Gov. Jim Gilmore pardoned him for that murder late last year. Apparently, this New York lawyer, Eric Freedman, believes that because Earl Washington Jr. was wrongly convicted of one crime, he shouldn't have been punished at all for another. That might be the way they do things in New York, but here in Virginia, if you break into an elderly woman's home and rob her and beat her, you go to prison. For a long time. He's going to be a celebrity, and his face will be everywhere.
Every jury contemplating the death penalty ought to be told about Washington's close call.
His is a sobering case. But before canonizing Earl Washington Jr. or sobbing about his lost 18 years, remember what he did on the night of May 21, 1983. The fact is, Earl Washington Jr. was a dangerous man. He's now paid his debt to society. Let's hope he's been rehabilitated.