Kaine denies clemency request in molestation case

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine has denied a clemency request by a convicted child molester whose accuser recanted her testimony.

George Somerville, a Richmond attorney who was part of a team representing Aleck J. Carpitcher, called the decision devastating. Carpitcher is serving 38 years in prison. Kaine spokesman Michael Kelly says the governor doesn't discuss clemency petitions.

A Roanoke County jury convicted Carpitcher in 1999 of five sex crimes after his girlfriend's 11-year-old daughter testified he fondled her.

Within a year of the trial, the girl said she made up the allegations because she was angry at Carpitcher for spending so much time with her mother. But a judge later ruled that the daughter had been coerced or persuaded to recant, concluding that she is "no longer credible" as a witness.

At the time of the daughter's recantation, state law prevented Carpitcher from presenting it as new evidence because any such evidence had to be presented within 21 days of sentencing.

In 2004, the General Assembly passed legislation allowing felons to sidestep this rule and present evidence strong enough to prove "actual innocence."

In March 2007, the Supreme Court ruled that the daughter's recantation was not enough to require a new trial because justices could not tell if she was lying when she testified nor when she recanted.

The request for clemency was submitted to Kaine last August.

"Mr. Carpitcher's continued incarceration shows a clear breakdown in the proper operation of the criminal justice system," the petition said.

"There is no longer any evidence supporting Mr. Carpitcher's conviction, and a large amount of evidence supports his innocence, and yet Mr. Carpitcher remains behind bars."