Hearing set for men convicted of 1985 murder

Tuesday, Aug 26, 2008 - 10:29:51 am CDT

The Associated Press

OMAHA -- An October hearing has been scheduled for two men convicted in the 1985 rape and killing of Helen Wilson in her Beatrice apartment.

Joseph White and Thomas Winslow were charged in Wilson’s death. White, 45, was convicted of first-degree murder. Winslow, 42, pleaded no contest to aiding and abetting second-degree murder.

On Aug. 1, their attorneys said DNA test results prove the two men did not rape Wilson and are seeking to vacate their convictions in Gage and Jefferson counties. The DNA samples came from a single, unidentified man and did not match White or Winslow, Winslow’s attorney said earlier this month. If a court rules in their favor, White and Winslow could be the first inmates exonerated under the Nebraska DNA Testing Act of 2000.

An evidentiary hearing has been set for Oct. 15.

Leave a Comment

All posts are subject to our Terms and Standards.
Your posted comment will appear after it has been approved.

Log in to submit comment or Create New Account below

*Member ID:
*Password:
  Forgot Your Password?
 

Do not use usernames or passwords from your financial accounts!

Note: Fields marked with an asterisk (*) are required!

*Create a Member ID:
*Choose a password:
*Re-enter password:
*E-mail Address:
*Year of Birth:
 

(children under 13 cannot register)

*First Name:
*Last Name:
*Zip Code:
By submitting this form you agree with our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Please check this box to confirm:
 
Still Wondering
Aug 26, 2008 11:09 AM
Why it matters if they raped her or not, they were put away for murder. The DNA does not exonnerate them of murder.

Where is this hearing at, I would like to attend. That way I can see just how the "justice" system works.
abouttoanswer
Aug 27, 2008 10:28 AM
To Still Wondering-

It matters because now there is no physical evidence putting them at the crime scene. So it is imposible to prove beyond reasonable doubt that they commited the murder or were even there.

It is a sad situation for everyone involved. I hope that they do find out what happened and make sure the right people are put behind bars.
CS
Aug 27, 2008 12:18 PM
Probably because the 'rape' implies male penetration and if their DNA is not present, and the didn't rape her, it kind of throws their whereabouts into question doesn't it, when added to the fact the everyone's fingers point towards them, yet where is this mysterious other male assailant?
wondering
Aug 27, 2008 1:18 PM
If you read the petition, you would understand that they were convited on false testimony, all about the rape, they deserve a hearing to see if their is any evidence at all againt them other then the rape, if not how could they have been there without evidence. This is justice finally, maybe they can catch the real criminal
Witness
Aug 27, 2008 4:29 PM
What about the woman that said they were there? The whole lot of them were all there together tormenting that poor old lady.
To Witness
Aug 27, 2008 8:38 PM
Witness,

The lady who said they were there was also the lady who said they were raping her. They've just scientifically proven they didn't rape her so now her whole story comes into doubt.

To top it off that same lady now recants her story and says the Prosecuring attorney and Police Investigators coerced her into give false testimony. She's almost done with her sentence so there's really nothing to be gained for her by recanting and she opens herself up to possibly more time if they charge her with perjury.
one more time...
Aug 28, 2008 12:21 PM
It has NOT been proven they didn't rape her, only that they didn't leave their sperm behind! Yes it does imply somebody else was involved or there was previous consensual sex with someone else, but just because they left no sperm behind does not mean they did not rape her.
So Sad
Aug 29, 2008 6:37 AM
My heart goes out to the family of Helen Wilson. They have gone through so much since 1985 and then to have this brought up time and again is sad. Hopefully, when all is done, they will have the peace they deserve and not need to have this revisited every couple of years.
once again . . .
Aug 30, 2008 10:25 AM
The people testifying against them said that they and only they raped her. That's now been scientifically proven to be false so now their testimony has been discredited.

That testimony was the only evidence they had, so although they very well may have raped her no one truly knows beyond a shadow of a doubt now so the legal burden of proof has not been met.

They may be guilty, if they are I hope they burn in heck for it. If they are innocent then I hope their accusers burn for it. Currently we have no idea what the true story is, and sadly we will probably never know.
Billie
Oct 27, 2008 1:29 AM
Its sad at the hate in some of you peoples hearts, do you not stop to think of the thousands of innocent people that have done time or even put to death because our court systems and our investigators have just wanted some kind of witness or story just to close a case to make the town think justice has been served. I feel for you people who think these men deserved 19 yrs in prison when they were innocent all along.
Text Size:
Text Size Increase Text Size Decrease
Print Story Email Story

Calendar of Events

December 2008
S M T W T F S
1 2 3 4 5 6
7 8 9 10 11 12 13
14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27
28 29 30 31
Today's Events