State joins move to declare Richmond man innocent

The Virginia attorney general's office has joined in a request for a "writ of actual innocence" for a man convicted in Richmond of a rape that DNA shows he did not commit.

Testing of sperm taken from the scene of the Jan. 3, 1984, rape did not find Thomas E. Haynesworth's genetic profile, but it identified that of Leon W. Davis -- known as the "Black Ninja" -- a serial rapist serving seven life terms for other attacks.

Last month Haynesworth's lawyers filed a petition with the Virginia Supreme Court seeking a writ of actual innocence for Haynesworth. The petition states the probability that the DNA belonged to someone other than Davis is greater than 1 in 6.5 billion.

Earlier this week the attorney general's office responded to the petition by filing papers that conclude: "In light of this evidence, the commonwealth agrees that the writ should expeditiously issue and Haynesworth's conviction . . . should be vacated."

Richmond Commonwealth's Attorney Michael N. Herring, who was not the city's prosecutor in 1984, also is supporting Haynesworth's request.

If approved, it would be the first writ of actual innocence granted by the justices since the procedure was made available in 2001 -- but it would not free Haynesworth, who also is being held for convictions that include a Jan. 30, 1984, rape in Henrico County.

Though Haynesworth believes Davis was responsible for that attack, too, it appears no biological evidence remains for testing.

Haynesworth, 44, and Davis, 45, share the same blood type, once knew each other and lived in the same East End neighborhood at the start of 1984.

In December 1984, police warned area women that a man who sometimes called himself the Black Ninja was suspected of attacking 12 women in Richmond and Henrico starting that April.

Haynesworth had been arrested in February 1984 and convicted later that year. Davis was arrested that December.

The recent DNA testing was performed as part of the Virginia Department of Forensic Science's post-conviction project aimed at clearing people who may have been wrongly convicted from 1973 through 1988, before forensic DNA testing was widely available.

Though both Haynesworth and the state are asking the justices to consider the matter on an "expedited" basis, it is not clear when the court will rule on the writ.

Contact Frank Green at (804) 649-6340 or .