The Norfolk Police Department ( NPD ) is the primary law enforcement agency servicing 242,803 people within 96.3 square miles (249 km) of jurisdiction within Norfolk, Virginia .
93-492: As a matter of policy, the department does not tell the public what if any disciplinary actions it takes against is officers. In early 2011, Detective Robert Glenn Ford was sentenced to more than twelve years in prison for taking bribes from criminals. Ford was the detective who questioned the Norfolk 4 who were unjustly imprisoned for twenty years for rape and murder. The men's lawyers said they had been intimidated into confessing by
186-549: A writ of certiorari to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals was denied. The case is Wilson v. Flaherty, No. 12-986. On October 26, 2016, U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney Jr. ruled that "by any measure," the evidence showed that Danial Williams and Joseph J. Dick did not commit the rape and murder to which they each pleaded guilty, and "no sane human being" could convict them by the available evidence. After Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring "conceded errors in
279-566: A car, killing its driver. The officer was violating the department's policy on the maximum speed to be used when responding to a call. He was not charged. In July 2016, the City agreed to pay one and a half million dollars to settle a lawsuit involving a drunk driver who was shot by a policeman. The City did not admit any legal responsibility in the settlement. Since the establishment of the Norfolk Police Department, 39 officers have died in
372-625: A clemency campaign and received conditional pardons in 2009 from then-Virginia Governor Tim Kaine . New exculpatory evidence was found after that and the Norfolk Four were exonerated in 2017, receiving absolute pardons by Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe . In December 2018, they received a combined settlement of $ 4.9 million from the City of Norfolk and $ 3.5 million from the Commonwealth of Virginia for their wrongful convictions . These four were among
465-517: A convict could be entitled to spend the rest of the sentence (until that individual dies) outside prison. Early release is usually conditional on past and future conduct, possibly with certain restrictions or obligations. In contrast, when a fixed term of imprisonment has ended, the convict is free. The length of time served and the conditions surrounding parole vary. Being eligible for parole does not necessarily ensure that parole will be granted. In some countries, including Sweden, parole does not exist but
558-576: A fixed jail term of 20 years and thus changed it to a jail term to be served for the rest of the prisoner's remaining lifespan. The amended definition is applied to future crimes committed after 20 August 1997. Since Abdul Nasir committed the crime of kidnapping and was sentenced before 20 August 1997, his life sentence remained as a prison term of 20 years and thus he still had to serve 38 years behind bars. The appeal of Abdul Nasir, titled Abdul Nasir bin Amer Hamsah v Public Prosecutor [1997] SGCA 38 ,
651-490: A fixed term). Crimes that result in life imprisonment are considered extremely serious and usually violent. Examples of these crimes are murder , torture , terrorism , child abuse resulting in death , rape , espionage , treason , illegal drug trade , human trafficking , severe fraud and financial crimes , aggravated property damage , arson , hate crime , kidnapping , burglary , robbery , theft , piracy , aircraft hijacking , and genocide . Common law murder
744-405: A home invasion robbery, possessing a firearm, and associating with persons engaged in criminal activity", and sentenced him to 15 years for the attempted armed robbery plus life imprisonment for the armed burglary. The life sentence Graham received meant he had a life sentence without the possibility of parole, "because Florida abolished their parole system in 2003". Graham's case was presented to
837-416: A life sentence may – after a successful application – be commuted to a fixed-term sentence, after which the offender is released as if the sentence served was that originally imposed. In many countries around the world, particularly in the Commonwealth , courts have been given the authority to pass prison terms that may amount to de facto life imprisonment, meaning that the sentence would last longer than
930-512: A prisoner with no hope of being released ever, the prison has no means to discipline such convict effectively. A few countries allow for a minor to be given a life sentence without parole; these include but are not limited to: Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina (only over the age of 16), Australia, Belize, Brunei, Cuba, Dominica, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, and
1023-584: A rate of 50 people per 100,000 (1 out of 2,000) residents imprisoned for life. In several countries, life imprisonment has been effectively abolished. Many of the countries whose governments have abolished both life imprisonment and indefinite imprisonment have been culturally influenced or colonized by Spain or Portugal and have written such prohibitions into their current constitutional laws (including Portugal itself but not Spain). A number of European countries have abolished all forms of indefinite imprisonment. Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina each set
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#17328594504001116-516: A terminal illness or a presidential pardon. In Albania, while no person sentenced to life imprisonment is eligible for standard parole, a conditional release is still possible if the prisoner is found not likely to re-offend and has displayed good behaviour, and has served at least 25 years. Before 2016 in the Netherlands , there was never a possibility of parole for any person sentenced to life imprisonment, and any form of release for life convicted in
1209-563: A total of eight men whom the Norfolk Police indicted and initially prosecuted as suspects in what the prosecution said was a multiple offender crime. Three men, named by others from the four, were released and their charges dismissed, because of lack of evidence against them. Omar Ballard, a man who had an independent association with the Boskos, was the last arrested for this crime in March 1999 after it
1302-429: Is never a possibility of parole for anyone sentenced to life imprisonment, as life imprisonment is defined as the "deprivation of liberty of the convict for the entire rest of his/her life". Where mercy is granted in relation to a person serving life imprisonment, imprisonment thereof must not be less than 30 years. In Ukraine , life imprisonment means for the rest of one's life with the only possibilities for release being
1395-620: Is one of the only crimes in which life imprisonment is mandatory; mandatory life sentences for murder are given in several countries, including some states of the United States and Canada . Life imprisonment (as a maximum term) can also be imposed, in certain countries, for traffic offences causing death. Life imprisonment is not used in all countries; Portugal was the first country to abolish life imprisonment, in 1884, and all other Portuguese-speaking countries also have maximum imprisonment lengths, as well as all Spanish-speaking countries in
1488-569: Is set by the sentencing judge. In 2011, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that sentencing minors to life without parole, automatically (as the result of a statute) or as the result of a judicial decision, for crimes other than intentional homicide, violated the Eighth Amendment 's ban on " Cruel and unusual punishments ", in the case of Graham v. Florida . Graham v. Florida
1581-420: Is stupid". Despite police and prosecution pressure to implicate Williams, Dick, Tice, and Wilson, Ballard insisted until his plea bargain that he had committed the crime alone. He did not testify against the four other defendants who confessed. But, the police and prosecutors incorporated Ballard into their theory of a group crime with multiple offenders, which had grown to included eight assailants. Seven of
1674-427: Is up to the prison complex after 25 years have been served, and release eligibility depends on the prospect of rehabilitation and how likely they are to re-offend. In Europe, only Ukraine and Moldova explicitly exclude parole or any form of sentence commutation for life sentences in all cases. In South and Central America, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Colombia, Uruguay, Bolivia, Ecuador, and
1767-550: The Criminal Code , at 25 years. A statutory amendment to allow periods of parole ineligibility greater than 25 years was held to be unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of Canada in R v Bissonnette (2022 SCC 23), as contrary to section 12 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms , which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. Parole eligibility for second degree murder typically varies between 10 and 25 years, and
1860-449: The DNA evidence taken from the scene. They did not tell his attorney until April 30, 1998. In January 1998 they offered him a plea bargain in exchange for a life sentence, which he refused. Needing to expand their field, they arrested Williams' roommate and shipmate Joe Dick as a suspect. Dick maintained his innocence for hours, saying that he was on duty on his ship USS Saipan at the time of
1953-551: The Eighth Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment. Sentences of life in prison without parole can still be given to juveniles for aggravated first-degree murder, as long as the judge considers the circumstances of the case. In 2016 the Supreme Court ruled in the case of Montgomery v. Louisiana that the rulings imposed by Miller v. Alabama were to apply retroactively, causing a substantial amount of appeals to decade-old sentences for then-juvenile offenders. In 2021,
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#17328594504002046-573: The New York Times published a feature on this case in August 2007. Dick's original defense attorney, Fasanaro, and the lead prosecuting assistant commonwealth's attorney, Damian J. Hansen , continued to assert that Dick was not on the ship that night. But Ziegler told the New York Times in 2007 that he had "no doubt" that Dick was on duty that night. Already aware of and concerned about what he perceived as Dick's limited mental capacity, Ziegler stressed
2139-621: The Norfolk Police Department . Moore-Bosko was found to have been raped, stabbed, and strangled to death. At the time, police noted that there were no signs of a break-in or a large struggle inside the apartment. The crime was estimated to have taken place during the night before, sometime after 11:30 pm on July 7, 1997. Neighbor Tamika Taylor said she had been out with Moore-Bosko most of that day from noon until that time. The coroner's report said that Moore-Bosko had died due to being stabbed and strangled. As introduced in evidence in
2232-471: The President of Malta . In France , while the law does not expressly provide for life imprisonment without any possibility of parole, a court can rule in exceptionally serious circumstances that convicts are ineligible for automatic parole consideration after 30 years if convicted of child murder involving rape or torture, premeditated murder of a state official or terrorism resulting in death. In Moldova , there
2325-465: The Supreme Court of the United States , with the question of whether juveniles should receive life without the possibility of parole in non-homicide cases. The Justices eventually ruled that such a sentence violated the juvenile's 8th Amendment rights, protecting them from punishments that are disproportionate to the crime committed, resulting in the abolition of life sentences without the possibility of parole in non-homicide cases for juveniles. In 2012,
2418-580: The Vatican City penal code in 2013, is just a variation of the death penalty. Originally in Malaysia, life imprisonment was construed as a jail term lasting the remainder of a convict's natural life, either with or without the possibility of parole. In April 2023, the Malaysian government officially abolished natural life imprisonment and instead redefined a life sentence as a jail term between 30 and 40 years. At
2511-617: The Americas except for Cuba, Peru, Argentina, Chile and the Mexican state of Chihuahua . Other countries that do not practice life sentences include Mongolia in Asia and Norway, Iceland, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Andorra and Montenegro in Europe. Where life imprisonment is a possible sentence, there may also exist formal mechanisms for requesting parole after a certain period of prison time. This means that
2604-536: The Commonwealth attorney's office did not give this information to Danser's attorney. A month later, Tice repeated his accusation against Danser at the latter's preliminary hearing. In February 1999, a refined DNA test excluded all seven men from the forensic DNA associated with the crime. None of the last three men indicted was tried, and the state charges against them were eventually dismissed. But detective Glenn Ford and prosecutor Damian J. Hansen continued to act at
2697-463: The DNA of each of the men was excluded from that found with the forensic DNA of Moore-Bosko and the crime scene. However, Hansen said that the lack of DNA evidence did not mean that these defendants were not at the scene, and they emphasized the recorded confessions of each man. The defense counsels noted that Ballard had confessed to having committed the rape and murder by himself, and that the police had said
2790-830: The Dominican Republic have all abolished life imprisonment. The maximum sentence is 75 years in El Salvador, 60 years in Colombia, 50 years in Costa Rica and Panama, 40 years in Honduras and Brazil, 30 years in Nicaragua, Bolivia, Uruguay, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic, and 25 years in Paraguay and Ecuador. Life imprisonment in Canada is a criminal sentence for certain offences that lasts for
2883-420: The Norfolk Four case. His attorneys asked the court for funds to investigate further crimes in the area, which would have revealed the additional rape by Ballard, but the funds were never spent. Several days after his wife's death in early November, he filed a motion to suppress his confession, but the court rejected it. It was not until December 11, 1997, that police learned that Williams' DNA did not match
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2976-425: The Norfolk Four had confessed to the police about these crimes, but later recanted their confessions, saying they had been threatened and coerced by Norfolk detectives, and their confessions were false . Williams and Dick pleaded guilty to rape and murder before trial, under threat of receiving the death penalty. Dick testified for the state in trials in 1999 and 2000 against the other two defendants. Each of their DNA
3069-431: The Norfolk Four in his associated statement in exchange for a sentence of two life terms in prison after being threatened with the death penalty by the prosecution. He did not testify against Tice. In 2001, Damian J. Hansen was transferred from Norfolk to the City of Chesapeake Commonwealth Attorney's Office, where he continued to prosecute the Norfolk Four cases as appeals and petitions for clemency were made. In 2013 he
3162-563: The Norfolk police soon after the Moore-Bosko murder that they should investigate Ballard as a possible suspect. Ballard was not investigated until February 1999, after the police received a copy of the letter he wrote from prison claiming he had killed Moore-Bosko. He twice confessed to the police in March 1999, and again in April 1999, in papers filed with the court. In March 1999 he was arrested as
3255-557: The Supreme Court ruled in Jones v. Mississippi that sentencers are not required to make a separate finding of the defendant to be "permanently incorrigible" prior to sentencing a juvenile to life without parole. Pope Francis called for the abolition of both capital punishment and life imprisonment in a meeting with representatives of the International Association of Penal Law . He also stated that life imprisonment, removed from
3348-426: The Supreme Court ruled in the case of Miller v. Alabama in a 5–4 decision and with the majority opinion written by Associate Justice Elena Kagan that mandatory sentences of life in prison without parole for juvenile offenders are unconstitutional. The majority opinion stated that barring a judge from considering mitigating factors and other information, such as age, maturity, and family and home environment violated
3441-464: The United States. According to a University of San Francisco School of Law study, only the U.S. had minors serving such sentences in 2008. In 2009, Human Rights Watch estimated that there were 2,589 youth offenders serving life sentences without the possibility for parole in the U.S. Since the start of 2020, that number has fallen to 1,465. The United States has the highest population of prisoners serving life sentences for both adults and minors, at
3534-437: The apartment was not broken into, but the prosecution persisted in arguing there was a group attack. In September 1999, Wilson was sentenced to eight and a half years. Because of widespread pre-trial publicity about the sensational case, Tice's defense counsels gained a change of venue to Alexandria, Virginia . Tice's trial started November 22, 1999, and he pleaded not guilty. Dick testified against him, but
3627-568: The cane for robbery with hurt resulting in a female Japanese tourist's death at Oriental Hotel in 1994 and a consecutive sentence of life imprisonment with 12 strokes of the cane for kidnapping two police officers for ransom in 1996, which totalled up to 38 years' imprisonment and 30 strokes of the cane. Abdul Nasir's appeal for the two sentences to run concurrently led to the Court of Appeal of Singapore , which dismissed Abdul Nasir's appeal, to decide that it would be wrong to consider life imprisonment as
3720-628: The country was only possible when granted royal decree by the King of the Netherlands , with the last granting of a pardon taking place in 1986 when a terminally ill convict was released. As of 1970, the Dutch monarch has pardoned a total of three convicts. Although there is no possibility of parole eligibility, since 2016 prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment in the Netherlands are eligible to have their cases reviewed after serving at least 25 years. This change in law
3813-654: The country's criminal code, alongside a three-strikes law . In Europe , there are many jurisdictions where the law expressly provides for life sentences without the possibility of parole. These are England and Wales (within the United Kingdom ; see Life imprisonment in England and Wales ), the Netherlands , Moldova , Bulgaria , Italy (only for persons who refuse to cooperate with authorities and are sentenced for mafia activities or terrorism ), Ukraine , Poland , Turkey , Russia , and Serbia . In Sweden , although
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3906-420: The crime in 2000, insisting that he had acted alone. He had been in prison since 1998 because of violent attacks on two other women in 1997. He was the only one of the suspects whose DNA matched that collected at the crime scene, and whose confession was consistent with other forensic evidence. Nearly ten years later, after the four recanted their confessions and entered years of appeals, they gained support for
3999-430: The eighth suspect in this case: his DNA was verified as matching that found at the Moore-Bosko crime scene; he was the only suspect whose DNA did match that at the scene. In addition, Ballard confessed to the crime. Unlike the other suspects, he provided details of the crime in his confession that were consistent with the physical and forensic evidence. He told investigators that "Them four people who opened their mouths
4092-427: The evidence and confessions, it concluded that none of the Norfolk Four had been involved in the rape and murder of Moore-Bosko, and that Ballard was solely responsible as he had claimed. Life sentence Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which the convicted criminal is to remain in prison for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned , paroled , or commuted to
4185-511: The first group of people to have their natural life sentences reduced to 30 years’ imprisonment after a re-sentencing hearing by the Federal Court of Malaysia , which was followed by many more such commutations in the months to come. In Singapore , before 20 August 1997, the law decreed that life imprisonment is a fixed sentence of 20 years with the possibility of one-third reduction of the sentence (13 years and 4 months) for good behaviour. It
4278-524: The four counts against him. After the conviction of Ford, attorneys for the Norfolk Four called for full exoneration of their clients. In 2013, Yale Law School 's Supreme Court Advocacy Clinic filed a petition for the US Supreme Court to clear Wilson's record of his crimes. Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli did not file a response, but the US Supreme Court ordered him to file a brief by April 25, 2013. On June 24, 2013, Wilson's petition for
4371-594: The grounds that Tice had been denied his constitutional right to effective counsel. On November 19, 2009, Judge Williams ruled that prosecutors could retry Tice. The state appealed the decision. On April 20, 2011, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed Judge Williams' ruling to vacate Tice's convictions. Tice was freed later in 2011 after the Fourth Circuit ruled that the lower court should have thrown out Tice's confession. Wilson had been released from prison in 2005 after completing his sentence. He
4464-415: The high security maintained on the ship. He did not believe that Dick was capable of sneaking off and on the ship to commit the crime and return. But, since Dick pleaded guilty before trial, the state never had to prove their assertion or break his alibi. Eleven weeks later, in March 1998, Dick's DNA was also excluded as a match to the forensic DNA evidence found on Moore-Bosko. Because Williams had refused
4557-660: The human life expectancy. For example, courts in South Africa have handed out at least two sentences that have exceeded a century, while in Tasmania , Australia, Martin Bryant , the perpetrator of the Port Arthur massacre in 1996, received 35 life sentences plus 1,035 years without parole. In the United States, James Holmes , the perpetrator of the 2012 Aurora theater shooting , received 12 consecutive life sentences plus 3,318 years without
4650-417: The initial investigation and withdrew his office’s long-standing opposition to their claims of innocence", Gibney vacated the convictions of Williams and Dick, and exonerated them. The state withdrew all charges against them. By that time Tice's conviction had been overturned and he had been released from prison. As noted, Wilson's efforts to be formally declared innocent (to clear his name and be removed from
4743-466: The interrogations. According to Williams, he had been interrogated for eight hours before Ford began at 5 AM. He obtained a confession from Williams within another hour. Williams said he felt threatened and treated like a criminal until he was overwhelmed and worn down. His later defense lawyers (as of 2007) said it appeared Ford and other investigators were satisfied with Williams's confession and after they indicted him in August 1997, not much happened in
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#17328594504004836-523: The investigation for several months. The attorneys found no record or evidence that the police ever searched Williams's apartment despite his status as a prime suspect, or tried to recover any evidence, such as blood from the crime scene, his own blood, or DNA from the victim on his clothing or items in his apartment. They never took an affidavit from his wife. The Norfolk Commonwealth's Attorney's office, which conducts prosecutions, later refused Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for records related to
4929-509: The judge explained. The judge concluded it was likely the jury would have acquitted Tice had the confession not been part of the trial evidence." The state appealed to the Virginia Supreme Court , which reaffirmed and thus reinstated the conviction. Tice filed a petition for habeas corpus with a United States District Court. On September 14, 2009, U.S. District Judge Richard L. Williams vacated Tice's rape and murder convictions, on
5022-420: The law does not expressly provide for life without the possibility of release, some convicted persons may never be released, on the grounds that they are too dangerous. In Italy , persons who refuse to cooperate with authorities and are sentenced for mafia activities or terrorism are ineligible for parole and thus will spend the rest of their lives in prison. In Austria, life imprisonment will mean imprisonment for
5115-491: The line of duty. Norfolk 4 The Norfolk Four are four former United States Navy sailors: Joseph J. Dick Jr., Derek Tice, Danial Williams, and Eric C. Wilson, who were wrongfully convicted of the 1997 rape and murder of Michelle Moore-Bosko while they were stationed at Naval Station Norfolk . They each declared that they had made false confessions , and their convictions are considered highly controversial. A fifth man, Omar Ballard, confessed and pleaded guilty to
5208-558: The lower court. During the January 2003 retrial of Tice, Judge Poston again presided. Dick testified against Tice again for the state, saying he and the other two men of the Four were involved in the attack. Judge Poston refused to allow Ballard's confession or statements to be introduced as evidence because he said they were not properly authenticated . He did allow Tice's defense attorney to read Ballard's February 1999 confession letter aloud. Tice
5301-546: The maximum prison sentence at 45 years, and Portugal abolished all forms of life imprisonment with the prison reforms of Sampaio e Melo in 1884 and has a maximum sentence of 25 years. Life imprisonment in Spain was abolished in 1928, but reinstated in 2015 and upheld by the Constitutional Court in 2021. Serbia previously had a maximum prison sentence of 40 years; life imprisonment was instated in 2019 by amendments to
5394-602: The men had associations through the Navy. They claimed in court that Ballard refused to name his accomplices for fear of being labeled a "snitch". They said that the first four suspects arrested, although they had been willing to implicate others in the crime, were afraid of Ballard, and specifically refused to implicate him. But they did not know him. In June 1999, Ballard was indicted for rape, capital murder and robbery. (Listed in order of arrest for capital murder and rape from July 1997 to June 1999; ages at time of crime) Threatened by
5487-457: The murder. According to a 2007 New York Times feature article, neither his supervising Chief Petty Officer, Senior Chief Michael Ziegler, nor his supervisor, Commander Scott Rettie, were interviewed by Norfolk police or Dick's defense counsel Michael Fasanaro, Jr. As far as the Navy men knew, no records were sought from the ship, although ship logs and attendance records show clearly who is on duty at every hour. Those records were destroyed before
5580-402: The offender’s life. Parole is possible, but even if paroled, the offender remains under the supervision of Corrections Canada for their lifetime, and can be returned to prison for parole violations. A person serving a life sentence must serve for a certain length of time before becoming eligible for parole. First degree murder and high treason carry the longest period of parole ineligibility in
5673-548: The only real evidence was his signed statement, which he had recanted. Despite having confessed, at this trial, Ballard denied being involved in the crimes against Moore-Bosko. Judge Poston refused to allow the defense to introduce Ballard's previous confessions of March and April 1999 as the defendant had said on the stand that they were "lies." Poston refused to let James Broccoletti, Tice's attorney, question Ballard about his February 1999 confession letter or to introduce evidence related to his other crimes against women for which he
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#17328594504005766-489: The plea bargain offered by the prosecution, his attorneys ordered a competency evaluation in February 1998. He told the psychiatrist that he was not guilty and had made a false confession. The police and prosecution decided to widen their search again for suspects. A jailhouse informant, at the jail where Dick was being held pending trial, suggested that he name a co-conspirator. He named Eric Wilson, another sailor. Wilson's DNA
5859-461: The police. In January 2014, a woman was mauled by a Norfolk police dog, requiring forty-three stitches. The police chief admitted his officers used excessive force and the city settled for almost $ 200,000. Four policemen left the department as a result of this attack but were never charged. On 7 May 2016, Officer Justin Benson was driving at more than seventy miles per hour on city streets when he struck
5952-536: The possibility of parole. In the case of mass murder in the US, Parkland mass murderer Nikolas Cruz was sentenced to 34 consecutive terms of life imprisonment (without parole) for murdering 17 people and injuring another 17 at a school. Any sentence without parole effectively means a sentence cannot be suspended; a life sentence without parole, therefore, means that in the absence of unlikely circumstances such as pardon , amnesty or humanitarian grounds (e.g. imminent death),
6045-583: The prisoner will spend the rest of their natural life in prison. In several countries where de facto life terms are used, a release on humanitarian grounds (also known as compassionate release) is commonplace, such as in the case of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi . Since the behaviour of a prisoner serving a life sentence without parole is not relevant to the execution of such sentence, many people among lawyers , penitentiary specialists, criminologists , but most of all among human rights organizations oppose that punishment. In particular, they emphasize that when faced with
6138-461: The prosecution with potential sentences of the death penalty, Williams and Dick each pleaded guilty to rape and capital murder and agreed to a stipulation of facts, Williams in January 1999. They were not tried before a jury. They were each sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole (LWOP). In addition, Dick agreed to testify as a state's witness against the other two defendants in their trials. Wilson's trial began June 14, 1999. He
6231-584: The rape and murder of Moore-Bosko, Ballard beat and raped a fourteen-year-old girl about a mile from the Bayshore apartment complex. He was later apprehended and, on January 15, 1998, he pleaded guilty to this crime. A month later he pleaded guilty to the attack on Morse. He was sentenced to a total of 41 years in prison for these two crimes. In February 1999, he sent a letter from prison to a female acquaintance threatening her, and claiming to have murdered Michelle Moore-Bosko. In 2005 Taylor claimed that she had told
6324-426: The remainder of the offender's life unless clemency is granted by the President of Austria or it can be assumed that the convicted person will not commit any further crimes; the probationary period is ten years. In Malta, prior to 2018, there was previously never any possibility of parole for any person sentenced to life imprisonment, and any form of release from a life sentence was only possible by clemency granted by
6417-537: The sex offender register) were rejected by the courts because he was no longer in custody. By 2005 the Norfolk Four had attracted support from the Innocence Project , and teams of pro bono attorneys from three different firms began to work on their legal appeals and clemency petitions. The work was supported by a 60-page report by the Academy Group, Inc., a Virginia forensic consulting firm. Based on its review of
6510-409: The time of the murder, as shown by his work records and by bank records of his having withdrawn money from a cash machine at that distant location. At a late August 1998 hearing about Pauley and Farris, Dick testified that these two were involved in the attack on Moore-Bosko, but said he had not seen Farris stab her. Their attorneys challenged the theory of multiple offenders, but the judge decided there
6603-512: The time of the reform, at least 117 prisoners were serving natural life imprisonment, consisting of 70 whose original death sentences were commuted to life (without parole) prior to the reform, and another 47 whose sentences of life were imposed by the courts, and all of these life convicts were allowed to have their jail terms reduced to between 30 and 40 years in jail. In November 2023, four drug traffickers - Zulkipli Arshad, Wan Yuriilhami Wan Yaacob, Ghazalee Kasim and Mohamad Junaidi Hussin - became
6696-664: The trials of Wilson and Tice in 1999 and 2000 as if the other men were still part of a large, multiple offender attack. In the summer of 1997, Omar Abdul Ballard, had met the Bosko couple. On June 27, 1997, he had beaten Melissa Morse with a bat at the Bayshore Apartment Gardens complex, where the Boskos also lived. That night, his friend Tamika Taylor took him to her neighbors, the Boskos for refuge. William Bosko briefly gave him shelter at their apartment, turning away men who were seeking him. On July 17, 1997, about 10 days after
6789-473: The trials, the state's medical examiner described the stab wounds to Moore-Bosko as of a uniform depth and clustered closely together. He said that the pattern was consistent with a scenario in which one assailant had stabbed her multiple times, but there was an outside possibility of more. As the Norfolk police investigation progressed, detectives questioned residents of Moore-Bosko's development. Tamika Taylor told one of them that their neighbor, Danial Williams,
6882-484: Was "obsessed" with the murdered woman. Williams, also a sailor in the US Navy, lived in an apartment across the hall from the Boskos, with his wife Nicole. They had recently married after she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer (she died on November 2, 1997). They shared their apartment with Joe Dick (Joseph P. Dick, Jr.), another sailor who was a shipmate from Williams's USS Saipan . Detective Ford arrested Williams and led
6975-514: Was Deputy Attorney of the office; Chesapeake is the third most-populous city of Virginia. Williams appealed his verdict to the Virginia court but was denied in 2000. Tice appealed his conviction, and it was reversed in 2002 by the Virginia Court of Appeals . It ruled that Judge Charles Poston had not allowed Tice's attorney to question Ballard about his written confession. The case was remanded to
7068-435: Was a significant case in juvenile justice. In Jacksonville , Florida, Terrence J. Graham tried to rob a restaurant along with three adolescent accomplices. During the robbery, one of Graham's accomplices had a metal bar that he used to hit the restaurant manager twice in the head. Once arrested, Graham was charged with attempted armed robbery and armed burglary with assault/battery. The maximum sentence he faced for these charges
7161-505: Was acquitted of murder and found guilty of rape. He recanted his confession and explained that he had given it to end Ford's aggressive interrogation. Damian J. Hansen was co-prosecutor, one of the three assistant commonwealth attorneys of the Norfolk Commonwealth's Attorney's office who prosecuted the eight men originally arrested for these crimes. Defense counsels for Wilson and Tice noted at each of their trials that
7254-449: Was again convicted by a jury, and sentenced to two life sentences in prison. The case of the Norfolk Four had attracted increasing attention and there was concern about the interrogations and convictions. Three major Washington, DC area law firms committed pro bono lawyers to provide counsel to each of the men in their appeals and other legal actions. Representatives of the Innocence Project also became involved. Tice's second conviction
7347-402: Was also excluded from matching the evidence at the scene. The police came back to Dick for more suspects. He said that a fourth man, whom he called "George" but who he identified from Navy photographs as Derek Tice, was also involved. Three of these four men were on active duty with the Navy and one was recently retired. None of them had a prior criminal record. Ford went to Florida, where Tice
7440-471: Was an appeal by Abdul Nasir bin Amer Hamsah on 20 August 1997 that led to the law in Singapore to change the definition of life imprisonment into a sentence that lasts the remainder of the prisoner's natural life, with the possibility of parole after at least 20 years. Abdul Nasir was a convicted robber and kidnapper who was, in two separate High Court trials, sentenced to 18 years' imprisonment and 18 strokes of
7533-477: Was because the European Court of Human Rights stated in 2013 that lifelong imprisonment without the chance of being released is inhuman. Even in other European countries that do provide for life without parole, courts continue to retain judicial discretion to decide whether a sentence of life should include parole or not. In Albania , the decision of whether or not a life-convicted person is eligible for parole
7626-448: Was excluded from matching that collected in evidence from the scene. As there was virtually no physical evidence against them, Wilson and Tice were convicted by juries based on their confessions. With the plea deals and trial, Tice, Williams, and Dick, were convicted of both rape and capital murder, and sentenced to one or more life sentences without the possibility of parole (LWOP). Wilson was acquitted of murder but convicted of rape; he
7719-478: Was found his DNA matched that at the crime scene, and was the only match made. He confessed in March and April 1999 and insisted that he committed the rape and murder of Moore-Bosko by himself, but the prosecution continued to press the theory of a group crime. In 2000, Ballard pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 100 years in prison, 59 of which were suspended by the court. Forensic evidence is consistent with his account that there were no other participants. Each of
7812-469: Was involved in another robbery. Since he violated the conditions of his probation, his probation officer reported to the trial court about his probation violations a few weeks before Graham turned 18 years old. It was a different judge presiding over his trial for the probation violations a year later. While Graham denied any involvement in the robbery, he did admit to fleeing from the police. The trial court found that Graham violated his probation by "committing
7905-408: Was life without the possibility of parole, and the prosecutor wanted to charge him as an adult. During the trial, Graham pleaded guilty to the charges, resulting in three years of probation, one year of which had to be served in jail. Since he had been awaiting trial in jail, he already served six months and, therefore, was released after six additional months. Within six months of his release, Graham
7998-472: Was no evidence of wide-scale violence from several people. The small apartment was neat and clean. Within weeks, Tice's DNA was also excluded from matching the DNA evidence collected at the scene. These men: John Pauley, (USN), retired; and Geoffrey A. Farris, (USN) were arrested for rape and capital murder but did not confess. Farris asked for counsel and stopped his interrogation. Pauley was verified as being hundreds of miles away, where he lived and worked, at
8091-467: Was not in custody, and therefore could not petition for habeas. The Fourth Circuit also refused to hear the case. In May 2010, former detective Robert Glenn Ford of Norfolk, who had retired, was indicted in Virginia in May 2010 on unrelated federal extortion charges of accepting payments over a period of years from criminal suspects in return for favorable treatment. He was found guilty in federal court of two of
8184-491: Was overturned on November 27, 2006, by a Virginia circuit court review on constitutional grounds, of lack of adequate defense counsel. Judge Everett A. Martin concluded that "the police violated the well-established rule that once a suspect has invoked his right to remain silent, the police must stop questioning." In addition, "‘There was no fingerprint, DNA, or other scientific evidence against [Tice], no independent eyewitnesses implicated him; no physical evidence implicated him,’
8277-627: Was probable cause and indicted them. After being interrogated again in October 1998, Tice named John E. Danser, (USN), as a seventh suspect. He did not confess; he had retired from the Navy and lived and worked in Warminster, Pennsylvania , 300 miles from Norfolk. Despite his having two paper records supporting that he was there at the time of the murder, he was indicted for rape and capital murder. In November Tice recanted his accusation against Danser and his own confession when talking to detective Ford, but
8370-593: Was required to continue to register as a sex offender with local authorities for the rest of his life and had severe restrictions limiting where he could work and live. In March 2010, he asked the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia for a writ of habeas corpus challenging his conviction. The court refused to hear Wilson's case, saying that since he was no longer in prison, on probation, on parole, or on supervised release, he
8463-451: Was sentenced and served 8½ years in prison. On July 8, 1997, Bill Bosko, a 19-year-old sailor in the US Navy, returned home after a week at sea, and found the body of his wife Michelle Moore-Bosko, 18, who had been murdered at their apartment at the Bayshore Apartment Gardens in Norfolk, Virginia . High school sweethearts, they had married in April 1997 in Norfolk. He went to his neighbor Danial Williams's apartment for help, and they called
8556-465: Was serving time. Poston also denied a defense motion to call an expert witness about false confessions but did allow the defense to question detective Glenn Ford about his interrogation techniques. Tice was found guilty of rape and capital murder in February 2000. In June 2000, he was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences. After Tice's trial, on March 22, 2000, Ballard pleaded guilty to rape and murder of Moore-Bosko; he said he incriminated
8649-477: Was then living, to arrest him. After being arrested and interrogated for eleven hours, Tice finally also confessed to the crime. In the process, he implicated two additional Navy men as having been involved in the crime. He claimed that the group of several men had broken into the apartment and each attacked Moore-Bosko. But this contradicted the police review of the crime scene and evidence. The apartment did not appear to have been broken into or disrupted, and there
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