“I continue to have confidence in our system, so I’m hopeful and optimistic that Mr. Johnson will be given a new trial soon. Then no longer will we ask– in a case in which the evidence is so problematic that even the District Attorney and the trial prosecutor support a new trial – why, after twenty-four years, is Toforest Johnson still on death row?”

“As a lifelong defender of the death penalty, I do not lightly say what follows: An innocent man is trapped on Alabama’s death row.”

“It is the District Attorney’s position that, in the interest of justice. Mr. Johnson, who has spent more than two decades on death row, be granted a new trial.”

“We at Greater Birmingham Ministries understand that Mr. Johnson was convicted and sent to death row in the name of the people of Jefferson County and the State. We can’t stand idly by. A new trial would not only be justice for Mr. Johnson, it would be justice for us all.”

“Prosecutors, as officers of the court, have a duty of candor to the tribunal and an obligation to see justice done. In a situation like this, where a district attorney takes the unusual step of advocating for a new trial, we believe the courts should honor that request.”

“Alabama is poised to execute an innocent man unless the court intervenes.”

“While Carr could be considered brave to take this action—he will undoubtedly by criticized as soft on crime in some corners–it is undeniably right to reassess a capital conviction when the prosecutor who reviews the evidence and course of proceedings is left with concerns about whether justice was done.”

“I think we convicted an innocent man. I feel grief deep in my soul. I can’t imagine what this has been like for him and his family.”

“I feel sad for the victim’s family because they haven’t gotten any justice. They don’t have the right person in prison.”

“Mr. Johnson was convicted and sent to death row for a crime he had nothing to do with.”

“District Attorney Danny Carr’s new investigation provides an opportunity to act in the interest of justice and grant the request for a new trial.”