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Alabama Governor Kay Ivey on Tuesday commuted the death sentence of Toforest Johnson to life in prison without parole.
Johnson was convicted in 1998 of the 1995 killing of Jefferson County Deputy Sheriff William Hardy, who was working off-duty security at a Birmingham hotel when he was shot twice in the head. Johnson has maintained his innocence, saying he was elsewhere in the city at the time of the shooting.
Ivey said the commutation was not a finding that Johnson was innocent. She cited the circumstances of the case and what she described as insufficient direct evidence to proceed with an execution.
Jefferson County District Attorney Danny Carr supported Johnson’s request for a new trial in a 2024 court filing, saying credible alibi witnesses placed Johnson elsewhere and that the prosecution’s evidence had weakened over time. Questions have also centered on a key trial witness who said she overheard a confession during a phone call and later received a $5,000 reward; defense lawyers have argued that the state withheld evidence of a financial incentive.
Johnson’s attorney, Ty Alper, said the defense would continue seeking to overturn the conviction and obtain a new trial. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall had urged Ivey to reject the clemency request, according to the governor’s office.
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