The New York Times Magazine to be published Sunday has an extended article questioning the validity of the convictions of four sailors who confessed to the rape and murder of a woman in Norfolk in 1997.
The story by free-lance writer Alan Berlow cites inconsistencies between the confessions and the physical evidence and among the four confessions by defendants Joseph Jesse Dick Jr., Danial Williams, Derek Tice and Eric Wilson.
Moreover, DNA evidence at the scene of the death of Michelle Moore-Bosko did not match any of the four and does match that of Omar Abdul Ballard, who has been convicted of another rape and wrote a female friend that he had killed Moore-Bosko.
The four have filed a request for a pardon from Gov. Timothy M. Kaine. They contend that their confessions were made at the end of lengthy and abusive interrogations by a Norfolk detective.
Four former Virginia attorneys general, including Richard Cullen, also a former U.S. attorney and now chairman at McGuireWoods, believe the defendants are innocent, Berlow reports. The victim’s family and police, prosecutors and the defense attorney for one of the defendants continue to insist on their guilt.
Showing posts with label DNA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DNA. Show all posts
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Thursday, June 28, 2007
DNA given in one case can be used in another
A defendant who submits to a DNA mouth swab in one case can’t prevent prosecutors from using it to solve a cold case, according to a new decision from the Virginia Court of Appeals.
In Pharr v. Commonwealth (VLW 007-7-239), the court said that use of the DNA didn’t violate the defendant’s Fourth Amendment rights.
While the issue is one of first impression in Virginia, Judge Jean Harrison Clements wrote that the “overwhelming weight of authority” from other states supports the ruling.
In Pharr v. Commonwealth (VLW 007-7-239), the court said that use of the DNA didn’t violate the defendant’s Fourth Amendment rights.
While the issue is one of first impression in Virginia, Judge Jean Harrison Clements wrote that the “overwhelming weight of authority” from other states supports the ruling.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Earl Washington case settled?
The final chapter in the 25-year saga that began with the rape and murder of a Culpeper woman may be written soon.
The Richmond Times Dispatch reports that the state has agreed to pay $1.9 million to Earl Washington Jr., the mildly retarded man who falsely confessed to the murder of 19-year-old Rebecca Lynn Williams.
The settlement is still subject to the approval of U.S. District Judge Norman K. Moon. Washington won a $2.25 million jury award last year in federal court in Charlottesville, but the case is on appeal.
By the time of trial, the only defendant left was the estate of Virginia State Police Investigator Curtis Reese Wilmore, who died in 1994. Under the instructions the jury received, it had to believe that Wilmore fabricated Washington’s confession. That was a very bitter pill for the family of Wilmore, who enjoyed a strong reputation for integrity, and his attorney, William G. Broaddus.
Broaddus said Wilmore was the most diligent of all law enforcement officials involved in the investigation in pointing out the inconsistencies between Washington’s “confession” and other evidence that contradicted it. Those inconsistencies and DNA testing that was not available when he was arrested in 1982 eventually led to his exoneration.
In part because of the concerns of Broaddus and Wilmore’s family, the jury verdict will be set aside.
Risk also appeared to drive the settlement. If the verdict had been upheld on appeal, Washington would have been entitled to hundreds of thousands of dollars in attorneys’ fees in addition to the verdict. On the other hand, the state’s risk-management plan has a $2 million cap, and a question remained over whether the state has an obligation to indemnify what the jury found to be the willful misconduct of one of its agents.
The Richmond Times Dispatch reports that the state has agreed to pay $1.9 million to Earl Washington Jr., the mildly retarded man who falsely confessed to the murder of 19-year-old Rebecca Lynn Williams.
The settlement is still subject to the approval of U.S. District Judge Norman K. Moon. Washington won a $2.25 million jury award last year in federal court in Charlottesville, but the case is on appeal.
By the time of trial, the only defendant left was the estate of Virginia State Police Investigator Curtis Reese Wilmore, who died in 1994. Under the instructions the jury received, it had to believe that Wilmore fabricated Washington’s confession. That was a very bitter pill for the family of Wilmore, who enjoyed a strong reputation for integrity, and his attorney, William G. Broaddus.
Broaddus said Wilmore was the most diligent of all law enforcement officials involved in the investigation in pointing out the inconsistencies between Washington’s “confession” and other evidence that contradicted it. Those inconsistencies and DNA testing that was not available when he was arrested in 1982 eventually led to his exoneration.
In part because of the concerns of Broaddus and Wilmore’s family, the jury verdict will be set aside.
Risk also appeared to drive the settlement. If the verdict had been upheld on appeal, Washington would have been entitled to hundreds of thousands of dollars in attorneys’ fees in addition to the verdict. On the other hand, the state’s risk-management plan has a $2 million cap, and a question remained over whether the state has an obligation to indemnify what the jury found to be the willful misconduct of one of its agents.
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