Legal Research

The New Yorker's August 24 issue features a Jeffrey Toobin piece on Richard Leo's efforts on behalf of the wrongfully-convicted Norfolk Four.  In 1997, Michelle Bosko was raped and murdered in Norfolk, Virginia. Despite the fact that "abundant" forensic evidence at the scene pointed to another suspect, the "Norfolk Four," Joseph Dick, Jr., Derek Tice, Eric Wilson, and Danial Williams, were convicted, largely because each man confessed to the crime following lengthy interrogation sessions.  Professor Leo's compelling book about the case (co-authored with Tom Wells), The Wrong Guys: Murder, False Confessions, and the Norfolk Four, was released last year.  As Toobin notes, Professor Leo supplied a manuscript of the book to John Grisham, who discussed the case with Virginia Governor Tim Kaine.  A few weeks ago, Governor Kaine granted conditional pardons to three of the four men still imprisoned for the crime. 

If you would like to read The Wrong Guys, you'll find a copy at Zief Law Library.