Ex-SEAL trainee seeks to overturn conviction

[unhappycamper]

Ex-SEAL trainee seeks to overturn conviction
By Sonja Barisic - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday May 28, 2008 6:24:11 EDT

NORFOLK, Va. — A former Navy SEAL trainee convicted 12 years ago of abducting and killing a vacationing Georgia college student is making a last effort in court to clear his name.

Dustin Turner, 33, is hoping to get his conviction overturned on the strength of fellow SEAL trainee Billy Joe Brown’s post-trial admission that Brown was solely responsible for choking Jennifer Evans to death outside a Virginia Beach bar.

The Virginia Court of Appeals granted Turner a hearing in Virginia Beach Circuit Court to determine the credibility of Brown’s confession under a law allowing inmates to present newly discovered evidence of innocence. Brown is expected to testify at the hearing, scheduled to begin Wednesday.

Once the circuit court judge rules on the issue of credibility, the case will return to the appeals court.

If the confession is found credible and the appeals court concludes the confession would have changed the outcome of the case, Turner would be freed, said David B. Hargett, Turner’s lawyer. Prosecutors could appeal to the Virginia Supreme Court.


Article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/05/ap_seal_killing_052708/