SAVE THOMAS DOUGLAS ARTHUR
("TOMMY ARTHUR") IN ALABAMA
3 TRIALS. 7 EXECUTION DATES.
NOVEMBER 3RD, 2016: 7TH EXECUTION DATE STAYED
More in the Huffington Post
WRITE GOVERNOR BENTLEY TO EXPRESS YOUR CONCERN ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF EXECUTING AN INNOCENT MAN. Read more
Who is Thomas Douglas Arthur
Thomas Douglas Arthur has been on death row in Alabama for the murder of Troy Wicker in 1982. He has had 3 trials and 6 execution dates, now facing a 7th one, November 3, 2016. Now in his 74th year, Thomas Douglas Arthur maintains:
I am honestly by all that is HOLY innocent. I did not commit the crime I'm on death row for"
Case summary
Thomas Douglas Arthur ("Tommy Arthur"), was convicted of the 1982 murder of one Troy Wicker, despite the confession of Bobby Ray Gilbert as the killer.
His sentence was secured with the help of the testimony of the victim's wife, Judy Wicker, despite telling the authorities at first that Arthur was not involved in the crime. Bobby Ray Gilbert himself has testified under oath to the murder. Gilbert said he had an affair with Wicker and soon agreed to kill her husband. Arthur has always maintained his innocence.
State courts, however, have ruled in the past that Gilbert's confession was not credible, and have opposed DNA testing on never-before-examined evidence recovered from the crime scene, despite Arthur's attorneys agreeing to pay for the DNA testing.
Thomas Douglas Arthur ("Tommy Arthur"), was convicted of the 1982 murder of one Troy Wicker, despite the confession of Bobby Ray Gilbert as the killer.
His sentence was secured with the help of the testimony of the victim's wife, Judy Wicker, despite telling the authorities at first that Arthur was not involved in the crime. Bobby Ray Gilbert himself has testified under oath to the murder. Gilbert said he had an affair with Wicker and soon agreed to kill her husband. Arthur has always maintained his innocence.
State courts, however, have ruled in the past that Gilbert's confession was not credible, and have opposed DNA testing on never-before-examined evidence recovered from the crime scene, despite Arthur's attorneys agreeing to pay for the DNA testing.
To read more about Thomas Douglas Arthur's case, visit his page on the Amnesty website here
To read more about Thomas Douglas Arthur's position on his case through the years (1999), visit the website Justice Denied
Timeline on his case reported here
To read more about Thomas Douglas Arthur's position on his case through the years (1999), visit the website Justice Denied
Timeline on his case reported here
Thomas Arthur's plea for justice (2014)
M. Arthur is hoping for is to have a full in court reviews of his case, State rule 32, Federal habeas corpus and full complete forensic testing of "ANY, ALL physical evidence still available".
He writes:
"I've had five (5) separate execution dates - I am honestly by all that is holy innocent. I did not commit the crime I'm on death row for. (...)
I am not asking you to set me free. All I am asking you to do is demand (...) to immediately allow full in court reviews of Thomas D. Arthur State rule 32 AND Thomas D. Arthur Federal Habeas Corpus AND full complete forensic testing of any, all physical evidence still available. Full DNA testing of ALL evidence".
What the media have said (2012)
ANDREW COHEN, a contributing editor at The Atlantic, 60 Minutes' first-ever legal analyst, and a fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice, as well as a chief analyst for CBS Radio News, who won a Murrow Award as one of the nation's leading legal journalists, was writing in 2012, in an article: Another death row debacle: The case against Thomas Arthur
One day, some enterprising journalist will try to establish how much the state of Alabama spent over the years prosecuting Arthur, imprisoning him, and then defending the conviction and death sentence in his case. The figure must be astounding -- millions upon millions of dollars -- a hard cost of justice. But also an amount that makes ironic, and quite infuriating, the current fight over this last DNA test for this last bit of available evidence. You would think Alabama would be willing to pay just a bit more to perform the test. The fact that Arthur's attorneys are willing to pay for the test makes the state's refusal to test unconscionable.
In a RT video (below), a look is taken at the case of Thomas Arthur, as the 5th execution was set for March 29th, 2012 -. It says:
" Despite there being no physical evidence linking Arthur to the murder, no murder weapon found, and the confession of another man to committing the crime, Arthur is set to be executed on March 29th in Alabama". Huffington Post's Radley Balko discusses.
ANDREW COHEN, a contributing editor at The Atlantic, 60 Minutes' first-ever legal analyst, and a fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice, as well as a chief analyst for CBS Radio News, who won a Murrow Award as one of the nation's leading legal journalists, was writing in 2012, in an article: Another death row debacle: The case against Thomas Arthur
One day, some enterprising journalist will try to establish how much the state of Alabama spent over the years prosecuting Arthur, imprisoning him, and then defending the conviction and death sentence in his case. The figure must be astounding -- millions upon millions of dollars -- a hard cost of justice. But also an amount that makes ironic, and quite infuriating, the current fight over this last DNA test for this last bit of available evidence. You would think Alabama would be willing to pay just a bit more to perform the test. The fact that Arthur's attorneys are willing to pay for the test makes the state's refusal to test unconscionable.
In a RT video (below), a look is taken at the case of Thomas Arthur, as the 5th execution was set for March 29th, 2012 -. It says:
" Despite there being no physical evidence linking Arthur to the murder, no murder weapon found, and the confession of another man to committing the crime, Arthur is set to be executed on March 29th in Alabama". Huffington Post's Radley Balko discusses.
Read also
. Next to die, death row inmate Tommy Arthur begs Alabama governor: 'Halt all executions', October 2016, Al.com
. Nov. 3 execution date set for Tommy Arthur in '82 Muscle Shoals murder, Time Daily, September 15th, 2016
. Another death row debacle: The case against Thomas Arthur, The Atlantic, by Andrew Cohen, 27 February 2012
. Alabama's fierce death row battle, by Matt Wells, BBC News Alabama
. The Huffington Post article Thomas Arthur, Death Row, Discussed In Wrongful Imprisonment Episode Of 'Our America With Lisa Ling'? (VIDEO)
. Alabama Justice: The Case of Thomas Arthur, by William Fischer, March 12th, 2012