
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, July 22, 1990                   TAG: 9007230289
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: B-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JOHN HORAN JR.
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

WHAT IF GIARRATANO IS INNOCENT?

TIME is running out for Joseph Giarratano. On May 24, the Virginia death-row inmate filed his final appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court, which is unlikely to view his plight any more favorably than other courts have.

Giarratano pleaded guilty in 1979 to a rape and double murder in Norfolk. Even though he was an alcoholic and a drug addict with suicidal tendencies, his court-appointed lawyer claimed Giarratano was competent to stand trial. Giarratano, who did not remember the crimes, offered five contradictory confessions, four of which were suppressed by the prosecution.

Evidence offered recently suggests that there is no physical evidence substantiating Giarratano's confession and guilt, that the evidence used against him was tainted, and that there is another, more likely suspect in the crimes.

The state and the courts have turned a deaf ear to the inconsistencies in the evidence at Giarratano's trial and the new disclosures. The state attorney general's office maintains that the defense arguments were not not raised properly or soon enough. Thus far, the appeals have centered solely on procedural matters instead of the more substantive doubts about Giarratano's guilt.

This legalistic stance is at odds with the broader goal of justice. Regardless of one's views about capital punishment, we have no business executing people whose guilt is in doubt. Enough questions have been raised about the Giarratano case to merit a retrial. Even the victims' relatives agree that the case was botched and that a new trial is justified.

Giarratano's case has generated considerable interest outside Virginia. ABC's "20/20" and the syndicated program "Inside Edition" have aired segments on the case. The New York Times had Giarratano on its front page. International human-rights groups have appealed to Attorney General Mary Sue Terry.

Terry's office has doggedly stood by Giarratano's death sentence, as if admitting error in one case would jeopardize the commonwealth's position in appeals of other capital cases.

Procedure and pride should give way to the significant doubts raised about the guilt of Joseph Giarratano. His execution, without a reconsideration of the merits of his case, would raise dire questions about Virginia's commitment to the ideals of justice.

by CNB