A fascinating story in yesterday’s Washington Post magazine about the execution of convicted murdered Roger Coleman. Coleman was executed in 1992 when I was in law school at UVA and I vividly remember the great controversy surrounding it, and especially this Time Magazine cover story suggesting that an innocent man was about to be executed.
As the Washington Post story recounts, some of those who opposed Coleman’s execution kept pushing until last year a DNA test of semen found on the victim was conducted which confirmed that Coleman was in fact guilty. The hook for the Post’s story is summarized in one caption, “Even after Roger Coleman’s execution, his advocates didn’t stop believing in his innocence. The question is why.”