Attorneys Fight For Release Of Convicted Man

{Clarksburg, West Virginia}…Attorneys with the Innocence Project appeared in Harrison County Circuit Court Thursday to argue that Joseph Buffey should be released on bond while a judge considers whether to overturn his conviction in the 2001 rape and robbery of an 83 year old Clarksburg woman who was the mother of a Clarksburg Police officer. Buffey, who has served 11 years, pleaded guilty but quickly recanted, saying investigators coerced him into a false confession, and attorneys say DNA proves he didn't commit the crime. In 2011, the Innocence Project secured a DNA test on biological evidence left at the scene and then fought for more than a year to run the DNA through a national criminal database. Late last month, it hit on another man who was serving time in West Virginia for another crime, but Prosecuting Attorney Joseph Shaffer is fighting the motion to release Buffey, saying the DNA tests do not prove Buffey is innocent, and Buffey did in fact plead guilty.