U.S. Court of Appeals in Richmond. (Photo by Parker Michels-Boyce for The Virginia Mercury)
Marvin Grimm Jr. spent 45 years behind bars for a crime he didn’t commit. He lost his freedom, his family, and nearly every milestone of life most people take for granted. Even after his release, he was forced to register as a sex offender for four more years — until DNA evidence finally proved his innocence last year.
“I lost 96% of my adult life because of that [and] I missed out on all the things that most folks take for granted — weddings, birthdays, family, trips, and holidays with family,” Grimm told a House subcommittee last week.
Now, Virginia lawmakers are moving forward with legislation to compensate Grimm and two other men who were wrongly convicted. The measure is on track to advance in the House, aiming to provide financial relief for years lost to wrongful imprisonment.
Grimm, convicted of murdering a three-year-old in Richmond in 1976, fought unsuccessfully for decades to clear his name. While in prison, he endured threats, watched his wife leave the state with their newborn son, and saw his family struggle under the weight of relentless news coverage.
He isn’t alone. Gilbert Merritt III, also wrongfully convicted, spent three years in prison for first-degree murder and a firearm charge before it was revealed that a key witness had given false testimony.
The third Virginian, Keshawn Duffy, was convicted of two counts of forcible sodomy and forced to register as a sex offender. He spent six years in jail before the son of his then-girlfriend recanted his testimony.
Duffy knows that no dollar amount can ever undo the damage of a wrongful conviction. He carries the burden of a tarnished name, even after proving his innocence.
“I definitely sympathize with the two gentlemen who came before me to give their stories, and anybody else who’s still dealing with a wrongful conviction, because no amount of compensation can repay us for the damage that’s been done to us and our families,” Duffy said. “Our integrity, our namesake, is tarnished, even with proving my innocence daily.”
Dels. Rip Sullivan, D-Fairfax, and Holly Seibold, D-Fairfax, are leading the push for financial compensation for Duffy, Grimm and Merritt. Sullivan noted that Grimm’s 45-year wrongful imprisonment is believed to be the longest in Virginia history and the second longest nationwide.
“It is an egregious case,” said Sullivan during a Jan. 27 subcommittee hearing. “All of these cases are horrible, but Mr. Grimm, unfortunately, his case is sort of in a class by itself.”
Sullivan didn’t mince words about what went wrong. He accused prosecutors of deliberately securing Grimm’s conviction through misconduct.
“Law enforcement people doing the testing, purposefully manipulated evidence, purposely manipulated testimony, knew they were offering false testimony, purposefully withheld exonerating evidence,” Sullivan said.
According to Virginia Department of the Treasury estimates, compensating the three men would cost the state nearly $5.4 million.
On Monday, the House advanced the compensation bills for a final reading. If passed, they will head to the Senate for approval before reaching the governor’s desk.
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