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Virginia Challenges Earl Washington's Right To See Investigation Records
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
January 28, 2005

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA--Earl Washington Jr's ordeal with the state of Virginia is not yet over.

On Monday, the state Attorney General's office asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a federal appeals court decision which ordered the Virginia State Police to release files related to the investigation of the 1982 rape and murder of Rebecca Lynn Williams.

Washington, who has been described in the media as having "brain damage" and an IQ of 69, was convicted of the crimes in 1983 and sentenced to the death penalty. At one point, he came within a week of a scheduled execution.

In 1993, Governor L. Douglas Wilder commuted Washington's sentence to life in prison after forensic tests cast some doubt into his guilt. Seven years later, Governor Jim Gilmore pardoned him after DNA tests done on evidence gathered at the crime scene seemed to clear Washington and point to Kenneth Tinsley, a convicted rapist currently serving a life sentence. Gilmore had Washington released from prison, then ordered the case reopened.

State and local investigators still have Washington listed as a suspect in the Williams case. Tinsley has not been charged for the crimes.

Washington filed a civil suit against several officers last year accusing them forcing him to confess to the crimes. Washington asked that his name be cleared and that he be given an apology for the 17 years he wrongly served behind bars -- nine of which were on death row. Five media organizations later joined Washington in his suit to make the documents public.

Police argued that releasing the information to the public would undermine their investigation and compromise the privacy of innocent people.

On October 1 of last year, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that ten of the documents in the investigation records should be opened because state police "failed to present a compelling governmental interest that is sufficient to keep these documents sealed."

In his 1983 trial, police said Washington confessed to the rape and murder of Williams when they questioned him about a separate burglary. Washington later withdrew his confession.

Washington's attorneys have accused police of asking him leading questions and pressuring him to confess. They pointed out that in his cofession, Washington stated that 19-year-old Williams was black, that he stabbed her twice, and that they were alone when he killed her.

Williams, a white woman, was actually stabbed 38 times in front of two of her children.

Related
"Earl Washington, Jr." (Inclusion Daily Express)

http://www.inclusiondaily.com/news/laws/earlwashington.htm

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