FBI seeks pardon for 'Norfolk Four'

RICHMOND, Va., Nov. 11 (UPI) -- Thirty former FBI agents have called on Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine to pardon four sailors convicted of rape and murder, saying forensic evidence exonerates them.

The former agents join a list of people arguing for a pardon of the four U.S. Navy sailors -- known as the Norfolk Four -- including former Virginia attorneys general, and state and federal judges and prosecutors, The New York Times reported Tuesday.

The governor's office said it was reviewing the petition.

"After careful review of the evidence we have arrived at one unequivocal conclusion: The Norfolk Four are innocent," said Jay Cochran, a former assistant director of the FBI. "We believe a tragic mistake has occurred in the case of these four Navy men and we are calling on Governor Kaine to grant them immediate pardons."

The agents said DNA and forensic evidence points to a prison inmate who has confessed as the lone perpetrator of the crimes.

The sailors confessed to the 1997 crimes under pressure, then later recanted, the Times said. Three of the four are serving life sentences in Virginia prisons; the fourth was released in 2005 after serving 8 1/2 years.

After the sailors were arrested, another man confessed that he committed the crimes.