As a former state prosecutor, Circuit Judge, and twice elected Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, I believe in law and order.
Throughout my long career in criminal law I have experienced many capital cases and have always applied the law as written. I am not against capital punishment and believe that one who intentionally and with malice aforethought takes the life of another, deserves to suffer death under our law.
As Sir William Blackstone wrote, by the command of Noah, “whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed,” Genesis 9:6 and the apostle Paul in Romans 13:4 recognized that rulers “beareth not the sword in vain.” I have defended that authority and will continue to do so.
But in Alabama we have a problem. It is my understanding that approximately 26 individuals remain on death row whose sentence was for life without parole by a jury, which sentence was overridden by the Trial Court Judge who sentenced the defendant to death, a practice known as “judicial override.”
In 2017 the Alabama legislature abolished the practice by which a single judge could set aside a jury verdict for life and impose the death penalty in a capital case. However, the legislature did not make that decision retroactive.
As I stated, I believe in the law, but I also believe that the law should be applied fairly. Today, if an individual is convicted of a capital offense by a jury and the jury recommends life without parole, a single judge cannot overturn that recommendation and sentence the individual to death. Yet 26 individuals remain on death row sentenced to death by a judge who decided to overturn the sentence imposed by the jury. That is no longer the law.
As a former judge and Chief Justice, I believe that the right to trial by jury is one of our most valuable rights, and indeed a palladium of liberty and free government.
This is not a political issue, but an issue of life itself. This is not a Republican or Democrat, Liberal or Conservative, left or right problem. I support the death penalty and will continue to do so, but only when given by a jury, which should have the last word.
Judicial override has been abolished by our legislature as an infringement upon our right to a jury trial. If it was wrong in 2017 for a trial judge to overturn a jury recommendation of life without parole, it is wrong to condemn 26 individuals who were denied that right prior to 2017.
I assume the law is right, but to restrict the application of that law to those who were denied that right with regard to an earlier sentence is morally wrong.
We are one people under God, blessed by the United States Constitution with liberty and justice for all, let’s act as if we truly believe that.
Petition your Legislature to do what is right under our law and restore the sentence imposed by a jury of life without parole, to those condemned to death by “Judicial override” prior to 2017.
Roy S. Moore is a former Alabama Circuit Court judge and twice served as Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court. A retired state prosecutor with decades of experience in criminal law, he has been an outspoken voice on judicial and constitutional issues throughout his career.
