[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----VIRGINIA

[Rick Halperin]

Nov. 17



URGENT ACTION APPEAL

17 November 2005 (originally issued 4 Nov)

UA 285/05 Death Penalty ---- USA (Virginia): Robin Lovitt (m)


Robin Lovitt is scheduled to be executed in Virginia on 30 November. He
was sentenced to death in 1999 for the murder of Clayton Dicks the
previous year. His lawyers claim that he could prove his innocence if DNA
evidence used at his trial had not been illegally destroyed.

Robin Lovitt was previously scheduled to be executed on 11 July 2005, but
was granted a stay by the US Supreme Court just four and a half hours
before he was due to be executed, to allow the Court it to decide whether
Lovitt's case merited further review when it reconvened in October. On 3
October, the Supreme Court decided not to hear his case, reportedly
without giving further explanation.

Most of the small amount of DNA evidence presented at trial linking Lovitt
to the crime was illegally destroyed by a court clerk to free up space in
court storage rooms, before Lovitt could appeal against his conviction. In
2003, the Virginia Supreme Court rejected an appeal that this violated
Lovitt's right to due process (fair legal procedures), ruling that the
clerk did not act in bad faith when he ordered that the evidence be
destroyed.

In May 2005, the work of the state's crime laboratory, The Virginia
Division of Forensic Science, which carries out DNA testing, was
criticised in a review by the American Society of Crime Laboratory
Directors (ASCLD). The review reportedly concluded that a chief scientist
failed to follow proper procedures when testing evidence in the case of
Earl Washington, a former death row inmate who was pardoned in 2000 after
retesting of DNA raised doubts about his guilt. The review also reportedly
found that the scientist's analysis of the evidence was wrong and
concluded that an internal review had failed to flag the error made by the
scientist. The ASCLD review made a number of recommendations to Governor
Warner. These included restricting the work of the lab's chief DNA
scientist, reviewing 40 cases that he has handled in recent years, along
with an additional 110 cases involving ''low'' levels of DNA, and
developing procedures to insulate the lab from any outside political
pressures.

Following the review by the ASCLD, Governor Warner summoned a panel of
five scientists from other states and asked them to review more than 160
cases involving the same kind of ''low-level'' DNA evidence that was at
issue in the Washington case. One of these cases was that of Robin Lovitt.
The review, which has been criticised for focusing only on procedures and
not the re-testing of evidence, found that the lab properly handled the
DNA evidence in Lovitt's case. According to reports, the length of the
review, which took only a week and a half, has been criticised by lawyers
familiar with Virginia's forensic laboratory. The forensic scientist whose
work on behalf of Earl Washington uncovered the laboratory's error in
handling evidence has allegedly called the speed at which the review was
done ''laughable''.

A coalition of local activist groups has asked Governor Warner to go
further and order retesting of DNA samples in all Virginia's 23 death
penalty cases in which biological evidence was used to obtain a
conviction. The coalition has also asked for the commutation of Lovitt's
death sentence and urged that no executions be carried out until such
retesting and review is complete. According to reports, state authorities
have said that DNA played only a marginal role in Lovitt's prosecution.
However, Lovitt's attorneys disagree and say that re- testing might cast
doubt on his guilt. The Governor of Virginia has the authority to grant
clemency on his own initiative and authority, even if not in receipt of a
specific clemency petition.

Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases, regardless
of questions of guilt or innocence. In the USA, the capital justice system
is marked by arbitrariness, discrimination and error. Since executions
resumed in the USA in 1977, 121 people have been released from death rows
around the country on grounds of innocence. Other people have been
executed despite serious doubts about their guilt in the crimes for which
they were sentenced to death.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible:

- expressing concern that Robin Lovitt is scheduled to be executed on 30
November;

- expressing sympathy for the family and friends of Clayton Dicks, and
explaining that you are not seeking to condone the manner of his death or
to minimize suffering caused;

- urging Governor Warner to commute Robin Lovitt's death sentence;

- expressing concern at reports that the independent review of 160 cases
ordered by Governor Warner following the ASCLD recommendations, which
included the case of Robin Lovitt, focussed only on procedures and not
re-testing of evidence;

- urging Governor Warner to ensure the retesting of DNA evidence in all
death penalty cases where this was used to secure a conviction.

APPEALS TO:

Governor Mark R Warner
State Capitol, 3rd Floor
Richmond, VA 23219
Fax: 1 804 371 6351
Salutation: Dear Governor

COPIES TO:

In your own words you may write brief letters (not more than 250 words) to
''Letters to the editor'' at:

Richmond Times-Dispatch
Box 85333, Richmond
Virginia 23293
Fax: 1 804 819 1216
Email: letters at timesdispatch.com

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.

***

Stop the Scheduled 1,000th Execution in the United States.

Robin Lovitt is scheduled to be executed by the State of Virginia on
November 30. This is now very likely to be the 1,000th execution to take
place in the United States since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the
death penalty in 1976. While it is still possible that the schedule of
pending executions will change, this should be considered a VERY serious
date.

Please help us stop this execution by taking one of the following actions:

- Send an appeal for clemency to Virginia Governor Mark Warner:

http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/action/index.asp?step=2&item=12368

- Organize a candlelight vigil in your faith community or in a public
forum, to protest the execution of Robin Lovitt and the 999 other men and
women who have been executed in the USA since 1976. Call out the names of
everyone who has been executed in your state and the names of their
victims. Wear black armbands in solidarity. Invite faith leaders, elected
officials (mayor, city council, congressional representatives) and members
of the public to attend.

- Write letters to the editor of your local newspaper, expressing your
outrage at the fact that the USA has carried out nearly 1000 executions
since the death penalty was reinstated by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1976
and calling for an end to the death penalty.

For more information about this tragic milestone and to learn about local
actions, please visit www.1000executions.org.

Urgent Action Network
Amnesty International USA
PO Box 1270
Nederland CO 80466-1270
Email: uan at aiusa.org
http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/
Phone: 303 258 1170
Fax: 303 258 7881

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END OF URGENT ACTION APPEAL

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