William Wilton Morrisette III
 

Date of Birth:  April 2, 1947

Sex: Male

Race:  White

Entered the Row: Oct. 30, 2001

District: Hampton County

District: Capital murder and rape

Virginia DOC Inmate Number: 300101

 

 

 

On August 15, 2001, a jury in the Circuit Court for the City of Hampton convicted William Wilton Morrisette, III of capital murder and rape in the 1980 death of Dorothy M. White.[i]  The jury recommended Morrisette be sentenced to death.[ii]  Circuit Judge William C. Andrews III later affirmed the death sentence on Oct. 30, 2001.

 

White’s murder had remained unsolved for 19 years but through DNA testing, police linked Morrisette to evidence from the crime scene. Defense counsel asserted that Morrisette was denied due process because of the length of time that lapsed between crime and arrest.  In 1980, police had questioned Morrisette but then failed to follow-up and confirm his alibis; since them, some died.  Moreover, Morrisette had been arrested in 1985 with DNA samples provided in order to test against White but no testing was done.[iii] 

 

 

On Sept. 13, 2002, the Virginia Supreme Court denied Morrisette’s motion and affirmed his capital murder conviction and death sentence.  However, nearly three years later, the Supreme Court of Virginia vacated the death sentence because if concluded that the Commonwealth had used a faulty verdict form during the penalty phase.  Jury instructions had neglected to instruct that life in prison was mandatory if jurors were to conclude that the Commonwealth failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt one of the two aggravating factors, “future dangerousness” and “vileness.” A new sentence hearing was ordered.[iv]  The Commonwealth appealed the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court and on Feb. 27, 2007, the Court without comment refused to hear the appeal.[v]

 

 

 

[i] Richmond Times-Dispatch. Aug. 17, 2001. B02.

[ii] William Wilton Morrisette, III v. Commonwealth of Virginia.

[iii] Ibid.

[iv] William Wilton Morrisette, III v.  Warden of the Sussex I State Prison

[v] Richmond Times-Dispatch. Feb. 28, 2006. B-2.