Convicted killer who spent decades on death row evades execution after governor intervenes as questions swirl around the murder

Alabama Governor Kay Ivey has commuted Toforest Johnson’s death sentence to life imprisonment without parole, sparing him from execution for the 1995 murder of Deputy William Hardy. The decision follows years of scrutiny over the conviction and the evidence used at trial, but Johnson remains in prison and has not been declared innocent.

Hardy was shot while working off duty as hotel security. Johnson’s lawyers point to the lack of physical evidence linking him to the killing and say more than 10 witnesses placed him elsewhere; the conviction relied in part on testimony from a woman who said she overheard an admission and was later paid $5,000. Ivey said the evidence did not justify the death penalty, while Johnson’s daughter and legal team continue to seek his release and challenge the conviction.