Roberts provides fifth vote to halt execution of Alabama inmate
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the execution of an Alabama death-row inmate convicted in a 1982 murder-for-hire shooting death.
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said in the Supreme Court order (PDF) that he was voting to stay the execution of Tommy Arthur as a courtesy to four colleagues who wanted time to review the inmate’s cert petition, report the Washington Post and AL.com.
Roberts said he didn’t think Arthur’s case merited a stay because his claims are fact-specific; dependent on contested interpretations of state law; and insulated from review by alternative holdings. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. voted to deny the stay application. The order did not name the four justices voting in favor of the stay and did not explain why an eighth justice did not vote.
The stay marked the seventh time Arthur won delay of his scheduled execution. He has maintained his innocence.
An Alabama judge had sentenced Arthur to death after a divided jury recommended the death penalty. Arthur’s lawyers claimed the Alabama system was unconstitutional under the U.S. Supreme Court decision Hurst v. Florida, which found that Florida’s death penalty scheme improperly allowed judges to determine aggravating circumstances meriting the death penalty.
The Alabama Supreme Court in October turned down a different defendant’s arguments that the Sixth Amendment requires jurors to determine not only the existence of any aggravating circumstances, but also whether aggravating circumstances outweigh any mitigating factors. Arthur’s stay petition contends that state supreme court decision is likely to be reversed.
