Johnson has been on death row since 1998 when he was convicted of capital murder for the death of Jefferson County Deputy William Hardy.

A group of former Alabama state and federal prosecutors, including a former Attorney General and a former U.S. Senator, filed a new brief Wednesday asking a Jefferson County judge to grant Alabama death row inmate Toforest Johnson a new trial.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has announced the commutation of Robin “Rocky” Myers from death row to life in prison without parole, marking the second time since the death penalty was reinstated in the state in 1976 that a sitting governor has commuted a death sentence.