VA - Michelle Moore-Bosko, 18, raped & murdered, Norfolk, 8 July 1997

Police were convinced that Michelle Moore-Bosko, a young Navy wife, was raped and murdered by eight men in her small Norfolk apartment in 1997 while her husband was away at sea. And five of them confessed.

But Bosko's apartment showed no signs of mass attack, and the DNA left behind matched only one man: Omar A. Ballard, a convicted sex offender, who gave details of the killing and said he acted alone.

The four others who confessed, all Navy sailors, later recanted but were convicted anyway, and three of them are serving life sentences. Today, three of "the Norfolk Four," as their attorneys call them, plan to ask outgoing Gov. Mark R. Warner (D) for clemency. The fourth sailor's request is pending.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/09/AR2005110902281.html?nav=rss_metro

I hope these men get another trial ,it sounds like they are innocent to me ,if I were on the jury I would have wanted to hear all the evidence about the investigator getting previous false statements and if there was someone who had an alibi for one of them they should have been a witness ,why werent
they and with the DNA they matched to the murderer it sounds like they are are getting a bad rap.
There seems to be very serious doubt of their guilt.

why in Gods green earth would they confess to a crime they didnt commit??

michelle said:

why in Gods green earth would they confess to a crime they didnt commit??

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It boggles the mind. Something about this case is missing. Maybe the NE will pick up the story and fill in some of the blanks.

does anyone have a link for this case? i dont remember hearing about this one?

People do confess to crimes they didn't commit all the time. The police lie (as they are allowed to - and it's a good thing because it gets many criminals to confess too) and claim they've got the evidence to convict, but if you confess, we'll lower the charges, you'll get off easier. It becomes a rational equation - continue to tell the truth, say you are innocent, and you go to jail for a very, very long time. Lie and you will go to jail for less time.

This is a new law that needs to be made - maybe the supreme court can rule on this matter - but I think anytime, absolutely ANYTIME there is evidence of absolute innocence (and the fact that this new guy turns out to have done it, someone not in any of their confessions, proving those confessions were lies), that should always be admissible and cause for a new trial. Cut down the number of appeals for other reasons, but this is not about an appeal, and shouldn't ever be limited.

michelle said:

why in Gods green earth would they confess to a crime they didnt commit??

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There are literally countless occasions where police forced confessions is quite common. They use basic "torture" techniques including sleep deprivation, no food or drink, constant talking and bagering the "alleged perpetrator" and having him start to think he might have done it....

I agree that if this is the evidence, they truly need a new trial or clemency.

michelle said:

does anyone have a link for this case? i dont remember hearing about this one?

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Michelle, this has been featured on one of the "true crime" shows, maybe Forensic Files. Can't quite remember which one!

These guys sound innocent to me, and that impression was left with me after the show. I wish I could remember more details. If I find a link, I'll post it.

I know that police can force someone into a confession and it happens all the time, but 4 people into one, now thats crazy!!

michelle said:

I know that police can force someone into a confession and it happens all the time, but 4 people into one, now thats crazy!!

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What are the odds of that happening?

For all those that hate defense attornies, this is a prime example why the accused need competent representation.

IdahoMom said:

What are the odds of that happening?

For all those that hate defense attornies, this is a prime example why the accused need competent representation.

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Yep, to point out why they might be innocent, or for the guilty, point out mitigating circumstances.

Where I object to defense attorneys is when they try to get evidence proving guilt ignored, thrown out of court, try to make a truthful witness appear a liar, etc.

No defense attorney should try to free the guilty, nor should any prosecutor try to imprison the innocent. This is not a game.

True Confessions?

Three sailors once confessed to murdering a Navy wife. But another man's DNA is linked to the crime. Is this another case of innocents in prison?

In the eight years since Carol Moore's daughter Michelle was brutally raped and murdered in Norfolk, Va., the holidays have always seemed to shine a spotlight on that empty chair at the table. This Thanksgiving was one of the worst.

Just two weeks before the feast, three Navy sailors who had confessed to killing her daughter and are serving life sentences filed a petition maintaining their innocence and requesting a full pardon. Wounds Moore had hoped were slowly closing were ripped open again. She went through the motions of the holiday like a zombie, forgetting things, unable to focus, crying. She can't imagine those men going free. She knows they did it, because she heard them--as she listened to their taped confessions at the trials--describe the gruesome things they did to her daughter.

"They're guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. That's it," Moore told TIME over the phone last week. "How could someone confess to something like that if they didn't do it?"

But giving a false confession is precisely what the three sailors say they did do...

More: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1137691,00.html?promoid=rss_top

Interesting...

A Sordid Tragedy of Coerced Confession -- The Derek Tice Injustice Story


"


Investigator Ford: Q. State your full name.
A. Omar Abdul Ballard.
Q. Date of birth?
A. 06/14/78
Q. Social Security number?
A. 222-48-1413
Q. You're currently in the August County Penitentiary?
A. Yes
Q. How far did you go in school?
A. Tenth grade.
Q. Can you read and write?
A. Yes.
Q. I want you to tell me in your own words -- wait a minute, back up a second. I show you Norfolk Police Legal Rights Form PD 381 and ask you if you read and understand this form?
A. Yes.
Q. Did you mark yes to all seven questions on this form?
A. Yes.
Q. Is this your signature at the bottom of the form?
A. Yes.
Q. Understanding these legal rights, do you desire to make this statement?
A. Yes.
Q. Tell me in your own words what you know in reference to this offense. Start out at the beginning, go all the way through it.
A. All right. I was at Karen and Kumani's house and I left to go to Tamika's house. Well, that was my intentions. I stopped at Michelle's house. You know, she told me that it was drinks in the refrigerator, and the phone was over in the corner if I needed to use it, and she went to the bedroom. I don't know what she was doing in the bedroom. I was sitting down drinking, so she came back out. We was talking. About half an hour, 45 minutes later, we went in the bedroom. We had sex. All right. I was getting up to leave, but she was still in the room, so when I was leaving, I don't know, I guess something just ticked in my head, and I went to the kitchen, got a knife, went back to the room. She was getting up off the bed or she was already up off the bed when I stabbed her in the chest one time. Then when she got on the floor, I think I stabbed her about two or three more times. I'm not quite sure. After that, I left the house and went to Tamika's house.

"

More: http://www.justicedenied.org/derecktice.htm

I remember hearing about this story. Are these guys still in prison?

3 of 'Norfolk Four' petitions rejected

http://www.wavy.com/dpp/news/local_news/norfolk/3-of-'norfolk-four'-petitions-rejected

The men had asked the court to revive an appeal based on the corruption convictions of a former Norfolk detective.

Norfolk Circuit Court Judge Everett Martin had ruled that the men missed their deadline for raising the claim.

More procedural rules blocking justice...

http://www.norfolkfour.com/

Documentary on their case and confessions:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/front...aign=viewpage&utm_medium=grid&utm_source=grid

Bah! This one makes me upset. It is obvious these convictions were wrong. Corrupt detective, false confessions, filed too late? Make an exception.
I was talking about this one to my husband and he was totally unaware that LE could lie about dna, lie detector tests, all off it.
He said he never would expect that he would ask for an attorney if he was being questioned about something that he was innocent of.
This needs to be stresssed to all family members.
GET AN ATTORNEY!

ohiogirl said:

I was talking about this one to my husband and he was totally unaware that LE could lie about dna, lie detector tests, all off it.
He said he never would expect that he would ask for an attorney if he was being questioned about something that he was innocent of.
This needs to be stresssed to all family members.
GET AN ATTORNEY!

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I would suggest showing [video=youtube;6wXkI4t7nuc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wXkI4t7nuc[/video] to your husband. A law school professor explains exactly why you should never talk to the police.

As for this case, Frontline: The Confessions has already been mentioned. There is some great information on that website about how a police interview can generate a false confession.

ohiogirl said:

Bah! This one makes me upset. It is obvious these convictions were wrong. Corrupt detective, false confessions, filed too late? Make an exception.
I was talking about this one to my husband and he was totally unaware that LE could lie about dna, lie detector tests, all off it.
He said he never would expect that he would ask for an attorney if he was being questioned about something that he was innocent of.
This needs to be stresssed to all family members.
GET AN ATTORNEY!

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BBM

Living in the Commonwealth of Virginia (Norfolk, at that!) I can assure you, we NEVER make exceptions. Especially to our timelines and 21 day rule. In the only case where I have ever seen an exception made to the 21-day rule, they did some sort of legal cha cha that released the man, but his conviction was not vacated and at any moment he could have been hauled back in to serve the rest of his sentence. He ended up being a total drug addict and put back in, so it didn't much matter in the end, but one thing you will never see is the Commonwealth just making exceptions. Remember: my state takes the position that "Evidence of Innocence is Irrelevant!"

http://www.cstone.net/~vadp/21day.htm

I just want to mention that in this case, the men did receive a partial pardon (we don't absolutely pardon here in VA except in very rare cases. I can only think of one off of the top of my head, without digging.) They are no longer in prison and the efforts now in their appeals are just to completely clear their names, so they are no longer incarcerated. I figure that with as little information as there is on this thread, people may not be aware that they are out.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/07/us/07norfolk.html

Here is another article about their denial this week:

http://hamptonroads.com/2011/09/members-norfolk-four-rejected-va-high-court