RICHMOND
The list of people calling for the pardon of four sailors convicted of the 1997 rape and murder of a young Navy wife continues to grow, but the effect of that support on a pending clemency petition is unclear.
Speaking on behalf of 30 former federal agents, retired FBI official Jay Cochran said Monday that an independent review of evidence led them to the "inescapable conclusion" that the sailors "stand falsely convicted and imprisoned for a crime they did not commit."
At a news conference, Cochran and his fellow former agents called for an immediate pardon, joining a chorus of those proclaiming the innocence of the sailors known as the Norfolk Four.
Earlier this year, four former Virginia attorneys general similarly stated that the Norfolk Four convictions were based on conflicting false confessions coerced by police with the threat of death sentences.
"A confession is something that we should take as investigators, and we should corroborate that through independent investigation," said another former agent, Larry Smith. "We shouldn't just take it at face value and believe it because it fits the need we have of a particular puzzle or crime that we're working."
Three of the four sailors - Joseph Dick Jr., Derek Tice and Danial Williams - continue to serve time in prison for the slaying of Michelle Moore-Bosko, an 18-year-old newlywed found murdered in her Norfolk apartment in 1997. The fourth sailor, Eric Wilson, was released in 2006 after serving more than eight years but is also seeking a pardon.
Another man, Omar Ballard, later confessed that he alone killed Moore-Bosko.
Those who believe in the innocence of the Norfolk Four note that only Ballard's DNA was found at the crime scene.
A 2006 Norfolk Circuit Court ruling essentially vacated Tice's earlier conviction on the grounds that he had ineffective trial lawyers. But the state Supreme Court in January upheld his conviction on appeal.
In July, Cochran and other former agents penned a letter to Gov. Timothy M. Kaine in support of clemency.
They publicly revealed that missive Monday, on the eve of Veterans Day, after what the former agents said was months without a response.
Kaine's spokesman, Gordon Hickey, confirmed that the governor received the letter, but not much else.
"The governor has the petitions and is reviewing them but has not yet made a decision," Hickey said.
When pressed, Hickey did not provide a time frame within which the governor may decide on clemency.
Kaine's predecessor, Mark Warner, was governor when the pardon paperwork was filed in 2005.
Relatives of the sailors present at Monday's news conference expressed hope that this latest round of attention on the case could prompt Kaine to act.
"I don't understand the reluctance on behalf of the governor, other than it's a political issue for him," said Larry Tice, father of Derek.
Efforts to reach Moore-Bosko's parents, John and Carol Moore of Pittsburgh, were unsuccessful Monday.
In a statement e-mailed when Tice's conviction was upheld last January, the victim's family indicated they continue to believe "these men are guilty."
Pilot writer Michelle Washington contributed to this report.
Julian Walker, (804) 697-1564, julian.walker@pilotonline.com
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Norfolk 4
These men have been fighting it from the beginning. The judge wouldn't let some stuff be heard, the crime scene didn't match any confession except Ballard's. One confession claimed that a hammer was used to open the door, but there were no marks on the door. Lots of stuff like that. Ballard, who is not a sailor, said he was the only one and the others were stupid for confessing. The only DNA was Ballard's. There are 13 jurors who want them released. These guys were interrogated for hours on end without lawyers until they confessed. You confess to anything just to get out of there. One of the sailors, who by all accounts is a little "slow", was on a ship, but the Navy has discarded records. There were eight guys initially on the list. The sailors just kept throwing out names. These four sailors were not pals that hung around with one another. The jurors convicted them because "how could you confess to something you didn't do". There are a lot of details to the case. You can't just say "young FBI guys don't know" "bunch of liberals". I am conservative as they come, that is why the lack of truth being considered burns me so much on this. Now it is with a politician.
Let them rot
These men could have fought more for their freedom from the beginning. They do not deserve it, they are guilty. Case closed.
Bobby
The issue is not my experience. You asserted that the 30+ FBI agents lacked the experience as the NPD detective. You are incorrect. In fact, Cochran has a distinguished career. All I'm saying is that when you have that many law enforcement officers questioning a confession, there may be a fire behind that smoke. It's easy to criticize people for confessing to crimes they did not commit, but it happens more often than you realize. In this case, the confessions were not even consistent. The goal is justice, not just to round people up and throw them in prison. This was a terrible crime, and in my mind, those who committed it deserve the death penalty. I'm not convinced that everybody convicted in this case actually committed the crime. And apparently, I am not alone in that sentiment.
Dear AM81430
Since you know how long each were on the job, I guess you also know how many homicides each investigated. Please tell us. I have no dog in this fight, but I suspect you may.
Life
Now you know why “Life without parole” means nothing. It only takes a couple bleeding heart liberals to change it. Not only did a jury find them guilty, but they confessed to the crime. Now a few want to let them out so they can commit more crimes and maybe even kill a few more people. Heck, wait till Obama takes office and he’ll let them out.
get the facts and all the facts
"A confession is something that we should take as investigators, and we should corroborate that through independent investigation," said another former agent, Larry Smith. "We shouldn't just take it at face value and believe it because it fits the need we have of a particular puzzle or crime that we're working."
Don't think for one minute the PD isn't capable of making you scream Uncle under extreme duress.
If anyone you knew was falsely in jail, I'm sure you would want all the facts to be reviewed also. I know I would!
It would appear that
It would appear that confessing to a murder you didn't commit was a bad idea. Don't you find that out the hard way every time....
Get all the facts
Before posting here, people really need to research further into this case. Look beyond this article. There is overwhelming evidence that these people are innocent. This case was not handled properly from the beginning.
ex FBI agents
I don't know all the ex FBI agents nor do I know all the Norfolk Detectives that have been involved in this case. We all know there are great FBI agents and great investigators in any department/ field office. But many in law enforcement also know there are many agents in the Federial Bureau of Investigation that should be refered to as members of the Famous but Incompenent. So take with a grain of salt what any after the fact person may say regarding an investigation.
Wow
You don't confess to a crime like this, then 10 years later say "Oh I did not do it, I made a mistake when I confessed, please let me out." Why would an innocent man apologize to the family of that young woman for the crime 6 months after he was jailed? Or did it take that long for the police brainwashing to lose effect? Is there a lasting time limit on brainwashing? Were the cops just THAT good so the guy actually believed he did it until a few years after, then woke up one day and said "Hey!!! Wait a min here, I DIDN'T do it." Because according to most of you posters, that is pretty much what you are saying.
Continuation ...
Cont'd. One person had a conscience and an incredible amount of courage to immediately come forward and tell the truth to police and the Commonwealth's Atty, but they did nothing. My son spent time in jail and it cost a fortune to defend him when there was concrete evidence he was innocent to which the CA was made aware but still pressed forward. The false accusers failed to testify for fear of perjury charges so the charges were nol prossed. This injustice wasted taxpayer dollars. Interestingly, one of the false accusers was the child of a police officer. Corruption. Politics. Innocent people go to jail, and if there is sufficient evidence to prove their innocence, the game of politics needs to stop and people need to do the right thing.
Save our taxpayer dollars and stop incarcerating innocent people
I think it's sad that if in fact these young men are innocent and there are sufficient facts to support their innocence, the wheels of justice do not quickly turn to free them from unjust incarcerations. Is it unreasonable to believe that they were coerced into admitting to something they did not do? Police are highly trained to accomplish that task. Maybe they truly believed these young men were guilty and were just doing their job, or maybe they just wanted to please the public by solving the case. Whatever the reason was, the current facts should be sufficient to quickly resolve this matter and stop wasting taxpayer dollars to house innocent people. We wonder why our state is in such a financial mess. These men are not the only ones who have had to sit in a jail cell at the expense of taxpayer dollars when they didn't deserve to be there. Our judicial system is failing in a lot of ways. Maybe that is hard for someone to believe, but take it from a mother whose son was falsely accused of committing criminal acts when in fact he was totally set up by several people to try to destroy him and our family. One person had a conscience and an incredible amount of courage to imm
Norfolk 4
Go and read the book "The Wrong Guys" by Tom Wells and Richard Leo, who happens to be an expert on coerced confessions. These guys are innocent. PARDON THE NORFOLK 4 NOW.
FBI
OK....we're ALL wrong.
The retired FBI guys say everyone is wrong and when the FBI speaks we should all listen....SURE.
Bobbyv, you have no idea what you are talking about
Ford was with NPD for 29 years. Jay Cochran was with the FBI for 27. I would love to see how well you would deal with such an interrogation. Remember, not all convictions are just convictions.
Ex-FBI agents join call for pardon of 4 in 1997 rape-slaying
This is what DNA is best at - the exclusion of innocent suspects. What courts look at is if a juror would have seen these men as guilty beyond a reasonable doubt or if they woudl have found them not guilty. If I were on a jury and they told me one man had confessed and only his DNA was on the victim, I could NOT have found the others guilty. They should be granted clemency.
Experience
The Detective who investigated this case has more experience investigating homicides than all of those retired fbi agents combined. Maybe they should stick to their speciality, investigating blue bird crimes from the Federal Government.
Retired FBI agents
They need to stay retire.. Mary Kay from channel 10 got them in a corner with a few questions like, have you ever investigated a murder before... course the have not,, Why did the men still plea guilty in court and why did they tell the victim's family they were sorry for what they did? The FBI dug a hole and need to get back in there to finish up their retirement. How much were they paid by the defense attorney?? Money talks and the guilty walks right? These clowns had something to do with it, but the good side of this is they didn't get rape and they are still alive.
This is a Horrific Case of Injustice..
A Norfolk Police detective with a history of forcing confessions(no surprise there), young sailors threatened with death sentences if they dont confess, no legal representation, a self confessed rapist and murderer's statement not entered as evidence...this entire case is sickening. And Gov. Kaine does nothing about it.
Why do people keep trying to
Why do people keep trying to contact Michelle Moore-Bosko's family? What do you expect them to say? Anything new? Shouldn't the press stop harrassing them already? Every couple of years the Pilot reports yet another update on these 4 idiots. They should have all run to the Navy and begged for a lawyer. They claimed they were forced into confession. They should have had a spine. Let her family finally put this at rest - pardon them and get it over with or drop it already. Over 10 years ago and it's still pressing on and on and on..... I can't begin to imagine what they feel each time some idiot reporter contacts them to ask about yet the latest development.