Convicted killer Judith Ann Neelley has waived her May 23rd parole hearing; that according to her appellate lawyer, Barry Ragsdale. 

Neelley, who is perhaps one of the most high-profile criminals in the state of Alabama – was convicted for the rape and murder of 13 year old Lisa Ann Millican back in 1982. 

She and her then-husband, Alvin Neelley, kidnapped the teen from a mall in Rome, Georgia and brought her to Alabama where she was taken to a motel in Scottsboro and raped.  Later Judith Ann Neelley injected Millican with drain cleaner in an attempt to kill her – when that didn’t work she shot her and shoved her into Little River Canyon in DeKalb County.

Neelley, now 53, in a letter obtained by news outlet al.com writes “After much prayer and discussions with my children I have asked the Alabama Board of Pardons & Parole to cancel my parole hearing currently set for May 23rd,” she goes on to say “in order to spare the Millican family the pain and trauma of having to attend the hearing, I have agreed to waive my right to be considered for parole at this time. I will continue to pray daily for God’s forgiveness and for peace for the Millican family.”

Neelley retains her right to request a future parole hearing.  Originally sentenced to death, she had her sentence commuted to Life in Prison by former Alabama Governor Fob James before he left office in 1999.  That order however, did not specify whether Neelley would be eligible for parole.  The legislature changed state law in 2003 specifically to block her from the possibility of parole, but earlier this year a federal judge ruled that law unconstitutional

Even if by some chance Neelley had been granted parole in Alabama, it wouldn’t have done her any good, as Georgia authorities have already said they’d be waiting for her at the state line because she’s already been sentenced to life in prison there in connection with another case.

For more on this story visit the website www.al.com