Virginia Governor Sets Free 3 Sailors Convicted in Rape and Murder

Story here. Excerpt:

'RICHMOND, Va. — Gov. Tim Kaine on Thursday ordered the release of three sailors who were convicted in a 1997 murder and rape case that had become a national cause célèbre as an example of wrongful convictions based on coerced confessions.

The three, who with another sailor were known as the Norfolk Four, were charged in the rape and murder of the wife of a fellow sailor. But after someone else confessed to the crime and the men remained in prison, their plight attracted a long list of supporters, including former judges, agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and even some of the jurors in their cases.

Citing “grave doubts” about the men’s complicity in the crimes, Governor Kaine issued a partial pardon to the three sailors — Derek Tice, Danial Williams and Joseph Dick Jr. — which reduced their life sentences to time served and permits them to leave prison in the coming days.'