00:00:04
[music playing]
00:00:06
NARRATOR: In 1984,
a young couple
00:00:08
got lost searching for a
campsite in Virginia's Blue
00:00:12
Ridge Parkway.
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They decided to spend the
night sleeping in their car.
00:00:19
They were awakened by a white
male in his mid 30s at 3:00 AM.
00:00:24
MAN: Step out of the vehicle.
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NARRATOR: What the
couple saw that night,
00:00:32
their eyewitness description
of the assailant,
00:00:35
was all that police
had to go on.
00:00:39
[music playing]
00:01:04
When the 19-year-old woman
and her 22-year-old fiance
00:01:07
were rousted from
sleep, they assumed
00:01:10
the man was a policeman.
00:01:12
MAN: Move to the rear
of the vehicle, please.
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NARRATOR: Blinded
by his flashlight,
00:01:18
and concerned that they
had broken the law,
00:01:20
they handed over their
car keys as ordered.
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Suddenly, the man produced
a gun and told the fiancee
00:01:29
to run into the woods.
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He threatened to kill
him if he didn't obey.
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MAN: Move!
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NARRATOR: The young woman,
now terrified for her life,
00:01:40
was forced at gunpoint
into the man's vehicle.
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MAN: Open the door.
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Open it!
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Get in the back.
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Keep your head down.
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Don't look at me.
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NARRATOR: He drove her
to a secluded campsite
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about a half hour away.
00:02:02
MAN: That's far enough.
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On your knees.
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NARRATOR: And over
the next two hours,
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repeatedly raped
and sodomized her.
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Why are you doing this to me?
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[music playing]
00:02:25
NARRATOR: Although the assailant
had threatened to kill her,
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he left her on a
deserted stretch of road
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and told her how to
get back to her car.
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She was traumatized, but alive.
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Is there anything that
you remember about this guy?
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His appearance?
00:02:45
His demeanor?
00:02:46
NARRATOR: The victim said that
the rapist wore camouflage
00:02:49
pants, had a large
cross around his neck,
00:02:52
and during the assault,
chain-smoked, drank whiskey,
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and babbled incessantly
about Lieutenant
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Koleki and their experiences
together in Vietnam.
00:03:01
MAN: --leki.
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Koleki.
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[inaudible] war
hell for all of us.
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NARRATOR: The victim
and her fiancee
00:03:09
helped a police sketch artist
prepared this composite drawing
00:03:13
of the assailant.
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Police all across
Virginia searched
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for a man who fit
the description,
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but the search
turned up nothing,
00:03:22
and police feared that
the Blue Ridge rapist
00:03:24
would never be identified.
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Four months passed,
and in nearby Roanoke,
00:03:31
Virginia, there was
another sexual assault.
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The victim said
her attacker looked
00:03:36
a lot like one of her
neighbors, Edward Honaker.
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Honaker had an alibi
for the rape in Roanoke
00:03:44
and was quickly
eliminated as a suspect.
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But investigators noticed
a striking resemblance
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between Edward Honaker
and the composite drawing
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of the Blue Ridge rapist.
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Honaker owned an automobile
similar to the one driven
00:04:00
by the Blue Ridge rapist.
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It had no back seat
and had rust damage
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on the body, consistent
with the description
00:04:07
given by the victim.
00:04:09
The car he was driving,
one of those big Broncos,
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was identified by the
victim as-- as a car
00:04:14
driven by the rapist.
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He had a mustache,
so did the rapist.
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He was about the same size,
height, weight as the rapist.
00:04:22
The case seemed to
point directly at him.
00:04:25
NARRATOR: Police prepared
a photographic lineup
00:04:27
of six individuals to show
the victim and her fiancee.
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They both identified Edward
Honaker as the rapist.
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Cam-- camoflague.
00:04:41
NARRATOR: The rape victim and
her fiance both identified
00:04:44
Edward Honaker as the rapist
from the photographic lineup,
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honaker was a 34-year-old welder
with a dishonorable discharge
00:04:52
from the military and a
past history of burglary,
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he had recently been
hospitalized for depression
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because his wife had left him,
taking their three children.
00:05:04
When Honaker was questioned
about the rape in the Blue
00:05:07
Ridge Parkway four
months earlier,
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he didn't immediately
offer an alibi.
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Later, he said he was asleep in
his mother's home in Montvale,
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78 miles away.
00:05:20
Honaker owned an automobile
similar to the assailant's, and
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from his home, police
recovered clothes and jewelry
00:05:27
similar to those worn
by the Blue Ridge
00:05:29
rapist on the night
of the attack.
00:05:32
She described the assailant
as having worn fatigues.
00:05:37
Fatigues were
recovered at his home.
00:05:40
She described him as having
a cross about his neck.
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A cross was uncovered.
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She also said that he had told
her when this assault was over
00:05:50
that he was going back
to the Roanoke area,
00:05:52
and honaker was living in
and about the Roanoke area.
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NARRATOR: The final
step was to compare
00:05:59
the hair found on
the victim's shorts
00:06:02
with Edward Honaker's hair.
00:06:04
The expert there stated that
they were very likely to match.
00:06:10
And that was very strong
evidence against him as well.
00:06:14
Last thing I told my mother
was, don't worry about it.
00:06:17
I'll probably be home tomorrow
evening or the next day.
00:06:22
I thought I would go to a
line up or something, and--
00:06:24
and the lady, the victim, would
say, no, this isn't the guy.
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NARRATOR: But
something else happened
00:06:30
when Edward Honaker faced his
accuser for the first time
00:06:34
in court.
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PHILLIP PAYNE: He was identified
in a crowded courtroom
00:06:37
at the preliminary hearing
by the fiance and the victim.
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They both identified
him in the courtroom.
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Picked him out.
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Not seat-- not standing in
an orange suit up front,
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but mixed in among the
rest of the spectators
00:06:51
in the courtroom.
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MAN: Get out of here.
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NARRATOR: Honaker's defense
lawyer noted that Honaker
00:06:58
was right-handed,
and the assailant
00:07:00
held the gun in his left hand.
00:07:03
The assailant ranted about
his experiences in Vietnam,
00:07:07
but Honaker was
never in Vietnam.
00:07:11
The defense also
presented evidence
00:07:13
that Honaker had
a vasectomy, which
00:07:15
meant he could not have
produced the sperm found
00:07:18
on the vaginal swab.
00:07:20
But the prosecution said
the victim and her fiancee
00:07:24
had consensual sex a few
days before the rape.
00:07:27
The sperm could have
belonged to the fiance.
00:07:32
For the jury, it was
an easy decision.
00:07:36
The most damaging
piece of evidence
00:07:38
came when the victim
took the stand.
00:07:44
Henry Connor was
the jury foreman.
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She looked right
at the defendant,
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looked him in the
eye, so to speak,
00:07:53
and said, that is
the man who raped me.
00:07:57
And we had no reason to
doubt her because she
00:08:01
was very, very sure.
00:08:03
I had a lot of animosity
toward her and her boyfriend.
00:08:10
I just-- I couldn't
understand why
00:08:13
they had done this to me, why
they had chosen me for this.
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And I just--
00:08:21
I-- I don't know.
00:08:22
I just-- I had a lot of
hatred for-- for both of them.
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NARRATOR: Edward Honaker was
found guilty of rape, sodomy,
00:08:30
and aggravated sexual battery
and was sentenced to three
00:08:34
life terms plus 34 years.
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The judge stated that Honaker's
hair found on the victim
00:08:44
had sealed his fate.
00:08:46
While Honaker was in
prison, he continued
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to proclaim his innocence.
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Months went by, then years.
00:08:58
Over time, Honaker's
attention turned
00:09:01
from proving his innocence
to simple survival.
00:09:05
EDWARD HONAKER: You can't
show fear in prison.
00:09:08
If you do, you'll
be preyed upon.
00:09:10
There are some of the
world's best predators
00:09:13
locked up in a
prison cell, and they
00:09:16
will take advantage of you.
00:09:17
They can-- they will
spot it, I think
00:09:19
someone said once, quicker
than a lion can spot a limp.
00:09:23
NARRATOR: Over the
next five years,
00:09:26
Honaker sent letters to
journalists, lawyers,
00:09:29
and criminal advocates
all across the country,
00:09:32
pleading his case to
anyone who would listen.
00:09:36
No one responded.
00:09:39
Honaker never gave up
hope, but was out of ideas.
00:09:43
Until one day, on
television, he watched
00:09:46
the trial of Timothy Spencer,
the so-called Southside
00:09:50
Strangler.
00:09:51
I had watched that trial.
00:09:53
And I told a friend of
mine at the prison, Floyd,
00:09:56
I said, Floyd, this is my--
00:09:57
this is my salvation.
00:09:59
This is the answer that God
has given me through all
00:10:02
of my prayers is this DNA.
00:10:04
NARRATOR: But
Honaker wasn't sure
00:10:07
if the vaginal swab from his
rape case had been preserved,
00:10:11
and if it had, could it still
be tested after all those years?
00:10:21
Five years after Edward Honaker
was convicted of a rape he said
00:10:24
he didn't commit,
one of his letters
00:10:27
made its way to Kate Germond
of Centurion Ministries,
00:10:31
an organization
that works on behalf
00:10:33
of the wrongfully convicted.
00:10:35
Centurion Ministries
receives thousands of letters
00:10:39
from convicted
criminals every year,
00:10:41
but there were a number of
things about Honaker's case
00:10:43
that caught Germond's attention.
00:10:46
KATE GERMOND: Eyewitness
testimony in our country
00:10:48
is considered by most
people to be the most
00:10:52
profound proof of truth.
00:10:56
That's the man that
did this to me.
00:10:57
We all assume--
00:10:59
I think, through
the years, we've
00:11:01
come to believe that our
mind is like a videotape,
00:11:04
that it just accurately
records whatever
00:11:08
we see, whatever
we hear, whatever
00:11:11
we come in contact with.
00:11:13
The reality is, what our memory
is actually recording is, yes,
00:11:18
what's going on in
the moment, but it's
00:11:20
also mixed into that
is memories, dreams,
00:11:25
some little distraction.
00:11:27
It's just a huge variety pack.
00:11:29
So our memories are actually
not accurate at all.
00:11:34
NARRATOR: When the victim
chose Honaker's picture
00:11:36
from the photo lineup, Honaker
was the only one standing
00:11:40
in front of a white background.
00:11:42
The other suspects were
all photographed in front
00:11:45
of the standard height scale.
00:11:47
Research has shown that
if one item in the array
00:11:50
of photographs is
uniquely different,
00:11:52
such as the background, it
is more likely to be chosen.
00:11:56
Furthermore, police lineup
should include faces that
00:11:59
have an equal chance of being
selected, faces similar to one
00:12:03
another.
00:12:04
Honaker's photo was
the only one of six
00:12:07
that remotely resembled
the description
00:12:10
given by the victim.
00:12:12
The mug shot
spread that was shown
00:12:13
to both the victim and her
boyfriend, in my opinion,
00:12:16
is one of the most tainted mug
shot spreads I've ever seen.
00:12:20
NARRATOR: Centurion Ministries
asked the state of Virginia
00:12:23
to release the forensic evidence
used to convict Honaker,
00:12:27
and they asked hair
expert, Dr. Peter DeForest,
00:12:31
to analyze the hair
found on the victim's
00:12:33
shorts, which the
state of Virginia
00:12:35
said matched Edward
Honaker's hair.
00:12:38
PETER DEFOREST: I compared
the unknown hair taken
00:12:40
from the victim with a
known sample of Mr. Honaker,
00:12:43
and assuming that the known
sample was representative
00:12:46
of Mr. Honaker's
range of variation,
00:12:48
I would have eliminated
Mr. as was the donor
00:12:51
of that hair from the victim.
00:12:53
NARRATOR: And forensic
scientists agree.
00:12:56
There is no such
thing as a hair match.
00:13:00
You cannot match hair.
00:13:02
There is no such
thing as a hair match.
00:13:06
The most that you can
ever say about hair
00:13:08
testimony, hair
evidence, is that it
00:13:10
is similar or
dissimilar, that it'd
00:13:13
consistent or not consistent.
00:13:15
That's it.
00:13:16
NARRATOR: And
their investigation
00:13:17
uncovered something else.
00:13:20
We also learned
that the victim
00:13:22
had been to a hypnotist
to have her memory
00:13:25
hypnotically refreshed.
00:13:27
The hypnotist notes in a
letter to the prosecutor
00:13:31
that the victim
was brought to him
00:13:33
because she could not recall
the face of her assailant.
00:13:38
NARRATOR: Hypnotically
enhanced recollections
00:13:41
are inadmissible as
evidence in most states,
00:13:44
including Virginia.
00:13:46
The victim's
identification of Honaker
00:13:49
should not have been
presented to the jury.
00:13:53
But when the victim pointed to
Ed Honaker in the courtroom,
00:13:59
it practically ensured
his conviction.
00:14:03
The victim was very,
very convincing and very,
00:14:08
very credible.
00:14:09
And I think she, beyond
all shadow of a doubt, made
00:14:14
the difference in the jury's--
00:14:17
I know, in my own case.
00:14:18
And there was--
00:14:20
I don't think there was ever
any real doubt in the minds
00:14:25
of the jurors about
about the guilt
00:14:29
of Mr. Honaker at the time.
00:14:32
NARRATOR: Barry Scheck was
convinced that DNA testing
00:14:35
would prove Honaker's
claims of innocence,
00:14:38
but prosecutors and Honaker's
his new defense team
00:14:42
were in for another
surprise when the victim
00:14:48
changed her story once again.
00:14:56
By the time Centurion Ministries
completed their investigation
00:15:00
of Edward Honaker's
case, he had spent
00:15:02
almost nine years in
prison for a crime
00:15:06
he said he didn't commit.
00:15:08
Centurion Ministries gained
access to the vaginal swab
00:15:12
taken from the victim on
the night she was raped
00:15:14
and sent it to Dr. Edward Blake
at Forensic Science Associates
00:15:19
near Oakland, California.
00:15:21
They also sent along a sample
of Edward Honaker's blood.
00:15:26
Centurion ministries
paid for the DNA testing,
00:15:30
which was approximately $5,000.
00:15:33
Dr. Blake needed to identify
all of the genetic markers
00:15:38
on the swab and then
determine whether Edward
00:15:41
Honaker could have provided
any of the markers present.
00:15:45
Dr. Blake performed a DNA
test called polymerase
00:15:48
chain reaction, or PCR.
00:15:51
It's a test used when
the sample is small
00:15:54
or has been degraded over time.
00:15:57
PCR is ideally suited
to what you might consider
00:16:01
historical investigations.
00:16:03
That is, investigations that are
maybe more than five years old.
00:16:07
NARRATOR: Dr. Blake assumed that
a cotton swab contained cells
00:16:12
from three individuals,
the victim,
00:16:15
her fiancee, and the rapist.
00:16:18
After Dr. Blake analyzed
the DNA from the swab,
00:16:23
he did not believe that
Edward Honaker was the rapist.
00:16:28
The conclusions that could
be reached from the analysis
00:16:30
of the vaginal swab alone
was that the sperm could not
00:16:37
originate from Edward Honaker.
00:16:40
NARRATOR: But Governor
George Allen wasn't so sure.
00:16:44
He asked the Virginia
State Crime Lab to conduct
00:16:48
their own analysis, and they
found something in the test
00:16:52
they hadn't expected.
00:16:54
We were not as absolute
in the conclusion
00:16:57
that Forensic Science
Associates originally came to.
00:17:01
We felt that there were some
other scenarios that might
00:17:04
possibly explain the results.
00:17:07
NARRATOR: The Virginia
Crime Lab noticed
00:17:09
some genetic material they could
not identify or fully explain.
00:17:14
It was a 3, 4 genetic
marker found in the sperm
00:17:19
fraction of the PCR test.
00:17:21
The mixture of all
of the DNA profiles
00:17:24
and the similarities
presented by the combinations
00:17:27
of the genetic materials
meant that Honaker could
00:17:30
not be eliminated
as the contributor
00:17:33
of the 3, 4 genetic marker.
00:17:36
Faced with competing
scientific opinions,
00:17:39
Governor Allen asked police to
go back over the investigation
00:17:44
one more time.
00:17:45
As governor, you
want to make sure
00:17:48
that you have all the evidence
and have it investigated,
00:17:51
talk to the witness,
look at the evidence,
00:17:54
run whatever tests can
be done on the evidence
00:17:56
so that I have the full story.
00:17:59
NARRATOR: When investigators
reinterviewed the victim
00:18:03
and told her that DNA
testing of her vaginal swab
00:18:07
revealed some
inconsistencies, she
00:18:10
made a surprising confession.
00:18:13
After the rape, she
married her fiance,
00:18:17
but they had since divorced.
00:18:18
She admitted that at
the time of the rape,
00:18:21
she was sexually involved
with another man in addition
00:18:25
to her fiance.
00:18:28
It raised the question
about whether or not
00:18:31
the sperm taken from
the victim's vagina
00:18:35
had any relevance to the
sexual assault on her.
00:18:39
That's how Ed Honaker gets
brought back into the suit.
00:18:43
NARRATOR: When DNA testing
is done in rape cases,
00:18:47
all of the consensual sexual
partners have to be identified.
00:18:52
What we have to account
for and understand
00:18:54
is that in taking
samples like this,
00:18:58
one has to account for prior
consensual sexual intercourse.
00:19:05
And, therefore, one has
to account for the DNA
00:19:11
types of those individuals.
00:19:14
NARRATOR: Sheriffs located
the second boyfriend,
00:19:17
took his DNA sample,
and scientists performed
00:19:21
a more sophisticated DNA
test called a polymarker
00:19:25
test, which types
five genes at once
00:19:28
instead of just one or two.
00:19:31
The polymarker DNA test
showed conclusively
00:19:34
that Edward Honaker
was not the contributor
00:19:37
of the 3, 4 genetic marker.
00:19:40
Edward Honaker was innocent.
00:19:44
In October of 1994, governor
Allen called Honaker in prison
00:19:51
and told him he was a free man.
00:19:54
He said, I feel that
that jury made a mistake.
00:19:58
He said, as of this
moment, you are a free man.
00:20:02
What he said after
that, I have no idea.
00:20:05
NARRATOR: After 10
years in prison,
00:20:08
Edward Honaker walked out of the
Nottaway Correctional Facility
00:20:13
into the arms of his
family and friends.
00:20:17
He had missed the last 10
years of his children's lives.
00:20:22
It was a gross
miscarriage of justice.
00:20:25
The evidence of his innocence
was just overwhelming.
00:20:28
You'd have to be a
complete fool to miss it.
00:20:30
There are many,
many limitations
00:20:33
on the testimony
of eyewitnesses,
00:20:36
particularly in
situations where--
00:20:38
where there's a great deal
of not only physical trauma,
00:20:42
but emotional trauma.
00:20:44
That's not a place
for people to make
00:20:45
careful, critical observations.
00:20:48
I always knew deep in my
heart that I would one day
00:20:53
get out of prison a free man.
00:20:56
Not only if-- not only get out
of prison, but proven that I
00:21:00
did not commit that damn crime.
00:21:02
I always knew that.
00:21:03
[music playing]
