Thomas Arthur Granted Stay of Execution, by Mary Neal

HOLD OFF ON THE LETHAL INJECTION!  The Alabama Supreme Court granted Thomas Arthur a stay of execution today, which saved this condemned man from being executed at 6:00 p.m. Thursday, July 31.  The justices granted the stay by a narrow margin, 5 to 4.  The stay was granted after another jail inmate submitted an affidavit saying that he actually committed the murder for which Arthur was to be executed tomorrow. 

Governor Riley has been bombarded with requests from death penalty opponents to allow Thomas Arthur the opportunity to test the DNA evidence that he said would prove his innocence.  At the time when Arthur was convicted of this crime, DNA testing was not available, and he has been denied any opportunity to test the evidence to date.

The stay of execution by Alabama Supreme Court is being referred to by Associated Press as a “postponement.”  Hopefully, during this interim, Arthur will be allowed to finally test the DNA evidence.

See more about Thomas Arthur’s case at this link: