POST: "Prosecutors urge West Virginia Supreme Court to reverse conviction," published by the Innocence Project in December, 2014.
GIST: More than two dozen former state and federal prosecutors have filed an amicus brief urging the West Virginia Supreme Court to reverse the rape and burglary conviction of Joseph Buffey. On the advice of his attorney, Buffey entered a guilty plea to the 2001 rape and burglary of an elderly Clarksburg woman, yet he has maintained that he is innocent of the crime. The Innocence Project secured DNA testing that excluded Buffey and pointed to another man, Adam Bowers, who has a criminal record and who lived near the victim at the time. Although the victim always maintained that the crime was committed by a single perpetrator, the prosecution is now claiming that Buffey somehow acted in concert with Bowers. After the Harrison County district court refused to overturn Buffey’s conviction, the Innocence Project appealed the case to the West Virginia Supreme Court. During the course of its investigation, the Innocence Project also uncovered evidence that the state was in possession of DNA evidence before Buffey was sentenced for the crime excluding him as the perpetrator. The brief filed by the prosecutors urges the West Virginia Court to find that the failure of the state to turn over the exculpatory DNA test results violated Buffey’s constitutional rights and his conviction should be reversed. Read the brief."
The entire post can be found at:
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?tab=wm#inbox/14a97e09db755527
On
Dec. 7, 2001, 19-year-old Joseph Buffey was arrested in Clarksburg for
breaking into three downtown businesses. He immediately admitted his
guilt. Buffey was then interrogated for nine more hours, until nearly 4
a.m., his lawyers contend, until he gave a brief confession to another
crime — the rape of an 83-year-old woman whose house was broken into.
Five months later, upon the advice of his court-appointed lawyer, Buffey pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual assault and was sentenced to at least 70 years in prison.
What neither Buffey nor his lawyer knew at the time was that before the guilty plea, the State Police crime lab had completed a DNA test that indicated Buffey’s DNA was not present in the sexual assault kit collected from the victim.
Buttressed by new lawyers, further DNA testing and the indictment of another man for the same sexual assault, Buffey is appealing to the West Virginia Supreme Court asking not only for his freedom, but also a broader question: at what point does the prosecution have to turn over evidence that could help prove a defendant not guilty?
The Innocence Project, a national legal clinic dedicated to freeing wrongly convicted people through DNA testing, filed legal briefs for Buffey’s appeal on Friday. Along with the appeal is an amicus brief from 30 former state and federal prosecutors writing in support of Buffey.
- See more at: http://www.wvgazette.com/article/20141206/GZ01/141209442/1101#sthash.5BtTKbTb.dpuf
Five months later, upon the advice of his court-appointed lawyer, Buffey pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual assault and was sentenced to at least 70 years in prison.
What neither Buffey nor his lawyer knew at the time was that before the guilty plea, the State Police crime lab had completed a DNA test that indicated Buffey’s DNA was not present in the sexual assault kit collected from the victim.
Buttressed by new lawyers, further DNA testing and the indictment of another man for the same sexual assault, Buffey is appealing to the West Virginia Supreme Court asking not only for his freedom, but also a broader question: at what point does the prosecution have to turn over evidence that could help prove a defendant not guilty?
The Innocence Project, a national legal clinic dedicated to freeing wrongly convicted people through DNA testing, filed legal briefs for Buffey’s appeal on Friday. Along with the appeal is an amicus brief from 30 former state and federal prosecutors writing in support of Buffey.
- See more at: http://www.wvgazette.com/article/20141206/GZ01/141209442/1101#sthash.5BtTKbTb.dpuf
In
February 2002, Buffey was offered a plea deal, but one that would soon
expire. According to the most recent filings, his attorney at the time,
Thomas Dyer, advised him to take it, saying that he would receive
concurrent sentences and would serve no more time for the sexual assault
plea than for the non-violent robberies he had already admitted to.
“This was remarkable and grossly inaccurate legal counsel,” Buffey’s current lawyers wrote in their appeal.
Paul Cates, a spokesman for the Innocence Project, said it is not that uncommon for innocent people to plead guilty when put under pressure.
“Mr. Buffey was facing several other charges at the time and took the plea on the advice of his attorney,” Cates said. “It’s worth noting that 30 of the 321 people who have been exonerated by DNA evidence plead guilty to crimes they didn’t commit.”
David Romano, the assistant Harrison County prosecutor handling the case, said that Buffey chose to plead guilty and he was neither mentally incapacitated nor coerced.
“He plead guilty to the crime and admitted his guilt and apologized to the victim at sentencing,” Romano said. “When you plead guilty you just can’t up and say ‘I was teasing.’”
Before the plea deal was finalized, Dyer continually asked prosecutors for the results of the DNA test, the appeal says.
“Each and every time that Mr. Dyer inquired about the status of the DNA testing,” the appeal says, “he was assured by his contacts in Harrison County law enforcement that they had again checked with the laboratory but there was still ‘no report, that the analysis was not complete or something to that effect.’”
Meanwhile, Lt. Brent Myers, with the State Police crime lab, was conducting a DNA analysis of the sexual assault kit. He completed his final written report on April 5, 2002, in which he wrote “Assuming there are only two contributors [including the victim], Joseph Buffey is excluded as a donor of the seminal fluid identified.”
About a month-and-a-half later, on May 21, 2002, Buffey’s guilty plea was finalized and he was sentenced to 70 years in prison. He will not be eligible for parole until 2041.
Romano pointed out that, had he chosen to go to trial, Buffey would have had the DNA test.
“If he’d have gone to trial who knows what would have happened,” he said. “He had that option, but he decided not to.”
Buffey’s lawyers contend that the prosecutor’s office knew, before the plea deal was finalized, that the DNA tests were favorable to Buffey, but did not disclose them.
- See more at: http://www.wvgazette.com/article/20141206/GZ01/141209442/1101#sthash.J0bhatIM.dpuf
“This was remarkable and grossly inaccurate legal counsel,” Buffey’s current lawyers wrote in their appeal.
Paul Cates, a spokesman for the Innocence Project, said it is not that uncommon for innocent people to plead guilty when put under pressure.
“Mr. Buffey was facing several other charges at the time and took the plea on the advice of his attorney,” Cates said. “It’s worth noting that 30 of the 321 people who have been exonerated by DNA evidence plead guilty to crimes they didn’t commit.”
David Romano, the assistant Harrison County prosecutor handling the case, said that Buffey chose to plead guilty and he was neither mentally incapacitated nor coerced.
“He plead guilty to the crime and admitted his guilt and apologized to the victim at sentencing,” Romano said. “When you plead guilty you just can’t up and say ‘I was teasing.’”
Before the plea deal was finalized, Dyer continually asked prosecutors for the results of the DNA test, the appeal says.
“Each and every time that Mr. Dyer inquired about the status of the DNA testing,” the appeal says, “he was assured by his contacts in Harrison County law enforcement that they had again checked with the laboratory but there was still ‘no report, that the analysis was not complete or something to that effect.’”
Meanwhile, Lt. Brent Myers, with the State Police crime lab, was conducting a DNA analysis of the sexual assault kit. He completed his final written report on April 5, 2002, in which he wrote “Assuming there are only two contributors [including the victim], Joseph Buffey is excluded as a donor of the seminal fluid identified.”
About a month-and-a-half later, on May 21, 2002, Buffey’s guilty plea was finalized and he was sentenced to 70 years in prison. He will not be eligible for parole until 2041.
Romano pointed out that, had he chosen to go to trial, Buffey would have had the DNA test.
“If he’d have gone to trial who knows what would have happened,” he said. “He had that option, but he decided not to.”
Buffey’s lawyers contend that the prosecutor’s office knew, before the plea deal was finalized, that the DNA tests were favorable to Buffey, but did not disclose them.
- See more at: http://www.wvgazette.com/article/20141206/GZ01/141209442/1101#sthash.J0bhatIM.dpuf
In
February 2002, Buffey was offered a plea deal, but one that would soon
expire. According to the most recent filings, his attorney at the time,
Thomas Dyer, advised him to take it, saying that he would receive
concurrent sentences and would serve no more time for the sexual assault
plea than for the non-violent robberies he had already admitted to.
“This was remarkable and grossly inaccurate legal counsel,” Buffey’s current lawyers wrote in their appeal.
Paul Cates, a spokesman for the Innocence Project, said it is not that uncommon for innocent people to plead guilty when put under pressure.
“Mr. Buffey was facing several other charges at the time and took the plea on the advice of his attorney,” Cates said. “It’s worth noting that 30 of the 321 people who have been exonerated by DNA evidence plead guilty to crimes they didn’t commit.”
David Romano, the assistant Harrison County prosecutor handling the case, said that Buffey chose to plead guilty and he was neither mentally incapacitated nor coerced.
“He plead guilty to the crime and admitted his guilt and apologized to the victim at sentencing,” Romano said. “When you plead guilty you just can’t up and say ‘I was teasing.’”
Before the plea deal was finalized, Dyer continually asked prosecutors for the results of the DNA test, the appeal says.
“Each and every time that Mr. Dyer inquired about the status of the DNA testing,” the appeal says, “he was assured by his contacts in Harrison County law enforcement that they had again checked with the laboratory but there was still ‘no report, that the analysis was not complete or something to that effect.’”
Meanwhile, Lt. Brent Myers, with the State Police crime lab, was conducting a DNA analysis of the sexual assault kit. He completed his final written report on April 5, 2002, in which he wrote “Assuming there are only two contributors [including the victim], Joseph Buffey is excluded as a donor of the seminal fluid identified.”
About a month-and-a-half later, on May 21, 2002, Buffey’s guilty plea was finalized and he was sentenced to 70 years in prison. He will not be eligible for parole until 2041.
Romano pointed out that, had he chosen to go to trial, Buffey would have had the DNA test.
“If he’d have gone to trial who knows what would have happened,” he said. “He had that option, but he decided not to.”
Buffey’s lawyers contend that the prosecutor’s office knew, before the plea deal was finalized, that the DNA tests were favorable to Buffey, but did not disclose them.
- See more at: http://www.wvgazette.com/article/20141206/GZ01/141209442/1101#sthash.J0bhatIM.dpuf
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: “This was remarkable and grossly inaccurate legal counsel,” Buffey’s current lawyers wrote in their appeal.
Paul Cates, a spokesman for the Innocence Project, said it is not that uncommon for innocent people to plead guilty when put under pressure.
“Mr. Buffey was facing several other charges at the time and took the plea on the advice of his attorney,” Cates said. “It’s worth noting that 30 of the 321 people who have been exonerated by DNA evidence plead guilty to crimes they didn’t commit.”
David Romano, the assistant Harrison County prosecutor handling the case, said that Buffey chose to plead guilty and he was neither mentally incapacitated nor coerced.
“He plead guilty to the crime and admitted his guilt and apologized to the victim at sentencing,” Romano said. “When you plead guilty you just can’t up and say ‘I was teasing.’”
Before the plea deal was finalized, Dyer continually asked prosecutors for the results of the DNA test, the appeal says.
“Each and every time that Mr. Dyer inquired about the status of the DNA testing,” the appeal says, “he was assured by his contacts in Harrison County law enforcement that they had again checked with the laboratory but there was still ‘no report, that the analysis was not complete or something to that effect.’”
Meanwhile, Lt. Brent Myers, with the State Police crime lab, was conducting a DNA analysis of the sexual assault kit. He completed his final written report on April 5, 2002, in which he wrote “Assuming there are only two contributors [including the victim], Joseph Buffey is excluded as a donor of the seminal fluid identified.”
About a month-and-a-half later, on May 21, 2002, Buffey’s guilty plea was finalized and he was sentenced to 70 years in prison. He will not be eligible for parole until 2041.
Romano pointed out that, had he chosen to go to trial, Buffey would have had the DNA test.
“If he’d have gone to trial who knows what would have happened,” he said. “He had that option, but he decided not to.”
Buffey’s lawyers contend that the prosecutor’s office knew, before the plea deal was finalized, that the DNA tests were favorable to Buffey, but did not disclose them.
- See more at: http://www.wvgazette.com/article/20141206/GZ01/141209442/1101#sthash.J0bhatIM.dpuf
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