e alibi witnesses place Johnson elsewhere at the time of the crime. He said there are multiple reasons to doubt the key prosecution witness, a woman who  claimed she overheard Johnson confess to the murder on a three-way phone call on which she was eavesdropping. 

The key prosecution witness at Johnson's 1998 trial testified that, while eavesdropping on a phone call, she heard a man she believed was Johnson admitting to the crime. She was paid $5,000 in 2001 for her testimony, and Johnson's lawyers argue that the state withheld evidence of monetary motivation for the testimony.

A number of former judges and prosecutors have joined those seeking a new trial for Johnson amid questions about his conviction. Former Alabama Attorney General Bill Baxley, former Chief Justices Sonny Hornsby and Drayton Nabers and several former judges and prosecutors have submitted briefs or written editorials supporting a new trial.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall in an Oct. 16 letter had urged Ivey to reject the clemency request and  respect the jury's decision  and the decision of the courts reviewing the matter.