TAKE ACTION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

Tell Alabama Governor Kay Ivey to Commute Rocky Myers’ Death Sentence

Rocky Myers, a Black man, has been on death row in Alabama, USA, since 1994. A nearly all-white jury convicted and sentenced him to life without the possibility of parole for the murder of his white neighbor. The trial judge overrode their decision and imposed a death sentence — a practice now outlawed in Alabama.

In the U.S., the horrible truth is that race is the single biggest predictor of who will be given a death sentence. Black defendants are 7.5 times more likely to be wrongfully convicted of murder than white defendants.

Rocky Myers is one of the people who has been treated more harshly by the justice system at every turn, simply because of his race.

Rocky Myers grew up in New Jersey in poverty. At 11, he was diagnosed with an intellectual disability. His assigned lawyer for post-conviction appeals abandoned his case without notice, making him miss key deadlines for judicial appeals.

Key testimonies against him were tainted by inconsistencies and allegations of police pressure, with one later recanted as untrue. Rocky Myers faced execution in 2004 and 2012.

ACT NOW: Tell the Governor of Alabama to address all flaws in his case and commute his death sentence.

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Governor

Kay

Ivey

Governor

Dear Governor Ivey,

I am greatly concerned by the many flaws that have affected the case of Rocky Myers, who is currently on death row at Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Alabama. I urge you to intervene and ensure that his case is immediately reviewed and the death sentence commuted, ending the injustice that has tarnished Rocky Myers’ case for more than a quarter of a century.

Rocky Myers was convicted by a nearly all-white jury who sentenced him to life without the possibility of parole for the murder of his white neighbour. The trial judge overrode their decision and imposed a death sentence – a practice now outlawed in Alabama. No evidence linked him to the murder of which he was convicted, except for a VCR stolen from the victim, which he maintains he had found abandoned in the street. Key testimonies against him were tainted by inconsistencies and allegations of police pressure, with one later recanted as untrue.

Aged 11, Rocky Myers was diagnosed with an intellectual disability and reads at primary school level. His assigned lawyer for post-conviction appeals abandoned his case without notice, making him miss key deadlines for judicial appeals. The courts relied primarily on IQ tests, a standard which the US Supreme Court found to be inadequate in 2014, to reject his request for a deadline extension submitted on the grounds that he is a person with an intellectual disability. Racial and class bias also affected the proceedings against him.

Rocky Myers faced execution in 2004 and 2012. As the Governor of Alabama, you can use the power of clemency to alleviate the flaws in the case against him that the criminal justice system could not address and even heightened. I urge you to halt all executions in the state and conduct a review of the case of Rocky Myers as well as of others on death row including those affected by similar concerns, with a view to commuting their death sentences.

Yours sincerely,

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