...By Gift BADEWO for TDPel Media.
The notorious “Lady Sundown Killer,” 58-year-old Judith Ann Neelley, is due to face the Alabama Board of Pardons and Parole Boards for a possible parole.
This is Neelley’s second parole hearing since her death sentence was converted to life imprisonment in 1999.
Neelley, alongside her husband, was convicted in 1982 for the gruesome murder of 13-year-old Lisa Ann Millican.
The impending parole hearing has resurfaced distressing memories for the victims’ families.
Crimes of the ‘Lady Sundown Killer’
In 1983, Neelley was found guilty of abducting Lisa Ann Millican from a Georgia shopping mall, in collaboration with her husband Alvin Neelley.
The couple carried out a horrific series of events involving sexual assault, injecting the young girl with drain cleaner, and ultimately shooting her dead.
In a swift ruling at Neelley’s first parole hearing in 2018, officials rejected her parole request after a 55-second deliberation.
Despite this, if Neelley were granted parole in the upcoming session, she would be immediately moved to Georgia to serve another life sentence for a separate murder committed with her now-deceased husband.
Impact on the Victims’ Families
The possibility of Neelley’s parole has stirred up painful memories for the victims’ families.
Cassie Millican, sister-in-law of Lisa, has voiced her fear that Neelley might be transferred to Georgia for her separate sentence.
The families are calling for protest letters against Neelley’s parole, asserting that the exposure surrounding each hearing generally decreases.
The Grim History of the Neelleys
The heinous crimes of Judith and Alvin Neelley began on September 25, 1982, when they kidnapped Lisa Ann Millican.
The Neelleys, who were parents of two-year-old twins and expecting a third child, subjected Lisa to horrifying ordeals that culminated in her murder and body disposal at Little River Canyon in Fort Payne.
Less than a month later, they committed another murder in Rome, Georgia, killing 23-year-old Janice Chatman.
The Journey Towards Justice
The Neelleys were eventually arrested and linked to these crimes through phone threats traced back to Judith.
Alvin pleaded guilty to murder and aggravated assault, leading investigators to Janice’s body.
Judith, who was only 18 at the time of the murders, was tried for Lisa’s murder and sentenced to death, making her the youngest woman in US history to be sentenced to execution.
However, just days before her execution in 1999, her death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment.
Parole Considerations and Ongoing Controversy
In 2018, Neelley’s parole request was swiftly denied by Alabama officials.
The hearing revealed contrasting perspectives of Neelley – some saw her as a cold-blooded killer who took pleasure in her actions, while others argued she was a victim herself, manipulated by her husband into committing these horrifying acts.
Despite these debates, the victims’ families continue to call for justice.
The impending parole hearing brings back raw memories of the atrocities committed by the Neelleys, a dark chapter that the families and the community are still struggling to move past.
