Appeals Court Won't Stop Thomas Arthur's Execution

MOBILE, Ala. (AP) - A federal appeals panel has denied a stay of
execution for 66-year-old Thomas Arthur, who faces lethal injection
next week in Alabama for a 1982 murder.
A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on
Wednesday ruled in favor of state prosecutors who argued that
Arthur was attempting to relitigate issues settled last year by the
courts.
The 11th Circuit ruled his latest challenge to lethal injection
was moot now that the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld that form of
execution in its Kentucky ruling. The panel also refused to block
Arthur's scheduled July 31 execution to allow DNA testing of
evidence from his trial.
A separate stay request was pending Thursday before the Alabama
Supreme Court.


(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)