Amnesty International issues urgent action alert for Thomas Arthur

Called one of the organization's "core human rights tools," urgent action alerts are designed to mobilize tens of thousands of people to send appeals on behalf of those in danger of what the Amnesty International sees as human rights violations. The organization issued an updated alert (pdf) for Thomas Arthur, scheduled to be executed this week (Dec. 6) in Alabama, on Thursday.

Arthur maintains his innocence and has requested DNA testing of evidence that has never been examined before. Alabama has vigorously opposed Arthur's requests.