Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 2, 1995 TAG: 9506020112
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LAURA LAFAY LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
State police investigating a gun found inside the typewriter of executed inmate Willie Lloyd Turner also should look into the ``propriety'' of allowing the Department of Corrections to investigate ``its own apparent major security breach,'' a group of Virginia defense attorneys said Tuesday.
The ``scope and thoroughness'' of a 36-hour Department of Corrections probe also should be examined, the Virginia College of Criminal Defense Attorneys said.
The defense attorneys also said Gov. George Allen and his administration should ``personally, publicly and immediately'' apologize for remarks they made about Turner's lawyer.
In a scathing three-page statement, the organization of about 325 lawyers denounced Allen for ``recklessly and maliciously'' calling the discovery of the gun ``an allegation'' that could have been a ``stunt'' by Turner's lawyer, Walter Walvick. The lawyers' statement also criticized Ron Angelone, director of the Department of Corrections, for saying the discovery ``raised the possibility of an elaborate hoax.''
Walvick, a 52-year-old corporate lawyer with a Washington law firm, represented Turner free of charge for seven years.
Walvick is scheduled to be interviewed today by state police investigators who are conducting an independent inquiry into the gun incident on orders issued Tuesday by Allen.
Walvick, who has agreed to take a lie detector test, discovered the gun in the typewriter about an hour after Turner's execution May 25.
While Walvick is not a member of the Virginia College of Criminal Defense Attorneys, the Allen administration's attacks on his integrity bode ill for all Virginia defense lawyers, said Andrew Sacks of Norfolk, president-elect of the group.
``If we're going to have to defend our clients and then turn around and be forced to defend ourselves against attacks by a sitting governor, I think the criminal justice system may be at a low watermark,'' Sacks said.
``How ironic that the governor of the birthplace of Washington and Jefferson would travel so far from the principles for which those Founding Fathers stood,'' he said.
The Allen administration declined to respond to the defense attorneys' accusations and demands.
``There are a number of questions that have been raised, and that's why the entire matter is under state police investigation,'' administration spokesman Bill Cimino said Thursday. ``We will have no further comment on the investigation at this time.''
Legislators also are weighing in on the investigation.
Members of the General Assembly have an ``obligation'' to monitor the state police handling of the matter, state Sen. Richard Holland, D-Windsor, said Thursday. Holland heads a Senate subcommittee that oversees prison financing.
``We need to exercise some oversight over this matter,'' he said. ``We can evaluate [the investigation] after it's concluded, and if we're not satisfied, we can pursue some other steps.''
Holland spent an hour and a half with Angelone and three of his staff members Wednesday. He is considering calling corrections officials to testify before his subcommittee next Thursday, he said.
``I told Director Angelone, I said, `It seems to me it's humanly impossible that a thorough investigation could be conducted in such a short period of time,''' Holland said.
``I also stated that they were corrections people investigating corrections, and the public is very reluctant to believe anything they say. I told them they should have called the state police, first thing.''
Holland said Angelone told him the serial number of the gun had been filed off, but a hidden serial number allowed officers to trace the gun to a now-defunct Roanoke gun shop, where it was purchased, probably about 1954.
by CNB