The notorious “Norfolk Four” men, Derek Tice, Danial Williams, Eric Wilson, Joseph Dick, were convicted in the case of the rape and murder of eighteen year old Michelle Moore-Bosk, the wife of a sailor, in 1997 while stationed at a Navy base in Norfolk, Virginia.  They were initially sentenced to the death penalty for their crimes.  The whole issue began with the arrest of seven sailors on capital murder charges, even though DNA at the scene never matched any of them.  Three were let go after their alibis were confirmed and the remaining four were held responsible.  The convicted men entered plea agreements against the death penalty and were ultimately sentenced to spend the remainder of their lives in prison.  They served a number of years, and crime novelist John Grisham even picked up their story.

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Last year, U.S. District Judge John Gibney of the Eastern District of Virginia held evidentiary hearings on the case because he recognized the continuing consequences of wrongful convictions.  “It is time for the Commonwealth to free these men of the continuing shackles of their conviction,” Gibney wrote. “By any measure, the evidence shows the defendants’ innocence. … No sane human being could find them guilty.” Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe has now formally pardoned the men.  Eric Wilson, said McAuliffe has “given us our lives back with these full pardons.”  He adds in a statement, “We have been haunted by these wrongful convictions for 20 years, which have created profound pain, hardships, and stress for each of us and our families. We now look forward to rebuilding our reputations and our lives.”

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Virginia governor formally pardons 'Norfolk Four' wrongly convicted in 1997 rape and murder caseNorfolk Four pardoned in rape and killing; sailors’ confessions coerced