Roger Keith Coleman 3567888 217056399 2008-06-04T12:32:02Z 82.43.97.121 /* Subsequent examination of evidence */ <!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:Time Roger Keith Coleman.jpg|thumb|Coleman was featured on Time Magazine]] -->'''Roger Keith Coleman''' ([[November 1]], [[1958]] &ndash; [[May 20]], [[1992]]) was a [[Grundy, Virginia]], [[coal miner]] [[conviction (law)|convicted]] and executed for the [[murder]] of his sister-in-law, Wanda McCoy. Coleman's case drew national attention before and after his execution because of his repeated claims of innocence. In [[2006]], Virginia Governor [[Mark Warner]] announced that recently re-examined [[DNA evidence]] had conclusively proven Coleman's guilt. ==The crime== Nineteen-year-old Wanda McCoy was attacked in her home on [[March 10]], [[1981]]. She was [[rape]]d, stabbed to death, and nearly beheaded. There was little sign of a struggle and it was assumed she had allowed her attacker into the house. Roger Coleman, her sister's husband, had access to the house and immediately became a suspect. Coleman, who worked in a mine, had reported to work that night but had left when his shift was dismissed. A [[fingerprint]] was found on the front screen door and a pry mark on the front door molding, and bloodstains inside the house. The victim had broken fingernails, cuts on the hands, and a dark, dusty substance on her body. Moreover flecks of blood on Coleman's pants were the same blood type as the victims. ==The case== Coleman was convicted of raping and murdering McCoy in 1982. The prosecution for the case asserted:{{ref}} * The lack of forced entry showed McCoy knew her attacker * Coleman had been previously convicted of attempted rape * A hair found on McCoy's body was similar to Coleman's * Blood found on Coleman's clothes was McCoy's blood type * A fellow prisoner maintained that Coleman had privately confessed the crime to him Coleman's defense maintained: * There was indeed evidence of forced entry (the pry mark on the door) * DNA tests of the [[semen]] found on the victim's body implicated more than one person * The [[prosecution]] claimed there was no struggle, however the victim had cuts, a bruise in her arm, and broken fingernails * Coleman had a documented alibi and several witnesses who gave affidavits ==State appeals== Coleman's initial appeal to the Virginia Supreme Court was denied,{{ref}} and the Supreme Court of the United States denied [[certiorari]].{{ref}} Coleman then filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the Circuit Court for Buchanan County, raising several federal constitutional claims for the first time. A two day evidentiary hearing was held, the court denied all of Coleman's claims, and on [[September 4]], [[1986]], the court entered its final judgment. Coleman next appealed to the Virginia Supreme Court, but this appeal was dismissed on the motion of the Commonwealth because his notice of [[appeal]] was not filed timely. Virginia Supreme Court Rules {{ref}} require that a notice of appeal be filed within 30 days of entry of the final judgment; Coleman's notice of appeal was filed on [[October 7]], which was 33 days after the circuit court entered its judgment. ==Federal petition for habeas corpus== After his appeal was dismissed on procedural grounds, Coleman petitioned in the [[United States District Court]] for the Western District of Virginia for a writ of [[habeas corpus]]. However, federal courts generally may not review a state court's denial of a federal constitutional claim if the denial is based on a state procedural default that is independent of the federal claim and is sufficient to support the prisoner's continued custody.{{ref}} Since Coleman was in procedural default of his appeal in state court, this was independent of his federal constitutional claims, and was adequate to support his continued custody, he was ineligible for relief in a federal habeas corpus proceeding. Although finding that Coleman was in procedural default, the District Court addressed all of his claims, finding them without merit. The [[United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit]] affirmed the District Court's ruling,{{ref}} as did the [[Supreme Court of the United States]] (see footnote 4). ==Controversy and execution== In 1990, new DNA tests seemed to add to evidence against Coleman by putting him within the 2% of the population who could have committed the crime.{{ref}} Some argued that DNA and blood tests combined reduced this figure to 0.2%.{{ref}} [[Image:Roger_Coleman_Time_Cover.jpg|thumb|Coleman on the cover of ''Time'' magazine]] While on death row, Coleman's claims of innocence reached an international audience. [[Time magazine]] put Coleman on its cover. Virginia Governor [[Douglas Wilder]] received 13,000 calls and letters about Coleman from around the world, nearly all in favor of clemency. Wilder arranged a secret, last-minute polygraph test for Coleman, who failed.{{ref}} Coleman shared a final meal of cold pizza with James McCloskey, executive director of Centurion Ministries, who had been working since 1988 to prove Coleman's innocence. On [[May 20]], [[1992]], the Commonwealth of [[Virginia]] executed Roger Keith Coleman in the [[electric chair]]. As Coleman was strapped into the electric chair, he made one final declaration. "An innocent man is going to be murdered tonight," he said. "When my innocence is proven, I hope America will realize the injustice of the death penalty as all other civilized countries have."{{ref}} In 1998, John C. Tucker, a Chicago lawyer published the book ''May God Have Mercy'' (ISBN 0-385-33294-7) detailing legal efforts to save Coleman from the death penalty. ==Subsequent examination of evidence== Centurion Ministries and four newspapers, including the ''[[Washington Post]]'', sought to have DNA evidence from the case re-examined in 2000. In 2002 the Virginia Supreme Court declined their request, and Centurion Ministries subsequently appealed to Virginia Governor [[Mark Warner]].{{ref}} On [[January 5]], [[2006]], Warner ordered DNA evidence to be retested. The evidence was sent to the Centre for Forensic Science in Toronto, which determined that his DNA matched with no exclusions and that there was only a 1-in-19-million chance of a random match.{{ref}} On [[January 12]], [[2006]] Warner's office announced that the test results confirmed Coleman's guilt. [http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-01-12-dna-virginia_x.htm] ==Significance for the anti-death penalty movement== Coleman's case was the second instance in U.S. history where DNA evidence was examined after the person in question had been executed. Supporters who believed Coleman's innocence had expected DNA tests to exonerate Coleman. Some death penalty opponents also believed that evidence of an innocent man's execution would have a profound impact on the death penalty debate in the United States, and help accelerate a growing reluctance to use execution. However, the results prompted death penalty supporters to argue that Coleman's case instead showed that proper safeguards were in place.{{ref}} ==See also== *[[List of individuals executed in Virginia]] *[[Capital punishment in Virginia]] *[[Capital punishment in the United States]] ==Notes== # {{Note|autonumber}} "DNA: Virginia Executed the Right Man," CNN.com, January 12, 2006. # {{Note|autonumber}}Coleman v. Commonwealth, 226 Va. 31 (1983) # {{Note|autonumber}}465 U.S. 1109 (1984) # {{Note|autonumber}}Va. Sup. Ct. R. 5A:6 # {{Note|autonumber}}Coleman v. Thompson, 501 U.S. 722 (1991) [http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=501&invol=722 Court's opinion] # {{Note|autonumber}}Coleman v. Thompson, 895 F.2d 139 (1990) # {{Note|autonumber}}"Tests Reaffirm Coleman's Guilt," ''Richmond Times-Dispatch'', Jan 12, 2006. # {{Note|autonumber}}"DNA: Virginia Executed the Right Man," CNN.com, January 12, 2006. # {{Note|autonumber}}"Tests Reaffirm Coleman's Guilt," ''Richmond Times-Dispatch'', Jan 12, 2006. # {{Note|autonumber}}Kathy Still, "'Tell Them I Said Hello,' He'd Say," ''Bristol Herald Courier'', January 11, 2006. # {{Note|autonumber}}Maria Glod and Michael D. Shear, "DNA Tests Confirm Guilt of Executed Man," ''Washington Post'', January 13, 2006, p. A1; and "DNA: Virginia Executed the Right Man," CNN.com, January 12, 2006. # {{Note|autonumber}}"DNA: Virginia Executed the Right Man," CNN.com, January 12, 2006. # {{Note|autonumber}}Richard Willing, "DNA Tests Confirm Man Executed in 1992 was Guilty," ''USA TODAY'', January 12, 2006. # {{Note|autonumber}}Glod and Shear. # {{Note|autonumber}}Glod, Maria. "DNA Tests May Signal Shift in Death Penalty Debate." ''Washington Post'', January 17, 2006, p. B5. ==References== * Dao, James. "DNA Ties Man Executed in '92 to the Murder He Denied." ''New York Times'', January 13, 2006. * "DNA: Virginia Executed the Right Man," CNN.com, January 12, 2006. * Glod, Maria and Michael D. Shear. "DNA Tests Confirm Guilt of Executed Man." ''Washington Post'', January 13, 2006, p. A1. * Glod, Maria. "DNA Tests May Signal Shift in Death Penalty Debate." ''Washington Post'', January 17, 2006, p. B5. * Still, Kathy. "'Tell Them I Said Hello,' He'd Say." ''Bristol Herald Courier'', January 11, 2006. * Tanner, Robert. "DNA Test Confirms Guilt in 1992 Execution" Associated Press, January 13, 2006. * "Tests Reaffirm Coleman's Guilt." ''Richmond Times-Dispatch'', Jan 12, 2006. * Willing, Richard. "DNA Tests Confirm Man Executed in 1992 was Guilty." ''USA TODAY'', January 12, 2006. ==External links== *[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10823771/ DNA tests confirm executed man's guilt] (''[[MSNBC]]'') *[http://www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/death/US/coleman175.htm Clark County, Indiana Prosecutors Office site] *[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/09/AR2006050901379.html Burden of Proof - Washington Post Magazine article examining the case] *[http://markgribben.com/?p=95 Gone by Not Forgotten] from The Malefactor's Register {{DEFAULTSORT:Coleman, Roger Keith}} [[Category:1958 births]] [[Category:1992 deaths]] [[Category:People executed by electric chair]] [[Category:People executed for murder]] [[Category:20th century executions by the United States]] [[Category:People executed by Virginia]] [[de:Roger Keith Coleman]]