Case Status:
Four former Attorneys General of the Commonwealth of Virginia have examined the evidence in this case, and have concluded that a terrible injustice has occurred. They firmly believe that Governor Kaine should grant clemency to the Norfolk Four. The following press kit contains information on their support for clemency: Press Kit IV
26 members of the Richmond Chapter of the Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI have conducted an independent review of the case and have concluded that the Norfolk Four are innocent. The former FBI Special Agents have called on Governor Kaine to grant clemency to the four Navy veterans.
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Norfolk Four
A Miscarriage of Justice
Four innocent men, Danial Williams, Joseph Dick, Derek Tice, and Eric Wilson, all veterans of the U.S. Navy, were convicted of crimes they did not commit. Eric has been released from prison, but Danial, Joe, and Derek remain in Virginia prisons serving double-life sentences for a rape and murder committed by another man, Omar Ballard. An objective, comprehensive review of this case by the nation’s leading experts in the fields of forensic pathology, forensic DNA analysis, crime scene reconstruction, and false confessions leaves no doubt that Danial, Joe, Derek, and Eric were wrongly accused, falsely confessed, and are all innocent. In Virginia and around the nation, innocent people are being freed in cases where the exonerating physical evidence is much less compelling than here. Justice for these innocent young men is long overdue.
Click Here To View a Documentary Film About This Injustice.
Proof of Innocence
The real murderer, Omar Ballard, is also serving—among other sentences—a double-life sentence for this crime. Ballard has admitted repeatedly, and confirms to this day (including in sworn testimony to a Virginia court), that he committed this crime alone. The physical evidence conclusively establishes Ballard’s guilt. Exacting DNA testing conducted by the Commonwealth has proven beyond doubt that Ballard—and only Ballard—was the source of semen and blood recovered from the crime scene. And there was no DNA or other physical evidence whatsoever linking the sailors or anyone other than Ballard to this crime. Nevertheless, four innocent men were convicted based on false confessions extracted by a detective who has a documented history of eliciting false confessions.