After 34 years on death row, eight execution warrants
Thomas Arthur dies by lethal injection in Alabama
By
Kate Randall
27 May 2017
The state of Alabama executed death row inmate Thomas Arthur on Thursday night at the Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore. Arthur, 74, had spent 34 years on death row and had seven previous death warrants served against him.
Arthur’s execution began only a quarter hour before his death warrant was due to expire at midnight. The US Supreme Court denied his appeal for a stay of execution at 10:45 p.m. and his lethal injection began at about 11:45 p.m. He was killed using a three-drug protocol that begins with the sedative midazolam.
According to witness from al.com, Arthur read out the names of his children as he was strapped to the gurney. His request to have a photo of his children in the execution chamber had been approved by prison authorities. “I’m sorry I failed you as a father,” he said with a quivering voice. “I love you more than anything on Earth.”
Arthur began to slowly drift off after the first drug was administered, according to witnesses, and his breathing then became more shallow. He was pronounced dead at 12:15 a.m. His execution was apparently in sharp contrast to the December 8 execution of another Alabama inmate, Ronald Smith, who heaved and gasped for breath for 13 minutes before succumbing to the lethal drugs.
Arthur was convicted of capital murder in 1983 for the 1982 murder of Troy Wicker, Jr. That verdict was overturned, and he was retried in 1987 and convicted. That verdict was also overturned. He was convicted in his third and final trial in 1991 and sentenced to death.
Thursday’s execution was set to begin at 6 p.m., but was delayed by final appeals to the US Supreme Court. His attorneys argued…