Execution Delayed as Different Convict Admits to Murder

July 31, 2008— -- MOBILE, Ala. (AP) -- The Alabama Supreme Court postponed the execution of Thomas Arthur late Wednesday, just over 24 hours before he was scheduled to die. It was the third time Arthur has received a stay on the eve of a scheduled execution.

Voting 5-4, the justices wrote a two-paragraph order postponing the execution "pending further orders of this Court." The move comes two days after another inmate submitted an affidavit saying he committed the crime that sent Arthur to death row.

"My reaction is we finally look forward to the opportunity to examine fully Mr. Arthur's claim of innocence by assessing witness testimony and DNA evidence," said Suhana S. Han, who is representing Arthur. "That is the right result."

State Attorney General Troy King said he was disappointed the court issued the stay because the victim's family had already waited too long for justice. "The crimes against Troy Wicker's family continue to compound," he said.

King called the stay a serious setback for the prosecution. "There is a good chance he is going to escape his sentence before all is said and done," the attorney general said.

Arthur, 66, had been scheduled for execution at 6 p.m. (CDT) Thursday at Holman Prison. He was convicted of the Feb. 1, 1982, killing of Troy Wicker Jr. of Muscle Shoals.

Han said she spoke to Arthur after receiving word of the stay and "needless to say, he was absolutely ecstatic."

"Having to face execution is something that most of us can never really imagine," she said.

Voting for a stay were Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb and justices Champ Lyons, Tom Woodall, Patti Smith and Glenn Murdock. Against were justices Harold See, Lyn Stuart, Mike Bolin and Tom Parker.

Arthur's attorneys, who claim DNA testing could exonerate their client, sought a stay of execution from Gov. Bob Riley and the courts by using an affidavit from convicted murderer Bobby Ray Gilbert, who is serving a life sentence at St. Clair Correctional Facility

In a sworn statement Monday to Arthur's attorneys, Gilbert claimed he killed Wicker when he was 17. But Wicker's widow, Judy Wicker, who served a prison sentence for hiring the killer, said in an affidavit to the attorney general's investigators that she never met Gilbert. She once again accused Arthur of the killing.