Monday, January 02, 2006

Still more on the Roger Keith Coleman case

Once again, the AP has a story about whether Governor Warner will order DNA testing from the Roger Keith Coleman case.

The article explains the hype about the case: "If the tests show Roger Keith Coleman did not rape and murder his sister-in-law in 1981, it would mark the first time in the United States an executed person is scientifically proven innocent, say death penalty opponents, who are keenly aware that such a result could sway public opinion their way." That seems like an amazing fact to me, that there are no such cases.

The article says: "Tom Scott, a Grundy attorney who helped prosecute the case, said he has no objection to retesting the DNA, and is confident doing so would confirm Coleman's guilt--provided the sample has been properly preserved and not tampered with."

I've heard that from others - that testing would reinforce the evidence that Coleman was guilty, and that this case will have no effect on the death penalty in Virginia.

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