The Virginian-Pilot
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NORFOLK
Gov. Timothy M. Kaine issued an absolute pardon Monday to Arthur Lee Whitfield, who was released from prison in 2004 after DNA testing showed he did not commit the two 1981 rapes of which he had been convicted.
Whitfield had served nearly 22 years in prison for the Norfolk rapes.
Whitfield's lawyer, Michael F. Fasanaro Jr., said Monday afternoon that he had not been able to reach Whitfield to tell him the good news. The pardon means that Whitfield's conviction is erased.
"It's like not guilty," Fasanaro said.
Whitfield's name will be removed from the state's sex offender registry, and he will no longer be on probation. Fasanaro said the pardon also means Whitfield can ask the legislature for compensation for the years he spent in prison.
The pardon request has been pending since December 2005. Gordon Hickey, a spokesman for Kaine, said "it takes time to do the testing and to look carefully at the evidence" before the governor could make a decision.
One of the rape victims opposed the pardon. At the time of the crimes, she identified Whitfield from police photo lineups, and she testified against him at trial. The woman maintained that Whitfield had been her attacker.
Kaine on Monday also pardoned Victor Anthony Burnette of Richmond, who served eight years for a 1979 rape.
The DNA samples that cleared both Whitfield and Burnette came from samples preserved at the Department of Forensic Science, many of them saved in files by former state lab worker Mary Jane Burton. Whitfield's exoneration helped prompt then-Gov. Mark Warner to order that all of Burton's and other preserved DNA samples at the lab be screened and tested when appropriate. Workers at the Department of Forensic Science pulled and sorted thousands of files, and the edict led to several other exonerations.
"The department and its scientists are gratified anytime their work can help advance the ends of justice and bolster confidence in the system," Director Pete Marone said.
Michelle Washington, (757) 446-2287, michelle.washington@pilotonline.com
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Pardon for the Norfolk 4
When is Governor Kaine going to pardon the Norfolk 4. They have also been in prison for over 11 years now and there was never never any DNA linking any of these guys to the crime. Only one DNA matched and his has even bragged about the killing and rape in a letter that the Norfolk Police Department ignored. It is time for Governor Kaine to step up and pardon the Norfolk 4 and correct this injustice. Governor Kaine has had the petition to pardon the Norfolk 4 since he came into office. It was handed down to him from Governor Warner.
No one should spend 22 years or even 1 day in prison for a crime they did not commit.
How sad
Sad that it took so long to prove they are innocent. DNA testing has been around how long?
DNA Proves Innocence
A "pardon" seems like a very weak word to give someone who has been incarcerated for 22 years for a crime he did not commit. I hope Mr. Whitfield and Mr. Burton can overcome their devastating ordeals and enjoy the rest of their lives.
Clearance of rape convivtions
These Gentelmen deserve the apology of our judicial system and hopefully realize the judicial system has responded to their pleas of innocence.
This will not return the years of their lives they were wrongfully incarcerated but it is a step in the right direction. We must demand the jucical system leave no stone unturned prior to convicting a person of a crime. We as the public who are behind this system owe these persons a large debt.