06 December 2010 :

Limestone County Circuit Judge James Woodruff reduced the death sentence of Kenneth Glenn Thomas, 51, white, because of his mental retardation. A defendant with an IQ of 70 or below is classified mentally retarded and Thomas’ IQ is between 58 and 62. He was sentenced to death in 1986 for the Dec. 15, 1984 murder of 82-year-old Flossie McLemore. Attorneys filed the petition in 2008 and U.S. District Judge Lynwood Smith held a hearing. Smith ruled that Thomas was mentally retarded and exempt from execution. The judge’s ruling was appealed by state officials. The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed Smith’s ruling in a published opinion May 27, 2010. Then, Smith issued an order to Limestone Circuit Court to re-sentence Thomas to life without parole within 90 days from the date of his order. The Eleventh Circuit, however, held the re-sentencing order to allow the state an appeal in both federal appellate courts. Subsequently the state Attorney General’s office filed a motion to re-sentence Thomas and today Judge Woodruff formalized the new sentence.