A Black man was sentenced to death for killing a white woman. His lawyer was in the Ku Klux Klan

Lawyers for a Black man serving life in prison in Alabama are seeking to overturn his conviction for the murder of a white woman, citing evidence his state-provided attorney was active in the Ku Klux Klan.

“Was he well positioned to represent a Black man?” one investigator asked. Defendant plead innocent

“I think the answer is no.”

‘Enough questions’

Robin “Rocky” Myers, who has an intellectual disability,was convicted of stabbing to death Ludie Mae Tucker, 69, at her home in December in 1991. Now 64, Myers has always claimed to be innocent.

Sentenced to death in 1994, Myers spent more than 30 years on death row. He was due to be executed using nitrogen gas before, last March, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey commuted the sentence to life, observing that the case was “riddled with conflicting evidence from seemingly everyone involved.”

 John E. Mays, an Alabama lawyer, was actively involved with the United Klans of America. Picture provided

Saying she “had enough questions about Mr. Myers’ guilt that I cannot move forward with executing him,” the Republican governor also noted that the jury in Myers’ case recommended a life sentence only to be overridden by the judge, a step allowed under Alabama law until 2017.