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In 1993, the firm began representing Victor R. Stephens in his post-conviction challenges to his capital conviction and death sentence. In 1987, a Hale County, Alabama, jury had convicted Mr. Stephens of murdering a convenience store owner, who had shot Mr. Stephens during a robbery at the store. The jury recommended a life without parole sentence, but the judge overrode the jury and sentenced Mr. Stephens to death. Initially, the firm served as local counsel. In 1997, BABC took over as lead and only counsel. Over about 20 years, the firm worked over 3,000 hours representing Mr. Stephens. On October 7, 2011, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama ordered the State of Alabama to give him a new trial. Stephens v. Haley, 823 F. Supp. 2d 1254 (S.D. Ala. 2011) (awarding new trial based on prosecution’s Batson violations during 1987 trial). On May 18, 2012, Mr. Stephens pled guilty to a single count of murder and received a life without parole sentence, which overlaps with his life without parole sentence on another 1987 conviction. Mr. Stephens has now been permanently removed from death row.
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