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Earl Washington's Ordeal, Eric M. Freedman

Hofstra Law Review

By way of preface to this Symposium, I offer an account of the ordeal of Earl Washington, who-having come within days of execution-was released from prison on February 12, 2001, after DNA evidence of his innocence finally proved conclusive to the Virginia authorities. I do so for two reasons.

First, I believe, both as a member of his legal team and a scholar, that history deserves an accurate account of the events. Second, more broadly, I believe that the case exemplifies many of the phenomena that contribute to the injustice of the death penalty in America today, and that its …