1 down, 3 to go. Congratulations to Derek Tice.
Judge vacates conviction
RICHMOND, Va. - Less than six weeks after being freed from prison by Gov. Tim Kaine, one of four ex-sailors convicted in a 1997 rape and murder got a bonus Monday--a judge's ruling wiping the crime from his record.
U.S. District Judge Richard L. Williams tossed out Derek Tice's convictions, citing his trial attorney's failure to try to suppress a confession taken after Tice had invoked his right to remain silent.
Tice was one of four ex-sailors, known as "The Norfolk Four," who claimed their confessions to the rape and murder of 18-year-old Michelle Moore-Bosko were coerced. Kaine last month granted Tice and two others conditional pardons, saying he had "grave doubts" about their involvement in the crime.
Kaine's action freed the men from their life prison terms but left the convictions on their records. The fourth ex-sailor, convicted only of rape, was already free after serving 8{ years in prison and was not eligible for a conditional pardon.
Tice's father, Larry Tice of Clayton, N.C., called Williams' decision vacating his son's convictions "exceptionally good news," but said he is still not satisfied.
"What I eventually want is for all four members of The Norfolk Four to be totally exonerated," he said. "It's not just Derek. I want all four men cleared."
Moore-Bosko's mother, Carol Moore, was furious when told about the ruling.
"No way," said Moore, who remains convinced of the ex-sailors' guilt. "His name is cleared and he had the most detailed confession anyone can have. This is unbelievable."
But Melissa Henke, one of Tice's attorneys, said Williams' ruling "further reiterates that what we're dealing with is three innocent men entitled to full and complete relief."
In a normal case, a ruling like Williams' would allow the prosecution to seek a retrial. However, given the unusual circumstances of the conditional pardon, it's unclear how that will play out in Tice's case.
The state attorney general's office also could appeal Williams' ruling. David Clemeotson, a spokesman for Attorney General Bill Mims, said he could not comment because attorneys in the office were still reviewing the decision. Norfolk Commonwealth's Attorney Gregory Underwood did not return phone and e-mail messages.
Thirty former FBI agents as well as some ex-prosecutors had lobbied to exonerate The Norfolk Four. The ex-sailors' cause also was championed by novelist John Grisham, who has homes in Virginia and Mississippi.
A fifth man convicted in the case, Omar Ballard, has said he alone raped and killed Moore-Bosko, whose sailor husband was at sea when she was slain in her apartment. His was the only DNA found at the scene, and Kaine said his was the only confession that contained information matching the crime scene.
Link:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/topic/dp-va--sailorconfession0914sep14,0,5801893.story
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14 comments:
My apologies for just noticing this:
Moore-Bosko's mother, Carol Moore, was furious when told about the ruling.
"No way," said Moore, who remains convinced of the ex-sailors' guilt. "His name is cleared and he had the most detailed confession anyone can have. This is unbelievable."
and
A fifth man convicted in the case, Omar Ballard, has said he alone raped and killed Moore-Bosko, whose sailor husband was at sea when she was slain in her apartment. His was the only DNA found at the scene, and Kaine said his was the only confession that contained information matching the crime scene.
Wouldn't that tend to mean that the confession by Mr. Tice dind't match the crime scene, so even if it was detailed, that it was wrong on the details? Perhaps Carol Moore, while understandably upset about what happened to her daughter, ought to save that anger for the person that WAS responsible. And that isn't Mr. Tice.
What does Moore mean the 'most detailed'? Something like the sailor said her daughter lived in a house, while the other three said apartment?
Her statement doesn't count for shit.
"the sailor" being Tice, of course.
Sounds like she's rationalizing. She supported destroying an innocent life so now she's covering up her guilt.
Her daughter was raped and killed. And she was convinced of those men's guilt. I have no idea so I won't comment on their guilt or innocence. But before you rip the woman apart, try to see things from her perspective.
I would, but I'd have to knock half of my brains out to be as stupid as she is.
Well jeana, I'd love to see it from her perspective, but there's the matter of a man who spent 12 years in jail for something he didn't do.
And how would she know how detailed his confession was? It's not like they just hand those out to everyone to read.
The fact is, the governor, who would have access (he needs it to determine whether to grant the pardon), has even stated that Ballard's confession was the only one that matched the crime scene.
Her anger over losing her daughter is understandable. But the facts show that Tice didn't do it. She needs to re-evaluate where she is placing the blame.
She should at least be partially satified, four people who's only "crime" if the fact they have penises, suffered for what happened to her daughter. If they find the person who really did that to her daughter, will she even think of these men and everything they suffered and lost? Does anyone know if these men were still in the U.S Navy when they were convicted?
The "detailed confession" doesn't mean jack shit. The police asked him detailed questions and at that point he gave them the detailed answers that they want to hear. In no way does that prove that he had any knowledge.
The Innocence Project website is full of examples of men who went to prison due to coerced confessions. It happens all the time.
What does this mean:
"No way," said Moore, who remains convinced of the ex-sailors' guilt. "His name is cleared and he had the most detailed confession anyone can have. This is unbelievable."
The released guy confessed? If so, why wouldn’t the mom be outraged? I would be too.
Also, what does this mean: the DNA-matched guy had the only confession that “contained information matching the crime scene.”
So is what happened that all the guys confessed, but the confessions (except for the one whose DNA was there) were questionable because what they said couldn’t have happened, given the evidence found at the crime scene? And if so, why would someone give a detailed confession, even if it were bogus?
A fifth man convicted in the case, Omar Ballard, has said he alone raped and killed Moore-Bosko, whose sailor husband was at sea when she was slain in her apartment. His was the only DNA found at the scene, and Kaine said his was the only confession that contained information matching the crime scene.
(READ.)
And yet the guys confessed. And in detail. Why? I know you want to blame the police. But unless you’re being tortured, why would you give a detailed confession?
Also, the article says, “U.S. District Judge Richard L. Williams tossed out Derek Tice's convictions, citing his trial attorney's failure to try to suppress a confession taken after Tice had invoked his right to remain silent.”
So was he released on a technicality? He confessed, in detail, and was released because his lawyer didn’t properly defend his client? It doesn’t mean he’s not guilty. And whether or not his DNA was inside of her, that doesn’t mean he wasn’t there or he didn’t know about it. He probably did. And then stuck together with his “brothers”—isn’t that what military guys call each other? They all stick together. If he knew about what happened to the female and didn’t stop it, isn’t that still a crime? People don't confess just because. Maybe he confessed what they planned on doing. This doesn't mean he or any of them are innocent.
And whether or not his DNA was inside of her, that doesn’t mean he wasn’t there or he didn’t know about it.
By that standard of evidence, anybody can be convicted of anything.
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