Innocence Blog

Alabama Death Row Inmate Receives Stay Six Days Before Execution Date

Posted: March 23, 2012 5:45 pm

Thomas Arthur, who was set to be executed on March 29, has received a stay from a federal appeals court today. The full court will decide whether a panel of the appeals court was correct in overruling a lower court’s decision dismissing Arthur’s claim that it is cruel and unusual punishment for the state to use a new sedative called pentobarbital as part of the lethal injection. It is not clear at this point how long the stay will be in effect as the court has not set a schedule for its review.
 
Since Arthur was sentenced to death for the 1982 murder of Troy Wicker, another man has confessed to the crime. The Innocence Project joins Arthur’s attorneys in seeking post-conviction DNA testing in the case.
 
Read more about today’s developments.
 
Read more about Thomas Arthur’s case.