Toforest Onesha Johnson was born on February 8, 1973, in Birmingham, Alabama. He spent most of his childhood in the Pratt City neighborhood of Birmingham. When he was 16 years old, he moved to the Ensley community in Birmingham. Johnson has one younger brother and is a father to five children.

On July 19, 1995, a murder occurred involving 49-year-old deputy sheriff William G. Hardy outside a hotel in Birmingham, Alabama. Around 12:30 a.m. to 1:00 a.m., the hotel night manager, Barry Rushakoff, heard two sounds that resembled gunshots coming from outside. He tried to contact Hardy via radio but received no response. Guests at the hotel reported hearing gunshots, and Rushakoff called 911 to report the situation.

Upon checking the back of the hotel, Rushakoff found Hardy's body in the parking lot. He called 911 again to report Hardy's injury. After arriving, medical personnel pronounced Hardy dead at the hospital. The subsequent autopsy revealed that Hardy died from two gunshot wounds, one to the forehead and another to the back of the head. It was determined that both gunshots came from the same gun, indicating only one shooter.

Shortly after the murder, at about 4 a.m., police stopped a car at a nearby motel. In the car were Toforest Johnson, a 22-year-old man, and three others. Johnson was arrested due to an outstanding traffic warrant, while the others were released. Later, Johnson and three men, including his friend Ardragus Ford, were charged with Hardy's murder. They faced indictment by a grand jury in March 1996.

Over the next few years, Johnson and Ford went through a series of trials related to the murder. Each trial had different theories proposed by the prosecution. The prosecution initially suggested that Ford was the shooter but later shifted focus to Johnson. In his trial, the main evidence against Johnson came from a woman named Violet Ellison, who claimed to have overheard him confessing to the crime during a jail phone call.

Johnson's first trial ended in a mistrial due to the jury's inability to reach a unanimous verdict. His second trial went on and, despite an alibi offered by witnesses who claimed he was elsewhere at the time of the murder, he was convicted of capital murder in August 1998. The jury recommended the death penalty, which was formally issued in October 1998.

The trial of Ardragus Ford that followed yielded a different outcome. Despite the prosecution’s previous claims about Ford, he was ultimately acquitted in June 1999.

Johnson's convictions went through appeals and several reviews over the years. His initial appeal was rejected, and subsequent post-conviction petitions received mixed results. New evidence and questions surrounding the credibility of the witness who testified against Johnson emerged during this time.

Prominent legal figures, including the original prosecutor, began to express their doubts about Johnson's guilt, calling for a new trial. As efforts increased to overturn his conviction, Johnson remained on death row with an uncertain future.