ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, July 25, 1996 TAG: 9607250058
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-4 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: Associated Press
The Louisiana nun who wrote ``Dead Man Walking'' says the success of the movie about her book shows Americans are concerned about the death penalty.
Sister Helen Prejean spoke at a news conference Wednesday held by supporters of death row inmate Joseph R. O'Dell, who contends he is innocent of a 1985 rape and murder of a Virginia Beach secretary.
Prejean wrote the book about her 14 years of working with inmates on Louisiana's death row.
``Perhaps the film is the first occasion that many people have had to get past the political rhetoric about the death penalty and to see it up close,'' said Prejean, who opposes capital punishment.
Susan Sarandon won this year's Academy Award for best actress for her portrayal of the nun.
Prejean said Virginia is trying to execute O'Dell without hearing new evidence that could exonerate him.
``The state of Virginia, along with my state, Louisiana, is intent on executions, period,'' she said.
O'Dell's supporters contend that post-trial DNA tests done on blood found on his clothing and in his car do not tie him to the murder of Helen C. Schartner. A test of blood on his shirt did not match O'Dell or the victim, they said.
But Virginia Beach Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Albert Alberi, who prosecuted the case, said the DNA tests arranged by the defense several years after the trial showed that blood found on O'Dell's coat matched that of the victim.
``I think that the defense DNA findings have done nothing but strengthen the conclusion the jury reached,'' Alberi said. The DNA testing used today was not available when the case was tried.
Lori Urs, a Boston law student who said she has grown close to O'Dell while investigating his case, said the DNA test on the coat was inconclusive.
O'Dell, who has a long criminal record that includes the murder of a fellow prison inmate, was convicted based on his confession to a fellow jail inmate, tests of blood and seminal fluids and tire tracks found near Schartner's body. She had been strangled and beaten on the head with a handgun similar to one seen in O'Dell's car before the murder.
A convenience store clerk saw O'Dell covered with blood the night of the slaying. O'Dell told police he had been in a fight.
His appeal is before the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond. No execution date has been set.
Prejean said she will return to Virginia Sept. 22 to speak at an anti-death penalty conference sponsored by Murder Victims for Reconciliation, an organization for relatives of murder victims.
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