Thomas Arthur Doesn't Get It! Executions Are Fun for Folks - No Offense Intended, by Mary Neal

THE TROUBLE WITH DEATH PENALTY OPPONENTS is that they miss the point - executions are just plain fun!  Capital punishment is very stimulating and has long been used as entertainment for folks.  The sport goes back centuries!  Questions of guilt and innocence must often be put aside because all of that DNA testing and court appeals seriously delay the day when crowds of people can legally take pleasure in seeing another head roll!  Why, heck!  There was a time when all folks had to do when they got a little blood-thirsty was go out and capture a black man and have a lynching.  Nowadays the lives of black folks are actually protected in America (except for death by police), so capital punishment is more important than ever to relieve tension and congratulate oneself for living a good, law-abiding, Christian life.  Besides, most folks live in urban areas now and don't even get to kill their own hogs any longer.

Did Alabama ever get around to killing James Harvey Callahan yet?  Maybe Thomas Arthur, scheduled for execution on July 31, 2008, ought to insist that James take his turn first!  That would give Arthur time to keep begging Alabama to please test his DNA.  The U.S. Supreme Court halted Callahan’s January 8, 2008 execution at the last minute while it deliberated the constitutionality of killing folks by lethal injection.  Now that our justices decided the death needle is A-OK, it seems Alabama ought to just pick up where it left off and kill Callahan.  Or did they already do away with him?

See more about James Callahan’s last-minute stay of execution at this link:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/01/31/scotus.alabama.execution/

Thomas Arthur wrote about being denied the opportunity to clear his murder charges (if only Alabama cared that Arthur might be innocent and let his DNA be tested) at this link:

http://justicedenied.org/thomasarthur.htm

Poor Mr. Arthur probably thinks the main object of his execution will be the avenge the 1982 murder of Troy Wicker, which he claims his DNA could prove he did not do.  If Arthur is really innocent, he was probably very relieved to learn that so many wrongly convicted folks have been freed in recent years due to DNA evidence, because he knows there is DNA evidence available to clear him.  It probably shocked the mess out of Arthur to learn that Alabama doesn’t give a hang (metaphor) about his guilt or innocence – refuses to even look at his DNA or release it to his attorneys for testing.  Arthur just doesn’t get it – it is simply TIME for Alabamians to have another execution day. 

I hope that Mr. Arthur gets to read my article before July 31, his day of reckoning.  I want him to have time to fully understand just why he must be SACRIFICED on that day.  I would hate for Mr. Arthur to wait until that nasty little needle is injected into his throbbing vein before he finally realizes that NOBODY CARES that he might be innocent.  That is certainly not even the point.  If he is already strapped to the death table before he understands that it was just TIME FOR ANOTHER EXECUTION TO ENTERTAIN FOLKS, this poor man's final emotion might be anger, at a time when Christian Alabamians would want him to be concentrating fully on his soul's salvation.  I would hate for this realization to finally hit Mr. Arthur right when the needle does, wouldn't you?  Then Mr. Arthur's last thoughts might not be charitable ones, and he would die with unforgiveness in his heart.  That anger and unforgiveness would, of course, keep Mr. Arthur's soul out of Heaven, after all the trouble Alabama is going through to make a Chaplin available to Mr. Arthur to get him ready to stand before our Holy Father, the Almighty God, our Everlasting Savior.

Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?  Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.  Matthew 18:21-22.

Throughout the centuries, folks have enjoyed watching their fellow human beings’ State-sanctioned deaths by many various methods.  Lethal injection is probably the least satisfying for the public, but Americans just have to put up with it and take our pleasure where we can.  This country used to have public hangings, which was heaps more fun!  Eyes popping and necks stretched sometimes 10 inches!  Some of the human sacrifices even had a final bowel movement right there dangling from the end of their ropes!

Here are some other death penalty methods, and all of them are better spectator sports than lethal injection.  In fact, only a few witnesses, prison guards, and reporters will even get to see the Mr. Arthur’s real-time execution by lethal injection.  Executions were lots more fun than that in the good ole days.  Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia gives a whole slew of execution methods.  Read the list below and pick put your favorite way to kill Mr. Arthur on July 31 if Americans didn’t have to pretend to be so damn civilized!  (This is the only “Christian country” to execute people on the planet, so we must show respect for other folks’ sensibilities, after all.)

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_methods_of_capital_punishment

Burning, especially for religious heretics and witches at the stake Boiling to death Breaking wheel Burial (alive, also known as the pit) Crucifixion Crushing by a weight, abruptly or as a slow ordeal - see also Various animal-related methods below. Decapitation, or beheading (as by sword, axe or guillotine) Disembowelment Dismemberment Drawing and quartering Drowning, mostly done by way of the ducking stool and sometimes by walking the plank; cement shoes have allegedly been used by the Mafia Electrocution (also electric chair) Explosives Exposure in animal skin Flaying Garrote Gassing Guillotine Hanging Impalement Lethal injection Marooning Nitrogen asphyxiation (theoretical "humane" method of execution) Poisoning Pendulum Blade Sawing Scaphism and other similar methods Shooting can be performed either
by Firing squad (Usually to maintain peace and threaten insurgent forces by a single shooter (such as the neck shot, often performed on a kneeling prisoner, as in the PR China) (especially collectively) by cannon or machine gun
Slow slicing Stabbing
Iron maiden
Starvation and Dehydration (sometimes as immurement) Stoning By being thrown from a height. Rome executed murderers and traitors by flinging them from the Tarpeian Rock. Defenestration, the act of throwing someone from a window, has been used more by rebels and angry mobs than by official executions. Death flights, throwing someone off a plane or helicopter, have been used in more recent times. Various animal-related methods
Tearing apart by horses, e.g. Ancient China (using five horses) or "quartering," with four horses Attack/devouring by animals, such as dogs or wolves, as in Ancient Rome and the Biblical lion's den; by rodents (such as rats); by alligators or crocodiles, or carnivorous fish (such as piranhas or sharks); by crabs or by insects (such as ants) Venomous stings from scorpions and bites by snakes, spiders, etc. Snake pit

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FOR ALL THOSE WILLING TO FOREGO THE PLEASURE OF ANOTHER EXECUTION,
here is an urgent Amnisty International appeal for help:

SEND APPEALS TO:

Governor Bob Riley
State Capitol
600 Dexter Avenue
Montgomery, AL 36130 Fax: 1 334 353 0004

Email, via Governor’s website at:
http://www.governor.state.al.us/contact/contact_form.aspx

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.   JULY 31 IS SOON!   HERE IS A LINK TO A PETITION TO SAVE THOMAS ARTHUR:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/petition/850100112  

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UANetwork Office AIUSA 600 Pennsylvania Ave SE, Washington DC 20003 T. 202.544.0200    F. 202.675.8566    E. uan@aiusa.org amnestyusa.org/urgent/

http://www.thomasarthur.info/legal/urgentaction.htm

 

8 July 2008
UA 195/08 Death penalty/Legal concern
USA ( Alabama ) Thomas Douglas Arthur (m), white, aged 66

Thomas Arthur is scheduled for execution on 31 July in Alabama .  The state is pursuing his execution even though his conviction was based mainly on the testimony of an admitted perjurer who had an incentive to lie at his trial.  Although DNA evidence exists which Thomas Arthur says could help demonstrate his innocence, the State of Alabama has not granted his request to be allowed to conduct DNA testing of evidence relating to the crime.

Thomas Arthur was sentenced to death for the 1982 murder of Troy Wicker.  The victim’s wife, Judy Wicker, was also convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder.  She was released on parole after testifying at Thomas Arthur’s 1991 retrial (see previous UA on Thomas Arthur’s case, UA 225/07, 30 August 2007 , http://www.amnesty.  org/en/library/ info/AMR51/ 137/2007/ en). 

At her own trial, Judy Wicker had testified that Thomas Arthur was not involved in the murder, but that a STRANGER had killed her husband, and had also raped her.  This was the same version of events that she had told the police at the time of the murder.  However, at Arthur’s 1991 retrial, she testified that she, Teresa Rowland and Rowland’s boyfriend Theron McKinney had discussed killing Troy Wicker in early 1981.  She testified that she knew that the murder would take place on 1 February 1982 , that she and Thomas Arthur had gone to the house together, and that she had agreed to tell the police that her husband had been murdered by an African American burglar.  She said that she collected $90,000 in insurance proceeds, and that she paid $10,000 to Arthur and $6,000 to Rowland, and gave a car and jewelry to McKinney for their assistance in the murder.  Teresa Rowland and Theron McKinney were apparently not investigated for their alleged role in the crime.  Neither of them was prosecuted. 

Thomas Arthur maintains his innocence of the murder.  No physical evidence links him to the crime.  Hair samples and fingerprints from the crime scene were tested, but did not match Thomas Arthur’s.  He was convicted on disputed circumstantial evidence and the testimony of Judy Wicker, who had committed perjury at either her trial or Arthur’s retrial. 

On appeal in 2002, two affidavits were filed which contradict Judy Wicker’s testimony that Thomas Arthur was with her on the morning of the murder.  The affidavits, signed by Alphonso High and Ray Melson, stated that he had visited them that morning.  The state has not disputed that these affidavits, if true, establish that Thomas Arthur was about an hour’s drive away from the Wickers’ home at the time of the murder.  However, the state obtained its own affidavits from High and Melson contradicting their original statements.  Thomas Arthur’s lawyers raised critical questions about the circumstances under which these witnesses retreated from their original testimonies, and requested a hearing to resolve the factual disputes: their request was denied.  In 2006, the US Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit ruled that the disputed affidavits did not constitute sufficient new evidence for Arthur to be granted a new federal hearing of his case. 

In support of his argument that he should be allowed back into court for a hearing on his innocence claim, Thomas Arthur is seeking to have modern DNA testing conducted on various pieces of evidence related to the crime, including Judy Wicker’s bloodstained clothing, the rape evidence, and hair samples.  Such testing, it is argued, could establish that someone other than him was at the crime scene, thereby discrediting Judy Wicker’s trial testimony against Arthur. 

Amnesty International's mission is to undertake research and action focused on preventing and ending grave abuses of the rights to physical and mental integrity, freedom of conscience and expression, and freedom from discrimination, within the context of its work to promote all human rights. 

On 5 November 2007 , the Innocence Project, which represents inmates seeking DNA testing to prove their innocence, wrote to the Alabama Governor’s Office responding to its request for advice on how to approach requests for post- conviction DNA testing in capital cases.  In its letter to the Governor’s Policy Director, the Innocence Project outlined its guidance and urged the Governor to grant DNA testing in Thomas Arthur’s case.  Its letter stated: “We believe thatthe Arthur case easily fits within the category of cases where DNA testing should be granted… In fact, DNA testing has the potential to conclusively prove that Mr. Arthur was not the perpetrator of this crime and to identify the real killer.”

Alabama has scheduled Arthur’s execution despite the fact that DNA evidence exists which could help demonstrate his innocence; that his lawyers are willing to bear the cost of the DNA tests; and that the tests could be concluded before his scheduled execution on 31 July.  Among those calling for Governor Riley to order such tests is the Alabama newspaper, the Birmingham News.  In an editorial on 5 July, it wrote that the Governor “should have ordered the tests long ago, when he was first asked to do so.  But it’s still not too late.”

On 30 June 2008 , following his official visit to the USA , the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions issued a statement.  Alabama was one of the states he singled out for particular concern on the death penalty: “The situation in Alabama remains highly problematic.  Government officials seem strikingly indifferent to the risk of executing innocent people and have a range of standard responses, most of which are characterized by a refusal to engage with the facts.  The reality is that the system is simply not designed to turn up cases of innocence, however compelling they might be.  It is entirely possible that Alabama has already executed innocent people, but officials would rather deny than confront flaws in the criminal justice system.”

There have been 1,109 executions in the USA since judicial killing resumed there in 1977, 38 of them in Alabama .  There have been 10 executions in the USA this year.  In late 2007, the UN General Assembly passed a landmark resolution calling for a worldwide moratorium on executions.  The resolution recognized that “the use of the death penalty undermines human dignity,” that and “a moratorium on the use of the death penalty contributes to the enhancement and progressive development of human rights,” and “that any miscarriage or failure of justice in the implementation of the death penalty is irreversible and irreparable.” Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases, unconditionally.  There is no such thing as a humane, fair, reliable or useful death penalty system. 

More about Arthur’s death sentence and the controversy at:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/460953/will_alabama_go_through_with_the_execution.html?cat=17

And this link:
http://lethal- injection- florida.blogspot .com/2008/ 07/urgent- action-for- thomas-arthur. html

Please join me in prayer for Mr. Arthur, the State of Alabama, and all prisoners everywhere.

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UPDATE 7-29-08

From denmark@online.no

Friends,

We continue to hope that Governor Riley will grant Tommy Arthur DNA testing, but in the event that the State goes forward with the execution on Thursday, July 31st at 6 p.m. here is the list of Alabama vigils around the state. Please note the new vigil in Birmingham from 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and support it and those in your area. There is still time to contact the Governor!

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UPDATE 7/30/08 ~ THOMAS ARTHUR WAS GRANTED A STAY OF EXECUTION!  The Supreme Court of Alabama granted a last-minute stay of execution to Thomas Arthur shortly after another imprisoned man confessed to the crime Arthur was to die for committing.  See the link below: 
http://www.nowpublic.com/world/thomas-arthur-granted-stay-execution-mary-neal

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UPDATE ~ August 7, 2008

Arthur is still denied access to the evidence for DNA testing, and Atty. General King wants Arthur's stay of execution lifted despite aother man's confession to the crime for which Arthur is condemned to die.  Read:

http://www.waaytv. com/Global/ story.asp? S=8807706 

MOBILE, Ala. (AP) - Attorney General Troy King has asked the Alabama Supreme Court to lift its stay of execution for 66-year-old Thomas Arthur and set a new execution date. Arthur's execution was halted last week on the eve of his scheduled lethal injection.

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UPDATE - 8/14/08:  DNA Evidence "Lost"!

Alabama Gov. Bob Riley should lead the way in trying to figure out what happened to rape evidence in the capital murder case against Thomas Arthur.
08/14/2008

THE ISSUE: Gov. Bob Riley should lead the way in trying to figure out what happened to rape evidence in the capital murder case against Thomas Arthur. Gov. Bob Riley never has been inclined to order DNA tests requested by inmates on Death Row. The... - Birmingham News (Articles) : Read More 


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                             Jesus Wept.   John 11:35

Mary Neal
Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill
Website:  http://wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com