The Supreme Court of Virginia has exonerated an inmate on one of his two rape convictions after DNA evidence tied another man to the crime. It is the first time the court has granted a “writ of actual innocence” based on biological evidence. The writ was issued for Thomas E. Haynesworth, who was convicted in 1984 of raping a woman in Richmond.

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.

A convict armed with state DNA test results has asked the Virginia Supreme Court to clear him of a 25-year-old rape now believed to have been committed by a notorious serial rapist. Testing of sperm taken from the scene of the Jan. 3, 1984, crime in Richmond failed to find Thomas E. Haynesworth’s genetic profile, but identified that of Leon W. Davis.