Tuesday, January 03, 2006

In the matter of Roger Keith Coleman

Suddenly this blog has been getting lots of email relating to the Roger Keith Coleman case. We're not sure why -- in fact we're a bit perplexed by it, since we haven't mentioned the Coleman case lately, although it was in a Washington Post editorial that we posted last week.

But we at Abolish the Death Penalty are always game to debate the death penalty any time, any where. So bring it on! Should Coleman's DNA be tested?

One of the most comprehensive posts authored lately comes from The Original Musings. An excerpt about the case:

That connect-the-dot evidence discounted tangible, physical evidence that
pointed to Coleman's innocence. There were also actual live witnesses who saw
and talked to Coleman right before and after the time of the murder, which
happened right after he'd just gotten off work at the coal mine. His time card.
His employer. The prosecution's own time frame was virtually impossible --
Coleman had something like an eleven minute window of opportunity to not only
run the distance and commit the crime, he also had to get back to his vehicle
and clean himself of any traces of blood or injury, not to mention the removal
of mud and water from his foot travel to and from the scene of the crime which
would have required him to wade across Slate Creek. And then he had to behave
normally, and not be out of breath, excited, uneasy or in any other way
demonstrate concern or worry about anything. And he had to heal really quickly
-- because Wanda fought her attacker.

To read the whole post -- it's long but well worth it -- go here.

And Original Musings, I might add, is a supporter of the death penalty.

33 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm all for abolishing the death penalty and behaving like a civilized society if we also abolish abortion as well while we are being civilized.

Anonymous said...

The DNA came back today. Oops. I guess he did commit the murder. I guess he did deserve to die. I guess the system, in this case, works. I guess everybody who thought he was innocent projected their own feelings onto this case.

Anonymous said...

The record stands - no executed criminal to date has ever been exonerated after execution. Roger Keith Coleman was guilty as charged - not withstanding wishful thinking by his supporters.

Anonymous said...

"The prosecution's own time frame was virtually impossible" Sorry guys, DNA proved otherwise. Guilty as charged and he got what he deserved...death.

Anonymous said...

Death penalty foes remain 0-for-forever in proving an executed person innocent. The miscarriage of justice here was the RKC lived for years after he committed MURDER. It is just too bad the first shock killed him. Would have been nice for him to twitch for a while.

Anonymous said...

Guilty! Sweet Justice

Anonymous said...

You have misread the case somehow, and now you have twisted it. Coleman was wet to his knees where he had waded the river. He had Wanda's blood on his pants. And now with the DNA test back that Warner ordered it reveals that Roger's semen was present in Wanda's vagina. Case closed, again.

Anonymous said...

This proves nothing. 1 in 19,000,000 is still a chance that they got the wrong guy. This test proves that there is a chance that Coleman was innocent. Keep hope alive!

Anonymous said...

oh my GOD! you naive person. along with the semen there was other evidence that leaned toward that sick man's guilt. a person like that along with all pedophiles deserve to die.

Anonymous said...

and rott in hell

Anonymous said...

Haven't you ever heard of the Lottery? People win that all the time and the odds are worse than 1 in 19,000,000. Coleman just lost the lottery.

The test proves nothing. Keep hope alive!

Anonymous said...

The only question that im concerned about as far as the death penalty is whether the person is guilty as charged or not guilty. It appears Mr Coleman was guilty as charged. The death penalty is fair so long as it fits the crime, in this case it does.

Anonymous said...

The chances of dying from a venomous snake or lizard is only 1 in 31,993,469. Does that mean that you will play with a king cobra? I would think not.

The test proves nothing. Keep hope alive!

Anonymous said...

Oh and of course the failed polygraph test....but why should we believe that! Everyone who said he was innocent touted the accuracy of current DNA testing and how they wanted it done..UNTIL IT CONFIRMED HIS GUILT! If you are against the death penalty, fine, but dont use a guilty rapist/murderer as your poster child.

Anonymous said...

Coleman resides with satan for eternity!The worst part of this whole thing is the victim's family and Roger Coleman's other victims who had to endure the ignorance of so many stupid people. The evidence was clear before and he got less than what he truly deserved. Imagine if that lady was your sister, wife, or mother. She was nearly beheaded. Shame on you people who supported him. You may one day be reside with him.

Anonymous said...

Odds of dying on a streetcar: 1 in 31,677,090 (see: http://www.e11th-hour.org/public/natural/dying.odds.html)

The test proves nothing! Keep hope alive!

Anonymous said...

facts are facts.

Anonymous said...

Too bad rkc's death wasn't as painful as his victim's was.
Imagine after all the evidence
people still believed in him. Someone, please leave this message for James McCloskey. You SHOULD get a "kick in the stomach".

Anonymous said...

Well, a huge setback for the libbies and death penalty opponents as it turns out Coleman was guilty as hell. Too bad libbies. Justice was served so suck it up.

Anonymous said...

It proves one thing. You and the other Kumbay libbie losers don't have the guts to admit when you are wrong.

Anonymous said...

This "Keep hope alive!" guy is a complete retard.

Anonymous said...

Everyone needs to just chill out. First off, it's a relief to learn that Coleman was in fact guilty and that modern science has given us the closure we have been seeking for almost 14 years. DNA testing greatly helps determine the guilt or innocence of people accused of heinous crimes.

I still believe, however, that Sacco and Vanzetti (the two Italian immigrants executed in 1927 based on VERY weak evidence) were innocent. Although they were officially exonerated by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1977, I'm curious to know if there's any way to discover the truth in that case with DNA testing?

Anonymous said...

'Keep hope alive?' I bet you're still waiting for Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny, too. Some people live rich fantasy lives.

Anonymous said...

Did I read somewhere that there was semen from two different men? I don't agree with the logic that the presence of RKC's DNA equals murder. It equals sex. Did a jealous lover find out and kill her?

Anonymous said...

Being from Grundy and having Known Roger, Brad, and Wanda, there was no doubt in my mind, after hearing all the evidence and knowing where the crime was commented, that Roger had committed the crime. By the way, there are around 289 million people in the U.S. That means that only 15 other people could have committed the crime. I bet none of them lived around Virginia at the time.

Anonymous said...

scumbag got what he gave

Anonymous said...

This case was presented to a jury of 12 people. Those 12 people looked at the evidence and made a decision of guilt. Much degradation of that jury has filled the media for years. However, those who wrote about biased juries didn't have a clue. I personally know someone who sat on that jury and they looked at the best scientific evidence available in 1981/82 as well as the testimony offered in the case. Their decision was based on fact and not on rumors and speculation. After all this time, it is great to have their decision confirmed.The jury, investigators, and prosecutors have been labeled monsters. The only monster in this case died in the electric chair in 1992. THEY WEREN'T WRONG! The system might have flaws. The founding fathers didn't say it was perfect. However, in this case, it worked.

Anonymous said...

death penalty is bad because you do not know for sure that,that person actually did the crime.in this case that was what happened.unless you have the person prints where it happened,and an eye witness you should not give them the death penalty

Anonymous said...

Anyone who thinks Coleman is innocent because there is 1 in a 19 million chance because of DNA has to remember this was in a town of about 2000 people. So I guess that even lowers his chance.

Anonymous said...

I'd like to believe the best in this guy but I can't make myself believe that he didn't commit the crime. There is too much evidence against him to suggest otherwise. But, I don't think that the death penalty is a just way of solving problems. Why would we kill someone who killed somone to show that killing is bad?

Anonymous said...

I THINK HE WAS A INNOCENT GUY I DONT KNOW WHY THEY KLLED HIM THE OTHER GUYS OUT HERE KILL AND RAPE WOMEN AND THEY EITHER GET BAIL OR A COUPLE OF YEARS AND HE GOT KILLED THAT IS NOT FAIR YOU PEOPLE THINK HE IS NOT INNOCENT IS SICK!!!!

Anonymous said...

ASS

Anonymous said...

To the person who made the comment that unless there is an eye-witness to a crime we will never know who commited it is wrong. Considering all the other times when eye-witnesses had been wrong:

Jennifer Thompson mistakenly believed Ronald Cotton was the man who raped her, but it was actually Bobby Poole.

Eddie Mosley guilty of murder, yet another man was on death row for the murder because of eye witness accounts (she later admitted she got the wrong guy but the prosecution refused to investigate).

Unfortunately, out of all this, DNA as reliable sill has room to be challenged. Even if 99.999995% points to someone, one can still challenge the .000005%. Someone would still challenge where is the 19million and one guy who could also have commited the crime.

Finally, the DNA proved Coleman was linked to his sister-in-law at the time. But because of the society we are in anyone can easily say there is still a chance he was the wrong guy when 19million still shows that the next guy could have done it. I hear people who afer dna exonerates men in prison for years still feel that dna means nothing and that it undermines detective evidence. And unfortunately some radicals could still argue that unless he is shown to have actually pulled out the knife it proves nothing. Me personally, I believe he did it, but only the people involved at the time knows. Everyone else is just speculative.