For the first time since the late 1980s, retired Republican U.S. Rep. Spencer Bachus returned to the State House in Montgomery to lobby in support of legislation.

But for the former chairman of the Alabama Republican Party, the legislation he is backing isn’t supported by a fellow member of the GOP. This bill is sponsored by a Democratic lawmaker, and aims at offering “mercy” toward convicted prisoners who are over 50 and do not have a history of violence.

“This is not about Republicans or Democrats,” said Bachus, 75, during a news conference outside the State House in which he was joined by Alabama Appleseed, a non-profit organization working exclusively on criminal justice reform. “I’m a Republican. Some of these people behind me are Democrats. This is about justice.”

Bachus said his advocacy for HB226 is about seeking justice for John Manley, a prisoner at the St. Clair Correctional Facility whom the retired congressman got to know about 10 years ago through prison ministry.

Manley has spent over three decades in the Alabama state prison on a life sentence for non-violent burglary and theft crimes. Manley is not eligible for parole.

“I’m haunted by this,” said Bachus, who served 12 years in Congress until his retirement in 2015. Prior to that, Bachus served in the Alabama Legislature during the 1980s, and is currently a board member of the Export-Import Bank.

He said it was the first time he has spoken out on a piece of state legislation in Montgomery since he was a member of the Alabama House in the late 1980s.

“I’m not excusing him,” Bachus said about Manley. “He said, ‘I’m guilty.’ But life without parole? He never hurt anyone.”

Bachus spoke on Wednesday before the Alabama Judiciary Committee during its hearing on the “Second Chance” bill sponsored by State Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa.

The legislation, as written, would provide a mechanism for judges to review sentences for those over 50 and who are serving life without parole sentences. The legislation also applies to criminals who have served at least a 15-year prison sentence under Alabama’s Habitual Felony Offender Act.

Carla Crowder, executive director with Alabama Appleseed, said approximately 200 people are serving life sentences without parole for offenses with no physical injury to the victim.

Manley, 60, had his story highlighted in a recently released Alabama Appleseed report on the state’s Habitual Felony Offender Act.

Manley, who grew up in Montgomery, was sentenced to life without parole after being convicted of burglary 35 years ago. No one was physically injured or threatened with a weapon, according to the report.

The prior convictions to enhance Manley’s sentence under the Habitual Felony Offender Act were part of a sentencing event that stemmed from burglaries of an unoccupied dwelling committed when he was 20.

“During the last one, he made a horrible mistake,” Bachus said. “He stole a gun. When the homeowner came home, he hid in the closet.”

Said Bachus, “(Manley) told me, ‘I’ve been over here since I was 24.’ He was about 50 (at the time I spoke with him). He was there about 26 years, maybe longer. I told him I wanted to check this out.”

Bachus said that he has since spoken to the burglary victim in the case that led to his life imprisonment. The victim, according to Bachus, said Manley’s prison sentence is excessive.

“I got a call from the victim and the victim says, ‘I understand you are trying to help John Manley,” Bachus recalled before the House Judiciary Committee. “He said, ‘Is there anything I can do?’ I said, ‘excuse me?’” He said, ‘I can’t believe that man is still in jail.’ We are talking about the victim. The victim said he would have never signed the warrant had he known this would happen. “He said, ‘I’m horrified.’”

Manley’s father was a decorated World War II veteran, James Manley, who died at age 94. His mother, Ann Manley, “longs for her son’s freedom,” according to the Alabama Appleseed report.

Bachus relayed a conversation he had with a warden at the St. Clair Correctional Facility about not being able to visit his father before his death.

“The warden says, ‘it breaks my heart that every two weeks, the mother and dad come to visit,’” said Bachus.

“These prisons are horrible places,” said Bachus. “I visited Donaldson (correctional facility in Jefferson County) and talked to two (inmates). Within five years, they were both dead. One was killed by another inmate and another was found dead in a cell. (Manley) has gone through 32 years or 34 years of hell. It’s time to give him a chance. His dad died six months ago. His mother is still here, and she owns her house (and Manley plans to move in with her).”