Attorney General asks Court of Appeals for a Writ of Actual Innocence in the case of Michael Haas

The Office of the Attorney General today supported the issue of a Writ of Actual Innocence for Michael Haas, who was convicted of sexually assaulting his two young sons in 1994 and was released in 2017 after serving more than two decades in prison.

Arguing in the Court of Appeals of Virginia, the Office’s Cold Cases, Actual Innocence and Special Investigations Unit joined former Virginia Solicitor General William Hurd in asking the Court to declare Haas innocent.

“My mother fled a country where there was no real criminal justice system or consent of the governed. After reviewing Mr. Haas’ case, my office has concluded that he was wrongly convicted and is deserving of a writ of actual innocence. While our system is imperfect, the ability to correct wrongdoings is incredibly important and I’m proud of the work that my office does to try to right those wrongs,” said Attorney General Miyares.

In 1994, Michael Haas was convicted at a bench trial in the circuit court of sodomy committed upon his two sons in 1992 and 1993, when they were eleven and nine years of age, respectively. After Haas’ petition for writ of habeas corpus was denied, Hass filed a petition for a writ of actual innocence based on non-biological evidence, including recantation evidence.

For years, Mr. Haas’ sons have said they were coerced into testifying against their father, and have repeatedly recanted their 1994 testimony. Additionally, the medical testimony relied on for Haas’ conviction was recently proven unreliable. Due to these developments, the Commonwealth of Virginia has moved to support a Writ of Actual Innocence for Michael Haas.