Alabama activists rally to retroactively abolish judicial override in death penalty cases

Amnesty International and the ACLU of Alabama held a rally at the Alabama statehouse on Thursday in support of HB27, later marching to Gov. Kay Ivey‘s office to submit petitions calling for clemency for an inmate currently on death row.

Robin “Rocky” Meyers was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole in 1994 to death for murder. The trial judge then went over the jury and imposed a death sentence through judicial override.

LeAndrew Hood, Meyers’ son, said he believes the death penalty is wrong. “You just shouldn’t take another man or woman’s life,” he said. “My father was always there. He was a good man. He still is a good man.”

He said he knows his father is innocent.

In 2017, Alabama became the final state in the union to abolish judicial override through Senate Bill 16. The bill was not retroactive, leaving 33 individuals who received the death penalty through the process on death row.

Authored by Rep. Chris England, D- Tuscaloosa, HB27 would make judicial override in death penalty cases retroactive in the state, preventing Meyers and others who received the death penalty via judicial override prior its outlawing from being executed by the state.

“I had the honor of carrying legislation several years ago that ultimately ended up ending judicial override in Alabama,” England said at the rally. “If the entire state of Alabama regardless of party affiliation can come together and say that a judge should not be able to override a jury’s verdict when it comes to sentencing, justice demands us to afford those individuals who are still on death row who were there from a conditional override the opportunity to be recently.”

Kenneth Smith, who was executed via nitrogen hypoxia by the state of Alabama on Jan. 25 received the death penalty via judicial override in 1989.

“Kenny’s human rights to life, and his Eighth Amendment protection against cruel and unusual punishment was undoubtedly violated,” said TJ Riggs, Amnesty International’s Alabama State Death Penalty Abolition Coordinator. “His experience was considered by experts to be tantamount to torture.”

Addressing Ivey and the Alabama House of Representatives, Riggs said to “know that the world is watching you, and anything other than immediate change is an unacceptable affront to justice.”

Victor Hagan is the Alabama Election Reporting Fellow for the USA TODAY Network. He can be reached at vhagan@gannett.com or on X @TheVictorHagan. To support his work, subscribe to the Advertiser.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Activists rally to retroactively abolish judicial override in Alabama