Around the time Hood assumed office, for instance, new evidence emerged in the capital case of Michelle Byrom, who had been condemned to die for the 1999 murder of her abusive husband. It turned out that a judge had allegedly hidden confessions to the murder by Byrom's son. Despite this information, which pointed strongly to Byrom's innocence, Hood's office argued against even holding a hearing to examine the new evidence and, instead, asked the state to execute her immediately. This past June, after making a plea deal, Byrom walked free after 16 years on Mississippi's death row.