Crime & Safety
GA High Court Reverses Ruling Staying Executions Under Pandemic Deal
The GA Supreme Court's ruling could impact a man convicted of killing an 8-year-old girl and raping her 10-year-old friend.
Georgia's high court has reversed a ruling that stayed the execution of a man convicted of killing a young girl and raping her friend 50 years ago in Cobb County.
The Georgia Supreme Court on Tuesday returned a case concerning the execution of Virgil Presnell Jr. to a trial court after voting that a specific condition of a pandemic agreement has been met.
The court released its near-unanimous decision in a 19-page opinion. Two justices were disqualified, and another did not participate in the vote.
Find out what's happening in Atlantafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The agreement, made between defense attorneys and the Georgia Attorney's General Office, reportedly set in place conditions that had to be met for a prisoner's execution to continue, the Associated Press previously reported.
Conditions reportedly included: the expiration of the state’s COVID-19 judicial emergency, the resumption of normal visitation at state prisons and the availability of a COVID-19 vaccine “to all members of the public.”
Find out what's happening in Atlantafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The Supreme Court has ruled the vaccination requirement has been met as the COVID-19 is now "readily available," and stated the judicial emergency expired on June 30, 2021.
The issue of visitation at Georgia prisons had not been litigated as of Tuesday, according to the high court.
The execution of Presnell was one of a number cases folded into the agreement. The Supreme Court noted the execution of Willie Pye, who was convicted of killing two real estate agents at a model home in Cobb.
Pye's execution was halted due to the agreement in December 2025, but the court stated he was ultimately executed after being denied clemency in 2024.
Presnell's Conviction
Presnell was convicted in August 1976 of kidnapping and attacking two girls as they walked home from school on May 4, 1976 in Cobb.
He was convicted of killing the 8-year-old girl and raping her 10-year-old friend.
Presnell was charged with malice murder, kidnapping and rape, and he was sentenced to death. In 1992, the death sentence was overturned, but it was reinstated in March 1999, WSB-TV reported at the time.
According to past court documents obtained by WAGA-TV, Presnell kidnapped the two girls as they walked home along a wooded trail from an elementary school. He drove them to a secluded wooded area and raped the 10-year-old girl.
The younger girl tried to run, but Presnell caught her and drowned her in a creek, the ruling says.
The 10-year-old girl was put in the trunk of his car and left in a wooded area when Presnell got a flat tire, WAGA-TV previously reported. The girl was able to escape and get help at a nearby gas station.
Police found him changing his tire at his apartment complex, reported the news station. Presnell denied the attacks at first, but then led police to the 8-year-old girl’s body and confessed, according to court documents shared by WAGA-TV.
It is unknown if, or when, the execution against Presnell will proceed.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
