Fourth Circuit Allows Man On Death Row To Prove His Innocence

"Twenty-four years ago, [Virginia] decided that Appellant was a guilty man. From that moment, the Commonwealth has done everything in its power to ensure Appellant dies in prison, eschewing the Constitution, ethical strictures, and Appellant's own repeated and consistent assertions of factual innocence." So says the Fourth Circuit in its fourth consideration of habeas for a man once sentenced to death for a murder-for-hire scheme in which the only evidence tying him to the crime was the shooter's since-recanted testimony that the shooter said was coerced by the state via death-penalty threats. Habeas dismissal vacated and remanded.

The case is Wolfe v. Dotson, No. 24-6840 (4th Cir. July 7, 2025).