Gov. George Allen pardoned a man who spent seven years in prison for a rape and robbery that DNA tests later showed he did not commit.
Troy Lynn Webb, 29, was serving a 47-year sentence at Keene Mountain Correctional Center in Oakwood. Webb left the prison at about 2 p.m. Wednesday, about 30 minutes after talking by telephone with Allen, said state Department of Corrections spokesman David Botkins.Allen said in a statement that Webb would not have been convicted had the jury had access to the DNA evidence seven years ago, and that it was the governor's duty to "correct demonstrable errors of justice."
Allen told reporters that before he called Webb, he called the victim. "She was understanding," the governor said. "I told her I was sorry she had to relive this traumatic event."
Webb was "grateful and relieved," Allen said, adding that Webb did not seem bitter.
Virginia Beach Commonwealth's Attorney Robert Humphreys, whose office prosecuted Webb in 1989, had joined in Webb's request for an unconditional pardon.
Webb could not be reached for comment; his attorney - former O.J. Simpson lawyer Barry Scheck - did not return messages for comment.
Webb was convicted on the basis of serology tests, the most sophisticated tests available at the time.
Also, the victim identified Webb as the man who attacked her in 1988.
After Webb's appeals were rejected, his family turned to The Innocence Project, which uses DNA testing to free people who have been wrongfully convicted. The state Division of Forensic Science conducted the DNA test, and on Sept. 7, a state forensic scientist reported that the test eliminated Webb as the rapist.