Twenty six former Federal Agents have joined the ranks of those calling for the immediate release of the Norfolk Four. The announcement comes just months after 4 former Virginia attorneys general voiced their support for the sailors’ clemency.

Joseph Dick, Derek Tice, Danial William and Eric Wilson were charged in 1997 with the rape and murder of a Norfolk woman. Each of the men provided the police with conflicting confessions. None of the confessions matched the physical evidence, and all four men later recanted. A fifth man, Omar Ballard, confessed to committing the crime alone and was the only match for the DNA found at the scene of the crime. All five men were convicted.

The agents were invited to review the case by the Norfolk 4's attorneys. Their investigation convinced all of them that the physical evidence was consistent with a single-offender crime.

Retired Agent Thomas O’Donnell also pointed to evidence of coerced confessions. Detective Glen Ford was among the officers who obtained confessions from the four servicemen. Ford was later demoted and disciplined for obtaining false confessions in a separate matter. As a result of Ford’s action, the Norfolk police began videotaping interrogations.

The agents sent Governor Timothy Kaine a letter in July seeking pardons for the wrongfully imprisoned men. When the Governor did not respond, the agents elected to hold a press conference.

"They stand falsely convicted and imprisoned for a crime they did not commit," retired FBI agent Jay Cochran told the press.

The retired agents hope that their efforts will persuade Governor Kaine to free the Norfolk Four. A clemency petition, filed by lawyers from the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project, has been sitting on the Governor’s desk since he took office in 2006. The Governor’s office promises to give the case careful consideration, but will not commit to a timeline.

To send Governor Kaine an e-mail and urge him to exonerate the Norfolk Four, please click here.

For more information on the Norfolk 4 and the support of the 26 retired agents, please follow the links below.

TIME:  The Disturbing Case of the Norfolk Four

NY Times:  Retired FBI Agents Join Cause of 4 Sailors

Washington Post:  Retired Agents Take Up Cause of 'Norfolk 4'

Richmond Times Dispatch:  Ex-FBI Agents: Pardon 4 Sailors in '97 Slaying

Virginian Pilot:  Ex-FBI Agents Join Call for Pardon of 4 in 1997 Rape-Slaying

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