Today the Alabama Supreme Court granted Tommy Arthur’s request for a stay of his execution. For years, Mr. Arthur has been asking the State for an opportunity to test the DNA evidence from his trial so that he could prove his claim of innocence. The order staying his execution came one day before he was to be executed.
Earlier this week, another Alabama inmate, Bobby Ray Gilbert, signed an affidavit saying that he committed the crime that sent Mr. Arthur to death row. Mr. Gilbert is currently serving life without parole for another murder. Mr. Arthur argued in a motion to the Alabama Supreme Court that Mr. Gilbert’s confession supported his claim that DNA testing could exonerate him.