MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals has upheld the murder and first-degree robbery convictions of a Semmes man serving life in prison for the 2023 shooting death of Alan “Bama” Williams in Mobile County.
Attorney General Steve Marshall announced Oct. 1 that the appeals court affirmed the convictions of Jeffery Alan Holley, 32. The court issued its decision on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, rejecting Holley’s bid to have the verdicts thrown out.
Holley was convicted in Mobile County Circuit Court on Jan. 29, 2026, and sentenced to life imprisonment for murder and 30 years for robbery in the first degree.
What the evidence showed
According to the attorney general’s office, the evidence at trial showed that on Feb. 15, 2023, Holley got into an altercation with Williams after Holley had bought methamphetamine from a drug dealer.
A witness testified that Holley took Williams’ pistol away from him and then shot Williams in the head while Williams begged for his life, prosecutors said.
Holley gave a different account when he took the stand. He testified that Williams had tried to pull a weapon on him and that, after he had already taken Williams’ gun, he shot Williams because he feared Williams was reaching for another weapon.
The jury rejected that explanation and found Holley guilty of both murder and first-degree robbery.
Prosecution and appeal
Mobile County District Attorney Keith Blackwood’s office prosecuted the case at trial and obtained the guilty verdicts.
After the convictions, Holley appealed, asking the Court of Criminal Appeals to reverse them. In Alabama, once a felony case moves to the appellate courts, the attorney general’s office takes over representing the state. The Attorney General’s Criminal Appeals Division handled the case and argued that the convictions should stand.
Marshall commended Assistant Attorney General James B. Baker II for his work on the appeal and thanked Blackwood and his staff for their assistance in securing the convictions at trial.
About the Court of Criminal Appeals
The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals is the state’s intermediate appellate court for criminal cases. Its five judges, elected statewide, review convictions from the state’s circuit courts to determine whether legal errors occurred at trial that would require a conviction to be reversed or a new trial ordered.
The court does not retry cases or hear new witnesses. Instead, it reviews the trial record, the written briefs from both sides and the legal issues raised by the defendant. When the court affirms a conviction, the trial court’s judgment and sentence remain in place.
A defendant whose conviction is affirmed generally may ask the Court of Criminal Appeals to reconsider through an application for rehearing, and may then petition the Alabama Supreme Court to review the case. The Supreme Court decides which of those petitions it will take up. It was not immediately clear whether Holley intends to pursue further review.
The sentences
Both murder and first-degree robbery are Class A felonies in Alabama, the most serious category of offense short of capital murder. Under Alabama law, a Class A felony carries a sentence of 10 to 99 years or life in prison, with a minimum of 20 years when a firearm or deadly weapon is used.
Holley received the maximum life term on the murder charge and a 30-year sentence on the robbery charge. With the appeals court’s ruling, both sentences remain in effect.
Key facts
- Defendant: Jeffery Alan Holley, 32, of Semmes
- Victim: Alan “Bama” Williams
- Date of shooting: Feb. 15, 2023
- Convicted: Jan. 29, 2026, in Mobile County Circuit Court
- Charges: Murder and first-degree robbery
- Sentences: Life for murder; 30 years for robbery
- Appeal decided: Sept. 18, 2026, convictions affirmed by the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals