Thomas Haynesworth

Over the course of four weeks in the winter of 1984, five women were assaulted in a series of attacks in and around the East End neighborhood of Richmond, Virginia. On January 3, 1984, a 20-year-old woman was raped at knifepoint near the daycare center where she worked.[2] On January 21, an 18-year-old woman was sodomized at knifepoint near a grocery store.[2] On January 27, a woman was approached outside her home by a man demanding money and sex; she locked herself inside and called the police while the man fled.[2] On January 30, an 18-year-old woman was abducted, raped, and sodomized in nearby Henrico County, within blocks of the other attacks.[2] On February 1, a 19-year-old woman was abducted at gunpoint outside her home, but the attacker fled when the woman's dog began barking.[2]

Given the locations and nature of the attacks, and the description of the attacker, police believed one man was responsible. On February 5, 1984, the victim of the January 27 attack saw Haynesworth, a young, African-American man, walking near a grocery store (where his mother had sent him to buy groceries) and, believing him to be her attacker, called the police. A police officer pulled up next to Haynesworth, and asked if he would allow a woman whose house was broken into to look at him.[3] The woman identified him as her attacker and he was arrested.[3] Haynesworth was identified in a police lineup by all four other women.

Eyewitness identifications have been shown in studies to be notoriously unreliable. Other studies have shown that eyewitnesses are more likely to misidentify someone of another race than someone of their own race.[4][5] (Note: "The DNA exoneration cases where the false conviction is established with near certainty show that eyewitness evidence has been largely responsible for false conviction in more than 70% of cases (www.innocenceproj.org).")[6]

Haynesworth was tried in four separate rape cases in 1984. (Charges were dropped in the January 27 attack, despite the victim of that attack having been the first victim to identify him.[3]) He maintained his innocence, saying that authorities had the wrong man. Haynesworth was convicted in three of the four trials, and sentenced to 10 years, 36 years, and 28 years in prison, respectively, for a total of 84 years in prison.[2]

Although Haynesworth was in custody, rapes continued to occur in the same neighborhood. At least ten young women reported they were attacked by a young black man who referred to himself as the "Black Ninja".[2] On December 19, 1984, Leon Davis, who resembled Haynesworth, had the same blood type, and lived nearby, was arrested and charged with a dozen rapes during the nine months after Haynesworth's arrest.[3] After Davis was arrested, the rapes stopped. Davis was later convicted of several rape charges and sentenced to multiple life terms in jail.[2]

Haynesworth continued to maintain his innocence. He rejected advice from fellow inmates, who told him to apologize for the purported crimes when he appeared before the parole board, in order to increase his chances of an early release.[7] While imprisoned, Haynesworth earned his GED and studied auto mechanics, welding, and masonry. He wrote letters to local newspapers, law students, and 60 Minutes, pleading for help to appeal his case.[7]

Following the Virginia Supreme Court writ of innocence and Haynesworth's petition for writs in the other two cases, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell asked the state's parole board to review Haynesworth's case. It approved him for parole.[12] On the morning of March 21, 2011 (his 46th birthday), Haynesworth was released from prison on parole. Guards awakened him around 1 am ET to inform him of his release, and other inmates gave him a birthday card to take home.[9] He walked out of the prison, Greensville Correctional Center in Jarratt, Virginia, around 11 am, carrying all his belongings (a television and a single garbage bag with the rest of his belongings).[9] He was welcomed by his mother and sisters, along with other family members. His mother, Dolores Haynesworth, said, "He's home. It's still hard to believe. I'm holding him, but it's still hard to believe."[9] Haynesworth said, "I always believed this day would come," and added, "I didn't think it would take 27 years."[9]

Despite his release, Haynesworth was dogged by the convictions for the two remaining cases; as new physical evidence was unavailable, these remained on his record. As a result, he was still listed on the state's sex offender registry. Because of this status, Haynesworth had to wear an electronic ankle monitor, be subject to curfews, inform authorities in order to move from one home to another, and had to request permission to visit his young nieces.[11][13] Knowing how hard it would be for Haynesworth to find a job until he was fully exonerated, Cuccinelli hired him to work as a clerk in his office.[1] Haynesworth said Cuccinelli was "an extraordinary guy" and that as "a total stranger [he] put it on the line for me."[1] Cuccinelli had also invited Haynesworth to his office, where the State Attorney General personally apologized to him for the miscarriage of justice in his case.[1]

Cuccinelli, the local prosecutors, and Haynesworth's lawyers petitioned the Court of Appeals of Virginia to grant a writ of innocence in the remaining two cases. Despite the unanimous agreement of the prosecutors and Cuccinelli (who, as attorney general, was the state's chief law enforcement officer), the court seemingly interpreted the new laws allowing for Haynesworth to make his case more strictly than the General Assembly intended, according to The New York Times. The court asked for further briefs from the parties to discuss whether the exonerating evidence should be "conclusive".[11]

Cuccinelli argued that requiring extra briefs raised the standard of proof too high, beyond what was intended by the General Assembly. He said the only form of conclusive proof is DNA. In a pointed statement, he wrote that, as the state had disposed of the DNA evidence in these two cases, "it seems paradoxical to demand 'conclusive' evidence from Haynesworth when the commonwealth has deprived him of the opportunity to produce such evidence."[11] Appearing in person before the court, Cuccinelli argued passionately for Haynesworth's exoneration, saying, "This case has kept many prosecutors from going to bed at night. It's a real wake-up call. Not to say things need to be changed, but that this could happen."[1] Shawn Armbrust of the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project said, "To find Haynesworth guilty, a jury would have to accept the coincidence that there were two guys in the same neighborhood who looked alike and were committing the same crimes."[1]

On December 6, 2011, in a 6-4 decision, the Court of Appeals granted writs of innocence in the remaining two rape cases, fully exonerating Haynesworth.[7]

Appearing alongside Cuccinelli and his attorneys at an emotional news conference following the ruling, Haynesworth said,

It's a blessing. There are a lot of people behind the scenes who believed in me. Twenty-seven years, I never gave up. I kept pushing. I ain't give up hope. I am very happy. Me and my family can finally put this behind us, and I can go on with my life. And I can finally vote. … I'm just so happy. You just want your name restored. You want to prove to them that they made a mistake.[7]

(Note: Convicted felons are prohibited from voting in Virginia, even after they serve their sentences and complete parole or probation.)

Cuccinelli said,

Today marks the end of an unimaginable nightmare for Thomas Haynesworth. For 27 years in prison, he always maintained his innocence and continuously displayed tremendous dignity and grace, steadfastly believing that justice would one day be served. Today, justice was in fact served, and Thomas Haynesworth was finally granted the total freedom he so deserves. … An attorney general's job is not convictions when it comes to law enforcement. It's justice. Today we got justice. … I have never experienced the pure joy of today's outcome.[7][12]

Cuccinelli also said of Haynesworth, "His composure, dignity and faithfulness are an absolute witness to me. I am an admirer here."[13]

Haynesworth continued working in Cuccinelli's office, and planned to open his own auto repair business.[1] As of December 2012, he was still working in Cuccinelli's office.[14]

• List of wrongful convictions in the United States

• "Exonerations: Thomas Haynesworth", The Innocence Project
• "Thomas Haynesworth", Michigan Law & Northeastern Law National Registry of Exonerations