After spending more than 11 harsh years in prison for a crime they did not commit, Joseph J. Dick, Jr., Derek E. Tice, and Danial J. Williams, became free men in early August thanks in large part to the legal work of two members of MAIP’s Board of Directors. On August 6, 2009, Governor Timothy M. Kaine of Virginia granted conditional pardons to the Navy veterans known as the “Norfolk Four” but fell short of granting them absolute pardons based on innocence. Gov. Kaine denied the clemency request of Eric C. Wilson, the fourth member of the group, who was…

Date / Location: 1988; Washington, D.C. Conviction: Murder Sentence: 1990 Year of Conviction:   Exoneration Date: 21 years Sentence Served: 18 years Compensation: No     On August 5th, 2008, Aaron Michael Howard was released from prison after serving almost twenty years for a crime he did not commit. In 1990, Howard and three co-defendants were sentenced to 21 years to life for the 1988 murder of Bobby Parker in Washington, D.C.Parker, 23, was stopped at a red light at Chesapeake Street and Southern Avenue in Southeast Washington when he was shot eight times. Howard was one of four young…

In the five weeks since he was granted a conditional pardon and released from prison, Derek Tice began to start his life over. After twelve years in prison, the Navy veteran landed a construction job and got his first cell phone and e-mail address. On Monday, the member of the group known as the Norfolk Four received a phone call that will change his life forever. U.S. District Judge Richard L. Williams vacated Tice's conviction for the 1997 rape and murder of Michelle Moore-Bosko, on the grounds of ineffective assistance of counsel. In doing so, Judge Williams granted the habeas…