Earl Washington Jr. is a former Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

 death-row

Death row

Death row signifies the place, often a section of a prison, that houses individuals awaiting execution. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution , even in places where no special facility or separate unit for condemned inmates exists.After individuals are found...

 inmate, charged in 1982 with rape and murder. Washington, with an IQ estimated at 69, confessed to the crime, but apparently only after being coerced by investigators. In 1994, DNA

DNA

Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...

 evidence indicated that he was not responsible for the crimes for which he was sentenced. Shortly before his scheduled execution, he was granted clemency by Virginia's governor, who commuted his sentence to life in prison. Later on, after more accurate DNA testing strengthened the case for his innocence, he received a full pardon. Washington was represented by attorney Gerald Zerkin

Gerald Zerkin

Gerald T. Zerkin is a senior assistant federal public defender in Richmond, Va. He attended Brandeis University, where he received his Bachelor's degree in 1971, University of Virginia where he received his Master's degree in 1976, and Boston College, where he received his degree in Law, also in...

.

Washington's case is frequently cited by opponents of the death penalty as an example of a wrongful death sentence.