Prior to Wilmore and Hart's arrival, Washington had another session with Fauquier questioners, during which he "went through the story again." No recording or contemporaneous record has been kept of Wilmore and Hart's initial questioning, but Wilmore described it in court.
According to police testimony, after about an hour of going over the facts, the officers asked Washington their questions again and wrote down his answers. While his statement was being typed up, they drove him around Culpeper in search of the crime scene.
*****
Washington was arrested that same day for the Williams rape/ homicide. Preliminary hearings and appointment of counsel were held June 30 and Aug. 2, 1983, in Culpeper for a trial of Washington on the charge of capital murder. Rape was not part of the charge, though the prosecution would accuse Washington of rape during the course of the trial.
Motion hearings were held in November 1983. At those hearings, Dr. Arthur Centor of Central State Hospital in Petersburg testified for the commonwealth on a motion to suppress confession on Nov. 2, 1983.
Centor reported that Washington had an IQ of 69 and said, "This is at the very upper limits of mild mental retardation. His essential difficulties were in the verbal area, abilities in vocabulary, in information, and in comprehension. Later he said, "I do have an opinion that he does have the capacity to understand the Miranda rights as read to him."
Trial counsel John Scott Jr., who was hired by Washington's sister, Alfreda Pendleton, is now a judge in the 15th judicial circuit sitting four days a week in Fredericksburg and one day a week in Spotsylvania County. Scott never requested nor retained assistance by a mental- health expert to assist him in assessing Washington's mental disability and how it interplays in waiver of Miranda rights, confession and competency. According to Barry Weinstein, one of the lawyers currently working on Washington's case, this "would have made a world of difference."
Washington's current lawyers object to Centor's analysis. Two experts who examined Washington's intelligence for the defense during the appeals process, and another expert, professor Ruth Luckasson, who wrote a report for the clemency proceeding, view him as decidedly retarded. Luckasson wrote in her report of Dec. 17, 1993: "[i]n my professional opinion, Mr. Washington has mental retardation. It is well-documented that he has had this disability since he entered school, and it is likely that he has had it since birth or very early childhood. Throughout his lifetime, he has consistently demonstrated mental retardation. His seriously limited intellectual abilities have had grave effects on his life, and have clearly disadvantaged him during his contacts with the criminal justice system."
*****
By the time of the motion hearings in November 1983, newspapers and radio stations had been reporting on Washington's alleged confessions to the Culpeper crime and an apparently similar crime reportedly committed by Washington in Fauquier.
His lawyers requested the trial not be held in Culpeper on the grounds that jurors would be biased against Washington.
Nine affidavits from local citizens and a statement from the head of the Culpeper NAACP to the effect that Washington could not get a fair trial in Culpeper were presented in court. Judge David F. Berry denied the request for change of venue.
Washington's trial took place Jan. 18-20, 1984. The first day was used for jury selection, the second for the presentation of evidence, and the third for closing arguments and the penalty phase of the trial. Washington was found guilty of capital murder, and the jury recommended he be executed.
In Virginia, there are three phases of a capital trial: the guilt/innocence phase, the penalty phase and the sentencing phase. The jury recommended death at the penalty phase on Jan. 20, 1984. The sentence was imposed by Judge Berry on March 20, 1984.
Scott was appointed to appeal Washington's conviction. On Nov. 30, 1984, the Virginia Supreme Court affirmed the capital-murder conviction and sentence. On Jan. 18, 1985, that court denied rehearing the case.
That same year the U.S. Supreme Court denied review of the case. Washington's execution was set for Sept. 5, 1985, and he was transferred to the since demolished "Death House" at the Virginia State Penitentiary in Richmond to await execution.
According to police testimony, after about an hour of going over the facts, the officers asked Washington their questions again and wrote down his answers. While his statement was being typed up, they drove him around Culpeper in search of the crime scene.
*****
Washington was arrested that same day for the Williams rape/ homicide. Preliminary hearings and appointment of counsel were held June 30 and Aug. 2, 1983, in Culpeper for a trial of Washington on the charge of capital murder. Rape was not part of the charge, though the prosecution would accuse Washington of rape during the course of the trial.
Centor reported that Washington had an IQ of 69 and said, "This is at the very upper limits of mild mental retardation. His essential difficulties were in the verbal area, abilities in vocabulary, in information, and in comprehension. Later he said, "I do have an opinion that he does have the capacity to understand the Miranda rights as read to him."
Trial counsel John Scott Jr., who was hired by Washington's sister, Alfreda Pendleton, is now a judge in the 15th judicial circuit sitting four days a week in Fredericksburg and one day a week in Spotsylvania County. Scott never requested nor retained assistance by a mental- health expert to assist him in assessing Washington's mental disability and how it interplays in waiver of Miranda rights, confession and competency. According to Barry Weinstein, one of the lawyers currently working on Washington's case, this "would have made a world of difference."
Washington's current lawyers object to Centor's analysis. Two experts who examined Washington's intelligence for the defense during the appeals process, and another expert, professor Ruth Luckasson, who wrote a report for the clemency proceeding, view him as decidedly retarded. Luckasson wrote in her report of Dec. 17, 1993: "[i]n my professional opinion, Mr. Washington has mental retardation. It is well-documented that he has had this disability since he entered school, and it is likely that he has had it since birth or very early childhood. Throughout his lifetime, he has consistently demonstrated mental retardation. His seriously limited intellectual abilities have had grave effects on his life, and have clearly disadvantaged him during his contacts with the criminal justice system."
*****
By the time of the motion hearings in November 1983, newspapers and radio stations had been reporting on Washington's alleged confessions to the Culpeper crime and an apparently similar crime reportedly committed by Washington in Fauquier.
His lawyers requested the trial not be held in Culpeper on the grounds that jurors would be biased against Washington.
Nine affidavits from local citizens and a statement from the head of the Culpeper NAACP to the effect that Washington could not get a fair trial in Culpeper were presented in court. Judge David F. Berry denied the request for change of venue.
Washington's trial took place Jan. 18-20, 1984. The first day was used for jury selection, the second for the presentation of evidence, and the third for closing arguments and the penalty phase of the trial. Washington was found guilty of capital murder, and the jury recommended he be executed.
In Virginia, there are three phases of a capital trial: the guilt/innocence phase, the penalty phase and the sentencing phase. The jury recommended death at the penalty phase on Jan. 20, 1984. The sentence was imposed by Judge Berry on March 20, 1984.
Scott was appointed to appeal Washington's conviction. On Nov. 30, 1984, the Virginia Supreme Court affirmed the capital-murder conviction and sentence. On Jan. 18, 1985, that court denied rehearing the case.
That same year the U.S. Supreme Court denied review of the case. Washington's execution was set for Sept. 5, 1985, and he was transferred to the since demolished "Death House" at the Virginia State Penitentiary in Richmond to await execution.
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