Time is Ticking: Alabama Death Row Inmate Either Gets New Trial Or Gets Out

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Time is Ticking: Alabama Death Row Inmate Either Gets New Trial Or Gets Out

Hosts: Amy Robach & T.J. Holmes
Podcast: Amy Robach & T.J. Holmes Present (iHeartPodcasts)
Release Date: March 11, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this gripping episode, Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes dive into the high-stakes, time-sensitive case of Michael Sowell, Alabama’s longest-serving death row inmate. After 36 years on death row, a pivotal court ruling means that Sowell will either receive a new trial or walk free within days. The hosts discuss the legal, procedural, and ethical implications surrounding the case, focusing particularly on racial discrimination in jury selection, prosecutorial conduct, and the broader implications for the justice system.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Background of the Case

• Michael Sowell: On Alabama death row since 1990, convicted for the 1988 murder of sheriff’s deputy Isaiah Harris in a murder-for-hire plot.
• Complex Case History: Multiple people were convicted—including the victim’s wife, who allegedly orchestrated the murder and is now serving life in prison after her own death sentence was overturned.
  (03:19–03:57)

2. Focus on Jury Selection & Prosecutorial Misconduct

• Core Legal Issue: The appeals are not about Sowell's guilt or innocence, but whether he received a fair trial free from racial bias.
  (03:58–04:18, 08:23–08:55)
• DA Ellen Brooks’ Conduct: Prosecutor had a “significant history” of striking qualified Black jurors. In Sowell's case, she excluded 80% of eligible Black jurors, sometimes explicitly because they shared demographics with Sowell.

  “She struck 80% of qualified black prospective jurors. And qualified being the key. … None of that. Those are the reasons why you can strike a juror. You cannot strike a juror because they look like your defendant.”
  — Amy Robach (05:09)

• Legal Precedent: The situation violates the Batson v. Kentucky doctrine prohibiting racial discrimination in jury selection.

  “Batson versus Kentucky is the one. … You cannot discriminate based on race when it comes to jurors. Because not only is it a violation of that defendant's rights, it's actually discrimination against the juror.”
  — T.J. Holmes (10:40)

3. Appellate Court Ruling & Supreme Court Inaction

• Appeals Court Decision: In June 2025, a federal appeals court ruled Sowell's rights were violated, ordering a new trial or release.
• Supreme Court Declines to Hear State’s Appeal: The Supreme Court let the lower court ruling stand, placing pressure on local prosecutors to either retry or free Sowell by March 18, 2026.
  (08:55–09:07, 12:18–12:41)

4. Jury Recommendations & Judge’s Override

• Original Jury: Voted 7–5 in favor of life imprisonment—not the death penalty.
• Judicial Override: The trial judge overrode the jury’s recommendation and imposed the death penalty, a practice legal in Alabama until 2017.

  “If he were sentenced today, he would have gotten life in prison, not the death penalty.”
  — Amy Robach (11:32–12:18)

5. What Happens Next?

• Crucial Deadline Approaching: Alabama prosecutors must move toward a new trial or release Sowell by March 18, 2026—mere days away at the time of recording.
  (06:31–06:55, 20:34–20:56)
• Prosecutorial Silence: After an initial declaration to retry, the DA’s office has not commented further, leaving Sowell’s fate hanging in the balance.
  (06:31, 20:57–21:58)
• Defense Statement:

  “Michael has been denied his right to a fair trial for more than 35 years. We'll continue to fight for his freedom.”
  — Sowell’s Defense Team (21:58)

6. Racial Justice & Systemic Implications

• Appellate Court Language:

  “Equal justice under law requires a criminal trial free of racial discrimination in the jury selection process. Period.”
  — Amy Robach, quoting the court (09:48)

• Reflection on the System:

  “Sometimes the beauty of our system, Robes, is that even… a guy convicted of being a cop killer… we're determining 36 years later he wasn't treated fairly in the process.”
  — T.J. Holmes (10:53)

• The Problem Remains:

  “The problem is that it happened in the first place.”
  — T.J. Holmes (11:32)

7. Potential Outcomes

• Life Sentence Likely on Retrial:

  “He might still be convicted, but will he get the death penalty? … The jury already didn't want him on death row.”
  — Amy Robach & T.J. Holmes (22:56–24:07)

• Significance of the Supreme Court’s Non-Intervention:

  “This decision, or lack of one by the Supreme Court, might have just saved this man's life.”
  — T.J. Holmes (24:07)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Jury Discrimination:

  “You can't give a reason of they black, they gotta go.”
  — T.J. Holmes (04:49)

• On Judicial System Failures:

  “It's wild that that was permitted at all… The jury decides what it wants to happen, and you're saying, nope, I'm going to do something else.”
  — T.J. Holmes (12:18–12:41)

• On Systemic Change:

  “Eventually [justice] can happen for a Black man in Alabama.”
  — Amy Robach (11:29)

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Important Timestamps

• 02:52: Episode content begins—introduction of Sowell’s case and the impending deadline.
• 03:19–07:39: Background on the case, details of the crime, key actors, and how multiple people (including the victim’s wife) were convicted.
• 07:39–09:48: Explanation of appellate court rulings, Supreme Court’s position, and the marching orders to Alabama prosecutors.
• 09:48–13:21: Racial discrimination in jury selection, Batson v. Kentucky reference, and the controversy over jury/judge sentencing disparities.
• 18:11–20:56: Recap after the break, further discussion on the ruling and the prosecution’s response (or lack thereof).
• 21:58: Defense team’s statement following the Supreme Court’s decision.
• 22:56–24:07: Conversation about likely outcomes for Sowell if retried.
• 24:32–25:02: Reflections on how unusual it is for the “ticking clock” to be about freedom rather than execution in a death penalty case.

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Conclusion & Forward Look

As the episode closes, Amy and T.J. underscore the rarity and weightiness of the moment—it’s not an execution deadline, but a chance for justice to correct a wrong. The fate of Michael Sowell, after nearly four decades, hangs on whether the prosecution will retry him or let him go, highlighting both the failings and the potential strengths of the American legal system.

“We are days away. … The clock is usually ticking on the execution. … Now it's rare that the clock is ticking because we're waiting on the prosecution to do something. … But we wait.”
— T.J. Holmes (24:48–25:02)

The hosts promise to keep listeners updated as this precedent-setting case reaches its dramatic decision point.

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Transcript

[Amy Robach]

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[T.J. Holmes]

Hey there, folks. He has been on death row for 36 years. But in the next week, one of two things is going to happen. He's either going to get a new trial or he is going to walk out of prison. And with that, welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ Presents. We don't get these everyday rogues, but we're talking about a guy who's been on death row for a long time and the clock is ticking. Something's going to happen.

[Amy Robach]

That's right. This is one of Alabama's longest serving death row inmates. 63 year old Michael Sowell. Yes, he's been on death row for 36 years. Years. He's been on death row since 1990 after he was convicted of killing a sheriff's deputy. His name was Isaiah Harris. But this is now a situation in which prosecutors, yes, have days to make a decision whether or not to retry Michael Sowell. And this has serious implications in terms of the prosecutorial conduct and how the they seated the jury in Michael Soell's case.

[T.J. Holmes]

Let's be clear here, folks. We have seen a bunch of cases where the guilt or innocence of someone on death row is questioned. We've seen cases where they say circumstances are a little different and maybe the sentence need to be changed. That is not the conversation we're having here. No one's beating a drum and saying this man is innocent and we have evidence he needs to be off death row. What they're saying here, Robe, is he never got a fair trial in the first place.

[Amy Robach]

Correct. And we should point out Soil does maintain his innocence. He says he did not commit this crime. He actually has the finger pointed at someone. Specifically who he, he says in fact did the killing. But you are correct that this is not an issue of guilt or innocence. This is an issue of who was seated on the jury and why. And a D A who apparently had a, quote, significant history of refusing to seat black jurors on the jury.

[T.J. Holmes]

That's a big no. No. We've seen a lot of movies and actually we've seen a lot of actual trials. Lawyers get a lot of leeway and saying, I don't want that juror for whatever reason. Sometimes you just get a strike. You just say, nope, nope, nope. Knock Yourself out. Sometimes you have to give a reason. You can't give a reason of they black. They gotta go.

[Amy Robach]

Right.

[T.J. Holmes]

That's not allowed.

[Amy Robach]

Yes. And specifically this D A we're talking about, her name is Ellen Brooks, but she. In this case in particular, and there are other cases that the courts have cited, she struck 80% of qualified black prospective jurors. And qualified being the key. There was no other reason to disqualify them. They had preconceived notions they were against the death penalty. They knew too much about the case. They didn't think they could be unbiased. No, none of that. Those are the reasons why you can strike a juror. You cannot strike a juror because they look like your defendant. And that's essentially what she put in her notes, that she struck a juror specifically because he had the same. He was the same race, the same sex and. And the same age as the defendant.

[T.J. Holmes]

That'd be the exact guy I would want on my jury.

[Amy Robach]

Right.

[T.J. Holmes]

And that is the exact person this prosecutor did not want. Again, you can not do that. So, Rose, they have been fighting and fighting and fighting for this guy for years. His attorneys have. And finally an appeals court last year, last summer, stepped in, voted. I think the vote was 2 to 1, but saying, yeah, his rights were violated. This guy should get a new trial or you need to let him out of prison. Now, that was last summer, Rhodes. But they gave a date and a deadline that now is. It's.

[Amy Robach]

It's knocking on the door, yeah, March 18th. That is next Wednesday, depending. I don't know when anyone's listening to this, but yes, they got a couple days left to actually pursue a new trial or he's released from prison. And initially the DA's office said, yeah, we're definitely going to pursue new charges. We're going to retry this case. And yet. Silence. Crickets. Haven't heard anything.

[T.J. Holmes]

No. Quiet now. Are they going to go through with it?

[Amy Robach]

You know, I think they have to weigh the. The expense. And look, multiple people were convicted for this crime, not just so well, including the victim's wife, who police say was the mastermind of the. This killing.

[T.J. Holmes]

We've got. There's got to be a snapped episode about this. The murder for hire is what they're saying was, yes, the woman, the wife was behind it. She got the death penalty initially, I think was. Ended up. I have that right. Ended up coming back to life in prison. But yes, she is serving for this crime. I think that is going to be his challenge. Robes and why this will get a new trial, because you're not just. This isn't just the death penalty phase of it. We're talking about a whole new trial.

[Amy Robach]

Correct.

[T.J. Holmes]

So if this is a guy you think is a copy killer, you got to retry.

[Amy Robach]

Yes. So the crime, by the way, Sheriff's deputy Isaiah Harris, he was on his way to work, and police say that he was shot in the face. This happened in 1988. That's how far back this goes. But he was shot in the face in a murder for hire plot that was arranged by his wife. And yes, Harris's wife was convicted. She is now serving life in prison. But she was having an affair. She claimed she was being abused by her husband and she was having an affair. Now, Soell says, wasn't me, it was her lover, it was her. The guy who she was having an affair with. That's who killed her husband, not me.

[T.J. Holmes]

And that is not what courts have been ruling on. They are not listening to his guilt or isn't it innocence? They are listening to whether or not he got a fair trial. And that's the only determination. So, Rose, that. So, yes, I think everybody on death row and cell block D says you're innocent. Right. But. So they're not listening to that. But the Supreme Court didn't necessarily take up the case. So after the court down there ruled he should get a new trial to get out of prison, Alabama appealed to the Supreme Court. Supreme Court essentially said, we ain't trying to hear it.

[Amy Robach]

Yeah.

[T.J. Holmes]

So they did not issue a ruling. They did not take up the case. And in doing so, the only decision that now stands is the one that's from that lower court. So now, prosecutors, what you going to do? Yeah, we are. Literally. He's waiting.

[Amy Robach]

Yeah.

[T.J. Holmes]

He's seven. He's been on death row for 36 years, and he is days away from determining whether or not he's going to walk out of that place.

[Amy Robach]

That's an insane situation. And, you know, I, I actually listening or reading the federal appeals court ruling, I mean, they were very strong in their language talking about the misconduct that took place in seating this jury. They said Alabama prosecutors repeatedly and purposefully rejected qualified black jurors. And this was their, their big statement that stood out. Equal justice under law requires a criminal trial free of racial discrimination in the jury selection process.

Period.

And that is why we are where we are today.

[T.J. Holmes]

This was Alabama in the late 80s, is that correct?

[Amy Robach]

Yes, yes. And when they talked about. And this all was detailed in this appellate court ruling, but the, the da, Ellen Brooks, and we mentioned they said she had a significant history of striking jurors based on their racial. Basically, if they were black, let's just put it say it like it is. And so they said that there were several instances of Ellen Brooks striking black jurors. The quote was Brooks purposefully struck black jurors in, in the cases she prosecuted. So this was not the only case.

[T.J. Holmes]

And it's not just. And it's interesting, it was. Well, it's the cow. My God. Did I really just try to recite precedent? Batson, Batson versus Kentucky.

[Amy Robach]

You are correct, I see that, yes,

[T.J. Holmes]

Batson versus Kentucky is the one. It is the precedent setting case to where you cannot discriminate based on race when it comes to jurors. Because not only is it a violation of that defendant's rights, it's actually discrimination against the juror, you're discrimination against that person for racial reasons. So this is well established and this is a major. No, no. And so Robes is hard to argue with this to say, oh, he's a cop killer, just throw away the key. I mean, this is sometimes the beauty of our system, Robes, that even. Yes, a guy convicted of being a cop killer went on trial and he got the death penalty. We're determining 36 years later, he wasn't treated fairly in the process. That's that there's some beauty in the system there somewhere, though, that that could

[Amy Robach]

eventually happen for a black man in Alabama. Yes.

[T.J. Holmes]

The problem is that it happened in the first place.

[Amy Robach]

Correct. And here there's another interesting twist to this in that the jury that convicted him, they voted 7 to 5 for life imprisonment. So they voted against the death penalty, but the judge overrode the jury's recommendation and handed down the death sentence. Anyway, by the way, that legal now, but it was legal up until 2017. Alabama was the last state in this country to stop that practice of a judge being able to overturn a jury's recommendation for punishment. And so that happened to him. That couldn't happen today. If he were sentenced today, he would have gotten the life. He would have gotten life in prison, not the death penalty.

[T.J. Holmes]

It's so, it's it's wild that that was permitted at all. The jury decides what it wants to happen. And you're saying, nope, I'm going to do something else. That's just bizarre. And what are the others? So we've covered a lot of these, a lot of death penalty cases. Robes, the other. I can't remember the states, but some of them even have where it doesn't have to be unanimous to get the death penalty correct. Even now I find that it seems

[Amy Robach]

like when it's something that significant, it should be unanimous. Just like the jury's verdict needs to be unanimous about guilt or innocence. It seems as though that, that same, that same standard should be applied to whether or not you live or die.

[T.J. Holmes]

Can you imagine you found guilty and the vote was seven to five or something?

[Amy Robach]

Yeah. Yeah.

[T.J. Holmes]

That's your math. I put you on the spot.

[Amy Robach]

I don't know. I couldn't remember how many jurors are seated.

[T.J. Holmes]

I could see how the look on your face. You were terrified with the math.

[Amy Robach]

Is it 14? I can't remember.

[T.J. Holmes]

But the idea there just, it just. That seems wild as well. So, yes, that a judge could override when a jury said what they wanted to happen to the man. We should start there, even with this case.

[Amy Robach]

All right, when we come back, we're going to tell you what the reaction was from the Sokwell camp to the Supreme Court's decision and what may happen next.

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[Amy Robach]

Welcome back everyone to this episode of Amy and TJ Presents. We are following a court case that is 36 years in the making and only has a few days left for us to know what is going to happen next. We are talking about a case out of Montgomery County, Alabama where 63 year old Michael so has been on death row since 1990. He was convicted for a 1988 killing of a sheriff's deputy. It was a murder for hire. The sheriff deputy's wife is behind bars. She is. She was convicted initially to the death penalty but ended up getting life in prison. And now we have a the Supreme Court decided not to listen to the State of Alabama's appeal to a lower court's ruling that said, guess what? The DA acted improperly when seating this jury. And this D A has a history of acting improperly. When I say improperly. She has a significant history of striking black jurors for black defendants. That's a big no. No.

[T.J. Holmes]

We've seen attorneys question potential jurors before this process. Now only imagine this one. She doesn't have to ask questions. Nope, nope, nope. Black, black, black. Bye bye bye. Like that. Seems they are actually saying that's all she was doing. You don't have to, I'm saying not literally, but quite frankly, don't need to ask them questions about their background. Don't need to look at the questionnaire, that's a black person, there's a black person. There's a black person. Don't want you on my jury.

[Amy Robach]

Yeah. And in her notes she, she said it, she there was no denying it, that there was no other reason to not seat them. And so they were all qualified to sit on that jury based on the questions they were asked. And that's the point. And she struck there were 10 potential black jurors left to be seated. She struck eight of them for no reason other than the fact that they were black. You can't do that. And so, yes, the court Finally, 36 years later, I guess this. All this decision initially happened last summer in June of 2025. But they said, hey, okay, prosecution, you now have a timeline. By March 18, either you start or you retry this man or you let him go. So Michael Sowell either gets a new trial as of March 18, or he gets out of jail.

[T.J. Holmes]

He. They have to. They have to try him. You have to. They have to. Ropes. This is a guy that, no, they're not saying is possibly innocent. Are you really going to say, okay, that was enough years you served 36, and that was enough for killing a cop. They have to try.

[Amy Robach]

I agree. From just. From so many different points of view. They have to retry this case.

[T.J. Holmes]

Now remind me where this is happening.

[Amy Robach]

Montgomery County, Alabama. And they said, when I was being facetious, yes, when. When this decision came down by the lower court, it was a federal court in June, the Montgomery county prosecutor, the DA's, they said, okay, we are absolutely going to retry this case. But they have not officially commented since the Supreme Court refused to hear the state's appeal. So we don't know. They haven't made another announcement since June of 2025 as to what they're going to do. Maybe they were banking on the fact that the Supreme Court was going to back them up and throw out the appellate court's decision, but that did not happen. And so now the ball is literally in their court. And Michael Sokwell's defense lawyers had this to say. When the Supreme Court decided not to rule or not to look into the appellate court's decision, they said, we appreciate the Supreme Court's decision. Michael has been denied his right to a fair trial for more than 35 years. We'll continue to fight for his freedom.

[T.J. Holmes]

I haven't seen what we've been looking and covering the story. I haven't seen much of a drumbeat of anybody saying he's innocent. They're saying he's gonna get a chance to present some new evidence, that something is going to change that. There's not that drumbeat. Correct?

[Amy Robach]

Well, from Michael Sokwell, there is. He's claiming it was the wife's lover who actually killed the sheriff's deputy, not him.

[T.J. Holmes]

So the guy on trial is blaming somebody else. That's a. That's a new one. I'm saying this is not that. When that's it's not that thing. There have been plenty where they're questioned. Even hell, we've seen some of the families of the victims come forward and defend the defendant to a certain. This is nothing along those lines. But he is denied a fair trial. 36 later years later, we're trying to right or wrong, the wrong shouldn't have happened in the first place. Sure. But I mean, you have to look at our system and go, okay, this is how it's supposed to work.

[Amy Robach]

Exactly. And look, Michael Sokwell, as you point out, might still be convicted for this crime and almost certainly will be, but will he get the death penalty? And that's the other big question. Because again, the jury that was initially seated, the jury that they say now was unfairly placed, the racial makeup, I believe was 10 white jurors, two black jurors, that they voted against the death penalty. They voted for life imprisonment, and it was the judge who gave him that death sentence. So at the very least, this new trial would actually be the difference between life or death. It might not be the difference between freedom and incarceration, but certainly he has a shot at. He is 65 years old at growing old behind bars and potentially getting out. That's still on the table.

[T.J. Holmes]

On the table. He has three options. But yeah, you're probably right that contain to have. He'll get off death row. Right? He will get, I would imagine, death row. A jury already didn't want him on death row. So here we are these years later. So, yes, to that point, roped. It's significant. It's significant this, this decision, or lack of one by the Supreme Court might have just saved this man's life.

[Amy Robach]

Yeah, that is a very good way to put it. And we will of course continue to follow this story because, yes, we are days away from getting an answer from Alabama's prosecution or Montgomery county prosecutorial team to see whether or not they will. I, I don't know. How do you get a new trial? You just say we're now officially recharging or we're going to give him a new trial. I don't know what the announcement is,

[T.J. Holmes]

the amount of paperwork.

[Amy Robach]

Oh my goodness.

[T.J. Holmes]

Assume and things that have to be filed to get this done and a judge has to sign off on it, but they'll get it done. But this is. We are days away. We are going to find out and robe. We are not used to. In cases like this, the clock is usually ticking on the execution.

[Amy Robach]

Correct.

[T.J. Holmes]

The clock is ticking on. Is the governor going to step into the Supreme Court going to step all those things. Now. It's rare that the clock is ticking because we're waiting on the prosecution to do something. Yeah, in a death row case.

[Amy Robach]

Right.

[T.J. Holmes]

But we wait.

[Amy Robach]

All right. We wait and we will watch and we will keep you all updated. Thank you though, for listening to us. As always. I'm Amy Robach alongside T.J. holmes. We will talk to you soon.

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