Gov. Phil Bredesen on Friday commuted the death sentence of Michael Joe Boyd (also known as Mika'eel Abdullah Abdus-Samad) to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole citing "grossly inadequate legal representation" received by Boyd during his post conviction hearing and procedural limitations.
On March 10, 1988, Boyd was convicted of murder in the first degree in the perpetration of a robbery and was sentenced to death for the conviction.
He had been scheduled to be put to death on Oct. 24.
Boyd was convicted in 1988 of the murder of William Price during a robbery outside the Lorraine Motel in Memphis.