After spending more than 11 harsh years in prison for a murder they did not commit, Joseph Dick, Jr., Derek Tice, and Danial Williams became free men in August 2009 thanks in large part to the efforts of three members of MAIP’s Board of Directors and teams of lawyers at four major law firms with whom they worked on the Norfolk Four case.

Dick, Tice and Williams, former members of the United States Navy, were given a conditional pardon by Virginia Governor Timothy M. Kaine on August 6, 2009.  The three men were convicted of the brutal rape and murder of the young wife of another Navy sailor.  A fourth sailor, Eric Wilson, served 8 ½ years for the rape before being released in 2005.

The four Navy men were wrongfully convicted based on false confessions extracted after they were subjected to high-pressure interrogation tactics, including threats of the death penalty and questionable use of lie-detector tests.  The details in each of their confessions did not match the crime scene, the other confessions, or the confession of the real killer whose identity was discovered nearly two years after the crime.

All of the DNA and forensic evidence in the Norfolk Four case pointed to one man, Omar Ballard, and only his confession matched the physical evidence.  Ballard is now serving a life sentence for the crime and has repeatedly sworn under oath that he raped and murdered Michelle Moore Bosko by himself.

Despite the overwhelming evidence of their innocence, Dick, Tice and Williams remained incarcerated for more than a decade.  The three men were able to secure pro-bono representation from George Kendall, who at the time was working at Holland & Knight, and MAIP Board Members Donald Salzman of Skadden, Arps and Desmond Hogan of Hogan Lovells (then known as Hogan & Hartson.)  Teams of lawyers at the three law firms, led by Kendall, Salzman and Hogan, represented their clients for five years and continue to represent them today.  In addition, MAIP board member Stephen Northup and his colleagues at Troutman Sanders played critical roles in the campaign to seek clemency for the men.

After conducting a thorough investigation of the case, the team sought a full pardon from the Governor of Virginia.  The plight of the Norfolk Four garnered global attention, and numerous people and groups – including MAIP and a bipartisan group of law enforcement experts – took action in support of their freedom. 

When Gov. Kaine announced the conditional pardon, he conceded that there was no physical evidence implicating the Norfolk Four but refused to acknowledge that they were undoubtedly and completely innocent of the crime.  Because they were not fully pardoned, the men are on parole, have to register as sex offenders and are not eligible for compensation for the misconduct that led to their wrongful convictions. 

On September 14, U.S. District Judge Richard Williams vacated Tice’s conviction, finding that his counsel was ineffective for failing to seek the suppression of Tice’s confession, which was unconstitutionally obtained.  The Commonwealth of Virginia has since appealed that ruling to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

The Norfolk Four case is an important cautionary tale of how false confessions can blind police and attorneys to overwhelming evidence of innocence.  To learn more about how the case developed, follow the links below:

The Crime Scene and Investigation
Omar Ballard
The Legal Team Steps In
Still Fighting
The Lessons of the Norfolk Four

For complete details about the case, go to the Norfolk Four’s website.