Virginia Gov. Pardons 3 Serving Life For Rape, Murder (after contributions)

Judicial Watch ^ | Judicial Watch | Staff

[Titus-Maximus]

Virginia’s Democratic governor has ignited public outrage by pardoning—at the request of a major political donor—three men convicted of raping and killing a teenager.

Gov. Tim Kaine ordered freedom for three of four former sailors who raped and murdered another sailor's 18-year-old wife in 1997. The men had all confessed to the gruesome crimes and were serving life sentences before the good governor came to their rescue this week.

Kaine said he decided there are “serious doubts about at least the level of their complicity in the crime,” though the governor did find that the “combined weight of all the evidence in this case does not conclusively exonerate the petitioners from any possibility of involvement in the rape and murder…” Any involvement, according to Kaine, was of a significantly lesser magnitude than that of the primary perpetrator.

In his public statement announcing the pardons the governor failed to mention that a powerful political donor, who happens to be a famous novelist writing a screenplay about the case, has long fought for the men’s release. John Grisham, known for publishing legal thrillers that regularly become Hollywood films, assures the convicted felons are innocent and so does his public policy group (Innocence Project), which is dedicated to exonerating wrongfully convicted people.

Since 2000 Grisham has donated nearly $400,000 to Virginia Democrats, about half of it to Kaine and his political action committee. Perhaps the acclaimed author also offered Kaine a key role, as the hero who saved the wrongfully imprisoned sailors, in the upcoming Hollywood flick.

The victim’s outraged and demoralized parents point out that Grisham’s wealth and influence are obviously more important to the governor’s political aspirations than truth or justice. It’s probably no consolation that the governor assured the pardon is not a “conclusive ruling of innocence” but rather an adjustment that makes the sentence more appropriate given the “doubts that surround" the sailors' involvement.

[Steely Tom]

I wonder if the Governor ever heard of Norman Mailer and Jack Abbott?

[aculeus]

If you read the story, it seems pretty likely that they are, in fact, innocent.

Oh you naughty person!

Don't confuse the matter with facts.

Don't let anyone know that the man whose DNA was found at the scene is in prison and has said he acted alone.

Don't let anyone know the history of the thug-cop who coerced these "confessions".

The WaPo got it right: Kaine should have granted a full pardon.

Here's a live Republican, and ex VA Atty General, who agrees with the WaPo:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/15/AR2009081502563.html

[I Hate Obama]

Why do you think his last name is Kaine? (Cain)

[muawiyah]

Kaine is currently DNC Chairman (if you needed any other piece of evidence to demonstrate that he's totally mad).

We have a couple of others like him ~ Senator Webb who is certifiably mentally unstable (and who gets a big draw from the residual "Souf' is gonna' rise again" crowd) and Mark Warner (who has not been seen in public since "townhall" season begun).

I suspect the US House of Representatives Democrat contingent from Virginia is equally afflicted.

It's the water ~ been that way ever since we started tapping the Potomac.

[Bulldawg Fan]

This same group, “The Innocence Project” is working to get a convicted cop killer off death row in Georgia. They have blood on their hands.

[Oldpuppymax]

Of course this will be heavily featured on CNN! BWAHAHAHAHAHA

[iceskater]

Thanks for fixing it for me!

[Grut]

AFAIK, the Innocence Project has a pretty good track record. If they think the guys didn’t do it, maybe they didn’t.

[Ramcat]

The victim’s outraged and demoralized parents point out that Grisham’s wealth and influence are obviously more important to the governor’s political aspirations than truth or justice.

Sad really, is this the New American way or has it always been this way and we're just more aware?
This case aside, (don't know the details) truth and justice today are defined by a privileged class.
Anyway, it's demoralizing

[Gay State Conservative]

Thanks for fixing it for me!

I live to serve. ;-)

[Drew68]

This same group, “The Innocence Project” is working to get a convicted cop killer off death row in Georgia. They have blood on their hands.

Except in this case, it appears they succeeded in getting actual innocent people released from prison.

[Lancey Howard]

I bet Grisham (a lawyer) had these murderers and rapists sign over their literary rights for his next book and movie.
He gives Kaine $200,000, makes 2 to 5 million on the book/movie. Slick move.

You nailed it.
It's all about the money with these Democrat scumbags. Its always about the money.

[wolficatZ]

William “Billy” Bosko was at sea when his wife was raped and murdered, according to police, by four men.

Bosko and his future wife, Michelle, pictured here at their high school prom in June of 1999.

 (Family photo courtesy The Virginian Pilot)

 

Danial Williams (clockwise from upper left), Joe Dick, Eric Wilson and Derek Tice were young Navy sailors

when Michelle Moore-Bosko was stabbed to death in July 1997 in Norfolk while her husband was at sea.

Three of them confessed to murder and rape, and Wilson to rape only, yet the evidence says all are innocent.

 

 

Omar Ballard, above, who is also serving a double life term, is the only man whose DNA was found at the crime scene.

[Gay State Conservative]

AFAIK, the Innocence Project has a pretty good track record. If they think the guys didn’t do it, maybe they didn’t.

Barry Scheck's in charge of it so you know their basic philosophy is that DNA can *absolutely* be used to exonerate a defendant or prisoner but must *never* be used to convict one.

[deport]

From the above pictures and captions you posted above. Something is screwy with the dates............

under the picture high school prom:
...Bosko and his future wife, Michelle, pictured here at their high school prom in June of 1999.....

Under the picture of the four sailors:
...when Michelle Moore-Bosko was stabbed to death in July 1997 in Norfolk while her husband was at sea. .....

[PLMerite]

“And according to the article all 3 CONFESSED to the crime.”

There’s confessions and there’s confessions. I don’t put too much stock into confessions unless they reveal information that only the perp would know, and even the cops don’t know so aren’t able to feed it to him.

I don’t know if that is what happened in this case.

[pyx]

After reading http://truthinjustice.org/norfolk-four3.htm as well as reading http://www.justicedenied.org/derektice.htm, it seems that false confessions may be even more prevalant than I had imagined.

[PhiKapMom]

Good point! I cannot believe he did this.

[Eaker]

Grisham ping.

[CharlesWayneCT]

The guys could in fact be innocent. But that doesn’t change the fact that the only reason they are being released is that Kaine, the DNC chair and Democratic Governor, received hundreds of thousands of dollars from Grisham, which gave Grisham access to get these guys off.

If they are really innocent, Kaine waited 3 years too long to deal with it.