Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, June 25, 1994 TAG: 9406290070
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: BURKEVILLE LENGTH: Medium
``Every day is a long day and they're getting longer,'' Ed Honaker, 44, said at Nottoway Correctional Center. ``I have a lot of anxiety, a lot of apprehension.''
Recent DNA tests contradicted evidence that resulted in his conviction in the abduction and rape of a woman on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Nelson County. He was sentenced to three life terms plus 34 years.
His lawyer, Barry Scheck, plans to ask Gov. George Allen for a pardon.
``I feel strongly that the fact he is a law-and-order governor shouldn't make a difference,'' Scheck said. ``This is an issue of guilt or innocence. The mistake should not be allowed to stand.''
Said Allen spokesman Ken Stroupe: ``It appears this is a serious matter and deserves prompt attention.''
He said if a pardon petition is filed, ``all of the evidence will be examined'' and forensics experts may be consulted before Allen makes a decision.
Honaker has always insisted he is innocent.
``The tests told me something I've known for almost 10 years,'' he said.
Honaker is bitter about the conviction. ``They took 10 years away from life. My kids were toddlers when I was jailed. Their whole childhood was taken away,'' the divorced father of three said.
He said he turned down a plea bargain before his trial in which he would have been sentenced to 40 years.
``I told them I wouldn't plead guilty for something I didn't do, that I wouldn't plead for time served,'' he said.
Commonwealth's Attorney Phillip D. Payne said the DNA tests on sperm taken from a vaginal swab of the rape victim raised serious doubts about Honaker's conviction. The genetic pattern did not match that of Honaker or the victim's boyfriend.
Payne has agreed to help Honaker seek a pardon or try to have the verdict overturned.
``At least he had the gumption to stand up for what's right,'' Honaker said.
Honaker's quest for freedom began when he contacted Centurion Ministries Inc. of Princeton N.J., a prisoner advocacy group. The group ran the initial DNA tests and took the results to Payne.
The jury that convicted Honaker apparently believed the emphatic identification of him by the woman and her boyfriend.
``I don't appreciate what she did to me but I don't harbor any bad feelings against her,'' said Honaker. ``I have no hard feelings against the jury either.''
The rape occurred while the victim and her boyfriend were on a camping trip to Crabtree Falls. They got lost, pulled to the side of the road and went to sleep in the car.
A man carrying a pistol abducted the woman after threatening to shoot her boyfriend. About five hours later, after a series of sexual assaults, he returned her to her car.
by CNB