| Petition-Alabama To Execute Tommy Arthur,July 31 | |
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| Topic Started: Jul 29 2008, 05:09 PM (1,601 Views) | |
| Sydney Carton | Jul 29 2008, 05:09 PM Post #1 |
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Both the Innocence Project and the Tommy Arthur web site are providing petitions to the Governor requesting permission to test both blood and semen DNA which will conclusively prove whether Tommy Arthur committed the murder for which he will shortly die. For reasons best known to themselves the officials of the state of Alabama refused to confirm that this evidence existed; now the Governor,one Reilly,in fact as of today is still refusing to respond to requests that the tests be conducted. Very strange.If Arthur is guilty these tests will clinch the State's case,if he is innocent,they may well identify the real murderer. Please,act on this one,bloggers.I only got word the last hour that it was definitely going through. The onlly way Alabama will grant these tests is through a massive display of public concern. http://www.thomasarthurfightforlife.com/ |
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| Sydney Carton | Jul 29 2008, 05:25 PM Post #2 |
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Here are a few further links to Southern fried justice in the State of Alabama. http://www.prisonpotpourri.com/EXECUTION_NEWS_ARTICLES/Hiding%20the%20ball%20Don%20Valeska%20and%20the%20rules%20of%20justice.html |
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| Quasimodo | Jul 29 2008, 05:27 PM Post #3 |
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I have no idea whether he is innocent or guilty; but if there is DNA evidence, it ought to be tested so that we can go beyond reasonable doubt before we execute someone. Contact form for Gov. Riley of Alabama: http://www.governor.alabama.gov/contact/contact_form.aspx Governor's Office Mailing Address State Capitol 600 Dexter Avenue Montgomery, Alabama 36130 Governor's Office Telephone Numbers Switchboard: (334) 242-7100 Fax: (334) 353-0004 Edited by Quasimodo, Jul 29 2008, 05:31 PM.
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| Jezebelle | Jul 29 2008, 05:28 PM Post #4 |
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Sydney, are you familiar enough with the case to explain what the sources and context of the untested DNA is? |
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| Sydney Carton | Jul 30 2008, 02:11 PM Post #5 |
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Jez: Sydney, are you familiar enough with the case to explain what the sources and context of the untested DNA is? SC I researched the case to some extent last summer and was quite surprised when I found a notice from the Innocence Project yesterday afternoon stating the execution was on for the thirty-first and all communication from the governor had ceased a month ago. Usually the Project is very good about keeping its recipients about to date. With time wasting,I refer you to the Project and Arthur's blog and then back to the Court records(twenty years of them). It is my clear understanding that the State is not denying the provence of the DNA simply that it is not required to furnish the evidence even though said evidence may well prove its case.It is certain that the DNA has never been under the defense's control for even five minutes. Texas blocked several tests;it now seems to be co-operating,as are numerous states. Virginia vs. Roger Coleman is,at present, the only known case where a defendant has been(apparently) proven guilty by DNA testing subsequent to execution. The question of Arthur's guilt or innocence does not enter into to this.The results could go either way.The entire case could have gone eeither way.That is why the test should be held. Even if Arthur should(someday) be proven guilty by the DNA evidence,the state's conduct (as Virginia's conduct in the Coleman case) is no less despicable. Please sign on. |
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| Jezebelle | Jul 30 2008, 02:38 PM Post #6 |
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I will take your request in the most Dickensian spirit ;) possible and sign on. |
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| Sydney Carton | Jul 30 2008, 03:25 PM Post #7 |
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For this relief much thanks,Jez. |
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| sdsgo | Jul 31 2008, 07:22 AM Post #8 |
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Supreme Court postpones execution By Garry Mitchell • The Associated Press • July 31, 2008 MOBILE -- 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." 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. today at Holman Prison. He was convicted of the Feb. 1, 1982, killing of Troy Wicker Jr. of Muscle Shoals. <snip> Full Story |
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| Sydney Carton | Jul 31 2008, 05:48 PM Post #9 |
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It turns out that the Alabama Supreme Court is more enlightened than the US Supreme Court.It voted 5-4 to stop the execution on the basis of the new confession.The Supreme Court voted 6-2 against Arthur 's request for the DNA evidence,even though an American Bar Association report on Alabama,Chapter 2,1907 has severely criticized this state's handling of DNA evidence. The confessioin may or may not be true but certainly(?),either way, the courts will now test the new confessor's DNA against the many samples left at the scene of the crime.Even if they do not match,it is still equally possible that they do not belong to Arthur . http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080731/NEWS02/807310337/1007/NEWS01 The Alabama prosecutor is arguing the man cannot be believed because he is a convicted murderer.Is he trying to be funny? The State previously argued (1) that Arthur was likely to be guilty because he has been previously convicted of murder and (2)it is still basing its entire case on the testimony of Judy Wicker,a convicted murderess. |
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| Quasimodo | Jul 31 2008, 08:17 PM Post #10 |
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Well, thank heaven for this much. Now, this may be a way to get his own DNA checked, despite what the prosecutor wants to do; and we may at last be able to find out if he's guilty or not. Edited by Quasimodo, Jul 31 2008, 08:17 PM.
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| Sydney Carton | Aug 1 2008, 01:45 PM Post #11 |
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I discovered a number of further disconcerting facts about the Arthur case. Arthur has never had the habeus corpus hearing promised every U.S. citizen.In fact the Supreme Court has recently ruled that even the alien detainees are entitled to a habeus corpus hearing. Then why was the U.S.Supreme Court,6-2,letting Arthur die without that habeus corpus hearing? He was late filing! The state of Alabama is the one state in the Union which does not provide any funds for a habeus corpus review in capital cases. At present ithis statehas 203 inmates on Death Row;most of them are in the lower income(read dead broke) and lower intelligence brackets.So under the Supreme Court's current ruling a lot of native Alabamians(but not alien combatants) die if they can't afford pay for that inalienable constitutional right. But our Supreme Court doesn't want to hear any sob stories about why being incarcerated,dumb ,and/or broke hindered you from filing your (possibly) handwritten petition on time.Further Alabama allows exactly one thousand dollars for the defense of an indigent capital defendant in the lower courts though in many cases (some few documented in our second letter here) they will squander hundreds of thousands to insure the conviction of not improbably innocent people. Moreover,it appears that the prosecutorial claims in this case that the State of Alabama is only seeking justice for the victim's family(how often have we heard that one before?) is pure country hogswill.The victim's sister(the closest living relative) has long since signed a statement that she(after attending two Arthur trials and her sister-in-law's trial) has no doubt that her sister-in-law is the real killer and she is not,pending the DNA test,convinced that Arthur had any-thing to do with the crime. But to terminate on a somewhat lighter note ,the Alabama Attorney General,Troy King, who has been vigorously prosecuting this sordid mess was quite recently( July 14) surprised by his wife in bed with another male. He has been bounced from the Republican presidential staff quicker than you can say John Edwards. http://www.opednews.com/maxwrite/print_friendly.php?p=McCain-Scrubs-Troy-King-fr-by-David-Caputo-080714-645.html |
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| Sydney Carton | Aug 14 2008, 05:00 PM Post #12 |
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The sovereign state of Alabama now admits that the DNA kit containing the crucial evidence went missing six months ago! No wonder it fought so hard to avoid DNA testing.Except for the last minute confession the State would have succeeded in executing the defendant on a complete bluff. Here is the affidaviit from the unfortunate Assistant Attorney General who inherited this putrid mass of corruption: http://www.thomasarthurfightforlife.com/images/Arthur_07-29-08_Crenshaw_affidavit0001.pdf This was filed on July 29th but the media and the bloggers(except for the Arthur defense site) appear to have ignored these admissions completely. P.S. Baldo,could you move this thread to the new section? Many more bizarre happenings may be anticipated,though it is hard to see how Alabama still hopes to perpetually avoid a stringent review of most everything that has ever happened in this case. |
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| wingedwheel | Aug 14 2008, 05:24 PM Post #13 |
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That is a awful turn of events. And for them to now own up to the evidence being missing for that long is really unbelievable. |
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| abb | Aug 14 2008, 05:27 PM Post #14 |
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At least they're coming clean. Durham and North Carolina has yet to do that. |
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| sdsgo | Aug 15 2008, 07:27 AM Post #15 |
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SC: The sovereign state of Alabama now admits that the DNA kit containing the crucial evidence went missing six months ago! This explains AG King's statement in my article above: "There is a good chance he is going to escape his sentence before all is said and done," the attorney general said. |
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