Beth Shelburne

The state continuously changing its story on this important detail isn't just sloppy, it's incredibly suspicious.

It takes nine months for Judge Pulliam to issue her decision.

She writes that she found Violet Ellison to be confident, describing her as well-dressed and well-spoken, and that her articulate testimony outweighed the evidence presented by DeForest Johnson's attorneys.

Pulliam says the documents don't prove that Violet Ellison knew about the money when she testified and don't amount to misconduct by the state.

She doesn't address the fact that it took the state 17 years to admit they had paid Violet Ellison.

Tafouris' legal team appeals the decision, and in April of 2021, I attend oral arguments in front of the State Court of Criminal Appeals.

I notice all five judges on the court are white.

In fact, everyone in the courtroom is white.

The disconnect is striking.

DeForest Johnson isn't here.

All these white people are discussing the fate of a Black man who is locked away on death row, completely absent from this process.

This dynamic isn't unique to this hearing.

Black people make up 27% of Alabama's overall population, but 54% of the state prison population.

There are no Black appellate judges, and only three of the 42 elected DAs in Alabama are Black.

This lack of representation means it's almost always white people making policy and punishment decisions that impact a disproportionate poor and Black population.

Tafora's hearing in the Court of Criminal Appeals lasts just 49 minutes.

It's another denial.

Monique Hicks again, who served on the jury in Taforis' second trial.

Monique wanted to talk with me after she saw a news story about Violet Ellison and the reward payment.

So I made the hour-long drive to her house to speak to her in person.