Judith Ann Neelley denied parole in 1982 slaying of 13-year-old girl in Rome
Convicted child killer Judith Ann Neelley was again denied parole Thursday, May 25, for the slaying, rape and torture of a 13-year-old Rome girl more than four decades ago.
Neelley’s case was before the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles on Thursday. After less than a minute of deliberation, the three-member board unanimously denied her parole.
No attorneys or advocates for 59-year-old Neelley were present at the Montgomery hearing, which was open to the public.
The sister and brother of the victim, Lisa Ann Millican, were among eight who spoke against Neelley’s release before the board announced their decision.
Former District Attorney Mike O Dell said Neelley “killed for simple sport” and he called her “evil and depraved.”
Lisa Ann Millican was abducted from a shopping mall in Rome in September 1982 by Neelley and her husband, Alvin Neelley. Judith Ann Neelley was later found guilty of the rape and murder of Lisa. After years of fighting for a shot at freedom, Neelley was first set for a parole hearing in May 2018, but her lawyer at the time said she wanted to waive the hearing.
However, the hearing did happen in May 2018, and the board deliberated for just one minute before denying parole. Several people spoke at the hearing, including members of the victim’s family and the district attorney who prosecuted Neelley.
Thursday’s denial of parole means Neelley will continue to serve her life sentence at Julia Tutwiler Prison in Alabama.
Even if Neelley had been granted parole by the board, she would not be free: Georgia has a detainer warrant pending for Neelley for a consecutive life sentence in a 1999 kidnapping case. That means even if she is released from Tutwiler, authorities in Georgia would likely arrest Neelley and take her to a Georgia state prison.
Neelley’s case has been publicized in Alabama for
years, not only because of the brutality of Lisa Ann Millican’s killing, but because of how she escaped death row. Neelley was originally sentenced to die, but her sentence was commuted to life in prison by former Alabama Gov. Fob James before he left office in 1999.
But the former governor’s order didn’t do what he planned, James said later. The order he authorized did not specify whether Neelley would be eligible for parole. The legislature changed state law in 2003 specifically to block Neelley from the possibility of parole, but a federal judge years later ruled that law unconstitutional.
She is the only death row inmate in modern Alabama history to be granted commutation.
The state was rocked by the crime, which happened almost 41 years ago. After abducting the child, the Neelleys held 13-year-old Lisa captive, brutalized her
and, according to court records, Alvin Neelley raped the girl several times. Three days after the abduction, Judith Ann Neelley handcuffed Lisa to a tree at Little River Canyon in Alabama’s DeKalb County and used a needle and syringe to inject her repeatedly with drain cleaner. When that failed to kill the young girl, she shot her and pushed her body into the canyon.
Earlier this week, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey expressed her feelings about Neelley in a letter to the parole board. The governor said she “categorically and unequivocally” opposed parole, and that Neelley shouldn’t be allowed to leave Alabama prisons.
“It has been said that ‘mercy to the guilty is cruelty to the innocent,’” Ivey wrote, “and I wholeheartedly agree.”
In her letter, Ivey said James’ commutation was a “mistake” and described the crime that sent Neelley to jail as “pure evil.”