On August 6, Virginia Governor Tim Kaine held a press con­fer­ence announc­ing con­di­tion­al par­dons to three of the four sailors known as the Norfolk Four. Danial Williams, Joseph Dick, Eric Williams and Derek Tic were were con­vict­ed of the 1997 rape and mur­der of Michelle Moore-Bosko. The par­doned defen­dants, Danial Williams, Dick and Tic were orig­i­nal­ly giv­en life sen­tences, while Eric Williams was sen­tenced to eight and a half years in prison and had been released ear­li­er. The gov­er­nor reduced the sen­tences of the three impris­oned men to time served, and they will be released soon.

This case has drawn wide­spread atten­tion because of the lack of phys­i­cal evi­dence link­ing the four to the crime, evi­dence of coerced con­fes­sions, and a let­ter from Omar Ballard, an acquain­tance of Moore-Bosko, who con­fessed to the crime. Ballard’s DNA was found at the scene of the crime, and in his con­fes­sion, he said he act­ed alone. For more infor­ma­tion, read: Men Threatened With the Death Penalty May Have Confessed to a Crime They Didn’t Commit.

(​“Kaine grants con­di­tion­al par­dons to ​‘Norfolk Four’,” Richmond Times-Dispatch, August 6, 2009). In a press release from those rep­re­sent­ing the Norfolk Four, mixed emo­tions were expressed: ​“While we are glad that Joe, Derek and Danial will final­ly be com­ing home to their fam­i­lies, we are grave­ly dis­ap­point­ed that Governor Kaine has dis­re­gard­ed the over­whelm­ing evi­dence of inno­cence, which proves only one man was respon­si­ble for this trag­ic crime,” said attor­ney Des Hogan, who rep­re­sents Derek Tice. See also Innocence.

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