Prosecutors recognized for Haynesworth exoneration

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Cuccinelli - maybe not so bad, for once.

Prosecutors recognized for Haynesworth exoneration

By Frank Green
Published: July 21, 2011

WASHINGTON --
Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli affirmed his belief in the innocence of Thomas E. Haynesworth on Wednesday but warned the remaining hurdle to clearing his name is a high one.

Cuccinelli and Michael N. Herring and Wade Kizer, the commonwealth's attorneys for Richmond and Henrico County, were the unlikely stars at the annual luncheon of the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project, which represents Haynesworth.

The officials are backing Haynesworth's petition for writs of actual innocence in the Virginia Court of Appeals, in which Cuccinelli's office finds itself in the unusual position of working with the Innocence Project to get the convictions vacated.

"I've never tried so hard to lose a case in my life," Cuccinelli said. "I've never actually been zealous about losing a case because technically we're defending the case — it is Thomas Haynesworth versus the Commonwealth."