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One of the Norfolk Four Officially Cleared
Even with all the technology available to us now conviction is never 100% our technologies are never 100% so we still face the possibilities of innocent people being convicted. The Norfolk four are a possible example of this happening and I wanted to share the story with you. If you are not familiar with this case let me give you a bit of background.
The Norfolk four were four veteran Navy sailors who were falsely accused of sexually assaulting and murdering Michelle Moore-Bosko in 1997 in Norfolk, Virginia. The conviction itself was based on false confessions that were obtained after hours and hours of interrogation the four veterans went through. In 1999 Omar Ballard confessed to the crime saying he and he alone committed this horrendous act. When his DNA was tested it proved to be a match to the only DNA found at the crime scene.
On August the 6, 2009 three of the four were given conditional pardons from state governor Tim Kaine. Derk Tice, Danial Williams, and Joseph Dick Jr would be set free after spending 11 years in prison however this was conditional and they would still have to register as sex offenders. Wilson would serve his full sentence and be released in September of 2006.
On October 27, 2010 the detective responsible for obtaining the confessions, Robert Glenn Ford was convicted on two counts of extortion and one count of making false confessions. He is currently serving 12 ½ years for his crimes.
On August 4, 2011 Circuit Court Judge Charles E. Poston accepted a request from the same prosecutor that prosecuted Derek Tice to drop the two felony charges against him relating to the rape and murder of Mrs. Moore-Bosko. Tice is the first of the four who has won appeals the other three men have appeals pending with the court.
Ms Moore-Bosko’s parents did not attend this hearing and maintain that all 5 convicted were involved and stated that last Thursday’s hearing was “nothing but a joke”. Omar Ballard, who was already serving a double life sentence when he confessed maintains that he committed this crime alone and no one else was involved and currently still remains as the only of the 5 who can be linked to the crime scene.
