Roger Keith Coleman
Encyclopedia
Roger Keith Coleman was a Grundy, Virginia
, coal miner convicted and executed for the murder
of his sister-in-law, Wanda McCoy. Coleman's case drew national and worldwide attention before and after his execution because of his repeated claims of innocence and support from the anti death-penalty movement
. In 2006, Virginia Governor Mark Warner
announced that recently re-examined DNA evidence had conclusively proven Coleman's guilt.
d, stabbed to death, and nearly beheaded. There was little sign of a struggle and it was assumed she had allowed her attacker into the house. Roger Coleman, her sister's husband, had access to the house and immediately became a suspect. Coleman, who worked in a mine, had reported to work that night but had left because he had been laid off. A fingerprint
was found on the front screen door and a pry mark on the front door molding, and bloodstains inside the house. The victim had broken fingernails, cuts on the hands, and a dark, dusty substance on her body. Moreover flecks of blood on Coleman's pants were the same blood type as the victim's.
The prosecution for the case, led by Commonwealth Attorney Michael McGlothlin
, asserted:
Coleman's defense maintained:
. Coleman then filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the Circuit Court for Buchanan County, raising several federal constitutional claims for the first time. A two day evidentiary hearing was held, the court denied all of Coleman's claims, and on September 4, 1986, the court entered its final judgment.
Coleman next appealed to the Virginia Supreme Court, but this appeal was dismissed on the motion of the Commonwealth because his notice of appeal
was not filed timely. Virginia Supreme Court Rules require that a notice of appeal be filed within 30 days of entry of the final judgment; Coleman's notice of appeal was filed on October 7, which was 33 days after the circuit court entered its judgment.
for the Western District of Virginia for a writ of habeas corpus
. However, federal courts generally may not review a state court's denial of a federal constitutional claim if the denial is based on a state procedural default that is independent of the federal claim and is sufficient to support the prisoner's continued custody. Since Coleman was in procedural default of his appeal in state court, this was independent of his federal constitutional claims, and was adequate to support his continued custody, he was ineligible for relief in a federal habeas corpus proceeding. Although finding that Coleman was in procedural default, the District Court addressed all of his claims, finding them without merit. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
affirmed the District Court's ruling, as did the Supreme Court of the United States
.
While he was on death row, Coleman's claims of innocence reached an international audience. Time magazine put Coleman on its cover. Virginia Governor Douglas Wilder
received 13,000 calls and letters about Coleman from around the world, nearly all in favor of clemency. Wilder arranged a secret, last-minute polygraph test for Coleman, who failed. Coleman shared a final meal of cold pizza with James McCloskey, executive director of Centurion Ministries, who had been working since 1988 to prove Coleman's innocence.
On May 20, 1992, the Commonwealth of Virginia executed Roger Keith Coleman in the electric chair. As Coleman was strapped into the electric chair, he made one final declaration. "An innocent man is going to be murdered tonight," he said. "When my innocence is proven, I hope America will realize the injustice of the death penalty as all other civilized countries have."
In 1998, John C. Tucker, a Chicago lawyer published the book May God Have Mercy (ISBN 0-385-33294-7) detailing legal efforts to save Coleman from the death penalty.
declined their request, and Centurion Ministries subsequently appealed to Virginia Governor Mark Warner
.
On January 5, 2006, Warner ordered DNA evidence to be retested. The evidence was sent to the Centre of Forensic Sciences in Toronto, which determined that his DNA matched with no exclusions and that there was only a 1-in-19-million chance of a random match. On January 12, 2006 Warner's office announced that the test results confirmed Coleman's guilt.
Supporters who believed Coleman's innocence had expected DNA tests to exonerate Coleman. Some death penalty opponents also believed that evidence of an innocent man's execution would have a profound impact on the death penalty debate in the United States, and help accelerate a growing reluctance to use execution. However, the results prompted death penalty supporters to argue that Coleman's case instead showed that proper safeguards were in place.
Grundy, Virginia
Grundy is a town in Buchanan County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,105 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Buchanan County. The town is noted for its educational institutions and their role in the town's economic rebirth. In the past, the town served as a stopover for Union...
, coal miner convicted and executed for the murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
of his sister-in-law, Wanda McCoy. Coleman's case drew national and worldwide attention before and after his execution because of his repeated claims of innocence and support from the anti death-penalty movement
Opposition to capital punishment in the United States
Opposition to capital punishment in the United States existed as early as the colonial period. Opposition to the death penalty peaked in 1966 , rising to 47% opposition, higher than those who supported it , the rest had 'no opinion'...
. In 2006, Virginia Governor Mark Warner
Mark Warner
Mark Robert Warner is an American politician and businessman, currently serving in the United States Senate as the junior senator from the Commonwealth of Virginia. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Warner was the 69th governor of Virginia from 2002 to 2006 and is the honorary chairman of...
announced that recently re-examined DNA evidence had conclusively proven Coleman's guilt.
The crime
Nineteen-year-old Wanda McCoy was attacked in her home on March 10, 1981. She was rapeRape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
d, stabbed to death, and nearly beheaded. There was little sign of a struggle and it was assumed she had allowed her attacker into the house. Roger Coleman, her sister's husband, had access to the house and immediately became a suspect. Coleman, who worked in a mine, had reported to work that night but had left because he had been laid off. A fingerprint
Fingerprint
A fingerprint in its narrow sense is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. In a wider use of the term, fingerprints are the traces of an impression from the friction ridges of any part of a human hand. A print from the foot can also leave an impression of friction ridges...
was found on the front screen door and a pry mark on the front door molding, and bloodstains inside the house. The victim had broken fingernails, cuts on the hands, and a dark, dusty substance on her body. Moreover flecks of blood on Coleman's pants were the same blood type as the victim's.
The case
Coleman was convicted of raping and murdering McCoy in 1982.The prosecution for the case, led by Commonwealth Attorney Michael McGlothlin
Michael McGlothlin
Michael "Mickey" McGlothlin is an Appalachian public figure from Southwest Virginia. He began his career in public service when he was elected to Commonwealth's Attorney of Buchanan County, Virginia in 1979. Not seeking a second term, he co-founded the McGlothlin & Wife Law Firm in his hometown of...
, asserted:
- The lack of forced entry showed McCoy knew her attacker
- Coleman had been previously convicted of attempted rape
- A hair found on McCoy's body was similar to Coleman's
- Blood found on Coleman's clothes was McCoy's blood type
- A fellow prisoner maintained that Coleman had privately confessed the crime to him
Coleman's defense maintained:
- There was indeed evidence of forced entry (the pry mark on the door)
- DNA tests of the semenSemenSemen is an organic fluid, also known as seminal fluid, that may contain spermatozoa. It is secreted by the gonads and other sexual organs of male or hermaphroditic animals and can fertilize female ova...
found on the victim's body implicated more than one person - The prosecution claimed there was no struggle, however the victim had cuts, a bruise in her arm, and broken fingernails
- Coleman had a documented alibi and several witnesses who gave affidavits
State appeals
Coleman's initial appeal to the Virginia Supreme Court was denied, and the Supreme Court of the United States denied certiorariCertiorari
Certiorari is a type of writ seeking judicial review, recognized in U.S., Roman, English, Philippine, and other law. Certiorari is the present passive infinitive of the Latin certiorare...
. Coleman then filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the Circuit Court for Buchanan County, raising several federal constitutional claims for the first time. A two day evidentiary hearing was held, the court denied all of Coleman's claims, and on September 4, 1986, the court entered its final judgment.
Coleman next appealed to the Virginia Supreme Court, but this appeal was dismissed on the motion of the Commonwealth because his notice of appeal
Appeal
An appeal is a petition for review of a case that has been decided by a court of law. The petition is made to a higher court for the purpose of overturning the lower court's decision....
was not filed timely. Virginia Supreme Court Rules require that a notice of appeal be filed within 30 days of entry of the final judgment; Coleman's notice of appeal was filed on October 7, which was 33 days after the circuit court entered its judgment.
Federal petition for habeas corpus
After his appeal was dismissed on procedural grounds, Coleman petitioned in the United States District CourtUnited States district court
The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal court system. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of law, equity, and admiralty. There is a United States bankruptcy court associated with each United States...
for the Western District of Virginia for a writ of habeas corpus
Habeas corpus
is a writ, or legal action, through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention. The remedy can be sought by the prisoner or by another person coming to his aid. Habeas corpus originated in the English legal system, but it is now available in many nations...
. However, federal courts generally may not review a state court's denial of a federal constitutional claim if the denial is based on a state procedural default that is independent of the federal claim and is sufficient to support the prisoner's continued custody. Since Coleman was in procedural default of his appeal in state court, this was independent of his federal constitutional claims, and was adequate to support his continued custody, he was ineligible for relief in a federal habeas corpus proceeding. Although finding that Coleman was in procedural default, the District Court addressed all of his claims, finding them without merit. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit is a federal court located in Richmond, Virginia, with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:*District of Maryland*Eastern District of North Carolina...
affirmed the District Court's ruling, as did the Supreme Court of the United States
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
.
Controversy and execution
In 1990, new DNA tests seemed to add to evidence against Coleman by putting him within the 2% of the population who could have committed the crime. Some argued that DNA and blood tests combined reduced this figure to 0.2%.While he was on death row, Coleman's claims of innocence reached an international audience. Time magazine put Coleman on its cover. Virginia Governor Douglas Wilder
Douglas Wilder
Lawrence Douglas "Doug" Wilder is an American politician, the first African American to be elected as governor of Virginia, and the second to serve as governor of a U.S. state. Wilder served as the 66th Governor of Virginia from 1990 to 1994. When earlier elected as Lieutenant Governor, he was...
received 13,000 calls and letters about Coleman from around the world, nearly all in favor of clemency. Wilder arranged a secret, last-minute polygraph test for Coleman, who failed. Coleman shared a final meal of cold pizza with James McCloskey, executive director of Centurion Ministries, who had been working since 1988 to prove Coleman's innocence.
On May 20, 1992, the Commonwealth of Virginia executed Roger Keith Coleman in the electric chair. As Coleman was strapped into the electric chair, he made one final declaration. "An innocent man is going to be murdered tonight," he said. "When my innocence is proven, I hope America will realize the injustice of the death penalty as all other civilized countries have."
In 1998, John C. Tucker, a Chicago lawyer published the book May God Have Mercy (ISBN 0-385-33294-7) detailing legal efforts to save Coleman from the death penalty.
Subsequent examination of evidence
Centurion Ministries and four newspapers, including the Washington Post, sought to have DNA evidence from the case re-examined in 2000. In 2002 the Supreme Court of VirginiaSupreme Court of Virginia
The Supreme Court of Virginia is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It primarily hears appeals from the trial-level city and county Circuit Courts, as well as the criminal law, family law and administrative law cases that go through the Court of Appeals of Virginia. It is one of...
declined their request, and Centurion Ministries subsequently appealed to Virginia Governor Mark Warner
Mark Warner
Mark Robert Warner is an American politician and businessman, currently serving in the United States Senate as the junior senator from the Commonwealth of Virginia. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Warner was the 69th governor of Virginia from 2002 to 2006 and is the honorary chairman of...
.
On January 5, 2006, Warner ordered DNA evidence to be retested. The evidence was sent to the Centre of Forensic Sciences in Toronto, which determined that his DNA matched with no exclusions and that there was only a 1-in-19-million chance of a random match. On January 12, 2006 Warner's office announced that the test results confirmed Coleman's guilt.
Significance for the anti-death penalty movement
Coleman's case was the second instance in U.S. history where DNA evidence was examined after the person in question had been executed.Supporters who believed Coleman's innocence had expected DNA tests to exonerate Coleman. Some death penalty opponents also believed that evidence of an innocent man's execution would have a profound impact on the death penalty debate in the United States, and help accelerate a growing reluctance to use execution. However, the results prompted death penalty supporters to argue that Coleman's case instead showed that proper safeguards were in place.
See also
- List of individuals executed in Virginia
- Capital punishment in VirginiaCapital punishment in VirginiaCapital punishment is legal in the U.S. State of Virginia. In what is now the Commonwealth of Virginia, the first execution in the future United States was carried out in 1608. It was the first of 1,384 executions, the highest total of any state in the Union...
- Capital punishment in the United StatesCapital punishment in the United StatesCapital punishment in the United States, in practice, applies only for aggravated murder and more rarely for felony murder. Capital punishment was a penalty at common law, for many felonies, and was enforced in all of the American colonies prior to the Declaration of Independence...
Further reading
- Dao, James. "DNA Ties Man Executed in '92 to the Murder He Denied." New York Times, January 13, 2006.
- "DNA: Virginia Executed the Right Man," CNN.com, January 12, 2006.
- Glod, Maria and Michael D. Shear. "DNA Tests Confirm Guilt of Executed Man." Washington Post, January 13, 2006, p. A1.
- Glod, Maria. "DNA Tests May Signal Shift in Death Penalty Debate." Washington Post, January 17, 2006, p. B5.
- Still, Kathy. "'Tell Them I Said Hello,' He'd Say." Bristol Herald Courier, January 11, 2006.
- Tanner, Robert. "DNA Test Confirms Guilt in 1992 Execution" Associated Press, January 13, 2006.
- "Tests Reaffirm Coleman's Guilt." Richmond Times-Dispatch, Jan 12, 2006.
- Willing, Richard. "DNA Tests Confirm Man Executed in 1992 was Guilty." USA TODAY, January 12, 2006.
External links
- DNA tests confirm executed man's guilt (MSNBCMSNBCMSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
) - Clark County, Indiana Prosecutors Office site
- Burden of Proof - Washington Post Magazine article examining the case
- Press Release From James C. McCloskey, Executive Director of Centurion Ministries, Inc. and Paul Enzinna, Partner, Baker Botts L.L.P. on the Roger Coleman DNA Testing Results
- Gone by Not Forgotten from The Malefactor's Register
- Roger Keith Coleman at Find-A-Grave