Overview

• Robin 'Rocky' Myers, convicted of a 1991 murder, will now serve life in prison without parole instead of facing execution.
• Governor Kay Ivey, a staunch supporter of the death penalty, made the decision due to questions about Myers' guilt and lack of physical evidence tying him to the crime scene.
• Myers' 1994 jury had recommended life without parole, but a judge overruled their decision and imposed a death sentence, a practice no longer allowed in Alabama.
• Ivey described the decision as one of the most difficult of her tenure, emphasizing the imperfections of the justice system while acknowledging the suffering of the victim's family.
• The Alabama Supreme Court had recently authorized Myers' execution by nitrogen hypoxia, with the next step being the governor's scheduling of the execution.