Alabama Supreme Court denies new trial for death row inmate

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The Alabama Supreme Court on Friday denied a new trial for a death row inmate in a case that has seen the district attorney, former state attorney general and a former chief justice join calls to reexamine his conviction. Justices rejected Toforest Johnson’s appeal of a lower court decision denying him a new trial. The request was one part of an ongoing effort to overturn the conviction. Johnson was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1995 killing of Jefferson County Deputy Sheriff William Hardy. Johnson’s lawyers will appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.