RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Terrence Richardson is one of two men sentenced to life for the murder of Waverly Police Officer Allen Gibson back in 1998. Richardson has spent almost 20 years behind bars despite a jury finding him and the other suspect not guilty of the crime.
Richardson and Ferrone Claiborne both recently filed a petition in court for writ of innocence after new evidence in the case emerged.
Now the Virginia Court of Appeals has ordered Attorney General Mark Herring to respond to Richardson’s writ of innocence.
Herring will have 60 days to respond to the petition. On Thursday night, the AG’s office told 8News Herring’s Conviction Integrity Unit “Continues to actively investigate this matter as it has been doing for several months, gathering documents and interviewing witnesses to help inform the response we will file with the Court.”
“The Unit is working quickly and deliberately, thoroughly examining the available evidence and information,” Herring’s office said.
8News has been digging into the case for years now and investigations have uncovered serious flaws in the case against Richardson and Claiborne. Below are the following stories done on Richardson and Claiborne’s calls for release:
2018: How we got here: 8News Investigation finds holes in 20-year-old murder case
2017: 8News Investigates: Not guilty? Sentenced to life
