For the first time, Alabama governor commutes a death sentence

In a first, Gov. Kay Ivey of Alabama, an ardent supporter of capital punishment, commuted the death sentence of an intellectually disabled man convicted of murder on Friday.

In a first, Gov. Kay Ivey of Alabama, an ardent supporter of capital punishment, commuted the death sentence of an intellectually disabled man convicted of murder on Friday.

She said there wasn't enough evidence to support killing Robin "Rocky" Myers but there wasn't enough evidence to free him, either.

"I am not convinced that Mr. Myers is innocent, but I am not so convinced of his guilt as to approve of his execution," the governor said in a statement.

Prosecutors alleged that on Oct. 4, 1991, Myers went to a Decatur home, stabbed two people, killing Ludie Mae Tucker, then left with a VHS machine he later traded for crack cocaine.

Alabama death row inmate Robin “Rocky” Myers.Alabama Department of Corrections via AP fileThe victims, including Tucker before she died, did not identify Myers, but police didn't believe his story that he found that VHS machine, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/alabama-death-sentence-kay-ivey-robin-rocky-myers-rcna194308

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