Jefferson County District Attorney Danny Carr has filed a brief expressing support for a new trial for death row inmate Toforest Johnson. Carr argues that a review of the case found that the 1998 conviction was flawed and cannot be justified. Johnson has been on Alabama's death row since 1998 after being convicted of the 1995 killing of Jefferson County Deputy Sheriff William Hardy. Carr states that credible alibi witnesses place Johnson elsewhere at the time of the crime and raises doubts about the key prosecution witness's account. The filing is the latest development in the ongoing legal effort to win a new trial for Johnson, which has garnered national attention and is the subject of a podcast. Former Alabama Attorney General Bill Baxley, former Chief Justice Drayton Nabers, and several former judges and prosecutors have also expressed support for a new trial. The Alabama attorney general's office has not responded to the latest filing. Johnson's daughter, Shanaye Poole, hopes that the courts will agree with Carr's support for a new trial. The Alabama Supreme Court upheld a lower court's decision denying a separate request for a new trial in 2022. [973fc893]
Alabama will forgo an autopsy on Keith Gavin, a Muslim death row inmate, who sued the state to avoid an 'invasive autopsy' following his execution by lethal injection. Gavin argued that an autopsy would violate his religious beliefs and Alabama state law. The Alabama Department of Corrections confirmed that no autopsy will be performed and Gavin's remains will be picked up by the funeral home. The lawsuit sought to prevent the defendants from performing the autopsy and to respect Gavin's constitutional rights and religious beliefs. The Council on American-Islamic Relations called on Alabama officials to accept Gavin's request, stating that autopsies are generally viewed as impermissible mutilation in Islamic beliefs. Alabama has faced scrutiny over its executions after multiple failed lethal injections in 2022. [1fa407fb]