THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, February 19, 1997 TAG: 9702190393
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MIKE ALLEN, THE WASHINGTON POST
DATELINE: CULPEPER LENGTH: 81 lines
Christopher Prince sleeps with a baseball bat. He keeps himself awake all night by eating sugary cereal and candy, then dozes off when day dawns and he feels safe.
The 21-year-old, who was locked up for 15 months for a crime that authorities now say he did not commit, was pardoned by Gov. George F. Allen a year ago. But even in the safety of his parents' home in Northern Virginia's horse country, his fear of being attacked by other prisoners has not worn off.
Now Prince is facing a new setback: The Virginia legislature, which in the past has paid compensation to several prisoners who proved their innocence, has rejected Prince's plea for help.
Prince's parents spent $35,000 on lawyers, a private investigator and other expenses to free him, and they still owe $25,000. They want to pay for counseling and therapy for their son and had hoped to move to Georgia to start a new life.
Instead, they say, they're stuck in a town where the whispers have never stopped.
The Princes contend their situation shows what can happen to Virginians who need something from their government but lack money or connections. And some legislators acknowledge that at the manic pace of the General Assembly, which will dispose of 2,541 bills in 46 days, some worthy cases get lost.
A bill to pay $50,000 to Prince was defeated 15 to 2 in the Senate Finance Committee, so the full chamber never had a chance to consider it. Several committee members who voted against the bill now say they remember little or nothing about it.
Prince, who is borderline mentally retarded, was convicted in 1994 of breaking and entering with intent to commit a felony after a 12-year-old neighbor said he had broken into her house to have sex with her. The girl later recanted.
In December 1995, Allen issued an absolute pardon, stating in the proclamation: ``It is clear that Mr. Prince was wrongly convicted on the basis of false information provided through perjured testimony.''
When Prince took his case to Richmond last month, a subcommittee - the first place a bill lands - thought he had been wronged and voted unanimously to pay him the $50,000.
The chairman, Sen. Charles J. Colgan, D-Prince William, said that in similar situations in the past, the legislature has paid that amount for each year an innocent person was locked up.
``I don't care whose fault it was: He was falsely imprisoned. He should be compensated for that,'' Colgan said. ``We had compensated others $50,000 a year, and we should have compensated him the same.''
But when the bill reached the Finance Committee, the Senate Republican leader, Joseph B. Benedetti, of Richmond, argued that the 12-year-old witness - not the state - was to blame for Prince's plight.
``I'm very sorry he went to prison, but she recanted her testimony,'' Benedetti said. ``It was no fault of ours. He was a victim of this person who lied, not of the system. Why should we pay?''
Sen. Kevin G. Miller, R-Harrisonburg, who introduced the bill, called the Prince case ``a very deserving situation'' and said he was surprised by his colleagues' objections. Miller said that after consulting with Culpeper officials, he may try again next year.
Prince's mother, Mary Prince, 44, who works for the Defense Department, said she doesn't agree with the argument that the state is not at fault.
``The state arrested my son on the sole basis of what the young lady said,'' she said. ``So now they tell us, `Yeah, we released him. The governor has pardoned him. But we played no part in your child being incarcerated.' ''
Prince has an IQ of 75 and has been diagnosed as having an attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. His mother said that after the bill was introduced and he thought he would be getting money, ``he was excited about having some self-worth.''
Prince's mother cried as she tried to explain the bill's rejection to her son.
``He kept saying, `Make them do it,' '' she recalled. ``It was like when he was arrested. He said, `Can't you make them tell the truth?' '' ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
ASSOCIATED PRESS/File photo
Christopher Prince, shown here with his parents, Vernon and Mary,
after his 1995 release from prison, was convicted of breaking and
entering on the word of a 12-year-old, who later admitted lying.