Testing For Tommy
The United States Supreme Court has delayed the execution of Thomas Arthur, an inmate who's been on death row in Alabama for twenty years, not because they believe Arthur may be innocent, but because they will soon consider whether lethal injections (the common method of execution in the U.S.) constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.
The case ...
A woman claimed a stranger broke into her home, raped her, and killed her husband. Police didn't buy her story and she was charged and convicted for her husband's murder. She then changed her story and pointed the finger at Thomas Arthur. Arthur was arrested and convicted, based solely on this testimony, and the wife was released. Physical evidence taken from the crime scene, including a rape kit, was not tested for DNA since the technology didn't exist at the time. Now it does.
The Innocence Project is calling on Alabama Governor Bob Riley to take advantage of the delay in the execution to order DNA testing in the case, but the Governor has so far refused. The testing would take about four weeks and could be completed well before the Supreme Court deliberates on the lethal injection issue.
Why would the Governor refuse to allow the testing? It is not inconceivable that Thomas Arthur may be innocent. Across the United States, 15 people on death row have been exonerated through DNA testing, sometimes within days of their scheduled executions. When a man's life is at stake, shouldn't every effort be made to ensure justice is done, whether that means proving Thomas Arthur is innocent or guilty?
The Innocence Project has prepared a web page through which you can send a message to Governor Riley asking for DNA testing in this case: http://www.innocenceproject.org/testing-for-tommy