Other Convicted Innocents
David Vasquez
Year of Incident: 1984
Jurisdiction: Virginia
Charge: Homicide (Sec. Deg.), Burglary
Conviction: Homicide (Sec. Deg.), Burglary
Sentence: 35 years
Year of Conviction: 1985
Year of Exoneration: 1989
Sentence Served: 5 years
Real perpetrator found? Not yet
Compensation? Not yet
David Vasquez was arrested for the murder of a woman who was killed in
her Arlington County, Virginia home. She was sexually assaulted and
then hung. Vasquez, who is borderline mentally impaired, had reportedly
confessed to the crime, supplying details not released to the public.
He pled guilty to the crime and became one of several inmates that were
exonerated after being convicted on the basis of "dream statements"
that were used as confessions. Additionally, Vasquez could not provide
an alibi and was placed near the scene of the crime by two
eyewitnesses. Investigators also found pubic hairs that visually
resembled those of Vasquez.
Three laboratories performed DNA testing in this case, but they tested
the evidence collected from other crimes where the perpetrator used the
same methods used in the murder for which Vasquez was convicted.
Testing on the hair in Vasquez's case proved inconclusive. Testing in
these other cases led to Timothy Spencer, who was subsequently
convicted and executed for two other rape/murders. An FBI report found
that the murder in Vasquez's case was perpetrated by the same person
who was responsible for the other murders, a person who was not
mentally impaired.
The prosecution joined with defense attorneys to secure a pardon for
Vasquez, which was granted in 1989. Spencer was executed in 1994.