Virginia Lawyers Weekly VA Lawyers Weekly
NEWPORT NEWS (AP) Three men found guilty in a 1994 slaying have won their parole, but they say that’s not enough.
The three say they’re innocent in the killing of 19-year-old Steven Anthony Smith and want to clear their names, the Daily Press reported.
The Virginia Parole Board most recently voted to release 40-year-old Darryl Leon Hunter, who was 15 when Smith was killed. He’s expected to leave Greensville Correctional Center in July.
Two other men have been released: 44-year-old Reginald Lee Fletcher Jr, released in September; and 49-year-old Nathaniel Dale Pierce, released in December. Pierce and Hunter are brothers.
Newport News police arrested the three a few weeks after Smith was killed in July 1994. Pierce, Fletcher and Hunter have said since 1994 that police arrested the wrong men.
