MONTGOMERY, Ala. — In a pivotal move Friday, Governor Kay Ivey of Alabama altered the fate of Robin “Rocky” Myers by commuting his death sentence to life imprisonment. Expressing concerns about Myers’ culpability, Ivey asserted that the lingering uncertainties led her to halt the planned execution.
Myers, aged 63, will now serve a life sentence without the chance of parole, aligning with the original jury’s 1994 recommendation. Despite being an advocate of capital punishment, the Republican governor admitted, “I have enough questions about Mr. Myers’ guilt that I cannot move forward with executing him.”
She explained, “While I am not fully convinced of Mr. Myers’ innocence, I am also not wholly convinced of his guilt. Therefore, I must respect the jury’s decision to convict him alongside its suggestion for life imprisonment without parole.”
Myers faced conviction for the 1991 murder of 69-year-old Ludie Mae Tucker, brutally stabbed in Decatur. Claiming innocence since, Myers’ defense found some backing from a juror in his trial, fueling his clemency plea.
The decision met resistance from Alabama’s Republican Attorney General Steve Marshall, who labeled the governor’s move as “astonishing.” Following a recent Alabama Supreme Court nod for execution scheduling, Myers was to face execution by nitrogen gas, subject to Ivey’s timing.
Governor Ivey, who commenced office in 2017, has presided over more than 20 executions, making the suspension of this one a formidable decision. “It’s one of the toughest decisions I’ve made as governor,” Ivey expressed. She extended hope that the closure of this case would grant peace to Tucker’s family, despite the unresolved nature of the crime.
Myers’ attorney argued that the case bore numerous unresolved issues. No direct forensic trace tied him to Tucker’s assault. Notably, Tucker’s description of her assailant as a short, stocky Black man did not identify Myers, despite their acquaintance, according to Myers’ son. Jurors had predominantly favored a life sentence with a 9-3 vote, but a judge ultimately pronounced a death sentence, a practice now discarded in Alabama’s judicial system.
Governor Ivey highlighted the case was fraught with “circumstantial evidence” and conflicting testimonies. Central to the conviction was whether or not Myers was involved in selling a VCR taken from Tucker’s residence, according to court documents.
Juror Mae Puckett, who now advocates Myers’ innocence, welcomed Ivey’s intervention, marking it as divine response to prayer and writing, “Governor Ivey put it back into the jury’s hands.”
Myers’ legal representative, Kacey Keeton, noted significant procedural failings, including the mishandling by a previous attorney, which led to missed deadlines in federal appeals. Myers was convicted by an almost all-white jury, raising concerns of racial bias.
Keeton expressed immense gratitude, writing, “I’m not sure there are words enough to convey my joy, relief, and gratitude at learning of Gov. Ivey’s decision to commute Mr. Myers’s sentence.” Representing Myers since 2007, Keeton takes this commutation as a belated recognition of injustice and a deeper call for mercy and humanity.
The last such commutation from an Alabama governor was in 1999. Despite Attorney General Marshall’s prior urgings to proceed with the execution, he lamented the lack of direct communication from the governor regarding this decision. “I am astonished by Governor Ivey’s decision… and am bewildered that she chose not to directly communicate with me about this case or her decision,” Marshall stated, expressing his staff’s sorrow for Tucker’s family.
