Nick Gady

So I'm home with my mom, and then I go visit my dad.

Even though their father wasn't at home, Taforis' kids didn't stop seeing him.

they would get in the car with their grandmother, Donna, to Forrest's mother to make the 210-mile drive from Birmingham to Holman Prison, three hours each way.

That's me.

In Alabama, visits with men on death row are done in the visiting yard, the same area Taforest met with his attorney, Ty.

It's called the yard, but it's indoors, like a big cafeteria lined with vending machines.

But before they got into the prison to see their dad...

with the big bag of quarters so everyone could get their favorite snacks and candy from the prison yard vending machines.

Taforis' kids had to go through prison security, where guards searched them and patted them down.

The visits were just a few hours, once a month at most.

But it's where and how they got to know their father.

Their relationships with their father are marked by both his absence and his presence.

They admire his strength, the way he loves to hear about their lives when they talk on the phone, and how he never makes them feel like their problems are small.

And you think about his situation.

Right.

Why is Taforist Johnson still on Alabama's death row?

Why is he still locked in a cell when so many people, including the prosecutor who argued to put him there, are calling for a new trial?

In early October 2023, the United States Supreme Court announced it would not review DeForest Johnson's case.

But DeForest's legal team continues to fight for him.

They have appeals pending in both state and federal courts.