State law silences the truth Fairness sometimes gets pushed aside by the justice system s desire to have a smooth process. The recent example of Earl Washington Jr., wrongly convicted of rape and murder, focused attention on a Virginia rule that can prevent the truth from being heard in an appeals court. ONLY in recent months has Virginia s onerous 21-day rule received attention from lawmakers. The long-standing statute bars legal appeals based on new evidence found more than three weeks after sentencing. Justice, in other words, takes a back seat to the system s desire to achieve a conviction and uphold it.
Trouble is, sometimes the system has the wrong person in jail.
That is what happened with Earl Washington Jr. of Fauquier County, who almost went to the electric chair for the 1992 rape and murder of a young Culpeper County woman. Washington recently was released from prison after new DNA test results proved he was not guilty. Persistent defense lawyers persuaded Gov. Jim Gilmore to order the new tests. The governor then pardoned Washington. Washington s situation focused an embarrassing amount of international attention on Virginia s restrictive attitude toward legal appeals.