Outgoing Gov. James of Alabama Commutes Woman’s Death Sentence
In one of his final acts in office, Gov. Forrest “Fob” James Jr., commuted the death sentence Friday of a woman convicted in the slaying of a 13-year-old girl who was injected with drain cleaner, shot and thrown into a canyon.
James, who leaves office Monday, gave no reason for commuting 34-year-old Judith Ann Neelley’s sentence to life in prison. The governor was duck hunting when the decision was announced.
Neelley was convicted in one of Alabama’s most notorious crimes: the 1982 killing of Lisa Ann Millican. She was abducted from a Georgia shopping mall, sexually abused and tortured. Neelley was 18 at the time.
Neelley claimed to be a battered wife acting blindly at the direction of her husband, who wanted the girl for sex. He is serving a life sentence in Georgia.
Prosecutors had expected Neelley to be executed this year.
“That’s incredible,” DeKalb County District Attorney Mike O’Dell, who prosecuted Neelley, said of the governor’s decision.
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