Alabama executes Tommy Arthur, who escaped 7 prior execution dates

MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- A man once called the "Houdini" of Alabama's death row for escaping seven past execution dates through legal challenges was put to death early Friday for a 1982 murder-for-hire shooting.Tommy Arthur, 75, was pronounced dead at 12:15 a.m. CDT Friday at a southwest Alabama prison after a lethal injection, authorities said.Arthur was convicted of killing riverboat engineer Troy Wicker, who was fatally shot as he slept in his bed in the north Alabama city of Muscle Shoals.Wicker'