A few minutes ago, Governor Phil Bredesen issued a temporary reprieve for Sedley Alley until May 31st. This means that after May 31st, another execution date will have to be set. The immediate pressure of impending death is gone. After hearing from hundreds of his constituents all around the state, the Governor realized that allowing a man whose conviction was so clearly questionable to be executed would be a grave injustice.

Unfortunately, the Governor made the wrong decision by refusing to release the crucial physical evidence for DNA testing. Over and over, he has heard, from you, from us, from the media, from his own advisors, that there are serious problems with Sedley Alley's conviction. Yet he refused to give the people of Tennessee what they deserve, clear scientific evidence, one way or the other, of guilt or innocence. The question still remains, what is the state, what is the Governor, so afraid of that they would deny a simple and costless test to know the truth?

Tonight is a good night. Thanks to your efforts, Sedley Alley will not be executed, but we have to continue our advocacy or we could end up right back here again. Whenever there is physical evidence that can provide scientific fact, we should do the testing. The Shelby County District Attorney's office should release the evidence to the Innocence Project for testing immediately.