Published on April 15, 2025 by Gunnar Sadowey  
TJ Riggs
TJ Riggs

Samford University senior TJ Riggs was recently honored by Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) with the organization’s prestigious Death Penalty Abolition Award, recognizing his leadership in the fight to end capital punishment.

Riggs, a law, politics and society major in Samford’s Howard College of Arts and Sciences, serves as the AIUSA Alabama death penalty abolition coordinator. Since joining the organization’s state Death Penalty Abolition Program in 2023, Riggs has emerged as a passionate advocate, organizing impactful campaigns and mobilizing grassroots support across the state.

Among his most notable efforts, Riggs leads AIUSA’s Rocky Myers Working Group, which played a critical role in advocating for clemency in the case of Rocky Myers, a man who had been on Alabama’s death row for more than 30 years.

"It was truly an honor to receive this award, and I could not be more thankful to Amnesty International USA for all of their support,” Riggs said. “It was an experience of a lifetime to lead the Rocky Myers Clemency Coalition, and I hope to continue my work against the death penalty after law school as a legal representative for those facing execution."

Riggs’ leadership and advocacy efforts culminated in a petition delivery to Governor Kay Ivey and the commutation of Myers’ sentence earlier this year. Rocky Myers is the first man and first Black person to receive clemency in the state of Alabama since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.

“TJ is an exceptional leader and thought partner in AIUSA’s death penalty abolition work,” said Amanda Armstrong, member leader program manager at AIUSA. “His deep empathy for those impacted by the death penalty, combined with his strategic prowess was instrumental in the success of the Rocky Myers clemency campaign. It’s a privilege to work alongside him as he leads AIUSA’s death penalty abolition efforts in Alabama.”

The award was presented at AIUSA’s Annual General Meeting this spring. Riggs’ work continues to inspire a growing network of activists working toward abolition of the death penalty in the United States and abroad.

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Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks with the second highest score in the nation for its 98% Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.