THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, July 27, 1995 TAG: 9507270369
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARC DAVIS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: HAMPTON LENGTH: Short : 47 lines
Commonwealth's Attorney Christopher W. Hutton will not retry basketball star Allen Iverson and his two friends for their roles in a 1993 brawl.
``The victims and witnesses in these cases would be unnecessarily burdened in their personal lives were these cases to be retried,'' Hutton wrote in a motion filed Wednesday to nolle prosse, or not prosecute, charges against Iverson and his co-defendants.
Hutton wrote that Iverson and his friends have served four months in jail and have made ``marked progress toward educational and/or employment goals'' while on probation.
``A retrial would retard, rather than advance, that maturation toward becoming productive and solid citizens,'' Hutton wrote. ``The Commonwealth would seek retrial of these charges had the defendants not made this progress.''
Iverson was one of the nation's top college basketball players last year as a freshman at Georgetown University. He and two others were convicted of mob violence after a free-for-all, chair-throwing brawl at a Hampton bowling alley.
Iverson served four months in jail, then received conditional clemency from former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder in December 1993.
In June, the state Court of Appeals overturned the charges against Iverson and his two co-defendants, saying there was insufficient evidence that they were part of a mob.
Earlier this month, the attorney general announced he would not pursue further legal action against Iverson. On Wednesday, Hutton filed papers that ensure his office also will not retry Iverson.
In a statement released through his attorney, Thomas B. Shuttleworth, Iverson said, ``I am delighted that the decision has been made that there will not be any further court proceedings in my case. This is a tremendous relief to me and my family. . .
``While I regret that I had to experience and confront the problems that I did, it has taught me a great deal and made me stronger and more mature in many ways.''
KEYWORDS: TRIAL by CNB