Va. conviction overturned in Ga. woman's death
Lawyer Blogs
An ex-Navy SEAL trainee had his murder and abduction convictions overturned Tuesday after spending 13 years in prison for killing a Georgia college student who was vacationing in Virginia.
A divided Virginia Court of Appeals panel granted Dustin Turner's request for a writ of actual innocence, vacating his conviction of murder and abduction with intent to defile in the 1995 death of 21-year-old Emory University student Jennifer Evans.
Turner is the first person in Virginia to get a murder conviction overturned under a 2004 law that allows nonbiological evidence of innocence to be considered more than 21 days after sentencing.
Turner, 34, of Bloomington, Ind., is serving an 82-year sentence for killing Evans in his parked car outside a Virginia Beach nightclub in 1995. Another trainee, Billy Joe Brown, changed his story to say that he alone killed Evans.
"While Turner's conduct creates a suspicion of guilt, the evidence, viewed in the context of Brown's recantation, cannot support findings of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt," the ruling stated.
The Attorney General's Office has two weeks to ask for the full court to make a decision or a month to appeal the ruling to the Virginia Supreme Court. If the attorney general does not protest the ruling, Turner would be released from Powhatan Correctional Center.
Turner's attorney and mother said they were cautiously optimistic about Tuesday's ruling.
"We're very pleased, and we like our chances moving forward, but at this point we're not exactly sure what forward will be," Turner's attorney David Hargett said.
David Clementson, a spokesman for the attorney general's office, said only that officials there are reviewing the opinion.
Related listings
-
Nevada Supreme Court to weigh OJ release on appeal
Lawyer Blogs 08/03/2009Lawyers for O.J. Simpson and a former golfing buddy hope to persuade a Nevada Supreme Court panel to spring the two men from prison while the justices review their convictions in a gunpoint hotel room heist.Simpson and convicted co-defendant Clarence...
-
Judge declines to delay trial in Chandra Levy case
Lawyer Blogs 08/03/2009A judge has refused to push back the trial for the man accused of sexually assaulting and killing a Washington intern.At a hearing Friday, prosecutors told D.C. Superior Court Judge Geoffrey Alprin that they have provided more than 5,000 pages of evi...
-
`Girls Gone Wild' lawyer: NV bribe claim bogus
Lawyer Blogs 07/27/2009Federal prosecutors brought trumped up charges against a Hollywood associate of "Girls Gone Wild" creator Joe Francis, two ex-sheriff's deputies and a jail worker to pressure them to implicate Francis in an alleged bribery scandal, a lawyer said. Att...
Illinois Work Injury Lawyers – Krol, Bongiorno & Given, LTD.
Accidents in the workplace are often caused by unsafe work conditions arising from ignoring safety rules, overlooking maintenance or other negligence of those in management. While we are one of the largest firms in Illinois dedicated solely to the representation of injured workers, we pride ourselves on the personal, one-on-one approach we deliver to each client.
Work accidents can cause serious injuries and sometimes permanent damage. Some extremely serious work injuries can permanently hinder a person’s ability to get around and continue their daily duties. Factors that affect one’s quality of life such as place of work, relationships with friends and family, and social standing can all be taken away quickly by a work injury. Although, you may not be able to recover all of your losses, you may be entitled to compensation as a result of your work injury. Krol, Bongiorno & Given, LTD. provides informed advocacy in all kinds of workers’ compensation claims, including:
• Injuries to the back and neck, including severe spinal cord injuries
• Serious head injuries
• Heart problems resulting from workplace activities
• Injuries to the knees, elbows, shoulders and other joints
• Injuries caused by repetitive movements
For Illinois Workers’ Compensation claims, you will ALWAYS cheat yourself if you do not hire an experienced attorney. When you hire Krol, Bongiorno & Given, Ltd, you will have someone to guide you through the process, and when it is time to settle, we will add value to your case IN EXCESS of our fee. In the last few years, employers and insurance carriers have sought to advance the argument that when you settle a case without an attorney, your already low settlement should be further reduced by 20% so that you do not get a “windfall.” Representing yourself in Illinois is a lose-lose proposition.