Governor Mark Warner of Virginia announced that DNA tests on evidence from the case of Roger Keith Coleman, who was executed in 1992, revealed that he was almost certainly the source of genetic material found in the body of the victim, Wanda McCoy. The Governor said that this test “re-affirms the verdict and sanction” in this case.

Peter Neufeld, co-director of the Innocence Project, praised the governor’s decision to allow the testing and noted that, “The real issue is not whether one man was in fact guilty or innocent, it’s rather that he set the example of what the other 49 governors should do” in other cases where DNA material still exists from people who have been executed.

(N.Y. Times, Jan. 13, 2006). For information about the issue of innocence, click here.