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Critics say Virginia DNA testing project is moving slowly
Posted: August 28, 2007 5:01 pm
Two years ago, Viriginia officials said they would begin to test crime scene evidence in hundreds of cases that may have been wrongful convictions, and now critics say the state’s crime lab is moving too slowly in completing the task.
The process has its roots in the 2002 exoneration of Innocence Project client Marvin Anderson. After officials declared that evidence in Anderson’s case had been destroyed, samples of evidence were found preserved in the notebook of a lab technician, along with samples from hundreds of other cases. After DNA testing on this evidence led to the exonerations of Anderson and two other men (Julius Earl Ruffin in 2003 and Arthur Lee Whitfield in 2004), the Innocence Project urged officials to conduct a broader review of cases. Then-Governor Mark Warner ordered a review of a 10 percent sample of the 300-plus cases in which the technician had saved evidence. Two more men (Phillip Thurman and Willie Davidson) were proven innocent by this review.
Based on these results, Warner ordered a systematic review of all Virginia convictions in which biological evidence led to convictions, and officials said the project would take two years. However, two years into the $1.4-million project, testing has not been completed on even the first 30 remaining cases. Critics have accused lab officials of dragging their feet:
Betty Layne DesPortes, an area defense lawyer and member of the board of directors of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, isn't satisfied. "They didn't complete four cases, so we really don't know the magnitude of the problem. . . . They left over 10 percent of these cases incomplete."But crime lab director Peter Marone said the undertaking has grown since inception. His department has searched over 500,000 files for potential evidence so far, he claimed.
"Why haven't they done it already? They have no sense of urgency or commitment to this project," she said.
"I do not see how this is foot-dragging," Marone wrote in an e-mail. "This is not an easy process on 20-to-30-year-old cases."Read more about the cases of Anderson, Ruffin, Whitfield, Thurman and Davidson.
Read the full story here. (Richmond Times-Dispatch, 08/28/2007)
Watch a video interview with Marvin Anderson.
Tags: Virginia, Marvin Anderson, Willie Davidson, Julius Ruffin, Phillip Leon Thurman, Arthur Lee Whitfield
Virginia editorial: Crime lab review should be transparent
Posted: October 25, 2007 4:35 pm
After DNA testing on biological evidence discovered in the files of a long-retired Virginia forensic analyst led to the exoneration of five innocent people between 2002 and 2005, former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner ordered a systematic review of possible DNA cases in the state lab. Officials say that review is moving forward, but the procedures have not been made public.
An editorial in today’s Virginian-Pilot calls for more transparency from the lab and prosecutors regarding their methods of reviewing cases for possible exculpatory evidence.
Lab leaders have sought assistance from local prosecutors in gathering information about the original crimes in each case. But an obvious bias exists if prosecutors are helping to decide whether a criminal case should be re-opened….Those convicted of the crimes have a right to know if new questions are being raised about their guilt, or alternatively if their guilt has been confirmed by new evidence.Lab officials announced last week that the first batch of 66 cases had been analyzed, and that two convicted defendants would be notified that their DNA was not found in the evidence from their case.
Read the full editorial here. (Virginian-Pilot, 10/25/07)
Read the full story here. (Richmond Times-Dispatch, 10/22/07)
While searching for evidence in the case of Marvin Anderson, Virginia lab officials discovered that retired analyst Mary Jane Burton had been saving samples of biological evidence in her files. Anderson was exonerated by tests on the evidence in 2002, and the other four men exonerated by these samples were Julius Earl Ruffin, Arthur Lee Whitfield, Phillip Leon Thurman and Willie Davidson.
Tags: Marvin Anderson, Willie Davidson, Julius Ruffin, Phillip Leon Thurman, Arthur Lee Whitfield
Arthur Mumphrey marks two years of freedom
Posted: March 17, 2008 4:36 pm
Today marks the second anniversary of Arthur Mumphrey’s exoneration in Texas. Mumphrey was released on January 27, 2006, after serving nearly 18 years in prison for a rape he didn’t commit. He was pardoned on March 17, 2006.
In 1986, Mumphrey was wrongfully convicted of the brutal crime based on the false testimony of co-defendant Steven Thomas. Thomas pleaded guilty during the 1986 trial and testified against Mumphrey in exchange for a 15-year sentence. DNA testing would later prove that Mumphrey’s younger brother, Charles, committed the crime with Thomas. Charles attempted to confess guilt to police at the time of the crime, but investigating officers apparently thought he was trying to take the blame for his brother because he was a juveline and would face a lighter sentence.
Read more about false testimony and informants here.
In 2002, Mumphrey hired Houston defense attorney Eric Davis to represent him in appeals seeking DNA testing. Davis and Mumphrey were twice told that the biological evidence couldn’t be located, but they demanded a third search. The evidence was found, and DNA tests proved Mumphrey’s innocence. Read more about Arthur Mumphrey’s case here.
Other exoneration anniversaries this week:
Tuesday: Wiley Fountain, Texas
(Served 16 years, Exonerated 3/18/03)
Wednesday: Edward Green, District of Columbia (Served 1 year, Exonerated 3/19/90)
Julius Ruffin, Virginia (Served 20 years, Exonerated 3/19/03)
Friday: Andrew Gossett, Texas (Served 7 years, Exonerated 3/21/07)
Tags: Wiley Fountain, Andrew Gossett, Edward Green, Arthur Mumphrey, Julius Ruffin
Virginia pauses massive DNA review to wait for federal funds
Posted: May 13, 2008 5:00 pm
The state of Virginia is seeking a $4.5 million federal grant to continue an unprecedented systematic review of DNA evidence in hundreds of convictions. The project, ordered over two years ago by then-Governor Mark Warner, has halted temporarily after spending $1.4 million in state funds.
The process has its roots in the 2002 exoneration of Innocence Project client Marvin Anderson. After officials declared that evidence in Anderson’s case had been destroyed, samples of evidence were found preserved in the notebook of a lab technician, along with samples from hundreds of other cases. After DNA testing on this evidence led to the exonerations of Anderson and two other men (Julius Earl Ruffin in 2003 and Arthur Lee Whitfield in 2004), the Innocence Project urged officials to conduct a broader review of cases. Gov. Warner ordered a review of a 10 percent sample of the 300-plus cases in which the technician had saved evidence. Two more men (Phillip Thurman and Willie Davidson) were proven innocent by this review and Gov. Warner ordered a systematic review of all convictions with biological evidence.
The review came under fire last year for not moving quickly enough because testing had not been completed on even 30 cases. The Washington Post now reports that lab workers have gone through 534,000 case files and sent thousands of relevant samples for testing.
The review has identified more than 2,100 files that contain forensic evidence with named suspects. The state has sent hundreds of samples to a private Fairfax County lab, Bode Technology Group, for testing.Virginia’s lab director Peter. M. Marone said the testing will continue with state funds if the grant doesn’t come through.
"We're just trying to make sure we'll expend federal grant money rather than state money," he said.
Read the full story. (Washington Post, 8/12/08)The Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project is monitoring the case review and has raised questions about why the state is not notifying defendants when testing is being conducted in their cases. Read more on the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project blog (http://www.exonerate.org/category/blog)
Read more about the cases of Anderson, Ruffin, Whitfield, Thurman and Davidson.
Watch a video interview with Marvin Anderson.
Tags: Virginia, Willie Davidson, Julius Ruffin, Phillip Leon Thurman, Arthur Lee Whitfield