US governor orders DNA guilt test

Coleman proclaimed his innocence until the day was electrocuted

The governor of the US state of Virginia has ordered a DNA test to establish the guilt or innocence of a man executed for murder in 1992.

Roger Keith Coleman was convicted of raping and murdering his sister-in-law, but always maintained his innocence.

The US is not thought to have used DNA tests to clear someone after execution.

Democrat Governor Mark Warner said new techniques in DNA testing could provide a definitive verdict not available at the time of the trial.

Mr Warner, who has been tipped as a possible presidential candidate for the 2008 election, is due to leave office on 14 January.

"This is an extraordinarily unique circumstance, where technology has advanced significantly and can be applied in the case of someone who consistently maintained his innocence until execution," he said.

"I believe we must always follow the available facts to a more complete picture of guilt or innocence."

Alibis

Nineteen-year-old Wanda McCoy was found raped, stabbed and virtually beheaded in 1982 in the Virginia town of Grundy.

It could be the biggest turning point in death penalty abolition Prof Ira Robbins American University

Despite his eventual conviction, Coleman argued his innocence vociferously, attracting widespread international attention.

Pope John Paul II joined those trying to stave off his eventual execution.

According to Coleman's lawyers, another man had boasted of murdering Wanda McCoy, who was also alleged to have died with the semen from two other men inside her.

Lawyers for Coleman also argued he did not have the time to carry out the attack.

Turning point?

The tests will be carried out on samples of evidence that have been stored in a laboratory in Toronto, Canada.

Governor Mark Warner has called the case "extraordinarily unique"

The minute samples are thought to be extremely delicate, and contamination could invalidate the tests.

Opponents of the death penalty hope an quashing of the conviction could spur efforts against the US use of executions.

But Tom Scott, a prosecutor who worked on the original trial, said there was overwhelming evidence of Coleman's guilt, and said he was confident the verdict would stand.

Ira Robbins, a criminal law professor at the American University, told the Washington Post that an "innocent" verdict "could be the biggest turning point in death penalty abolition".

Coleman always maintained his innocence, declaring before he was electrocuted in 1992: "An innocent man is going to be murdered tonight.

"When my innocence is proven, I hope America will realise the injustice of the death penalty as all other civilised countries have."