University of Richmond faculty and staff help exonerate man sentenced to life in prison

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — University of Richmond professors and students have joined forces with attorneys and advocates to help prove that a Richmond man was not responsible for the kidnapping and murder of a 3-year-old boy in 1975.

For more than a decade, Mary Kelly Tate has worked to identify and exonerate people wrongly convicted of crimes. One of the many cases she devoted her time to over the course of about 14 years involved Marvin Grimm, a Richmond man who was arrested and charged with the murder, rape and kidnapping of a three-year-old boy. In 1975, Grimm pleaded guilty to avoid the death penalty.

Kelly Tate said she noticed red flags about the DNA evidence detectives used to pin Grimm on the crime. After meeting with Grimm, Tate said the work she did with her students alongside Grimm’s attorney and advocates from the Innocence Project helped prove that the DNA evidence, including hair follicles used against Grimm decades ago, was not hers.

“One of the ways we did this was by showing the compromised nature of the hair, through microscopic analysis through a DNA lens,” Kelly Tate said.

In June, their hard work paid off when a judge granted Grimm a writ of actual innocence, exonerating him.

“It takes a team. You can't get an exemption as an individual,” Kelly Tate said.