An Alabama man convicted of murdering a deputy in 1995 has received a last-minute reprieve after Governor Kay Ivey commuted his death sentence, citing evidence she said was insufficient to justify execution.
Toforest Johnson had spent decades on Alabama’s death row for the killing of Jefferson County Deputy William Hardy. On Tuesday, Ivey spared him from execution in a major development in a case that has faced growing scrutiny over the years.
Hardy was shot twice in the head while working off-duty as a security guard at a hotel. Johnson has consistently maintained that he was at a nightclub when the shooting took place.
No physical evidence connected Johnson to the murder, while more than 10 witnesses testified that he was on the other side of town at the time. However, during Johnson’s 1998 trial, one witness said she overheard a telephone conversation in which a man she believed to be Johnson admitted to the crime.
The woman was paid $5,000 in 2001 for her testimony. Johnson’s attorneys argue that prosecutors withheld evidence showing she had a financial motive to testify.
Danny Carr, the Jefferson County district attorney who originally prosecuted the case, has repeatedly called for Johnson’s conviction to be overturned.
Johnson has remained on death row since 1998, while his conviction has been challenged by innocence advocates, podcasters and current and former legal officials. His attorneys and high-profile supporters, including Kim Kardashian, have also argued that he is innocent.
For his daughter, Akeriya Terry, the governor’s decision marks a breakthrough after a lifetime spent fighting to save her father.
Toforest Johnson, who spent nearly three decades behind bars, has received a last-minute reprieve and been spared execution.
Johnson was convicted of murdering Jefferson County Deputy William Hardy in 1995. Hardy was shot and killed while working as an off-duty security guard.
Johnson’s family and legal team continue to fight for his release, determined to reunite him with his daughter, Akeriya Terry (left), who has spent much of her life campaigning on his behalf.
“I was like, ‘OK, somebody’s listening. We’re making some moves, we’re making some waves,’” Terry said, tears of joy streaming down her face after she received the news.
Ivey said she had reviewed the case and concluded that the evidence did not support imposing the death penalty.
The governor’s decision does not mean Johnson has been released or that his murder conviction has been overturned.
“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 said.
For Terry, however, the reprieve directly addressed the central argument she and other supporters have made throughout their years-long campaign.
“I’m going to cry, because that’s what we’ve been saying this whole time: there’s nothing there that would tie him to this case,” she said.
Terry was still a young girl when her father was sent to prison. Much of her life has been shaped by letters, phone calls and visits with him behind glass.
Even through his incarceration, she said, Johnson has remained the father she can turn to when she needs him most.
“If I have a problem, I can call him and he can just talk me off the ledge,” she said.
‘Having a father in prison but still be an active father is something I just praise him the most for.’
Kay Ivey, the Alabama governor, who has overseen 27 executions during her time in the role, commuted Johnson’s sentence to life in prison without parole. Her decision on Tuesday comes shortly after another Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, cancelled a planned execution for the first time earlier this month
For years, the possibility of an execution has overshadowed the family’s hopes of one day being reunited. Now, Terry says she no longer wakes up with the same fear that the governor could set a date for her father’s death
For years, the family has lived with the looming fear that an execution date could be set. Now, Terry says, that immediate dread has been lifted – although her fight to bring her father home is far from over.
Through decades of uncertainty, she has clung to one small ritual: making a wish whenever she sees a redbird.
Since elementary school, Terry says she has blown a kiss towards the birds and wished for the same thing – her father’s freedom.
‘Just look at a redbird still and just keep hope alive,’ she said. ‘Just praying and wishing that all of this will come to an end soon.’
After around 25 years of making that wish, she believes it may finally be within reach.
‘My wish is making its way, because we’re almost to the finish line,’ she said.
His attorneys have welcomed the commutation and vowed to continue fighting until he is reunited with his family.
Ty Alper, one of Johnson’s attorneys, said they are grateful to Ivey for ‘diligently reviewing Toforest’s case and taking action to spare an innocent man from execution’.
Alper said the fight to overturn the conviction will continue.
‘Toforest Johnson is innocent. Now it is up to the courts to overturn his conviction and grant him a new trial. We will keep fighting until he is home with his family,’ Alper said.
There has been a years-long legal effort to win a new trial in the case that has garnered national attention, including support from Kim Kardashian
For Terry, the struggle began so early that she cannot remember a time when she was not fighting for her father.
‘It’s just been a long fight, and this is just the beginning, getting this news today, so we’re going to keep fighting.’
