| FREE DUSTY |
Beefier 'actual innocence' law urgedPublished on HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com (http://hamptonroads.com) January 26, 2010 by Bill Sizemore The mother of a former Navy SEAL trainee whose murder conviction has been overturned in a precedent-setting case spent the day Monday lobbying the General Assembly to help others who claim innocence to clear their names. Dustin Turner is the first - and so far only - person to get a murder conviction overturned under a 2004 law allowing prisoners to challenge their convictions based on non biological evidence of innocence that emerges after trial. Turner, of Bloomington, Ind., has been behind bars nearly 15 years for the 1995 murder of Jennifer Evans, a Georgia college student who was vacationing at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront. His conviction was reversed last year by a divided three-judge panel of the Virginia Court of Appeals on the basis of a confession by Turner's co-defendant and SEAL "swim buddy," Billy Joe Brown, that he alone was responsible for the slaying. The state appealed that ruling to the full appeals court, which will hear oral arguments in the case this morning. Linda Summitt, Turner's mother, lobbied for the 2004 law. She returned to Richmond on the eve of the court hearing, urging lawmakers to expand the law so it will help others. In an interview, Summitt said she and her son are cautiously optimistic that once the long legal process is concluded, Turner will win his freedom. But other exonerated people are still excluded from using the so-called "writ of actual innocence" law that Turner used. "At least we have that avenue," she said. "But why I'm here today is, other people don't have that avenue. I'm here advocating for them." Click here to read the entire story...
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Here is the information on the Attorney General of VA, if you would like to call or write to him with your thoughts on the state filing this appeal: |
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LATEST NEWSBeefier 'actual innocence' law urged Appeals court hears arguments in former SEAL's case Va. Court of Appeals reviews Dustin Turner case VIDEO Ex-SEAL trainee to reargue case before full Va. Court of Appeals FACES of 2009: Dustin TurnerVirginia Attorney General to appeal clearing of former SEAL traineeSee the full document of the court's opinion concerning the writ of actual innocence (Courtesy WVEC-TV) With conviction overturned, Dustin Turner remains locked up VIDEO Former Navy Seal Trainee Exonerated in 1995 Va. Beach SlayingAppeals court overturns Dusty Turner's murder conviction VIDEO Ex-Navy SEAL trainee has murder conviction overturnedVa. Court of Appeals overturns ex-SEAL trainee's murder convictionCourt overturns ex-SEAL trainee's conviction in 1995 murder |
Click picture above to see more of Dusty's artwork In September 1996, in the Virginia Beach Circuit Court, Dustin Turner (age 21) was convicted of the murder of Jennifer Evans. Dusty was sentenced to 82 years in prison without the possibility of parole. The person who actually committed the crime had been previously convicted of Jennifer's murder in the Virginia justice system. That person was Billy Joe Brown. Dusty and Billy Joe had been swim buddies during their SEAL training with the US Navy. Both men were in the last phase of training at the Fort A.P. Hill SEAL training center in Bolling Green, VA. |
Visit again soon to see and hear about our latest efforts to win Dusty's release. Revised on January 27, 2010 |