Execution date sought for Arthur

A little more than a week after the execution of Tommy Arthur was postponed, the Alabama attorney general's office has filed a motion to schedule a new execution date.

Arthur's New York-based attorney, Suhana Han, said she has received word that the attorney general's office has petitioned the Alabama Supreme Court to set a new date for her client's execution.

Arthur, formerly of Sheffield, was scheduled to be executed Sept. 27 for the 1982 Colbert County slaying of Troy Wicker in a murder-for-hire scheme involving Wicker's wife, Judy Wicker. Less than seven hours before the scheduled execution, Gov. Bob Riley granted a 45-day stay.

A clerk in the Alabama Supreme Court office said it may be weeks before Arthur's execution date is scheduled.

The date will depend greatly on the state's handling of a request to redo its lethal ejection process, which is used in executions.

While granting the stay, Riley stressed that his decision had nothing to do with the question of Arthur's guilt. He added that he intends for Arthur to ultimately be executed.

"The evidence is overwhelming that Thomas Arthur is guilty, and he will be executed for this crime," Riley said in a statement. The governor said he issued the stay because the state is changing the manner in which it administers lethal injection.

Riley said the execution should proceed once the lethal injection procedure is altered.

Riley said 45 days should be enough time for the Department of Corrections to make the change.

"It is my desire that, as soon as the stay has expired, justice will be administered to Thomas Arthur," Riley said.

Arthur continues to insist he is innocent of the crime, although three juries have convicted him.

Han said the 45-day window should give state prosecutors plenty of time to conduct DNA testing on evidence collected at the scene of Wicks' death. He was shot once in the eye while sleeping at his home in Muscle Shoals.

Han said Friday that she has filed an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court, asking for DNA testing to be completed. At the time of the crime in 1982, DNA testing technology was not advanced.

Attorney General Troy King's office has repeatedly said DNA testing wouldn't establish innocence, no matter what it shows. King said he agrees with Riley that the evidence against Arthur is overwhelming.

Montgomery Bureau Chief Dana Beyerle contributed to this report.

Tom Smith can be reached at 740-5757.