According to the Washington Post, Toforest Johnson, 49, has been on death row for 24 years, despite strong evidence of his innocence and lack of involvement in the crime.
The conviction of the American man’s innocence reached the point where the Alabama Attorney General published an article defending Johnson’s innocence, saying he was not guilty, and calling for the death sentence to be overturned.
Johnson was convicted in 1998 of the 1995 murder that killed a policeman, while judicial officials say the investigations at the time were carried out randomly, and many suspects were questioned.
According to the sources, the violations of the investigations included obtaining inaccurate testimonies, as well as tempting some people with money to provide “testimonials to size”, while others suggested that Johnson was convicted of racist motives because he is of African origin.
Johnson was arrested along with a friend, because a girl who was with them on the night of the crime gave testimony on file, but the prosecution later concluded that she had lied at least 300 times and was in conflict with her statements.
Johnson’s friend was not convicted of the murder, after the two men were tried separately, while judicial officials say that what happened in the two trials was very contradictory, which means that the trial was neither accurate nor fair.
At least 14 former judges and prosecutors have called for Johnson’s death sentence to be overturned, and among the claimants are two state Supreme Court justices.
The judicial official, who was a plaintiff against Johnson, called for the death sentence to be overturned, and this request was also directed by three judges who had participated in the conviction of the man sentenced to death.
Despite all these indications in favor of Johnson, the man behind bars is still awaiting execution, amid repeated periodic delays, while the court considers that there is no compelling evidence to confirm that the man is innocent, even if some defects have marred the trial.
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