CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — In a story March 22 about a bid to exonerate a man convicted of murder in Virginia, The Associated Press reported erroneously that Sherman Brown was convicted for the 1970 murder of a 4-year-old boy. He was convicted in 1970 for the 1969 murder of the boy.
A corrected version of the story is below:
Virginia top court rejects exoneration in 1969 murder of boy
Virginia's top court has unanimously denied a bid to exonerate a man who says he was wrongly convicted in the 1969 murder of a 4-year-old boy
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Virginia's top court has unanimously denied a bid to exonerate a man who says he was wrongly convicted in the 1969 murder of a 4-year-old boy.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports the Virginia Supreme Court rejected Thursday the DNA-based petition for writ of actual innocence for Sherman Brown, ruling that the testing didn't comply with state law and the results don't warrant exoneration.
The DNA sample in question was taken from the boy's mother, who was physically assaulted and apparently raped in the same attack. The DNA tested in a private lab didn't match Brown or her husband. The opinion says the case was never a rape case, as it's unclear if the mother was sexually assaulted, so the DNA doesn't have bearing.
An Innocence Project lawyer says they plan to continue to seek relief.