Va. weighs DNA testing after execution

[Eugene]

Monday, January 2, 2006 · Last updated 10:30 a.m. PT

Va. weighs DNA testing after execution

By KRISTEN GELINEAU
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

RICHMOND, Va. -- With less than two weeks left in Gov. Mark R. Warner's term, time is running out
for him to arrange DNA testing that could determine whether Virginia sent an innocent man to the
electric chair in 1992.

If the tests show Roger Keith Coleman did not rape and murder his sister-in-law in 1981, it will
mark the first time in the United States an executed person has been scientifically proved innocent,
say death penalty opponents, who are keenly aware that such a result could have a powerful effect
on public opinion.

"I think it would be the final straw for a lot of people who are on the fence on the death penalty,"
said Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center in Washington.

<snip>

Warner - a potential Democratic presidential contender for 2008 - hopes to complete negotiations
over how the test would be conducted before his term ends Jan. 14, said spokesman Kevin Hall.

<snip>

Full article: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1110AP_Execution_DNA.html

[hippiechick]

1. Um, dare I ask what the point of the test is NOW ?

... The person is already DEAD. EXECUTED. BY THE STATE OF VA. If there was any doubt, the tests should have been done THEN, or if nothing else, his sentence should have been commuted.

WhyTF do I get the feeling that Warner trying to use this for political hay ? :(

[mainegreen]

2. I'm for it. If one innocent man was found to have been executed

you would have an ironclad argument against the death penalty. It could be the catalyst to virtually eliminate it in this country.

[Bill McBlueState]

3. we can hope so

But the Freepers will try to say that the occasional murder of an innocent by the state (as long as he's black, Latino, and/or poor) is the price we pay for our safety.

[sharp_stick]

4. The reason to test it now

is that people that support the death penalty use the line "a factual innocent has not been executed since the reinstatement of the death penalty in the 70s". They conveniently forget that once someone has been killed by the state virtually all effort to show innocence ceases. A lot of States go so far as to destroy evidence after an execution.

If testing can show that Coleman was innocent it will break down one of the pillars that the pro death penalty people use as support.

Also, some of the sophisticated testing that they want to do wasn't available when Coleman was alive.

[Lindacooks]

8. Anything that puts the death penalty on shaky legal ground is fine by me.

Governor Warner is NOT 'making political hay'. These questions about DNA and the death penalty need to be answered; I don't care HOW long ago the original crime was. The state is executing innocent people. And all tools should be used to stop it.

[Frances]

9. I don't think that DNA tests were common in 1992

It's only since CSI programs that the general public has begun to trust these tests. I think that it's important to verify that the people who have been put to death by the government were really guilty. The way to do that is to test for DNA if there is any left from the date of the crime. Of course, people currently on trial for murder should be tested for DNA evidence.

[benddem]

5. HOw about

guaranteeing a DNA test before Execution. How stupid

[GoddessOfGuinness]

15. Before would be best, but

if it serves to make people feel like shit for murdering an innocent man, so much the better.

[MADem]

6. Doug Wilder, a Dem, was governor in 92

He is also black (ish--funny how a drop is enough in the good ole USA!) and the first person of African descent to be elected as VA gov. He was pro death penalty, as I recall, and as conservative as Zell fricken Miller--it was almost ludicrous that he ran as a Dem. He's mayor of Richmond nowadays, I believe.

Interestingly enough, I did not realize until recently that VA was the location of the first execution in the New World, and is the "killingest state" in the long view--though I would guess TX is working hard to catch up. http://www.vadp.org/info.htm

History of the death penalty in Virginia:
Virginia introduced the death penalty to the "New World" by hanging George Kendall in the early 1600's
Virginia has carried out over 1,300 executions in its history, more than any other state.
Virginia has executed more women and the youngest children of any state in the nation.
Between October of 1908 and March of 1962, Virginia used the electric chair to execute 236 people. 201 of those were black males, 34 were white males; one, Virginia Christian, was a 17-year-old black female. During that period, the youngest, Percy Ellis, was executed at the age of 16.
In February of 1951, Virginia executed 8 men in a 72-hour period. All 8 men were black and 7 were executed for the rape of one white woman. These seven were known as the Martinsville Seven.
Virginia's single year record for executions is 17 in 1909.

I'm wondering if he is looking down the road at GEORGE ALLEN--who is thinking about running on the GOP ticket (a lot of times they run for the prize, and take VP, and that could be his strategy). Anyone familiar with who got the needle under Allen? Any "iffy" cases? Perhaps there is an issue there, and Warner is taking this opportunity to pull out that can opener and let loose the proverbial can of worms, as it were.....

[jmm]

7. It's sickening to think of how many times

courts have stood in the way of post execution DNA testing. Here's an older article about Coleman. Of course we'll never have definitive proof that innocent people have been executed if in many cases the courts have stood in the way claiming the public doesn't have access to that info.


http://www.truthinjustice.org/DNA_Testing_Denied.html

DNA Testing by Media Barred
Va. Justices Deny Access in Case of Executed Man
By Eric M. Weiss; Washington Post
Saturday, November 2, 2002

The Virginia Supreme Court yesterday refused to allow new DNA testing of evidence left over from the case of executed killer Roger Keith Coleman, ruling that doing so would unduly expand the public's right of access.

A group of newspapers, including The Washington Post, and a New Jersey charity had asked the court to allow them to use new technology to answer lingering questions about Coleman's guilt. They asked for the evidence left from the 1981 rape and murder of Coleman's sister-in-law, Wanda McCoy, so they could perform advanced DNA analysis that was not available before Coleman's execution in 1992.

The state opposed the request, saying that the papers didn't have the legal standing to obtain and analyze the evidence and that new tests would not contribute to public confidence in the application of the death penalty.

.....

A lower court had previously rejected the request, finding that the newspapers and the charity did not have standing to make the request. Yesterday's state Supreme Court decision went even further, saying that new testing would venture far beyond what is considered rightful public access in criminal proceedings, perhaps opening the door to testing of other evidence, such as assault weapons or illegal drugs.
.....

[daleo]

10. DNA has exonerated several convicted murderers in Canada

Milgaard, Moran, and Marshall are the three that come to mind. They were all released after many years in prison. Had we kept the death penalty, they would have all been executed, most likely. This is a powerful argument against the death penalty. The only response is along the lines of "you have to break a few eggs to make an omelet". Even neo-cons don't like to publicly sound that callous.

[davidinalameda]

11. why not before????

wouldn't that make more sense?

the main reason that I'm against the death penalty is because innocent people have been put to death

yes, I know that innocent people are sent to prison every day but they're not losing their lives

[sakabatou]

12. After the execution?!

Have these guys lost a few brain cells?

[wakeme2008]

14. They fried him in 1992

before good DNA testing was around.

[sakabatou]

16. Dakara...

Still...

[HuffleClaw]

13. erm, wouldn't it behoove them to think about

conducting dna tests BEFORE the executions?

[MrSlayer]

17. DNA should be considered BEFORE the fucking execution.

I'm for the DP but you MUST consider ALL the evidence first. DNA is critical evidence. It is ridiculous to execute someone without attempting to match it to the crime scene.

[msanthrope]

18. Dear Mark--If you are to lead us into battle in

2008, please do the right and moral thing now.

And I will vote for you.

ETA---

and I'll donate, too.