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July 11, 2011

King & Spalding Wins New Trial for Virginia Death Row Prisoner Justin Wolfe

On July 12, 2011, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia granted habeas relief and vacated the death sentence of Justin Wolfe thanks to a dedicated team of lawyers at King & Spalding. The court ruled that Mr. Wolfe's constitutional rights were violated in several ways, including denial of his right to due process under the Fourteenth Amendment pursuant to the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Brady v. Maryland and denial of his Sixth Amendment right to an impartial jury. Owen Barber, the prosecution’s main witness, ultimately recanted his testimony implicating Mr. Wolfe and admitted that he lied to the jury about Mr. Wolfe’s involvement in order to avoid the death penalty and to satisfy aggressive prosecutors. The court found that the prosecution's use of Barber's false testimony was an additional ground for habeas relief.

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