Virginia: Request

Geoff Dutton of the Columbus Dispatch has written an intriguing article about a man who was released from prison after serving 23 years for two rapes that he did not commit. DNA tests showed that Arthur Whitfield was innocent of the offenses for which he was convicted and identified the real attacker, a serial rapist tagged in a state computer database. After being rejected 14 times by a parole board, Whitfield is back on the "outside." But, technically, he is on parole and registered as a sex offender. While waiting for a pardon from Governor Timothy M. Kaine (D), Whitfield lost a job that he had held at a credit union for over two years because someone discovered he was a convicted felon. Dutton notes, however, that one of the victims has written the Governor a seven-page letter, asking that clemency be denied. Both victims insist the 53-year old Whitfield is guilty, although the prosecutor in his case and the state crime lab director feel otherwise. See complete story here.