After serving nearly 15 years in prison for a rape that another man was later convicted of, Joseph Buffey, whose appeal of his case set a new precedent in West Virginia criminal law, is going home.
Harrison Circuit Judge Thomas Bedell allowed Buffey to formally withdraw his guilty plea on Monday for a 2001 rape and robbery that Buffey has long said he did not commit. Buffey's claim was supported by DNA evidence that was revealed only after Buffey had already pleaded guilty.
Bedell, who in 2014 denied Buffey's appeal, reversed his stance after the state Supreme Court ruled unanimously in November that prosecutors had improperly withheld DNA test results while Buffey was considering a plea bargain.
Buffey will be released to his family, pending approval of a home confinement plan, while lawyers work to finally resolve his case.
In 2002, Buffey pleaded guilty to the rape of an 83-year-old woman in Clarksburg, after his court-appointed attorney incorrectly told him that his sentence would be no greater than it would be for separate nonviolent robbery charges.
What neither Buffey nor his lawyer knew was that the State Police had DNA results that indicated Buffey was not the assailant. Despite repeated requests, prosecutors never turned over those results until after Buffey's guilty plea was finalized.
In 2015, after more sophisticated DNA testing, another man was convicted of the rape.
In ruling that prosecutors acted improperly, the state Supreme Court set a new precedent in West Virginia -- defendants are entitled to potentially exonerating evidence not just at a trial, but during the plea process as well. That issue -- at what point of the criminal process must prosecutors disclose their evidence -- has never been settled by the U.S. Supreme Court.
"That legal issue is as important an unanswered question as there is in criminal procedure," Paul Shechtman, a professor at Columbia Law School who filed an amicus brief in the case, said last year.
Since 2008, Buffey has had the aid of the Innocence Project, a national organization that uses DNA testing to free people who have been wrongfully convicted.
"We are thrilled that Mr. Buffey will have the opportunity to be reunited with his family while we work with the Prosecuting Attorney to reach a final and fair resolution in this case," Nina Morrison, an attorney with the Innocence Project, said in a prepared statement.
While it may seem odd, it is not unheard of for innocent people to plead guilty, presented with a time-limited plea deal and believing the odds are stacked against them.
Of the 333 people who have been freed by DNA evidence, nearly 10 percent had pleaded guilty, according to the Innocence Project.
Buffey was also been represented by Allan Karlin, a Morgantown attorney, and, more recently, Mike Hissam and Ben Bailey, of Bailey and Glasser in Charleston.
Reach David Gutman at david.gutman@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5119 or follow @davidlgutman on Twitter.