Conviction in 1997 Rape-Murder Is Affirmed

In early 1999, when seven men were in jail, accused of killing Moore-Bosko, Omar Ballard wrote a letter from prison admitting his involvement. His DNA matched DNA from the crime scene. Ballard provided a detailed account of the killing and insisted he acted alone.

By that time, Williams had pleaded guilty, with an agreement that he would not receive the death penalty. He was not allowed to withdraw his plea. Dick had cut a plea bargain in exchange for testimony against Tice. Tice had given a tape-recorded confession, although some details he provided about the crime were inaccurate. Wilson was charged only with rape, and he was convicted and served 8 1/2 years.

The other three sailors did not confess. Charges against them were eventually dismissed.

Tice's trial was moved to Alexandria because of pretrial publicity in Norfolk. Tice's claim that he asked detectives for an attorney but was denied one before confessing was not presented to a judge as a possible constitutional violation.

In November 2006, Circuit Court Judge Everett A. Martin Jr. ruled that if Tice's attorneys had tried to get the confession thrown out, they probably would have succeeded, and that if the jury hadn't heard Tice's confession, it would have acquitted him.

Yesterday, in an opinion written by Justice Barbara M. Keenan, the Supreme Court completely reversed Martin.

Keenan wrote that Tice's attorneys did not prove "that there was a reasonable probability of a different result at his criminal trial if the jury had not considered his confession." She pointed to Dick's testimony implicating Tice.

In January 2006, 11 jurors from Tice's trial signed letters and affidavits saying they now believed Tice was innocent.