Factual background: In the early morning of January 24, 1984, a woman was sexually assaulted and murdered in her home by an assailant who had entered the home through the victim's basement window. The woman died from asphyxiation by hanging.

David Vasquez pleaded guilty to second-degree homicide and burglary (Alford plea) on February 4, 1985. He was sentenced to 35 years in prison. He had pled guilty to the crime after allegedly confessing to the crime and reporting details that were not released to the public. Vasquez, who is borderline retarded, later reported that he had only dreamed the crime.

Prosecutor's evidence: In addition to Vasquez's guilty plea, the prosecution proffered the following evidence to the court:

· Two witnesses placed Vasquez near the victim's house on the day of the crime.

· Vasquez could not provide an alibi.

· Hair analysis of pubic hairs found at the scene were consistent with Vasquez's hair.

· A guilty plea meant that Vasquez would not be subject to the death penalty upon conviction.

Postconviction challenges: There are no known postconviction challenges. Vasquez's defense attorneys, however, filed for a suppression of two of his confessions because they were issued without a Miranda warning.

DNA results: The Virginia State laboratory, Cellmark Diagnostics, and Lifecodes, Inc., performed DNA tests on the evidence from several rape-murders. All tests inculpated a man named Timothy Spencer as the assailant in rape-murders that were identical in modus operandi to the Vasquez incident.

Attempts by FSA to compare hair found at the scene with Vasquez's blood sample were inconclusive.

Conclusion: The Commonwealth's attorney and Vasquez's defense attorneys filed motions with the governor to grant Vasquez an unconditional pardon. The motions were based on the DNA tests of Spencer and an FBI report that indicated the Vasquez crime and the Spencer crimes were committed by the same person. The report also stated that the crimes "were not perpetrated by someone who was mentally deficient."The governor granted the pardon, and Vasquez was released on January 4, 1989. Vasquez had served five years of his sentence.