Georgia Code
Article 2 - Death Penalty Generally
§ 17-10-38. Death Sentences Generally

History. Ga. L. 1924, p. 195, § 1; Code 1933, § 27-2512; Ga. L. 1937-38, Ex. Sess., p. 330, § 1; Ga. L. 1985, p. 283, § 1; Ga. L. 2000, p. 947, § 3.
Editor’s notes.
Ga. L. 2000, p. 947, § 1, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that: “It is the intention of the General Assembly to provide for execution by lethal injection for persons sentenced to death after conviction of capital crimes committed on or after May 1, 2000. It is the further intention of the General Assembly that persons sentenced to death for crimes committed prior to the effective date of this Act be executed by lethal injection if the Supreme Court of the United States declares that electrocution violates the Constitution of the United States or if the Supreme Court of Georgia declares that electrocution violates the Constitution of the United States or the Constitution of Georgia.”
Ga. L. 2000, p. 947, § 6, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that: “Section 3 of this Act shall apply to persons sentenced to death for crimes committed on or after May 1, 2000. Code Section 17-10-38 as it existed prior to its amendment by Section 3 of this Act shall continue to apply with respect to crimes committed prior to May 1, 2000, except that Section 3 of this Act shall apply to all persons sentenced to death for crimes committed prior to May 1, 2000, if the Supreme Court of the United States declares that electrocution violates the Constitution of the United States or if the Supreme Court of Georgia declares that electrocution violates the Constitution of the United States or the Constitution of Georgia.”
Law reviews.
For article, “The Constitutional Right not to Kill,” see 62 Emory L.J. 121 (2012).
For comment, “Making the Murderer’s Voyeurs: The Influence of Violent Crime Exposure, Social Movements, and Desensitization on Georgia’s Treatment of the Death Penalty,” see 72 Mercer L. Rev. 883 (2021).

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