For Immediate Release:
June 5, 2026
For press inquiries only, contact:
Amanda Priest (334) 322-5694
William Califf (334) 604-3230
(Montgomery, Ala) – Attorney General Steve Marshall released the following statement after a candidate in the Attorney General’s race released an advertisement making demonstrably false allegations about the Attorney General’s Office.
“I find it reprehensible that someone who wants to hold the office of Attorney General would, for an attempt at political gain, recklessly attack the office he wants to lead. For some time, this candidate has felt the need to smear the record of this office on an array of matters that he knows nothing about; however, these misstatements about me, my staff, and the conduct of the entire Attorney General’s Office—which is a matter of public record—cannot go unanswered any longer.
Officer Smith was prosecuted by the former District Attorney of Montgomery County. He was charged with murder and convicted of manslaughter. According to our legally mandated duty, my office handled the conviction on appeal. Years later, when the case returned to the trial court, my office took the extremely rare step of intervening and offering the officer a plea agreement that would permit the officer to immediately return home. The Montgomery County District Attorney objected to the resentencing, asked the court to preserve the previous sentence of fourteen years, and noted that the officer believed he was “above the law” and that he “intentionally and unlawfully killed Greg Gunn.” Nevertheless, our agreement was entered by the court and the officer was released.
After his release from prison, my office gave Officer Smith a recommendation for a state job and even recently, was trying to assist him in his pursuit of a pardon. What makes this especially difficult, and personal to so many in my office, is that Officer Smith himself sent us a letter thanking us for our assistance in his case. Nothing about the facts have changed, only the political season. I have immense compassion for Officer Smith and what he endured and am sad to see his story used as a misguided political weapon against those who fought to help him. No matter what Officer Smith chooses to say now, any one of us would help him again in a heartbeat.”
You can read Smith’s letter here.
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