TalkLeft posts on a story we've been following for a few years:
Gov. Warner Orders DNA Test for Executed Man - TalkLeft: The Politics of Crime
Roger Coleman was executed in Virginia in 1992 (background here.) Today, Governor Mark Warner ordered DNA tests in his case. If Coleman is innocent, it will be the first documented case of the execution of an innocent person in the United States. The first, but probably not the only one.
This was not a sudden decision on the part of Gov. Warner. He's been sitting on the request for years.
We are certain there have been other innocents murdered by the rusty justice-wheels of the US Courts, but this will be the first provable instance. In other words, the possibility is strong that Roger Coleman was murdered by the Justice Department. The willful ignorance of various Court officials (for instance, denying appeal because the paperwork was filed one day late, etc.) is criminal.
Tags: Death_Penalty, /habeas_corpus
