On Thursday, a convicted child killer from north-west Georgia was again denied parole

A convicted child killer who was once the youngest woman to face a death sentence in the United States but later had her sentence commuted, learned Thursday morning that she will remain behind bars, Chattooga County Sheriff Mark Shrader confirmed.

Judith Ann Neelley was convicted of the kidnapping, torture and murder of Lisa Millican in the early 1980s.

Millican was just 13 years old when she was kidnapped from a mall in Rome, Georgia in 1982.

She was sexually abused, injected with drain cleaner and eventually shot. Her body was dumped in Little River Canyon in DeKalb County, Alabama.

Neelley, who was only 18 at the time of the crime, and her husband Alvin were both convicted of Millican’s death, with Alvin pleading guilty.

Neelley said at the time Alvin drugged her and forced her to help kidnap and rape Millican. But her jury didn’t believe that defense.

In 1999, just days before she was due to be executed, Governor Fob James commuted Judith Neelley’s death sentence to life imprisonment, causing an uproar and sparking a change in the law.

Alvin Neelley died behind bars in 2005.

Neelley served her sentence in Julia Tutwiler Women’s Prison.

“It was one of the worst cases that several of these people have said they have been involved in,” says Sheriff Shrader.

Sheriff Shrader tells us over the phone that he was present at Neelley’s parole hearing Thursday morning, where she was denied parole, just like in 2018.

“She was to remain in the Alabama prison until her death. I think that’s the opinion of everyone involved in the case because it was such a distressing and horrific case for all the victims,” ​​Shrader said.

We spoke to Lisa’s family five years ago, shortly after she was first denied parole in 2018 while they were working to get Lisa’s law passed.

“You should be allowed to move on with your life. You know, this person shouldn’t have to be exploited for the entertainment of strangers every year. And that is what we want to prevent.”

And they did, Lisa’s law passed in 2019.

It gives victims and their families the opportunity to entertain the convicted offender from profiting from the crime.

“What happened was cruel. It was terrible. But she will be the voice for millions of other victims.”

According to Shrader, Neelley will be eligible for parole again in 2028.

Count on us to keep you informed.

Read more: Georgia murder victim’s family pushes Lisa’s law to give them more rights