The BACKGROUND
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On February 20, 1991, eighteen hours
before he was scheduled to be executed for the murder of a woman and
the rape murder of her daughter, Joe Giarratano was given a conditional
pardon by Governor Douglas Wilder. WHY?
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The ESSENTIAL
FACTS
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- Not a single piece of physical evidence identified
Giarratano as the perpetrator.
- Semen from the rape did not match Giarratano.
- Bloody shoe prints from the scene were not made by
Giarratano’s boots.
- A forensic expert found the stab wounds were typical
of a right-handed person. Giarratano is left-handed and has a
neurological deficit on his right side.
- The state never identified thirteen hairs found on or
around the victims, numerous fingerprints at the scene nor the identity
of a driver’s license found at the scene that was neither the victim’s
nor Giarratano’s.
- Bloody sheets and clothing from the crime scene were
not introduced at trial, and if analyzed, no report was presented at
trial or made available to the defense.
- However, Giarratano confessed five times to different
police officers. All five confessions were inconsistent with the
evidence and contradicted one another. The state’s psychiatrist
testified that Giarratano made up the confessions, and after weeks of
interviews, testing and investigation, two world-renowned experts in
false confessions concluded that Giarratano’s confessions were totally
false.
- An autopsy report was changed to conform in part to
the one confession put into evidence.
- Twenty-seven years after being put on death row, Joe
Giarratano remains incarcerated in one of Virginia’s “supermax” prisons.
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OUR MISSION
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Joe Giarratano did not ask
Governor Wilder to release him. Instead, he asked for a new trial
to prove his innocence. In 2003 we learned that all evidence in
Giarratano’s case had been destroyed, misplaced or lost. This
means Joe will never be able to prove his innocence. Now we are working
for his release.
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GET INVOLVED!
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Contact...
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info@joegcampaign.org
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Donate...
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Death
Penalty Focus
c/o Lance Lindsey
870 Market Street #859
San Francisco, CA 94102
(For more information on Death Penalty Focus, Click HERE.)
(All Donations are Tax-deductible!)
NOTE:
When sending checks,
please write "Joe G. Campaign"
in the Note field. Thank you!
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Distribute...
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Click HERE
to download a PDF info flier on the case.
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Web Site Update History
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August
26, 2008
- New Links and Resources added.
August
5, 2008
- SUPPORT Page launched.
July
27, 2008
- SUPPORT Page code loaded for testing.
June
15, 2008
- RESOURCES Page launched.
June
10, 2008
- RESOURCES Page added for testing.
April
1, 2008
- Site uploaded and launched.
March
31, 2008
- Site uploaded to test site for editing and format review.
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Welcome to the JOE GIARRATANO CAMPAIGN web
site. This site will allow you to keep up with developments in
the Giarratano case, plus access background information on Joe, the
case, and more importantly, tips and suggestions on what YOU can do to help us guarantee that
Joe receives the one thing that has eluded him for nearly 30 years: JUSTICE.