Entries tagged with “Governor Kay Ivey”
Mar 03, 2025
Alabama Governor Grants Clemency to Robin ‘Rocky’ Myers, Sparing Him from Execution
On February 28, 2025, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey commuted the death sentence of Robin‘Rocky’ Dion Myers to Life Without Parole (LWOP). Myers was convicted in the 1991 murder of Ludie Mae Tucker in Decatur, Alabama. His jury recommended that he be sentenced to LWOP, but the judge in his case overrode the jury’s recommendation and handed down a death sentence. The practice of judicial override was abolished in Alabama in 2017. In her statement, Gov. Ivey repeated her…
Executions
Executions Overview
,Methods of Execution
,Nov 13, 2023
Alabama Schedules A Second Execution for Kenneth Smith, Using Nitrogen Gas for the First Time in U.S. History
On November 8, 2023, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey scheduled an execution date for Kenneth Smith, marking the first attempt by a U.S. state to use nitrogen gas in an execution. Mr. Smith was convicted of the 1988 murder-for-hire death of Elizabeth Sennett in Jefferson County, Alabama and has been on death row for nearly 34 years. Following the state Supreme Court’s 6 – 2 decision greenlighting Attorney General Steve Marshall’s request for an execution warrant, Gov. Ivey set…
Research
Religion
,New Voices
,Botched Executions
,Feb 13, 2023
Local Church Leaders Across Alabama Speak Out About State’s Death Penalty Process
In a letter to Governor Kay Ivey (pictured) of Alabama, over 170 local faith leaders from many denominations and traditions across the state asked her to commit to a“comprehensive, independent, and external review of Alabama’s death penalty procedures” in the wake of a series of botched executions. The church representatives thanked the governor for pausing executions but urged her to ensure transparency and independence in reviewing how Alabama…
Issues
Botched Executions
,Jan 25, 2023
Alabama Court Removes Key Appeal Protection for Death Sentenced Defendants
The Alabama Supreme Court announced a change to its rules of appellate procedure on January 12, 2023, eliminating automatic plain error review for trial errors in death penalty cases. This new rule removes a significant safeguard for capital defendants’ rights, which had been in place since Alabama reinstated the death penalty in 1976. Without the review, capital defendants who were erroneously convicted or sentenced could spend many more years on death row before…
Executions
Botched Executions
,Dec 15, 2022
Alabama Governor Asks State Supreme Court for More Time to Carry Out Executions
As part of her response to a series of botched executions, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey has sent a letter to the Alabama Supreme Court asking it to allow the Department of Corrections to extend the time within which executions can be carried out. Governor Ivey’s letter follows her November announcement of a“top-to-bottom review” of the state’s execution procedures. The letter offered no explanation of the execution teams’ length delays in…
Executions
Botched Executions
,Dec 09, 2022
Alabama Attorney General: “There Is No Moratorium” On the Death Penalty
During a December 5, 2022 press conference, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall (pictured) discussed the state’s review of its lethal injection process, rejecting the media’s characterization of it as a“moratorium” on executions and urging that the review be carried out quickly. Governor Kay Ivey announced a“top-to-bottom review” of the state’s execution protocol on November 21, 2022, after two executions in a two-month period had to be called off when…
Executions
Botched Executions
,Nov 23, 2022
Alabama Governor Halts Executions After Latest in Series of Execution Failures
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey (pictured) has halted executions and ordered a“top-to-bottom review” of the state’s execution procedures, five days after failures by corrections personnel to establish an intravenous execution line caused Alabama to call off the November 17, 2022 execution of Kenneth…