URGENT ACTION APPEAL
----------------------------------
4 November 2005
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: lett...@timesdispatch.com
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.
Amnesty International is a worldwide grassroots movement that
promotes and defends human rights.
This Urgent Action may be reposted if kept intact, including
contact information and stop action date (if applicable). Thank
you for your help with this appeal.
Urgent Action Network
Amnesty International USA
PO Box 1270
Nederland CO 80466-1270
Email: u...@aiusa.org
http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/
Phone: 303 258 1170
Fax: 303 258 7881
----------------------------------
END OF URGENT ACTION APPEAL
----------------------------------
