VIRGINIA
Robin Lovitt
November 30, 2005
Robin Lovitt, a black man, faces execution on Nov. 30, 2005 for the stabbing death of Clayton Dicks in Arlington County. There are many problems with Lovitt’s case and trial. Most distressing is the fact that Lovitt’s has maintained his innocence from the beginning and that the prosecutor’s case against Lovitt is circumstantial at best.
According to Kenneth Starr, Lovitt’s attorney during his appeal to the U. S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, prosecutors failed to tell the defense that their own expert concluded that the scissors allegedly used by Lovitt could not have been the murder weapon. Starr also stated that Lovitt's rights were violated when a courthouse clerk threw away all of the evidence before his appeals were complete.
There is no DNA or other physical evidence that proves that Lovitt was involved in the murder. The prosecution’s case is based on the testimony of a number of potential suspects and a convict that shared a cell with Lovitt in prison. All of these people have reasons to be dishonest in court. By lying in court they either avoid being a suspect themselves or they could earn lenience in any cases they may have pending.
Furthermore, the man who identified Lovitt as the murdered testified that he was only 80 percent sure that Lovitt was the man he saw that night. 80 percent is not certain enough for a capital sentence. Furthermore, according to the physical evidence in the case it is just as likely that this witness was responsible for the murder. Two other witnesses gave contradictory testimony about the time that they left the scene. There is no more evidence incriminating Lovitt than there is to incriminate these witnesses. The case is circumstantial. It is important that a capital case not be based on contradictory, “80 percent certain” testimony from other potential suspects.
Starr is a former U.S. federal judge and U.S. solicitor general who supports the death penalty. However, in this case Starr stated that “the death penalty has to be administered with the utmost caution and reserved for the gravest offenses. This is not that kind of case. Robin Lovitt maintains his innocence, and evidence that might prove his innocence has been destroyed. I'm very distressed by that.... Society had better be absolutely certain before they put someone to death who is maintaining his innocence. I feel very passionately about that.”
Because Lovitt’s case lacks physical evidence and is based on unreliable testimony, Lovitt should not be put to death. Also, because of the issues with evidence tampering, Lovitt should not be executed. The death penalty is an arbitrary and irreversible punishment that cannot be used when a case has not been proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
Please write to Gov. Mark R. Warner on behalf of Robin Lovitt.
