Commerce via Facebook also identified Richter as the longtime owner and praised the restaurant’s hospitality, a characterization many online commenters have contrasted sharply with the tone in the new viral video.
In a phone call with FOX Business, a man who identified himself as the restaurant’s owner declined to confirm whether he is the individual shown in the video. He defended the business, saying, “I’ve had the restaurant for thirty-three years. We’ve been breastfeeding for thirty-three years,” and claimed the incident had been “staged for clicks.”
Toccoa Riverside Restaurant did not provide any further comment.
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Aris Kopiec said she never felt so “belittled” as when the man she believes to be the owner of Toccoa Riverside Restaurant yelled at her for feeding her baby. (Courtesy of Shyla Shoots / Fox News)
Georgia law states that a mother may breastfeed “in any location where the mother and baby are otherwise authorized to be,” protecting nursing mothers from being removed or restricted for feeding their children.
Etiquette expert and author Alison Cheperdak told FOX Business the filmed confrontation raises serious concerns. Cheperdak’s etiquette book for everyday situations, “Was it Something I Said?” is set to publish early next spring.
“Breastfeeding is natural and legally protected,” Cheperdak said. “Hospitality is about care, not confrontation, and raising one’s voice at a guest is never acceptable.”
She added that a mother owes no apology for feeding her child.
“A calm explanation is appropriate, but the responsibility is on the restaurant to treat her with respect,” she said. “Even if a restaurant wants a quieter atmosphere, policies should never undermine basic respect for families.”
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A Georgia restaurant implemented a surcharge for “adults unable to parent,” on their menu. (WAGAweb)
Local Atlanta outlets, as well as Food and Wine, reported in 2023 that Toccoa Riverside raised eyebrows for posting an “adult surcharge” for parents deemed “unable to parent,” sparking backlash from families who said they had been reprimanded for their children’s behavior.
A FOX 5 Atlanta report on the surcharge controversy said parents claimed the owner had scolded their children and allegedly made a 3-year-old cry.
Kopiec said she hopes the attention leads to positive change. “Every nursing mom deserves to feel safe feeding her baby,” she said. “We have a legal right to breastfeed, period.”
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As for the restaurant, she said she has chosen not to hold onto anger. “I’ve chosen to forgive,” she said. “But I would really like to see them welcome breastfeeding moms.”
The video continues to circulate widely online, where commenters are debating breastfeeding protections and the treatment of young mothers and infants in public spaces.
No. 6 Ole Miss (11-1, 7-1 SEC) will host the Tulane Green Wave at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium next Saturday in what will be the Rebels’ College Football Playoff debut.
After a historic 2025 campaign for the program in Oxford, Pete Golding and Co. will have home-field advantage in the first-round of the College Football Playoff against a fiery Tulane squad.
“I think this is something that this program is going to be the expectation moving forward. That’s something that I’m used to,” head coach Pete Golding said.
“That’s something when you invest a lot into programs and you’re aligned from the top down, from the chancellor to the athletic director to the head football coach to a really good growth collective led by Walker Jones and your elite, really good players, this should be the norm.”
With all eyes on the first-round showdown, the winner of the Dec. 20 matchup will hit the road to New Orleans (La.) to take on the Georgia Bulldogs in the Sugar Bowl at the Caesars SuperDome the following weekend.
Which way does ESPN see the first-round matchup going? Who will take on the Georgia Bulldogs on Dec. 27?
The Game Information: College Football Playoff
Matchup: Ole Miss Rebels vs. Tulane Green Wave
Kickoff Time: 2:30 p.m. CT
Venue: Vaught-Hemingway Stadium
TV Channel: TNT
Radio: Ole Miss Sports Radio Network
Ole Miss Rebels Record: 11-1 (7-1 SEC)
Tulane Green Wave Record: 11-2 (7-1 AAC)
Odds, Spread and Total: College Football PlayoffEmpty heading
Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook
Spread
- Ole Miss: -17.5 (-105)
- Tulane Green Wave: +17.5 (-115)
Moneyline
- Ole Miss: -900
- Tulane Green Wave: +590
Total
- Over 56.5 (-114)
- Under 56.5 (-106)
Ole Miss is currently listed as 17.5-point favorites in the program’s College Football Playoff debut against the Tulane Green Wave.
The over/under for the matchup sits at 56.5 with the Ole Miss offense looking to wreak havoc against the Green Wave.
According to the ESPN Football Power Index, the Ole Miss Rebels have a 84 percent chance to take down the Tulane Green Wave and advance to the quarterfinal round against the Georgia Bulldogs.
On the other side, Jon Sumrall and the Green Wave have a 16 percent chance of pulling off the upset with the program eyeing an opportunity to move on to the next round in the Sugar Bowl at the Caesars SuperDome in New Orleans (La.)
ESPN currently believes that the Ole Miss Rebels and Georgia Bulldogs will square off in the Sugar Bowl at the Caesars SuperDome.
First-Round Games:
No. 12 James Madison at No. 5 Oregon | 7:30 p.m. ET Saturday, Dec. 20
No. 11 Tulane at No. 6 Ole Miss | 3:30 p.m. ET, Saturday, Dec. 20 on TNT, truTV, HBO Max
No. 10 Miami at No. 7 Texas A&M | Noon ET, Saturday, Dec. 20
No. 9 Alabama at No. 8 Oklahoma | 8 p.m. ET, Friday, Dec. 19
Quarterfinals:
No. 1 Indiana vs. winner of No. 8 Oklahoma/No. 9 Alabama | 4 p.m. ET, Thursday, Jan. 1
No. 2 Ohio State vs. winner of No. 7 Texas A&M vs. No. 10 Miami | 7:30 p.m. ET, Wednesday, Dec. 31
No. 3 Georgia vs. winner of No. 6 Ole Miss/No. 11 Tulane | 8 p.m. ET, Thursday, Jan. 1
No. 4 Texas Tech vs. winner of No. 5 Oregon/No. 12 James Madison | Noon ET, Thursday, Jan. 1
More Ole Miss News:
Lane Kiffin Reacts to New Offensive Coordinator Being Hired By Ole Miss Football
Ole Miss Football QB Trinidad Chambliss Wins Major Award Amid Breakout Season
ESPN Predicts Outcome of Ole Miss Football vs. Tulane Green Wave in CFP Showdown
Join the Community:
Follow Zack Nagy on Twitter: @znagy20 and Ole Miss Rebels On SI: @OleMissOnSI for all coverage surrounding the Ole Miss program.
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Georgia center Somto Cyril goes up for a dunk during the first half against Cincinnati in their NCAA basketball game in the Holiday Hoopsgiving at State Farm Arena, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, in Atlanta. Georgia won 84-65. (Jason Getz/AJC)
By Olivia Sayer
6 hours ago
When Georgia basketball took the court Saturday afternoon at State Farm Arena, it resembled a team who had not faced another opponent in 11 days.
The Bulldogs came out lackadaisical with more turnovers than successful shots in the game’s first two minutes and faced an 11-point deficit before halftime.
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