Circuit Court Judge Charles E. Poston said “It is over,” in dismissing the rape and murder charges against Derek Tice on August 4, 2011. Tice’s January 2003 trial convictions and sentence of life in prison were overturned in September 2009 when a federal judge granted his writ of habeas corpus. After the judge’s ruling was unanimously affirmed by the federal Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in April 2011, the State had until the end of August to either agree to dismiss the case or proceed with Tice’s retrial.
Derek Tice, the day of his release on August 6, 2009
Tice was one of four young enlisted Navy men who confessed to the July 1997 rape and murder of Michelle Moore-Bosko in Norfolk, Virginia. The men confessed after being subjected to intense and prolonged interrogations by Norfolk homicide detective Robert Glenn Ford, and they all recanted their confessions claiming they were coerced by Ford. The claim of coercion by the four was supported by the fact that none of their confessions contained information that only would have been known to the crime’s perpetrator. Although there was no physical, forensic or eyewitness evidence tying any of the four men to the crime, they were all charged and convicted on the basis of their confessions.
The four men — Tice, Danial Williams, Eric C. Wilson, and Joseph J. Dick Jr. — became known as the Norfolk Four. After their case gained notoriety and was independently investigated, their claims of being coerced into giving false confessions was substantiated.
False confession expert Richard Leo co-wrote The Wrong Guys in 2008 about the Norfolk Four case.
Tice was first convicted by a jury in February 2000 of rape and murder and sentenced to two terms of life in prison. The prosecution’s only substantial evidence was Ford’s testimony about Tice’s confession. In May 2002 Virginia’s Court of Appeals overturned Tice’s conviction and ordered his retrial. (Tice v. Commonwealth, 38 Va.App. 332, 563 S.E.2d 412 (Va.App. 05/21/2002))
Tice was again convicted of rape and murder in January 2003 after a near carbon copy rerun of his first trial, and he was again sentenced to two terms of life in prison.
After his convictions were affirmed on appeal, Tice filed a state habeas corpus petition. A key ineffective assistance of counsel claim was Tice’s lawyers failed to file a motion to suppress Tice’s confession on the grounds that Ford continued interrogating Tice even after he invoked his constitutional right to remain silent. The state judge granted Tice’s petition, but the state Court of Appeals reversed that ruling. Tice then filed his federal habeas corpus petition, and the judge agreed that Tice’s lawyers were constitutionally ineffective for failing to even attempt to suppress Tice’s confession. (Derek Tice v Johnson, No. 08-cv-69 (USDC EDVA, 09-14-2009)) After the judge’s ruling was unanimously affirmed by the federal appeals court in April 2011, the State had no choice but to dismiss the charges against Tice because his convictions were based on his alleged confession that could not be used against him in a retrial.
All of the Norfolk Four have been released. Eric Wilson was convicted of rape only, and after 8-1/2 years in prison he was released in 2005 when he completed his sentence. On August 6, 2009, the other three were released when they were conditionally pardoned by Virginia Governor Tim Kaine. Tice, Williams, and Dick were wrongly imprisoned for more than 11 years. Justice Denied sent a letter to Governor Kaine encouraging him to pardon the Norfolk Four.
Justice Denied’s November 2000 article about the Norfolk was the first national exposure in the Norfolk Four case. That article is credited with resulting in production by Medstar of the documentary “Eight Men Out” that was broadcoast for the first time on June 7, 2001, on The Learning Channel’s series Medical Detectives. An article in Playboy magazine followed and eventually the four men were able to get first-class pro bono counsel and coverage of their case in The New York Times and other national print and television media. Larry Tice, Derek’s father, has acknowledged that “All the recognition and support would not have happened were it not for Justice:Denied magazine.”
Robert Glenn Ford, the retired Norfolk homicide detective who extracted the false confessions from the Norfolk Four, was convicted on October 27, 2010 by a federal court jury in Norfolk of two extortion counts and one count of lying to the FBI. During the trial numerous witnesses testified that Ford accepted bribes in exchange for using his position to do favors for accused or suspected criminals. In 2003 he took a $19,000 bribe to stop a drug raid. Most of the bribes testified to were for between $3,500 and $4,500.
Ford was sentenced on February 25, 2011 to 12 years and 6 months in federal prison. Ford, who had been free on bail pending his sentencing, was immediately taken into custody to begin serving his sentence.
U.S. District Judge Jerome B. Friedman justified sentencing Ford above the federal sentencing guidelines by describing Ford’s conduct as “dishonest, detrimental, unethical” and “an abuse of power.”
Williams has a pending habeas corpus petition that seeks to overturn his convictions. Williams’ pro bono attorney Donald Salzman has filed an Affidavit in support of his petition that Detective Ford commented to a witness that he thinks the Norfolk Four are innocent. The Affidavit states:
“Detective Ford has stated that he believes that the Norfolk Four are innocent of the rape and murder for which they have been convicted.”
It is all too rare poetic justice that Ford is imprisoned while the Norfolk Four who were imprisoned because of his false testimony they confessed, have been freed.
The Norfolk Four (from left), Eric Wilson, Joseph Dick Jr., Derek Tice, and Danial Williams in 2010 in Washington, D.C. This was the first time they were together since their arrests. (PBS)
By Hans Sherrer
Justice Denied