Court sets another execution date for Alabama inmate

Associated Press

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The Alabama Supreme Court has set a May execution date for an Alabama inmate who has had seven previous execution dates postponed.

Tommy Arthur is scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection on May 25. Arthur was convicted of murder in the 1982 slaying of Troy Wicker.

The court also set a June 8 execution for Robert Melson. Melson was convicted of killing three Popeye's restaurant employees during a 1995 robbery in Gadsden.

Arthur has waged a lengthy legal battle against the death penalty.

The U.S. Supreme Court halted Arthur's execution in November on the same evening he was set to die by lethal injection.

Alabama asked the court to quickly set a new execution date when the high court turned down Arthur's latest appeal.