Governor Kay Ivey Tuesday commuted Toforest Johnson’s death sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole, pulling a Birmingham man off death row after nearly three decades for the 1995 murder of Jefferson County Deputy Sheriff William Hardy.
This is the third death sentence Ivey has commuted since taking office in 2017, after Rocky Myers in February 2025 and Charles “Sonny” Burton in March.
Before Myers, no Alabama governor had done it since Fob James spared Judith Ann Neelley in January 1999. Ivey has called that one a mistake. She has also signed off on more executions than any governor in modern Alabama history.
Nobody gets to call her soft.
“Throughout my tenure as governor, we have ensured justice could effectively be delivered through capital punishment. And that will continue,” Ivey said.
“In the 27 executions I have overseen, I have said we review each case with careful consideration, taking into account all the facts. When presented with Mr. Johnson’s case, I had concerns there was not enough direct evidence to carry out the most serious punishment, death. 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.”
Hardy was off duty, working security at a hotel in Birmingham, when he was shot and killed in July 1995. Johnson was convicted in 1998. No physical evidence tied him to the shooting.
The state’s case leaned on a woman who said she overheard Johnson confess on a jailhouse phone call and who collected a $5,000 reward the defense never knew about. The prosecutor who tried the case has since said the conviction should not stand, and Jefferson County District Attorney Danny Carr, a Democrat, backed a new trial in 2020.
Ivey did not give Johnson a new trial. She did not say he was innocent. She said the state should not kill a man on that record, and left him to die in prison.
“Capital punishment is too important of a tool for Alabama to not approach it carefully and seriously,” Ivey said.
“Mr. Johnson will serve the remainder of his life behind bars for the senseless murder of Deputy Sheriff William Hardy. No doubt, he is paying the price. Today, I pray for Deputy Sheriff Hardy’s loved ones. Deputy Sheriff Hardy died a hero, working hard to protect his fellow citizens.”
Ivey notified a member of Hardy’s family before acting, notified Attorney General Steve Marshall, and thanked his Capital Litigation Division for defending the conviction over many years.
Grayson Everett is the editor in chief of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @Grayson270.
