An inmate in Alabama came within hours of execution despite the fact that serious doubts arose about whether he had even committed the crime that put him on death row. Thomas Arthur had been scheduled to die in Alabama on July 31, but the Alabama Supreme Court voted 5-4 on July 30 to stay his execution after another inmate confessed to the murder for which Arthur had been sentenced to death. In a sworn statement, Bobby Ray Gilbert confessed to killing Troy Wicker Jr. more than 26 years ago. Gilbert is serving life in prison for another murder. The stay marked the third time Arthur has been spared on the eve of his execution date. The court did not give a reason for its stay, but Arthur had been requesting DNA testing related to the crime for some time. Apparently, some of the DNA evidence from the case has been reported missing.

Arthur’s daughter said she was in shock after she thought she had spent some of her last hours with her father and said, “I hope to finally end this, hope to finally prove the innocence that he’s claimed for 26 years.” An earlier bid to the state’s Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals to order testing of the DNA in the case had been denied. Arthur’s execution would have been the first in the Alabama since the U.S. Supreme Court approved the use of lethal injection in April 2008.
(Associated Press, “Other inmate’s confession halts execution,” CNN, July 31, 2008). See Innocence.