March 17, 1962 - Timothy Wilson Spencer
Spencer's place in legal history is inseparable from a grave injustice: another man served years in prison for one of his murders before DNA evidence both secured Spencer's conviction and secured that man's exoneration. The cases marked a turning point in American criminal justice, establishing forensic DNA as a tool both of prosecution and of innocence — a dual precedent with consequences that extended far beyond the crimes themselves.
From Wikipedia
Timothy Wilson Spencer (March 17, 1962 – April 27, 1994), also known as The Southside Strangler, was an American serial killer who committed three rapes and murders in Richmond, Virginia, and one in Arlington, Virginia, in the fall of 1987. Spencer most likely also raped and murdered a woman named Carolyn Hamm in 1984, a crime which a different man, David Vasquez, had pleaded no contest. He was known to police as a prolific home burglar.
Spencer became the first murderer in the United States to be convicted on the basis of DNA evidence, with Vasquez being the first to be exonerated on the basis of DNA evidence. Although the DNA available in the Hamm case was insufficient to test, the police determined that there was enough circumstantial evidence in the case to conclude Spencer was most likely responsible for Hamm's murder. Based on these findings, Vasquez applied for a pardon, which was granted.
- Last updated on .