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| DNA Clears Va. Man in 1982 Rape |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 12/17/2001 |
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A man convicted of a 1982 rape has become the first person cleared under a new state law allowing felons to seek DNA tests. The results ruled out Marvin Lamont Anderson, 37, as the source of biological evidence found at the crime scene, and they partially matched two convicted felons in the state's databank, said Hanover County Commonwealth's Attorney Kirby H. Porter. The evidence was too degraded to make a complete match with either felon, Porter said. 'We're going to reopen the investigation from the beginning,'' Porter told The Washington Post. 'We're not in the business of convicting innocent people.'' Anderson was convicted and sentenced to prison based on testimony from the victim. He served 15 years before he was paroled in 1997. Eighteen states allow DNA testing after a person has been convicted. Before the new Virginia law went into effect July 1, Anderson had no legal right to the tests. The law permits inmates to seek court orders for DNA testing and creates an exception to Virginia's shortest-in-the-nation deadline for allowing a felon to present new evidence of innocence. For anything other than scientific evidence, the deadline remains 21 days. Anderson had made repeated attempts to have DNA testing performed in his case, but he was told the biological evidence could not be located, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported. The evidence turned up this year. |
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