Bulletin: Joseph Buffey; West Virginia; October 6; Guilty plea to charges contradicted by new DNA tests his lawyers - a legal team including Barry Scheck of the New York-based Innocence Project had to fight for; West Virginia Supreme Court to hear argument on October 6. "All of this and much more was presented to Harrison Chief Judge Thomas A. Bedell in hearings that lasted more than half a week last year. For Bedell, one of the key issues seems to be the sanctity of such a contract. In his ruling, Bedell likened Buffey’s dissatisfaction with the 70-year prison sentence he received “buyer’s remorse.”

Countdown to Wrongful Conviction Day:  Friday, October 2,  2105; 29 days. For information: http://www.aidwyc.org/wcd-2015/

"The West Virginia Supreme Court will hear arguments Oct. 6 in the case of a man trying to overturn his rape and robbery charges through new DNA testing...The court will begin its work at 10 a.m. on that Tuesday in Charleston. Buffey’s lawyers are Allan N. Karlin of Morgantown and Nina Morrison and Barry Scheck of the New York-based Innocence Project. They are trying to get Buffey cleared in a case in which he pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree robbery and one count of sexual assault in 2002. Further DNA testing conducted recently shows Buffey wasn’t involved and pointed at another man, Adam Derek Bowers, 29, of Clarksburg, who was convicted of rape, burglary and robbery charges earlier this year and is awaiting his Sept. 14 sentencing before Bedell. Bowers, a juvenile at the time of the 2001 attack on an 83-year-old woman, didn’t become a suspect until Buffey’s lawyers won the right to compare their new DNA test results to a state-kept database that includes profiles of prisoners. Bowers was in prison at the time for other, non-sex related crimes. ........  All of this and much more was presented to Harrison Chief Judge Thomas A. Bedell in hearings that lasted more than half a week last year. For Bedell, one of the key issues seems to be the sanctity of such a contract. In his ruling, Bedell likened Buffey’s dissatisfaction with the 70-year prison sentence he received “buyer’s remorse.” The Innocence Project lawyers and Karlin have countered by focusing on studies that show defendants routinely have been coerced into pleading guilty when they aren’t due to factors such as the length of an interview and hunger. Once the case is heard, the justices are likely to issue an opinion before the term of the Supreme Court ends in December. Bowers, 29, and Buffey, 32, were both from Clarksburg. Unless he wins his appeal or gets some other form of relief, Buffey won’t become parole eligible until Dec. 8, 2041."
http://www.theet.com/news/local/supreme-court-sets-buffey-case-for-argument-on-oct/article_4b80626b-d539-5b77-a16d-c7027735966e.html