The Virginia Supreme Court denied a petition for actual innocence from Corey Hargrove, who has spent more than 34 years in prison for a 1991 rape conviction, ruling that DNA evidence and other claims were insufficient to prove his innocence.
In an opinion issued Dec. 18, 2025, Justice Thomas P. Mann wrote that Hargrove failed to demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence that no rational factfinder would have found him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The court granted the Commonwealth's motion to dismiss the petition.
Hargrove was convicted in 1991 of raping, sexually abusing, and abducting Saphonia Woolridge and sentenced to 50 years in prison. The victim testified at trial that she was walking home on the afternoon of June 17, 1990, when she heard footsteps behind her. A teenager she estimated to be 15 or 16 years old approached her, asking if she had seen two other boys who had passed her earlier.
According to trial testimony, the teen continued following Woolridge despite her asking what the problem was. When she told him the boys had gone under a nearby bridge, he denied following her but stayed close enough that she could feel his breath on her neck.
The attack escalated when the assailant struck Woolridge in the head with a stick and grabbed her around the neck, causing her to fall on a football field outside a middle school. He then dragged her across the field and track, over a grassy area, and into nearby woods.
Woolridge testified that her attacker attempted to remove her clothing, pulling down her shorts and underwear. The assault continued in the wooded area where the rape occurred.
Hargrove's petition for actual innocence under Virginia Code § 19.2-327.2 centered on DNA evidence and what he characterized as credibility issues with the victim's testimony. Specifically, Hargrove argued that the absence of his DNA from Woolridge's underwear established his innocence. He also pointed to non-biological evidence that he claimed undermined the victim's credibility.
Virginia's actual innocence statute allows defendants to petition for relief based on evidence that was not available at trial or that could not have reasonably been discovered through due diligence. The petitioner must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that no rational factfinder would have found them guilty beyond a reasonable doubt if the new evidence had been available at trial.
The Supreme Court of Virginia found that Hargrove's evidence failed to meet this standard. While DNA testing has become a powerful tool for establishing innocence in cases where biological evidence exists, courts must consider all evidence presented at trial, not just DNA results.
The absence of DNA evidence does not automatically establish innocence, particularly in cases where other evidence supported the conviction. Factors such as victim identification, witness testimony, and circumstantial evidence all play roles in determining guilt or innocence.
Hargrove's case highlights the challenges faced by long-serving inmates seeking to prove their innocence decades after conviction. The actual innocence petition process provides a legal avenue for those who believe new evidence demonstrates their wrongful conviction, but the evidentiary standards remain high.
Virginia has seen several successful actual innocence petitions in recent years, with DNA evidence playing a crucial role in exonerations. However, the state's courts have also denied numerous petitions where the evidence was deemed insufficient to meet the legal standard.
The Commonwealth opposed Hargrove's petition, arguing that the evidence he presented did not overcome the original conviction. The prosecution likely maintained that the DNA evidence alone was insufficient to establish innocence and that the victim's trial testimony remained credible.
Woolridge was 22 years old at the time of the attack, and her detailed testimony about the assault formed the foundation of the prosecution's case. The jury's 1991 guilty verdict indicated they found her account credible and sufficient to establish Hargrove's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The denial of Hargrove's petition effectively ends his legal challenge through Virginia's actual innocence process, though other potential avenues for appeal may exist. The case underscores the difficulty of overturning decades-old convictions even when new scientific evidence becomes available.
Hargrove will continue serving his 50-year sentence unless successful in any future appeals or unless granted clemency. The Virginia Supreme Court's decision reflects the high burden placed on petitioners seeking actual innocence relief and the court's careful consideration of all evidence presented at the original trial.
The case also demonstrates the ongoing impact of sexual assault cases from the 1990s, when DNA testing was less sophisticated and widely available than today. While advances in forensic science have helped exonerate many wrongfully convicted individuals, courts must balance new evidence against the original conviction record when determining actual innocence claims.