LOUISVILLE, Ky., (WDRB) – The family of a Kentucky man who spent 28 years in prison for a murder he didn't commit has received $28 million to settle a wrongful conviction lawsuit – the largest such settlement in the state's history.
William Virgil insisted for decades he was innocent of the 1987 murder of a Veterans Administration nurse in Newport, which is in Campbell County.
Finally in 2015, Virgil's conviction was thrown out thanks in large part to DNA testing that was not available when he was found guilty.
"For 28 years, William Virgil suffered the ultimate injustice," his attorney, Elliot Slosar, said in a statement. "As an innocent man, William was torn away from his friends and family.
"While the criminal justice system failed William and his family at every step, William fought tirelessly for the truth to surface and for those responsible for his wrongful conviction to be held accountable."
The Kentucky Innocence Project started working on his Virgil's case in 2010.
In an interview with reporters after he was set free in 2017, Virgil, was asked if he was angry.
"Why would I be angry?" he said. "It's a waste of time."
Virgil died in January 2022 shortly before turning 70.
"While he had a few years of freedom … it is heartbreaking that William did not live long enough to see this day," Slosar said.
Jeri Coleman, a relative of Virgil's and the administrator of his estate, said Virgil would celebrate today and be thankful.
"This settlement is vindication for William and our family," she said. "In William’s absence and in his memory, I will celebrate for him today and be thankful for him because he is still loved and missed every single day."
On April 11, 1987, Retha Welch's body was found in a blood-filled bathtub of her Newport, Ky., apartment. She was reported to have been raped, stabbed repeatedly and bludgeoned with a vase. Her car and several items from her apartment were missing.
Virgil, who was living mostly in Cincinnati at the time, claimed he had no idea when Welch died, only learning about it later from a parole officer.
But evidence, according to police and prosecutors, quickly pointed to Virgil, though it was all circumstantial.
A man who was dating Welch said he saw Virgil outside her apartment days before her body was discovered. His clothes and shoes had blood on them. (At the time, there was not enough blood on Virgil's clothes for testing and DNA was not yet used as evidence in criminal cases.)
Virgil's fingerprint was found on a lamp in Welch's apartment. A bloody palm print on the wall couldn't be matched to anyone involved in the case.
A jailhouse informant claimed Virgil confessed to him while the two shared a jail cell. A former girlfriend claimed Virgil asked for her help in killing Welch.
In 1988, Virgil was convicted and sentenced to 70 years in prison.
But the case fell apart.
Judge Fred Stine overturned Virgil's conviction in December 2015 based on the findings from the Kentucky Innocence Project, which include: DNA testing showed blood on Virgil's clothes did not belong to Welch and semen in her was not his; hairs found on Welch's clothing did not match Virgil; witnesses' stories no longer held up under scrutiny; and other suspects were ignored.
Virgil and his attorneys filed a federal lawsuit in Covington alleging police and prosecutors, "manipulated witnesses, fabricated evidence and withheld exculpatory information that would have demonstrated his absolute innocence of this crime."
The Innocence Project alleged, for example, that prosecutors were responsible for destroying a knife in 2005 that had been used as evidence during Virgil's trial "with full knowledge that forensic testing of the knife could lead to Mr. Virgil's complete exoneration."
Prosecutors asked a judge to order the knife destroyed without Virgil being present or being provided notice that such a request took place, according to court records. The knife had been linked to another suspect in Welch's death.
The Innocence Project claimed nearly 100 pieces of physical evidence from the trial had been retained, including two other knives.
Virgil's attorneys also allege that the jailhouse informant who told jurors Virgil confessed to him while the two shared a jail cell recanted his testimony in a sworn affidavit.
In a 2015 interview with WDRB, Virgil said he was offered a guilty plea that would amount to a slap on the wrist for such a gruesome crime.
Seven years in prison – possibly cut to three or four years with good behavior -- but Virgil insisted he was innocent and turned down the deal, taking his case to trial, where he was found guilty and sentenced to 70 years in prison.
"I told them that they had the wrong guy and whoever it was that committed the crime was still out there running around," Virgil said.
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