Digital Media Center
Bryant-Denny Stadium, Gate 61
920 Paul Bryant Drive
Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0370
(800) 654-4262

© 2024 Alabama Public Radio
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Court Revives Ala. Inmate's Execution Appeal

Atlanta, GA – A federal appeals court has revived an Alabama death row inmate's challenge of his state's new three-drug lethal injection protocol.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday reversed a judge's decision that dismissed Thomas Arthur's appeal.

Arthur is set to be executed on March 29 for the 1982 murder-for-hire killing of Muscle Shoals businessman Troy Wicker. It is unclear whether Wednesday's decision will postpone his execution.

His attorneys claimed that Alabama's decision to use a new sedative called pentobarbital as part of its three-drug execution combination could be cruel and unusual punishment. State attorneys pointed to successful executions where pentobarbital was used.

The three-judge panel's decision said the judge who dismissed Arthur's appeal should have considered whether the swap constituted a ``significant change'' to Alabama's execution protocol.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

News from Alabama Public Radio is a public service in association with the University of Alabama. We depend on your help to keep our programming on the air and online. Please consider supporting the news you rely on with a donation today. Every contribution, no matter the size, propels our vital coverage. Thank you.