*****
Marie Deans, who was the head of a private organization called The Virginia Coalition on Jails and Prisons, convinced the New York law firm of Paul, Weiss, to take up Washington's case, working without fee.
Eric M. Freedman, then a lawyer with the firm, is now a professor at Hofstra University and still working on the case. Robert Hall, an attorney now working in Reston, was brought in as local counsel.
Various other lawyers and experts assisted during the years of appeals that would follow. Two who joined the effort and are still with it are Gerald Zerkin of Richmond and Barry Weinstein, who currently works in Georgia. All of these lawyers are working for free.
Washington's new lawyers filed a state habeas corpus petition on Aug. 27, 1985, which included a great deal of the original press coverage, along with an expert's affidavit about how this would influence the jury. A habeas corpus petition is a court proceeding challenging the legality of a conviction and sentence.
On Dec. 23, 1986, the petition was denied without an evidentiary hearing. The lawyers filed a petition for appeal, and this was denied in February 1988. That same year, the U.S. Supreme Court denied review for the second time.
In July 1988, Washington's lawyers filed a federal habeas petition, which was denied without an evidentiary hearing in October 1989. The lawyers appealed to the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, and argued the case there in June 1990.
In December 1991 the case was remanded to the U.S. District Court for an evidentiary hearing. In July 1992, the petition was again denied.
*****
On Dec. 20, 1993, Washington's lawyers filed a petition for pardon. On Jan. 14, 1994, just as he was leaving office, Gov. Douglas Wilder commuted Washington's death sentence to life imprisonment, citing Washington's confession as reason for not giving him a complete pardon.
The life sentence that Wilder gave Washington allows him the possibility of parole. He is currently serving life plus 30 years for assault in an unrelated Fauquier case.
According to Larry Traylor of the Department of Corrections, Washington is ineligible for mandatory parole because of the life sentence but can be considered for discretionary parole once per year beginning Nov. 29, 2004. Did he not have the life sentence, Washington would now be eligible for parole.
Traylor said he could not reveal a record of Washington's behavior in prison, but the petition for pardon reads, "As a responsible prison official stated to defense counsel, Mr. Washington has been 'a model prisoner.'"
The reason for the partial pardon lies in DNA testing done in 1993 and 1994.
When Washington was convicted, DNA testing was not available. By the mid-1980s, the only testing available was electrophoresis.
This testing was done, Hall said, on seminal fluid on a blanket found at the crime scene. It could not be done on semen from the vaginal area of the victim, because the semen there was mixed with blood, skin, etc.
Marie Deans, who was the head of a private organization called The Virginia Coalition on Jails and Prisons, convinced the New York law firm of Paul, Weiss, to take up Washington's case, working without fee.
Eric M. Freedman, then a lawyer with the firm, is now a professor at Hofstra University and still working on the case. Robert Hall, an attorney now working in Reston, was brought in as local counsel.
Various other lawyers and experts assisted during the years of appeals that would follow. Two who joined the effort and are still with it are Gerald Zerkin of Richmond and Barry Weinstein, who currently works in Georgia. All of these lawyers are working for free.
On Dec. 23, 1986, the petition was denied without an evidentiary hearing. The lawyers filed a petition for appeal, and this was denied in February 1988. That same year, the U.S. Supreme Court denied review for the second time.
In July 1988, Washington's lawyers filed a federal habeas petition, which was denied without an evidentiary hearing in October 1989. The lawyers appealed to the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, and argued the case there in June 1990.
In December 1991 the case was remanded to the U.S. District Court for an evidentiary hearing. In July 1992, the petition was again denied.
*****
On Dec. 20, 1993, Washington's lawyers filed a petition for pardon. On Jan. 14, 1994, just as he was leaving office, Gov. Douglas Wilder commuted Washington's death sentence to life imprisonment, citing Washington's confession as reason for not giving him a complete pardon.
The life sentence that Wilder gave Washington allows him the possibility of parole. He is currently serving life plus 30 years for assault in an unrelated Fauquier case.
According to Larry Traylor of the Department of Corrections, Washington is ineligible for mandatory parole because of the life sentence but can be considered for discretionary parole once per year beginning Nov. 29, 2004. Did he not have the life sentence, Washington would now be eligible for parole.
Traylor said he could not reveal a record of Washington's behavior in prison, but the petition for pardon reads, "As a responsible prison official stated to defense counsel, Mr. Washington has been 'a model prisoner.'"
The reason for the partial pardon lies in DNA testing done in 1993 and 1994.
When Washington was convicted, DNA testing was not available. By the mid-1980s, the only testing available was electrophoresis.
This testing was done, Hall said, on seminal fluid on a blanket found at the crime scene. It could not be done on semen from the vaginal area of the victim, because the semen there was mixed with blood, skin, etc.
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