"The three former sailors, Joseph Dick, Eric C. Wilson and Danial Williams, appealed their convictions of the 1997 rape and murder of Navy wife Michelle Moore-Bosko in Norfolk. A fourth former sailor, Derek Tice, won an appeal in federal court to have his conviction dismissed.
A fifth man, Omar Ballard, confessed to committing the crime alone and is serving life in prison. Only his DNA matched evidence found at the crime scene.
Three of the sailors were granted a partial pardon in 2009 by then-Gov. Timothy M. Kaine and released from prison. The continuing appeals are an effort to completely clear their records.
Attorneys for the men maintain they are innocent. "The recent dismissal of charges against Derek Tice underscores their innocence and the need to vacate the wrongful convictions that remain intact in their cases," the statement said."
REPORTER LOUIS HANSEN: THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT;
Photo: Derek Tice.
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BACKGROUND: FRONTLINE; "(Derek) Tice's complicated road to exoneration was profiled in our November 2010 film The Confessions, which investigated the problematic way Tice's case -- and the cases of three other men, a group known as the "Norfolk Four" -- were handled by Virginia's justice system. All four Navy men underwent long interrogations before breaking under pressure, admitting they took part in Moore-Bosko's violent death. It wasn't until 1999, after the Norfolk Four were incarcerated, that another inmate named Omar Ballard confessed that he committed the crime alone. Ballard's DNA matched evidence found at the scene of Moore-Bosko's death, while no physical evidence could connect the Norfolk Four to the crime. "It's a victory for me, but there's still three other guys," Tice said upon hearing the news. (He was officially freed early in August 2011 after two felony charges were dropped against him) The guys, Joe Dick Jr., Eric Wilson and Danial Williams, have all filed appeals to the Virginia Supreme Court after a lower court dismissed earlier petitions in March."
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"NORFOLK: The Virginia Supreme Court this week rejected appeals from three members of the Norfolk Four to overturn their convictions," the Virginian-Pilot story by reporter Louis Hansen published earlier today under the heading, "Members of Norfolk Four rejected by Va. high court," begins.
"The justices found no grounds to reverse an earlier trial court decision, they wrote in a court document filed Tuesday. The ruling could end the state appeals options for the three men and move their legal efforts to federal appeals courts," the story continues.
"The three former sailors, Joseph Dick, Eric C. Wilson and Danial Williams, appealed their convictions of the 1997 rape and murder of Navy wife Michelle Moore-Bosko in Norfolk. A fourth former sailor, Derek Tice, won an appeal in federal court to have his conviction dismissed.
A fifth man, Omar Ballard, confessed to committing the crime alone and is serving life in prison. Only his DNA matched evidence found at the crime scene.
Three of the sailors were granted a partial pardon in 2009 by then-Gov. Timothy M. Kaine and released from prison. The continuing appeals are an effort to completely clear their records.
Attorneys for the men maintain they are innocent. "The recent dismissal of charges against Derek Tice underscores their innocence and the need to vacate the wrongful convictions that remain intact in their cases," the statement said.
Dick, Wilson and Williams appealed their convictions based on misconduct by former Norfolk detective Robert Glenn Ford. A lead investigator in the Bosko murder, Ford was convicted last year of corruption charges in federal court. His conviction was unrelated to the Bosko murder.
Attorneys for the three former sailors argued in court filings that new information on Ford's behavior surfaced during the federal trial, and warranted a new look at the men's cases. The sailors in court appeals have said their guilty confessions were coerced and untrue.
A Norfolk Circuit Court judge wrote in a decision that the appeals were filed too late and denied the petitions in March. The state Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the appeal in August."
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http://hamptonroads.com/2011/09/members-norfolk-four-rejected-va-high-court
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PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;
