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to see you until you die?”
Prom there, he may well have died. But a remarkable set of circumstances was set in motion that led to his eventual release from prison.
Virginia law in 1985 did not provide death-sentenced prisoners with lawyers for their habeus appeals. But a change was in store when fellow death row inmate Joe Giarratano filed a lawsuit on Washington’s behalf that called that failure unconstitutional. That led to a petition that granted Washington a stay of execution, nine days before he was scheduled to die on Sept. 5, 1985. It also brought a team of lawyers who took a new look at the evidence. They worked for more than a decade to release Washington from prison.
Hall in particular remembers his outrage when he discovered that Washington’s blood type didn’t match semen found at the crime.
“As I looked for something to corroborate the confession, what says this confession is true?” Hall asked. “What evidence supports this confession? I didn’t find anything.”
Petitions were filed and rejected, appeals made and denied. New DNA tests revealed the genetic material could not have come from Washington. The tests said that he didn’t do it, but couldn’t prove he wasn’t there. With growing doubts, Gov. Douglas Wilder commuted his sentence to life in prison. There Washington remained, while his team continued fighting.
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