A man who was imprisoned for 45 years in Virginia for the sexual assault and murder of a 3-year-old boy has been declared innocent by the state Court of Appeals. Marvin Leon Grimm Jr., who confessed to the 1975 murder, was exonerated with the help of the Innocence Project, a legal organization that works to free wrongly convicted individuals.
Mr. Grimm’s case is significant because he served more time in prison than any other client exonerated by the Innocence Project. The new evidence, including DNA testing and research on false confessions, dismantled the state’s original case against him, leading to the granting of a writ of actual innocence.
The boy, known as C.H., disappeared after being seen entering the woods behind his family’s apartment in Richmond, Va. His body was later discovered on the banks of the James River. In 1976, Mr. Grimm pleaded guilty to abduction, forcible sodomy, and murder, receiving two life sentences and 10 years in prison.
Key evidence linking Mr. Grimm to the crime was provided by Mary Jane Burton, a senior analyst at Virginia’s crime lab who has since passed away. Her work, which has been linked to wrongful convictions in the past, is now under review following allegations of misconduct raised in a podcast.
Peter Neufeld, a founder of the Innocence Project, explained that Mr. Grimm’s guilty plea was made in exchange for prosecutors agreeing not to seek the death penalty. This agreement initially prevented the Innocence Project from testing DNA evidence, leading to a change in Virginia law to allow for the testing.
The DNA testing revealed that a substance found in the boy’s mouth, previously identified as semen by Ms. Burton, did not contain any sperm. This new information further supported Mr. Grimm’s innocence and led to his exoneration.
This case serves as a reminder of the importance of thorough investigation and the potential consequences of false confessions. The Innocence Project continues to work towards justice for wrongly convicted individuals, highlighting the need for improvements in the criminal justice system to prevent such miscarriages of justice in the future.
