Attorney General Steve Marshall announced on Apr. 8 that the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the dismissal of Roderick Byrd’s postconviction challenge to his capital murder conviction and death sentence from Jefferson County.
This decision concludes a legal process that began after Byrd was convicted and sentenced to death for a triple homicide at the Airport Inn in Birmingham on Thanksgiving Day, 2005. The ruling is significant because it maintains the original verdicts and sentences, underscoring the continued enforcement of Alabama’s laws against violent crime.
According to evidence presented at trial, Byrd and Brandon Mitchell entered the motel armed with pistols, did not conceal their faces from security cameras, and fatally shot Kim Olney, John Aylesworth, and Dorothy Smith during a robbery. Afterward, Byrd attended Thanksgiving dinner at his grandmother’s house before traveling to Georgia where he was apprehended. He was charged with four counts of capital murder—three for each victim killed during a robbery and one for killing two or more people in one course of conduct. The jury found him guilty on all counts and recommended a death sentence, which was accepted by the trial judge.
Byrd filed for postconviction relief in 2012. Over more than ten years, his petition went through several judges before being dismissed in Jefferson Circuit Court in 2023. His appeal to the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals was denied on March 27, 2026.
Marshall commended Assistant Attorney General Polly Kenny and members of the Capital Litigation Division for their work on this case.
The Alabama Attorney General office works statewide as chief law enforcement agency offering legal representation while focusing on initiatives to reduce violent crime and support victims according to its official website. The office also received recognition such as the Hometown Hero honor from the Alabama League of Municipalities during the pandemic according to its official website. Marshall has served as attorney general since Feb. 10, 2017 according to its official website.
The office has maintained statewide jurisdiction representing Alabama across all counties according to its official website, including successful defenses in high-profile cases like upholding convictions under state laws before higher courts according to its official website.