Virginia Governor Mark Warner commuted the death penalty for a man who was scheduled to die by lethal injection last night. Warner said yesterday that 41-year-old Robin Lovitt should spend the rest of his life behind bars. Lovitt's case was controversial because DNA evidence that could have exonerated him had been mistakenly thrown out by a state employee.

During his trial, Lovitt admitted going to a suburban Washington pool hall to steal money. Prosecutors said he was confronted by Clayton Dicks, 45, who was stabbed six times with scissors. A witness was "80 per cent sure" Lovitt was the killer. Dick's DNA was on the scissors, and that of another person. Tests neither implicated nor exonerated Lovitt, but before his appeals were exhausted, the scissors were mistakenly thrown away.

Warner said he agreed with the Virginia jury that convicted Lovitt, but said there were extenuating circumstances in the case. Warner added that “clemency should only be exercised in the most extraordinary circumstances.”