MAIP To Represent Haynesworth  Twenty-five years ago the Richmond area was shaken by a series of robberies and rapes.  On the strength of eye witness identification, Thomas Haynesworth was sentenced to seventy-four years in prison.  Though Haynesworth never stopped maintaining his innocence, he was unable to prove that he had been wrongfully convicted.  Now, after having spent more than two decades in prison, DNA evidence may exonerate him.  In 2005 Commonwealth Governor Mark Warner launched a project that would re-examine DNA evidence from convictions that occurred between  1973 and 1988.  A semen sample from Haynesworth case was among the evidence…

DNA evidence has cleared Victor "Bo" Burnette of a 1979 rape.  Bo, who spent 8 years in prison, was released in 2006 but chose not to go public with his story until now. Burnette intended to announce his exoneration after receiving a pardon from Commonwealth Governor Tim Kaine, but the governor's inaction forced him to come forward sooner.  The governor's office declined to comment on the status of his application for a pardon, which was filed two years ago. "There are lot of people around I haven't seen in years, and they're probably thinking, 'Hey this guy was guilty.' They didn't…

On March 2, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the matter of District Attorney's Office v. William G. Osborne.  Peter Neufeld, co-founder of the Innocence Project at the Cardozo School of Law, argued on behalf of Mr. Osborne.  The case raises questions over the existence of a constitutional right to post-conviction DNA testing. In 1994 an Alaska state court found Osborne guilty of kidnapping and sexual assault.  Osborne subsequently sought access to evidence for DNA testing, but was denied by the District Attorney's Office.  The D.A.O.'s decision was reached despite their admission that testing could exonerate him and that the testing would come…