Alabama Governor Commutes Death Sentence of Toforest Johnson
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, commuted the death sentence of Toforest Johnson to life in prison without parole. A commutation reduces a sentence without overturning the underlying conviction, and "without parole" means Johnson will not be eligible for release on parole, a supervised early release from prison. The Guardian reported the decision.
Johnson was sentenced to death in 1998 for the 1995 killing of William Hardy, a deputy sheriff in Jefferson County, Alabama. Hardy was shot twice in the head while working off-duty security at a hotel. Johnson has spent more than 25 years on death row.
In a statement, Ivey said she had concerns that there was not enough direct evidence to carry out the death penalty against Johnson. She said her decision was not a determination that he is innocent. As governor, Ivey has overseen 27 executions and has commuted the death sentences of three death row inmates.
The case has drawn sustained questions about its evidence. According to The Guardian, no physical evidence tied Johnson to the Hardy killing, and more than 10 witnesses placed him on the other side of town during the shooting. The key prosecution witness at the 1998 trial was paid $5,000 in 2001 for her testimony, and Johnson's lawyers argue the state withheld evidence of that payment. Alabama Reflector reported that major questions have been raised about the credibility of a witness or evidence in the case.
The Jefferson County District Attorney, Danny Carr, has also taken a position. Carr filed a brief in May 2024 asking a circuit judge to grant Johnson a new trial, and in March 2025 prosecutors and criminal justice advocates publicly backed that call. Carr has now called for Johnson's conviction to be overturned, saying the foundation of the conviction has disintegrated. Former Alabama attorney general Bill Baxley, former Alabama chief justices Sonny Hornsby and Drayton Nabers, and several former judges and prosecutors have also supported a new trial.
Johnson's attorney, Ty Alper, said Johnson is innocent. Alper said the effort to overturn the conviction and obtain a new trial will continue through the courts.
