[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ALABAMA

[Rick Halperin]

Nov. 3




ALABAMA----stay of execution

Tommy Arthur's execution temporarily stayed by US Supreme Court


The U.S. Supreme Court has temporarily stayed the execution.

"IT IS ORDERED that execution of the sentence of death is hereby stayed pending 
further order of the undersigned or of the Court," the order states, according 
to AL.com's Lawrence Specker.

The order was signed by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

Alabama prison's spokesman Bob Horton, however, said that the order is only a 
temporary stay and prison officials are still waiting to hear if the Supreme 
Court rules tonight.

If the court rules before midnight and denies the stay then it is possible the 
execution could go forward tonight, Horton said. If the court doesn't rule by 
then, however, the state would have to reset the execution for another day 
because the death warrant is for Thursday only, he said.

"We're in a holding pattern ... We're going to continue to wait for the Supreme 
Court," Horton said.

Alabama has delayed tonight's execution of Tommy Arthur by two hours to allow 
the U.S. Supreme Court to consider motions by the inmate's attorneys, a prison 
spokesman said.

The delay was set to end at 8 p.m. but, as of now, it is not clear when, or if, 
the execution will proceed.

Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner Jeff Dunn agreed to the 
temporary delay of the execution so the Supreme Court could review the split 
11th Circuit decision on Wednesday to deny Arthur's stay of execution, said 
Alabama Department of Corrections Public Information Officer Bob Horton.

If Alabama had not agreed to a temporary halt then the U.S. Supreme Court would 
have issued a temporary stay, Horton said.

The execution had been set for 6 p.m.

In that 2-1 decision 11th Circuit decision Circuit Judge Charles Wilson said 
the execution should have been stayed in order for Arthur's appeals on his 
lethal injection challenge.

"Due to the scarcity of and secrecy surrounding lethal injection drugs, it is 
all but impossible for a prisoner to set forth a viable lethal-injection-based 
alternative," Wilson wrote in his dissent in Wednesday's opinion. "The 
Majority's decision therefore checkmates countless Alabama and Florida 
prisoners, nullifying their constitutional right to a humane execution."

Wilson also stated that the majority in the ruling – Hull and Circuit Judge 
Stanley Marcus - determines that Arthur's suggestion of a firing squad was not 
feasible and readily implemented because Alabama law does not authorize the 
firing squad.

"Arthur should be permitted to amend his complaint to include the firing squad 
as an execution alternative to Alabama's lethal injection protocol. The firing 
squad is a potentially viable alternative, and Arthur may be entitled to relief 
under Baze and Glossip (U.S. Supreme Court ruling) based on that method of 
execution," Wilson wrote.

Arthur has remained defiant as he waits to see if the U.S. Supreme Court will 
stay his execution at the Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore.

Arthur's attorneys overnight filed a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court seeking 
a stay after the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals refused to block the 
execution.

Arthur today told AL.com in a telephone interview he is hopeful this execution 
will be stayed, as were six other execution dates he has faced in the last 15 
years.

"We've still got wiggle room," Arthur said this afternoon. "We're not done 
yet."

Asked today if he accepted the reality he might not avoid today's execution, 
Arthur replied: "All I can do is sit here and hate it."

Arthur said he has had no visitors today although his lawyers had just arrived 
at the prison when he spoke to AL.com. Arthur says he plans to make a final 
statement if he is executed today.

9source: al.com)


**********************

Supreme Court stays execution of Alabama inmate


The U.S. Supreme Court has stayed the execution of an Alabama inmate convicted 
in a 1982 murder-for-hire.

The court on Thursday night stayed the execution of Tommy Arthur without 
comment, until further order of the court.

74-year-old Arthur had been scheduled to be executed Thursday evening by lethal 
injection at the Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore.

Prison system spokesman Bob Horton said the state will wait until Arthur's 
death warrant expires at midnight to see if the execution can proceed.

He was convicted of killing Troy Wicker. Police on Feb. 1, 1982 found Wicker 
shot to death in his bed. Wicker's wife initially said she had been raped and 
an intruder killed her husband. She later testified that she had sex with 
Arthur and promised him $10,000 to kill her husband.

This is the 7th time Arthur, who has waged a lengthy legal battle challenging 
his conviction and the death penalty, has been granted an execution stay.

(source: Associated Press)