Alabama Gov.Kay Ivey, a Republican, commuted the sentence of a death row inmate on Tuesday after the current Jefferson County district attorney and several former judges and prosecutors raised concerns about his conviction.The governor said she was commuting Toforest Johnson’s death sentence to life in prison without parole.
Johnson, who has long maintained his innocence, was convicted in the 1995 murder of Jefferson County Deputy Sheriff William Hardy.He remains incarcerated at the Holman Correctional Facility."When presented with Mr.
Johnson’s case, I had concerns there was not enough direct evidence to carry out the most serious punishment, death," Ivey said in a statement."My decision is not a determination of innocence, but a recognition that the circumstances of this case justify commuting his death sentence to life imprisonment, without possibility of parole."Ivey has commuted the death sentences of three death row inmates since she became governor in 2017.
She has also overseen 27 executions during her tenure, which will end in January because she is term-limited and cannot run for re-election.GOP GOV DEWINE URGES OHIO TO ABOLISH THE DEATH PENALTY, SAYS IT IS NO LONGER A DETERRENTToforest Johnson (right) poses for a photo with his son, Robby Foster.(Johnson Family via AP)The governor spared his life despite Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall urging her last week to reject the clemency request and "respect the jury's decision" and the rulings of the courts reviewing Johnson's case.On July 19, 1995, Hardy was shot twice in the head as he was working off-duty security outside a hotel in Birmingham.
Johnson said he was on the other side of the city when the shooting happened.One of Johnson’s attorneys, Ty Alper, said he and his client are grateful to Ivey for "diligently reviewing Toforest’s case and taking action to spare an innocent man from execution," but added that they will continue to fight to overturn the conviction."Toforest Johnson is ...