A member of the Virginia House of Delegates is proposing legislation that will allow juvenile offenders who have previously pleaded guilty for crimes that would have been felonies if committed by adults to apply for a writ of innocence.
Delegate Gregory D. Habeeb has introduced this bill in response to the case of Edgar Coker, Jr. In 2007, Coker, then 15, was accused of raping a 14 year-old acquaintance. On the advice of counsel, Coker pleaded guilty to juvenile charges to avoid being charged as an adult. Two months after being sentenced, his accuser admitted that the sex was consensual.
Coker was released from the juvenile detention facility after serving 17 months. He is still listed on the sex offender registry – a fact that recently resulted in Coker’s arrest when he attended a football game at his high school alma mater and was recognized by a police deputy.
“A juvenile pleads guilty sometimes for different reasons than a grown-up,” says Habeeb. “We don’t pass legislation for one person. But I think oftentimes one person can highlight a hole in legislation.”
“As a very conservative Republican, my view is that it is better to err on the side of not doing a wrong to somebody, especially when it comes to kids,” Habeeb says. “This bill wouldn’t make a whole bunch of felons innocent.”
Lawyers representing Coker are appealing his original conviction. An circuit court judge has ruled that since Coker is no longer behind bars, the court no longer has jurisdiction. The case was recently argued before the Virginia Supreme Court.
Should a guilty plea, even if the person pleading is later found to be not guilty, bar that person from having the original ruling vacated? Or does public safety mandate that all names added to a sex offender registry be etched in stone and made publicly available? Let us know what you think!