After 14 years behind bars, one of two former Navy SEAL trainees convicted in a 1995 Virginia Beach murder case had his conviction overturned Tuesday by the Virginia Court of Appeals.
Dustin Turner is the first person in Virginia to get a murder conviction overturned under a 2004 law allowing consideration of new non-biological evidence of innocence after sentencing.
The appeals court granted Turner's petition for a writ of actual innocence under that law based on a 2002 confession by Turner's co-defendant and SEAL "swim buddy," Billy Joe Brown, that he alone was responsible for the murder of Georgia college student Jennifer Evans.
Turner is not yet free. His conviction was overturned in a split decision, 2-1, by a three-judge panel. Attorney General Bill Mims has the option of appealing that decision to the full 11-judge appeals court and, ultimately, to the state Supreme Court. Mims has not decided whether to appeal, a spokesman said.
Nevertheless, Turner's lawyer and family saw Tuesday's decision as a significant victory.
"We are very pleased that the court of appeals has ruled that Dusty is actually innocent in a legal sense," said David Hargett, Turner's lawyer. "We've always known that he was innocent factually. I think we got one step closer to justice."
For Linda Summitt, Turner's mother, the decision is a vindication of a 14-year effort to get her son freed. She was instrumental in securing Brown's confession and lobbied state lawmakers to pass the law that made Tuesday's decision possible.
Summitt, a schoolteacher in Bloomington, Ind., Turner's hometown, said that when she got the call from Hargett telling her of the decision, "I was so overwhelmed, I couldn't think clearly."
Delores Evans, the victim's mother, said she was disappointed but not surprised by the decision, which relied heavily on a ruling last year by Virginia Beach Circuit Judge Frederick Lowe that Brown's confession was credible.
"Jennifer's family very much encourages and hopes that Mr. Mims will allow this further appeal - that he will push it forward and try to receive the best justice that we can in this ordeal," said Evans, who lives in suburban Atlanta. "I firmly believe that Judge Lowe made a faulty decision."
Virginia Beach Commonwealth's Attorney Harvey Bryant said he too hopes Mims appeals the decision. It doesn't make sense that Turner simply stood by while the murder took place, Bryant said.
"I did not find Brown's testimony credible," he said. But, he added, "it wasn't my position to make that factual determination."
Jennifer Evans, a 21-year-old pre-med student at Emory University, was staying with friends in Sandbridge on summer vacation. She was choked to death in Turner's car after the two met at the Bayou, a now-defunct Oceanfront nightspot.
After several days of questioning by police, Turner led them to Evans' decomposed body in a wooded park in Newport News.
Turner, now 34, and Brown, 36, were convicted in separate jury trials that attracted intense media coverage. Turner was sentenced to 82 years and Brown 72 years. Turner is incarcerated in Powhatan Correctional Center near Richmond, Brown in Greensville Correctional Center near Emporia. Since Virginia has abolished parole, both are effectively life terms.
Turner has proclaimed his innocence from the start, acknowledging only that he is guilty of being an accessory after the fact - a misdemeanor punishable by no more than a year in jail - because he helped Brown dispose of Evans' body and cover up the crime.
Since he has served far more time than that, Turner will qualify for immediate release if the state does not appeal Tuesday's decision. Any appeal would have to be filed within 30 days.
Brown gave several accounts of the murder but always blamed Turner until his 2002 confession, in which he said he had become a Christian in prison and could no longer allow an innocent man to pay for a crime he committed.
At the time of the trials, prosecutors acknowledged that they could not prove which of the two men killed Evans.
They charged them both with murder and abduction with intent to defile, arguing that they conspired to kidnap Evans for the purpose of a sexual assault and that she was killed in the process, perhaps accidentally.
In Tuesday's majority opinion, Judge Larry Elder and Senior Judge Sam Coleman wrote that if Brown's confession had been available at the time of Turner's trial, "we conclude that no rational trier of fact could have found Turner guilty" of those charges.
In her dissent, Judge Cleo Powell wrote that evidence in the case - including testimony from a fellow SEAL trainee that Turner told him he and Brown intended to have a "threesome" with Evans - suggested that "Turner intended to have sexual relations with Evans against her will."
The majority opinion rejected that notion, arguing that even if Turner had hoped to have sex with Evans, there was no evidence that he intended to do it by force.
"Turner did not make Evans uncomfortable," the judges wrote, "to the contrary, she appeared to have enjoyed his company."
Turner, a multi-sport high school athlete, junior church deacon and Boy Scout, had no criminal record before the Evans murder.
Brown was a high school dropout. When he was 17, he beat up his 14-year-old wife in front of several police officers in his hometown of Huber Heights, Ohio, according to court records. Later he was discharged from the Coast Guard under other-than-honorable conditions for assaulting a superior officer.
If Tuesday's decision is appealed to the full appeals court, one member of that court will be unable to participate.
Judge Robert Humphreys was the Virginia Beach commonwealth's attorney who prosecuted Turner and Brown in 1996.
Pilot writer Kathy Adams contributed to this report.
Bill Sizemore, (757) 446-2276, bill.sizemore@pilotonline.com
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Do your homework
There is so much inaccurate and bogus information on this thread it is easy to see how prosecutors got a jury to convict Turner of an abduction that never occurred. The idea that Virginia has a liberal justice system is laughable. If Virginia is considering overturning a verdict, the case must have legs. Anyway, I suggest everybody actually read the decision by the Appellate Court before spewing anymore unsubstantiated accounts of what they "understood" happened.
http://www.courts.state.va.us/opinions/opncavtx/1836071.txt
It is nearly 40 pages long, so it is not for the reactionary sorts that would rather make assumptions about what happened that night and call for everyone's heads. I'll give you the cliff notes. This is what the Appeals Court concluded that supports Judge Lowe's earlier opinion that Brown is credible.
-There was no abduction. Jennifer Evans died in the parking lot of the Bayou.
-The three did not leave the club together. Turner arranged a ride home for Brown and went out to his car with Evans and awaited her friend's return to pick Miss Evans up.
-Brown was extremely intoxicated - Turner and Evans were sober. Brown got in an argument with his ride home
Lots to comment on...
So much here to comment on. First off, am I the only one who thinks there's something glaringly wrong where helping to hide a body, after witnessing the murder itself, is only a misdemeanor? I don't know if this guy should serve for life, but to be declared in some modicum of "innocent" by court writ stinks to High Heaven! A girl was murdered, and these two idiots were the ones on-scene! And the lines from the article below:
"Brown was a high school dropout. When he was 17, he beat up his 14-year-old wife in front of several police officers in his hometown of Huber Heights, Ohio, according to court records. Later he was discharged from the Coast Guard under other-than-honorable conditions for assaulting a superior officer."
I know it's well after the fact, but I'll ask: How did this guy get into the Navy, much less become a SEAL, in the first place??
I would hope that the state
would appeal this all the way to the supreme court. This smirking piece of garbage needs to spend his life in prison.
the whims of an angry mob
All of these commenters seething about what should happen, who is an animal, suggesting executions, dwelling on lurid details. Really quite striking.
And the judges decided something that the frothing vessels of anger dislike. So they're liberals, evil, tyrants, etc. The Court of Appeals of Virginia has decided that, in the words of the applicable statute, "no rational trier of fact could have found proof of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt" in this case had the present evidence been presented. Yet you keyboard kommandos have no doubt whatsoever. Froth, froth. Vitriol and rage. For myself, I am very glad we have laws and institutions in this country to prevent the naked exercise of power by majority will. James Madison would have read your comments and shuddered.
I HAVE A QUESTION FOR THE NAVY...
If this guy received an Other-than-Honorable Discharge from the Coast Guard, how the heck did he get selected for BUD/S Training? In fact, how did he get into the Navy?
Release him
If it were my daughter that was murdered, I would gladly welcome his release. hehe
After the fact.....
Quote: "In her dissent, Judge Cleo Powell said Turner was partially responsible for Evans' death because he deceived her into leaving the club with him so that he could have sex with her, then after her death he drove to an isolated area and helped Brown dispose of Evans' partially unclothed body."
quoted from: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i8mYtJLUHoMIbC5BZ50ugoTMI4ewD99SB3VO0)
That hardly sounds like after the fact. He was instrumental in getting her out of the club and into the car where she was raped and killed. Not sure if Turner participated in the rape, but DNA can help there now.
If so, he's where he belongs.
If not, he was an accessory to murder (not AFTER the fact) and again, is where he belongs.
FYI
There was no rape.
Ignorant
WRONG. What do you think happened to her? Her body was in the woods for 9 days and it was so decomposed they had no physical evidence - that does not mean no rape. If they had found it earlier, they would have found, I am sure, that both of them rapped her. What reason would they have to take her clothes off??? They intended to have sex with her from the beginning and when she resisted they rapped her and killed her. Use some common sense. It is unbelievable people would even begin to defend this.
Xe is hiring
He has all the necessary credentials. Ex Navy Seal, accomplice to murder, Christian....
amazing
it's amazing that the same people who complain that a prospective justice may not dispassionately follow the law turn around and argue for mob rule when that law is dispassionately followed.
maynard g. krebs
14 Years Of High Level Training Behind Bars
The law should be followed, as it is written, whatever that is. This guy has now had 14 years in the College of Criminals. What will he do with that once he is out? If he is let go, he should still be held accountable for the crime of 'accessory after the fact'. If not, he will get a big fat paycheck from the government for false imprisonment and will the Navy have to re-instate him? He's a bad guy. After 14 years behind bars, he will be an even badder boy when he is out.
Swim Buds
Just listen to this Navy Seal Macho crap.Yea, him and his "Swim Bud" were close alright, all the way down to the end when they were caught. So this guy admits to dumping this young girl like a piece of garbage, and then witnesses the other animal have sex with the corpse. But hey, they were "SWIM BUDS"!
Bull
I think that your personal attack to our Navy SEAL heroes is incredible juvenile. You need to re-read the article and properly put TRAINEE in your post. Please do not forget that many of our local Navy SEALS are heroes who give up numerous months with their families so that you can post such crap. Regardless of this mans guilt or INNOCENCE it has NOTHING to do with his brief never was navy career.
can her death be overturned
I was at a conference at this place that was a nightclub prior. I felt the evil in that building. Whether he actually committed the murder or not he was an accessory. Just like that young girl that lost her life-we were taught evil is scarey looking not a clean cut good looking man. That has changed evil comes from the mind. I'm sure she never had rape or death on her mind wehn she went with them. She also thought (my assumption) if they were seals the government had checked them out and there was no danger. That could have been my daughter or anyone's daughter. You do the crime you pay the time. This is a bad name for the seals and the Commonwealth of Virginia. Right now I am ashamed to say I lived in Virginia all my life-at least 55 years of it and worked for the state for over 30+ years.
Evil in the building???
I was in my twenties and used to go to the Bayou with my friends all the time in the mid 90s. Evil in the building?? Please. Believe whatever you want about "the building", but we used to have fun there.
What happened to Jennifer Evans was awful, but don't blame the building...or think that it can hold on to the malicious behavior of those 2 inmates...
Be glad you're in Virginia - trust me - you don't know how good you have it until you move somewhere else.
Unbelievable
This is a complete outrage. This animal was clearly involved in the commission of this crime and a jury agreed and convicted him. Now, because the other animal got religion and decided to say he alone did this is ridiculous. Who cares? From what I understand Dustin Turner was there every step of the way in the crime. This is outrageous and it is unfathomable to think our judicial system takes the word of a convicted murderer that once again (after how may times) changed his story.
Let him rot in prison ...
like he intended Jennifer's murdered body to rot in the woods where he helped dump her.
Who Knows. Were you commenters in the courtroom or a witness?
Amazing how the simple minded form their opinions. Get a life and he has his back. If he was guilty then we shall se him back in court like OJ. But, Va ain't Cali. so I doubt it.
Regardless, those of you with short memories should investigate the entire chain of events from 1995, review the court records, etc. In those days and now actually , you are guilty from being present even if against your will.
I wish Justin the best because i'm sure he will have an extremely hard time trying to return to society as we know it with all the gun slingers out there among us from the hoods.
They are the menace to society.
Liberal judges strike again.
Liberal judges strike again. The socialist democrats are responsible for this bs. Vote out the democrats out if you are angry about this conviction being overturned. If you ask me, this guy was just as guilty when he helped attempt to cover up the crime.