By Associated Press
Montgomery AL – 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.