Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, January 7, 1994 TAG: 9401070156
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-4 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: RENEE SHAFER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"If the governor will not assume responsibility, then we will not support him for his bid for the Senate," said the Rev. Charles Green, president of the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Wilder is running for the Democratic Senate nomination.
Green spoke at a news conference organized by Nancy Spannaus, also a candidate for the Democratic nomination. Others at the event included the Rev. James Bevel, a Northern Virginia civil rights activist, and members of Concerned Citizens for Justice, a Roanoke organization.
They are pushing for a pardon by Wilder before he leaves office Jan. 15.
Washington, 33, of Fauquier County, was sentenced to death in 1982 for the murder of 19-year-old Rebecca Lynn Williams. Authorities say she was raped and stabbed 38 times in her Culpeper apartment. She lived long enough to tell police that she had been raped by a lone black man.
Washington's conviction came into question after samples of his DNA failed to match those taken from semen samples found in the victim. Nor did the semen match the DNA of the dead woman's husband. Results of these analyses were not available when Washington was convicted. Virginia law does not allow new evidence to be introduced more than 21 days after a conviction.
Thursday's speakers argued that the DNA tests eliminate any possibility that Washington could have committed the crime. They also question the validity of Washington's confession, which he later withdrew. They believe investigators coerced the confession from Washington, who is illiterate and has the mental capacity of a 10-year-old.
"This is not an issue of race, but a lack of constitutional consciousness," Bevel said. "Even if you believe in capital punishment, you cannot agree to the killing of an innocent man."
Wilder is reviewing the case, taking into consideration Washington's mental competence and his criminal record, which includes two charges of malicious wounding, two charges of robbery, one charge or rape and one charge of breaking and entering.
Walter McFarlane, executive assistant and chief counsel to the governor, plans to meet next week with prosecutors and Washington's attorneys to hear additional information relating to the case.
McFarlane is reviewing the evidence from the original conviction, as well as the results of the DNA tests.
Washington's DNA differs slightly from that found in the victim. Although that casts doubt on his guilt, it does not conclusively prove his innocence.
Memo: shorter version ran in the Metro edition.