Here's yet another exoneration story.
Three men are scheduled to be released from Illinois prisons this week after being exonerated of a 1991 rape and murder Thursday with the help of Northwestern Law School's Center on Wrongful Convictions and other legal advocacy groups.
Robert Taylor, James Harden and Jonathan Barr are represented by the Center on Wrongful Convictions of Youth, the New York Innocence Project and the University of Chicago Exoneration Project, respectively. All three agencies worked to prove the innocence of their clients, who have each been incarcerated for more than 10 years.
According to a press release from the New York Innocence Project, the State's Attorney Office in Illinois will soon move to "vacate the convictions" of Robert Lee Veal and Shainne Sharp, who were also falsely accused of the crime.
"We're certainly delighted that basically five innocent teenagers have been absolved of a horrible crime," said Rob Warden, the executive director of the Center on Wrongful Convictions.
Cateresa Matthews, a 14-year-old Rosa Parks Middle School student went missing in Dixmoor, Ill. on Nov. 19, 1991. Nineteen days later, her body was found, and authorities discovered she had been raped and shot in the mouth, according to the press release. Almost a year after the grisly murder, Illinois State Police questioned a student from the same school, then-15-year-old Veal, who subsequently signed a document confirming the guilt of himself and fellow teenagers Taylor, Barr, Harden and Sharp, according to the press release.
Despite the discovery of a semen sample from the victim's body that did not match any of the five defendants in 1994, the prosecution continued to push the case.
Veal and Sharp testified against Harden, Barr and Taylor in order to receive 20-year sentences, according to the press release.
The three other boys were later sentenced to at least 80 years in prison.
"It's an absolutely horrible thing that the state of Illinois has done to these children," Warden said. "The police coerced false confessions from three of these five kids. We think the police should not be able to lie to you about the strength (of their evidence). That practice ought to be banned."
In August 2009, Harden, with the support of the University of Chicago Exoneration Project, submitted a request for DNA testing.
Taylor and Barr also later requested for DNA testing through their respective representation. After the Dixmoor Police Department failed to cooperate, Judge Michele Simmons ruled the police department had to allow counsel to view evidence in storage.
After lawyers placed evidence into the national DNA database of criminal offenders, they found a match in Willie Randolph, who has been convicted of several offenses including domestic violence, burglary and assault with a deadly weapon, said Craig Cooley, a staff attorney at the New York Innocence Project.
"Once we identified Willie Randolph, we thought it was a slam dunk case," Cooley said.
After questioning Randolph, whose semen was found in Matthews but claimed he did not have sex with the student, the defendants' attorneys found another woman who said she was raped by Randolph at the same location.
According to the Center on Wrongful Convictions website, Cook County prosecutors vacated the convictions of Barr, Taylor and Harden. Although Taylor was released from Stateville Correctional Center Thursday, Harden and Barr are "scheduled to be released" from Menard Correctional Center on Friday.
Cooley said the prosecutors' decision to vacate all convictions came as a surprise because they did not alert any of the attorneys of their decision.
Representatives from each advocacy organization agreed that despite the success of Thursday's ruling, the time in prison has severely impacted their clients' lives.
"Nobody emerges from a system, from an experience like that, that's not seriously damaged," Warden said.
Brothers Harden and Barr, whose parents died while they were in prison, will have an even more difficult time adjusting to life outside prison, said Tara Thompson, staff attorney for the University of Chicago Exoneration Project.
"The process of learning how to function in regular society takes a long time," Thompson said. "Their parents will not be waiting for them."
Link: http://www.dailynorthwestern.com/campus/northwestern-s-center-on-wrongful-convictions-helps-exonerate-three-men-1.2665345
Showing posts with label Exoneration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Exoneration. Show all posts
Monday, November 7, 2011
Northwestern's Center on Wrongful Convictions helps exonerate three men
Here's yet another exoneration story.
Three men are scheduled to be released from Illinois prisons this week after being exonerated of a 1991 rape and murder Thursday with the help of Northwestern Law School's Center on Wrongful Convictions and other legal advocacy groups.
Robert Taylor, James Harden and Jonathan Barr are represented by the Center on Wrongful Convictions of Youth, the New York Innocence Project and the University of Chicago Exoneration Project, respectively. All three agencies worked to prove the innocence of their clients, who have each been incarcerated for more than 10 years.
According to a press release from the New York Innocence Project, the State's Attorney Office in Illinois will soon move to "vacate the convictions" of Robert Lee Veal and Shainne Sharp, who were also falsely accused of the crime.
"We're certainly delighted that basically five innocent teenagers have been absolved of a horrible crime," said Rob Warden, the executive director of the Center on Wrongful Convictions.
Cateresa Matthews, a 14-year-old Rosa Parks Middle School student went missing in Dixmoor, Ill. on Nov. 19, 1991. Nineteen days later, her body was found, and authorities discovered she had been raped and shot in the mouth, according to the press release. Almost a year after the grisly murder, Illinois State Police questioned a student from the same school, then-15-year-old Veal, who subsequently signed a document confirming the guilt of himself and fellow teenagers Taylor, Barr, Harden and Sharp, according to the press release.
Despite the discovery of a semen sample from the victim's body that did not match any of the five defendants in 1994, the prosecution continued to push the case.
Veal and Sharp testified against Harden, Barr and Taylor in order to receive 20-year sentences, according to the press release.
The three other boys were later sentenced to at least 80 years in prison.
"It's an absolutely horrible thing that the state of Illinois has done to these children," Warden said. "The police coerced false confessions from three of these five kids. We think the police should not be able to lie to you about the strength (of their evidence). That practice ought to be banned."
In August 2009, Harden, with the support of the University of Chicago Exoneration Project, submitted a request for DNA testing.
Taylor and Barr also later requested for DNA testing through their respective representation. After the Dixmoor Police Department failed to cooperate, Judge Michele Simmons ruled the police department had to allow counsel to view evidence in storage.
After lawyers placed evidence into the national DNA database of criminal offenders, they found a match in Willie Randolph, who has been convicted of several offenses including domestic violence, burglary and assault with a deadly weapon, said Craig Cooley, a staff attorney at the New York Innocence Project.
"Once we identified Willie Randolph, we thought it was a slam dunk case," Cooley said.
After questioning Randolph, whose semen was found in Matthews but claimed he did not have sex with the student, the defendants' attorneys found another woman who said she was raped by Randolph at the same location.
According to the Center on Wrongful Convictions website, Cook County prosecutors vacated the convictions of Barr, Taylor and Harden. Although Taylor was released from Stateville Correctional Center Thursday, Harden and Barr are "scheduled to be released" from Menard Correctional Center on Friday.
Cooley said the prosecutors' decision to vacate all convictions came as a surprise because they did not alert any of the attorneys of their decision.
Representatives from each advocacy organization agreed that despite the success of Thursday's ruling, the time in prison has severely impacted their clients' lives.
"Nobody emerges from a system, from an experience like that, that's not seriously damaged," Warden said.
Brothers Harden and Barr, whose parents died while they were in prison, will have an even more difficult time adjusting to life outside prison, said Tara Thompson, staff attorney for the University of Chicago Exoneration Project.
"The process of learning how to function in regular society takes a long time," Thompson said. "Their parents will not be waiting for them."
Link: http://www.dailynorthwestern.com/campus/northwestern-s-center-on-wrongful-convictions-helps-exonerate-three-men-1.2665345
Three men are scheduled to be released from Illinois prisons this week after being exonerated of a 1991 rape and murder Thursday with the help of Northwestern Law School's Center on Wrongful Convictions and other legal advocacy groups.
Robert Taylor, James Harden and Jonathan Barr are represented by the Center on Wrongful Convictions of Youth, the New York Innocence Project and the University of Chicago Exoneration Project, respectively. All three agencies worked to prove the innocence of their clients, who have each been incarcerated for more than 10 years.
According to a press release from the New York Innocence Project, the State's Attorney Office in Illinois will soon move to "vacate the convictions" of Robert Lee Veal and Shainne Sharp, who were also falsely accused of the crime.
"We're certainly delighted that basically five innocent teenagers have been absolved of a horrible crime," said Rob Warden, the executive director of the Center on Wrongful Convictions.
Cateresa Matthews, a 14-year-old Rosa Parks Middle School student went missing in Dixmoor, Ill. on Nov. 19, 1991. Nineteen days later, her body was found, and authorities discovered she had been raped and shot in the mouth, according to the press release. Almost a year after the grisly murder, Illinois State Police questioned a student from the same school, then-15-year-old Veal, who subsequently signed a document confirming the guilt of himself and fellow teenagers Taylor, Barr, Harden and Sharp, according to the press release.
Despite the discovery of a semen sample from the victim's body that did not match any of the five defendants in 1994, the prosecution continued to push the case.
Veal and Sharp testified against Harden, Barr and Taylor in order to receive 20-year sentences, according to the press release.
The three other boys were later sentenced to at least 80 years in prison.
"It's an absolutely horrible thing that the state of Illinois has done to these children," Warden said. "The police coerced false confessions from three of these five kids. We think the police should not be able to lie to you about the strength (of their evidence). That practice ought to be banned."
In August 2009, Harden, with the support of the University of Chicago Exoneration Project, submitted a request for DNA testing.
Taylor and Barr also later requested for DNA testing through their respective representation. After the Dixmoor Police Department failed to cooperate, Judge Michele Simmons ruled the police department had to allow counsel to view evidence in storage.
After lawyers placed evidence into the national DNA database of criminal offenders, they found a match in Willie Randolph, who has been convicted of several offenses including domestic violence, burglary and assault with a deadly weapon, said Craig Cooley, a staff attorney at the New York Innocence Project.
"Once we identified Willie Randolph, we thought it was a slam dunk case," Cooley said.
After questioning Randolph, whose semen was found in Matthews but claimed he did not have sex with the student, the defendants' attorneys found another woman who said she was raped by Randolph at the same location.
According to the Center on Wrongful Convictions website, Cook County prosecutors vacated the convictions of Barr, Taylor and Harden. Although Taylor was released from Stateville Correctional Center Thursday, Harden and Barr are "scheduled to be released" from Menard Correctional Center on Friday.
Cooley said the prosecutors' decision to vacate all convictions came as a surprise because they did not alert any of the attorneys of their decision.
Representatives from each advocacy organization agreed that despite the success of Thursday's ruling, the time in prison has severely impacted their clients' lives.
"Nobody emerges from a system, from an experience like that, that's not seriously damaged," Warden said.
Brothers Harden and Barr, whose parents died while they were in prison, will have an even more difficult time adjusting to life outside prison, said Tara Thompson, staff attorney for the University of Chicago Exoneration Project.
"The process of learning how to function in regular society takes a long time," Thompson said. "Their parents will not be waiting for them."
Link: http://www.dailynorthwestern.com/campus/northwestern-s-center-on-wrongful-convictions-helps-exonerate-three-men-1.2665345
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Cleared of Rape but Lacking Full Exoneration
RICHMOND, Va. — One Sunday morning in February 1984, Thomas Haynesworth’s mother sent him to the Trio supermarket to pick up some bread and sweet potatoes.
He never got there. Instead, he was stopped and questioned in connection with a recent rape. That began a 27-year odyssey through false accusation, arrest, prison and pain.
Mr. Haynesworth, then 18 and never in trouble with the law, had been mistakenly identified by the victim as her assailant. He was arrested on suspicion of having committed five rapes and assaults in his neighborhood, and was tried for four of them. He was convicted in three and sentenced to 84 years in prison.
DNA has since proved that he did not commit two of the rapes he was tried for. The DNA from those two cases pointed to another man, in prison for having committed multiple rapes in the same neighborhood that occurred after Mr. Haynesworth’s arrest. That man, Leon Davis, who identified himself to victims as “the Black Ninja,” is serving multiple life terms plus 100 years.
Now Mr. Haynesworth, 46, is asking for full exoneration on all of the rape convictions, although DNA from the other two cases is not available. But the circumstantial evidence supporting Mr. Haynesworth’s claims of innocence is so powerful that along with his own lawyers, the prosecutors from both jurisdictions where the rapes occurred support his efforts, as well as the attorney general for the commonwealth, Kenneth T. Cuccinelli.
With no one arguing against exoneration, most judges would be expected to congratulate Mr. Haynesworth on his new life, perhaps with an apology as well, and send him into daylight and freedom. But in July, a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals of Virginia said, in essence, “Not so fast.” The court called for additional briefs in the case, which will be heard again on Tuesday by all of the judges of the court.
It is a move that has left legal experts astonished. “It’s very rare for a court to set a case for argument when all the parties are agreed,” said Stephen J. Schulhofer, an expert in criminal justice at New York University law school, adding that “it’s essentially unheard of” for a court to take matters into its own hands, instead of appointing a special advocate to argue on behalf of the interests that they believe are unrepresented.
It is a case, then, that might seem quirky, even unique. But experts like Professor Schulhofer say the case raises broader questions about the lengths that defendants must sometimes go to clear their names, and even raises fundamental questions about the administration of justice. “What I worry about is, if Haynesworth is having trouble getting his conviction set aside, what kind of judicial relief is available to your run-of-the-mill case where your arguments are not quite so slam dunk?”
Mr. Haynesworth’s fight for freedom began in 2009, when the state’s department of forensic evidence tested the DNA from the first rape as part of a broad review of old case files. The results cleared Mr. Haynesworth of that rape, and he received an exoneration on that charge later that year. Mr. Haynesworth’s lawyers at the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project and the Innocence Project in New York, along with private lawyers, filed legal papers for Mr. Haynesworth with the Court of Appeals of Virginia to get a writ of actual innocence on the remaining convictions. Subsequent testing of the DNA from the trial in which Mr. Haynesworth was acquitted eliminated him — and again implicated Mr. Davis.
Virginia’s parole board released Mr. Haynesworth from prison in March, on his 46th birthday. But he is still pressing for exoneration — “to clear my name, you know what I’m saying?” He is classified as a paroled sex offender, and has to appear on public registries of rapists and other sexual miscreants. He has to inform the authorities in order to move from one home to another, and even had to request permission to visit his nieces.
“I’m out, but still not totally free,” he said. “It puts a cloud over your life.”
Mr. Cuccinelli said in an interview that he and his staff reviewed the evidence in the Haynesworth case in great detail. “It was a complex decision,” he said, “but it wasn’t a hard decision.” The thought of the wrongful conviction haunted him. “It’s hard to describe how painful it is to me that somebody would suffer what he has.”
He explained that the law that allowed writs of actual innocence was crafted with a very high standard of proof in mind. It places a premium on preserving the finality of the judicial process and attempts to avoid endless appeals. “I would say it’s cultural to the state,” he said. “You get your shot, you take your shot, and we’re not going to muck around with it anymore.”
Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/25/us/man-cleared-of-rapes-but-a-court-balks-at-full-exoneration.html?_r=2
He never got there. Instead, he was stopped and questioned in connection with a recent rape. That began a 27-year odyssey through false accusation, arrest, prison and pain.
Mr. Haynesworth, then 18 and never in trouble with the law, had been mistakenly identified by the victim as her assailant. He was arrested on suspicion of having committed five rapes and assaults in his neighborhood, and was tried for four of them. He was convicted in three and sentenced to 84 years in prison.
DNA has since proved that he did not commit two of the rapes he was tried for. The DNA from those two cases pointed to another man, in prison for having committed multiple rapes in the same neighborhood that occurred after Mr. Haynesworth’s arrest. That man, Leon Davis, who identified himself to victims as “the Black Ninja,” is serving multiple life terms plus 100 years.
Now Mr. Haynesworth, 46, is asking for full exoneration on all of the rape convictions, although DNA from the other two cases is not available. But the circumstantial evidence supporting Mr. Haynesworth’s claims of innocence is so powerful that along with his own lawyers, the prosecutors from both jurisdictions where the rapes occurred support his efforts, as well as the attorney general for the commonwealth, Kenneth T. Cuccinelli.
With no one arguing against exoneration, most judges would be expected to congratulate Mr. Haynesworth on his new life, perhaps with an apology as well, and send him into daylight and freedom. But in July, a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals of Virginia said, in essence, “Not so fast.” The court called for additional briefs in the case, which will be heard again on Tuesday by all of the judges of the court.
It is a move that has left legal experts astonished. “It’s very rare for a court to set a case for argument when all the parties are agreed,” said Stephen J. Schulhofer, an expert in criminal justice at New York University law school, adding that “it’s essentially unheard of” for a court to take matters into its own hands, instead of appointing a special advocate to argue on behalf of the interests that they believe are unrepresented.
It is a case, then, that might seem quirky, even unique. But experts like Professor Schulhofer say the case raises broader questions about the lengths that defendants must sometimes go to clear their names, and even raises fundamental questions about the administration of justice. “What I worry about is, if Haynesworth is having trouble getting his conviction set aside, what kind of judicial relief is available to your run-of-the-mill case where your arguments are not quite so slam dunk?”
Mr. Haynesworth’s fight for freedom began in 2009, when the state’s department of forensic evidence tested the DNA from the first rape as part of a broad review of old case files. The results cleared Mr. Haynesworth of that rape, and he received an exoneration on that charge later that year. Mr. Haynesworth’s lawyers at the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project and the Innocence Project in New York, along with private lawyers, filed legal papers for Mr. Haynesworth with the Court of Appeals of Virginia to get a writ of actual innocence on the remaining convictions. Subsequent testing of the DNA from the trial in which Mr. Haynesworth was acquitted eliminated him — and again implicated Mr. Davis.
Virginia’s parole board released Mr. Haynesworth from prison in March, on his 46th birthday. But he is still pressing for exoneration — “to clear my name, you know what I’m saying?” He is classified as a paroled sex offender, and has to appear on public registries of rapists and other sexual miscreants. He has to inform the authorities in order to move from one home to another, and even had to request permission to visit his nieces.
“I’m out, but still not totally free,” he said. “It puts a cloud over your life.”
Mr. Cuccinelli said in an interview that he and his staff reviewed the evidence in the Haynesworth case in great detail. “It was a complex decision,” he said, “but it wasn’t a hard decision.” The thought of the wrongful conviction haunted him. “It’s hard to describe how painful it is to me that somebody would suffer what he has.”
He explained that the law that allowed writs of actual innocence was crafted with a very high standard of proof in mind. It places a premium on preserving the finality of the judicial process and attempts to avoid endless appeals. “I would say it’s cultural to the state,” he said. “You get your shot, you take your shot, and we’re not going to muck around with it anymore.”
Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/25/us/man-cleared-of-rapes-but-a-court-balks-at-full-exoneration.html?_r=2
Cleared of Rape but Lacking Full Exoneration
RICHMOND, Va. — One Sunday morning in February 1984, Thomas Haynesworth’s mother sent him to the Trio supermarket to pick up some bread and sweet potatoes.
He never got there. Instead, he was stopped and questioned in connection with a recent rape. That began a 27-year odyssey through false accusation, arrest, prison and pain.
Mr. Haynesworth, then 18 and never in trouble with the law, had been mistakenly identified by the victim as her assailant. He was arrested on suspicion of having committed five rapes and assaults in his neighborhood, and was tried for four of them. He was convicted in three and sentenced to 84 years in prison.
DNA has since proved that he did not commit two of the rapes he was tried for. The DNA from those two cases pointed to another man, in prison for having committed multiple rapes in the same neighborhood that occurred after Mr. Haynesworth’s arrest. That man, Leon Davis, who identified himself to victims as “the Black Ninja,” is serving multiple life terms plus 100 years.
Now Mr. Haynesworth, 46, is asking for full exoneration on all of the rape convictions, although DNA from the other two cases is not available. But the circumstantial evidence supporting Mr. Haynesworth’s claims of innocence is so powerful that along with his own lawyers, the prosecutors from both jurisdictions where the rapes occurred support his efforts, as well as the attorney general for the commonwealth, Kenneth T. Cuccinelli.
With no one arguing against exoneration, most judges would be expected to congratulate Mr. Haynesworth on his new life, perhaps with an apology as well, and send him into daylight and freedom. But in July, a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals of Virginia said, in essence, “Not so fast.” The court called for additional briefs in the case, which will be heard again on Tuesday by all of the judges of the court.
It is a move that has left legal experts astonished. “It’s very rare for a court to set a case for argument when all the parties are agreed,” said Stephen J. Schulhofer, an expert in criminal justice at New York University law school, adding that “it’s essentially unheard of” for a court to take matters into its own hands, instead of appointing a special advocate to argue on behalf of the interests that they believe are unrepresented.
It is a case, then, that might seem quirky, even unique. But experts like Professor Schulhofer say the case raises broader questions about the lengths that defendants must sometimes go to clear their names, and even raises fundamental questions about the administration of justice. “What I worry about is, if Haynesworth is having trouble getting his conviction set aside, what kind of judicial relief is available to your run-of-the-mill case where your arguments are not quite so slam dunk?”
Mr. Haynesworth’s fight for freedom began in 2009, when the state’s department of forensic evidence tested the DNA from the first rape as part of a broad review of old case files. The results cleared Mr. Haynesworth of that rape, and he received an exoneration on that charge later that year. Mr. Haynesworth’s lawyers at the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project and the Innocence Project in New York, along with private lawyers, filed legal papers for Mr. Haynesworth with the Court of Appeals of Virginia to get a writ of actual innocence on the remaining convictions. Subsequent testing of the DNA from the trial in which Mr. Haynesworth was acquitted eliminated him — and again implicated Mr. Davis.
Virginia’s parole board released Mr. Haynesworth from prison in March, on his 46th birthday. But he is still pressing for exoneration — “to clear my name, you know what I’m saying?” He is classified as a paroled sex offender, and has to appear on public registries of rapists and other sexual miscreants. He has to inform the authorities in order to move from one home to another, and even had to request permission to visit his nieces.
“I’m out, but still not totally free,” he said. “It puts a cloud over your life.”
Mr. Cuccinelli said in an interview that he and his staff reviewed the evidence in the Haynesworth case in great detail. “It was a complex decision,” he said, “but it wasn’t a hard decision.” The thought of the wrongful conviction haunted him. “It’s hard to describe how painful it is to me that somebody would suffer what he has.”
He explained that the law that allowed writs of actual innocence was crafted with a very high standard of proof in mind. It places a premium on preserving the finality of the judicial process and attempts to avoid endless appeals. “I would say it’s cultural to the state,” he said. “You get your shot, you take your shot, and we’re not going to muck around with it anymore.”
Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/25/us/man-cleared-of-rapes-but-a-court-balks-at-full-exoneration.html?_r=2
He never got there. Instead, he was stopped and questioned in connection with a recent rape. That began a 27-year odyssey through false accusation, arrest, prison and pain.
Mr. Haynesworth, then 18 and never in trouble with the law, had been mistakenly identified by the victim as her assailant. He was arrested on suspicion of having committed five rapes and assaults in his neighborhood, and was tried for four of them. He was convicted in three and sentenced to 84 years in prison.
DNA has since proved that he did not commit two of the rapes he was tried for. The DNA from those two cases pointed to another man, in prison for having committed multiple rapes in the same neighborhood that occurred after Mr. Haynesworth’s arrest. That man, Leon Davis, who identified himself to victims as “the Black Ninja,” is serving multiple life terms plus 100 years.
Now Mr. Haynesworth, 46, is asking for full exoneration on all of the rape convictions, although DNA from the other two cases is not available. But the circumstantial evidence supporting Mr. Haynesworth’s claims of innocence is so powerful that along with his own lawyers, the prosecutors from both jurisdictions where the rapes occurred support his efforts, as well as the attorney general for the commonwealth, Kenneth T. Cuccinelli.
With no one arguing against exoneration, most judges would be expected to congratulate Mr. Haynesworth on his new life, perhaps with an apology as well, and send him into daylight and freedom. But in July, a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals of Virginia said, in essence, “Not so fast.” The court called for additional briefs in the case, which will be heard again on Tuesday by all of the judges of the court.
It is a move that has left legal experts astonished. “It’s very rare for a court to set a case for argument when all the parties are agreed,” said Stephen J. Schulhofer, an expert in criminal justice at New York University law school, adding that “it’s essentially unheard of” for a court to take matters into its own hands, instead of appointing a special advocate to argue on behalf of the interests that they believe are unrepresented.
It is a case, then, that might seem quirky, even unique. But experts like Professor Schulhofer say the case raises broader questions about the lengths that defendants must sometimes go to clear their names, and even raises fundamental questions about the administration of justice. “What I worry about is, if Haynesworth is having trouble getting his conviction set aside, what kind of judicial relief is available to your run-of-the-mill case where your arguments are not quite so slam dunk?”
Mr. Haynesworth’s fight for freedom began in 2009, when the state’s department of forensic evidence tested the DNA from the first rape as part of a broad review of old case files. The results cleared Mr. Haynesworth of that rape, and he received an exoneration on that charge later that year. Mr. Haynesworth’s lawyers at the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project and the Innocence Project in New York, along with private lawyers, filed legal papers for Mr. Haynesworth with the Court of Appeals of Virginia to get a writ of actual innocence on the remaining convictions. Subsequent testing of the DNA from the trial in which Mr. Haynesworth was acquitted eliminated him — and again implicated Mr. Davis.
Virginia’s parole board released Mr. Haynesworth from prison in March, on his 46th birthday. But he is still pressing for exoneration — “to clear my name, you know what I’m saying?” He is classified as a paroled sex offender, and has to appear on public registries of rapists and other sexual miscreants. He has to inform the authorities in order to move from one home to another, and even had to request permission to visit his nieces.
“I’m out, but still not totally free,” he said. “It puts a cloud over your life.”
Mr. Cuccinelli said in an interview that he and his staff reviewed the evidence in the Haynesworth case in great detail. “It was a complex decision,” he said, “but it wasn’t a hard decision.” The thought of the wrongful conviction haunted him. “It’s hard to describe how painful it is to me that somebody would suffer what he has.”
He explained that the law that allowed writs of actual innocence was crafted with a very high standard of proof in mind. It places a premium on preserving the finality of the judicial process and attempts to avoid endless appeals. “I would say it’s cultural to the state,” he said. “You get your shot, you take your shot, and we’re not going to muck around with it anymore.”
Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/25/us/man-cleared-of-rapes-but-a-court-balks-at-full-exoneration.html?_r=2
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