THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, August 26, 1994 TAG: 9408260652
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DIANE STRUZZI, LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
DATELINE: MONTVALE LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines
In a red brick, Montvale home, Ed Honaker's family anxiously waited Thursday as they have for months.
Honaker's mother didn't stray far from a telephone. She hoped to hear that her son soon would be out of jail.
She didn't.
``My nerves are so bad, I can hardly write my son a letter,'' Anna Honaker said.
Ed Honaker has been in jail for nearly 10 years, serving three life sentences plus 34 years for the 1984 rape of a Newport News woman. Ed Honaker has always maintained his innocence.
Friends and family have said they were virtually powerless to fight their way through the justice system. Last year, they relinquished the battle to Centurion Ministries Inc., a prisoner-advocate organization in New Jersey.
On Thursday, the organization pledged to fight a legal war for Honaker. Gov. George Allen said he will continue to scrutinize the case before deciding on Honaker's request for clemency.
After Honaker was convicted, his family was distraught and confused. But they have kept in touch with him, writing letters, sending money and visiting.
``We didn't really know what we could do,'' said Sheila Honaker, Ed's sister-in-law.
An uncle in West Virginia, who worked as a minister at a woman's prison, helped put his nephew in touch with Centurion Ministries. Marion Ripley, who lives in Sinks Grove, W.Va., originally had his doubts about Ed's innocence.
``I said all (prisoners) say that,'' Ripley said. ``But in the little time that I watched (Ed) grow up, I didn't think that he had it in him.''
Ed Honaker had his run-ins with the law during his days in Roanoke. There was a breaking and entering conviction, some drinking episodes and a few fights.
``When (the rape) first happened and he was first convicted, it's human nature to say you believe the courts,'' said longtime friend Don Shaver. ``But as time went on I didn't believe it, in terms of the violence. It was so out of character for Honaker.''
At the moment, Honaker's fate lies in Allen's hands. And the clemency process traditionally has been an arduous one for chief executives, said Glenn Davidson, a spokesman for former Gov. Douglas Wilder. During Wilder's term, he grappled with several cases of prisoners requests for freedom.
``It's a very difficult situation that he took very seriously, on a case-by-case basis,'' Davidson said. ``He never really talked about it to anyone.''
Roger Groot, professor of law at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, said Allen's three basic options include:
Granting a pardon, which would wipe the rape conviction from Honaker's record.
Granting clemency, which would reduce Honaker's sentence.
Doing nothing.
Allen cannot grant Honaker a new trial. And by state law, unless new evidence is brought forward within 21 days of a conviction, it is nearly impossible to win another trial in court, say legal experts.
``The strong odds are that (Honaker) has no way in the courthouse door to present (new) evidence and have his conviction overturned,'' said Bill Geimer, another professor of law at Washington and Lee.
Allen has speculated that ``most people think he's innocent.'' Yet he insists that the decision whether to free Honaker will not be swayed by public opinion.
The next step for Honakers' supporters is unknown. His brother Wayne Honaker said the wait has been ``devastating'' for his family. Honaker's supporters say they will not forsake him.
``But what do you think a person on the street can do?'' asked friend Judy Shaver. ``I don't know how far we can go.''
KEYWORDS: RAPE SEX CRIME DNA by CNB