Frequently asked questions

Mark Jenkins is a 59-year-old intellectually disabled man who has been on Alabama's death row for over 35 years. He was born in Southern California into a family that subjected him to horrific sexual, physical, and emotional abuse throughout his childhood. His parents abandoned him when he was only thirteen years old, and he spent most of the rest of his childhood on the streets and in group homes. When he was 20, he moved to Alabama for what he hoped would be a fresh start. But Mark struggled and, when he was 21, killed Tammy Hogeland. He was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death.

Since his trial, Mark has been at Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Alabama, where he has both grappled with his profound remorse for his crime and worked to become a better man. He has grown in his faith into the Christian man he is today, one whom correctional officers believe should be permitted to live out the rest of his natural life in prison. And, through the structured life of prison, he has learned to contend with his intellectual disability and to serve as a support and helper to the officers and other prisoners around him.

In 1991, Mark was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death in St. Clair County for the murder of Tammy Hogeland. The crime occurred early in the morning of April 18, 1989, when Mark was 21 years old and Tammy was 22. Mark was drinking heavily that night and drove to the diner where Tammy worked. Tammy left the diner with Mark. At some point, the two got into an argument. During that argument, Mark strangled Tammy to death.

Mark was horrified by his actions and feels tremendous remorse to this day. Those who know him, from family members to correctional officers, have seen how Mark's remorse for the terrible harm he caused has stayed with him and has shaped him over the decades.

In 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court barred the execution of people with intellectual disability. But that decision came long after Mark’s trial and death sentence, and Mark’s legal team has never had the opportunity to present evidence of his intellectual disability in court. Although Mark’s traditional appeals have ended, his lawyers continue to ask for his “day in court” to prove that executing Mark would be illegal.

Other than a court ruling that he is intellectually disabled, Mark’s only chance for a sentence of life in prison without parole, as opposed to execution, is for the Governor to grant him clemency.

Under the Alabama Constitution, the Governor has the authority, and the right, to extend mercy and commute a prisoner’s death sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole. This fail-safe is separate from judicial proceedings and exists precisely because the judicial process is not perfect. There are things that the judicial process gets wrong, like not allowing Mark to prove his intellectual disability in court. Or things the judicial process doesn’t take into account, like the overwhelming support Mark has from correctional officers. But the Governor can consider Mark’s intellectual disability, his support from correctional officers, and more, and she can grant clemency.

Mark will never be released from prison. Mark and his legal team are not asking for any possibility of future release from prison. They are asking that the Governor allow Mark the opportunity to live out the rest of his natural life within the prison walls instead of being executed.

Mark took an innocent life, but, as his many supporters recognize, the appropriate punishment is not execution but life in prison without any chance of release.

Mark had a horrific, abuse-filled childhood that set him on a terrible path. Even so, he was a loving child and young adult; he never caused harm until he took Tammy Hogeland's life. That terrible crime was an aberration in an otherwise peaceful life.

Moreover, Mark’s court proceedings have not been fair. Because Mark had inexperienced capital lawyers, his jurors never heard why they should spare Mark’s life. Still, two jurors thought he should get a sentence of life in prison without parole. Mark was sentenced to death despite the fact that his jury was not unanimous. Moreover, even though the U.S. Supreme Court has barred the execution of intellectually disabled people, and even though an expert has diagnosed Mark as intellectually disabled, Mark has not had the opportunity to present evidence in court that his disability makes him ineligible for execution. Listen to the words of Richard Spiker, one of Mark’s jurors, and read more about Mark’s intellectual disability diagnosis.

Most of all, Mark has transformed in prison. Mark has spent the past 35 years trying to spread positivity and warmth and trying to repent for the harm he caused. At his request, Mark was baptized in the county jail and accepted Jesus into his life. In prison, he has been able to grow in his faith and into the Christian man that he is today. He now spreads Jesus’ love in the ways he can, including by trying to be a good influence on those around him, trying to defuse tense situations, and lifting people up when they are down.

Mark is such an exemplary prisoner that over 60 correctional officers, as well as the former prison chaplain who knew Mark for decades, support clemency. They know Mark as peaceful, trustworthy, and good-natured. They see that he is a different person from the one who entered prison more than three decades ago. Even knowing that Mark has killed someone, they believe that he would pose no threat if allowed to spend the rest of his natural life in prison. They believe that he deserves to be spared the death penalty. Read more about this unprecedented support from correctional officers.

There are many ways you can help Mark. It is important that as many people as possible are aware of Mark’s case and that he is at risk of being executed. Here are some concrete things you can do.