The police presented Eric Wilson and Derik Tice in court for the murder. A jury found them guilty based on their coerced confessions.
The other two, Danial Williams and Joseph Dick took plea deals that saw them accept life in prison.
After they were convicted, they started looking for ways to get free. Applications for appeal and retrials were their favorite methods.
They made many applications for their case to get reviewed without success.
However, they did not give up their pursuit of freedom.
Wilson served his entire sentence and got released in 2003. Tice appealed but was convicted again by a jury and handed two life sentences.
Pardons
After several years in prison for a crime, they did not commit, pro Bono lawyers from three Virginia law firms heard of the Norfolk Four. In collaboration with other legal service providers, they started to work on their release and pardons.
They appealed to the state Governor to pardon the Norfolk Four for the wrong they suffered. It took a while before their efforts started bearing fruit.
In 2009, after Wilson had served his sentence and was already out of prison, Derik Tice, Danial Williams, and Joseph J Dick Jr were granted conditional pardons by the then-Governor Tim Kaine. Consequently, they got released.
However, the conditional pardon meant they were still registered sex offenders with limited rights to work, association, and movement within society.
In 2017, a Virginia court judge ruled that the four were innocent of the crimes they got convicted of. As a result, they got full pardons. Additionally, they stopped registering as sex offenders.
In December 2018, the City of Norfolk, Virginia, agreed to pay $4.9 million to the Norfolk Four for the pain and suffering they endured for their wrongful conviction.
With the settlement and full pardons, they can now live without the stigma hanging over their heads.
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