Virginia Court Could Clear Thomas Haynesworth
09.27.11
This morning, attorneys from the Innocence Project, the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project and Hogan Lovells US LLP appeared before the Virginia Court of Appeals and urged the court to exonerate Thomas Haynesworth who was incarcerated nearly 27 years for three rapes that DNA and other evidence now show were committed by the notorious “Black Ninja” rapist.
Prosecutors in Richmond and Henrico County, as well the Virginia’s attorney general, all believe Haynesworth is innocent, reported the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
Lawyers said the judges also wanted guidance on how much emphasis should be placed on the fact that the attorney general, who would normally be in the position of defending a conviction, is fully convinced of Haynesworth’s innocence.
The fate of a full exoneration for Haynesworth rests in the decision of the nine judges on the state’s Court of Appeals.
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