RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- The "Waverly Two," two men found not guilty of a Sussex County police officer's 1998 murder yet still sentenced to life in prison, stepped into Virginia's highest court on Wednesday to ask for another shot at getting one of them -- Terence Richardson -- a writ of actual innoc ence. Such a writ would declare that, despite his initially agreeing to take a plea deal all those years ago, Richardson is actually innocent. Both Richardson and Ferrone Claiborne were tried twice for the April 1998 murder of Waverly police officer Allen Gibson, acquitted and then still put away for decades. Claiborne's own guilty plea -- accessory after the fact -- is a misdemeanor, which state law does not allow him to contest. Still, he appeared by Richardson's side for his latest hearing at the Supreme Court of Virginia on Wednesday, Feb. 18, where they asked its justices to allow Richardson a path forward in the legal battle for his innocence. ALL COVERAGE: Not Guilty, Sentenced to Life Wednesday's hearing represented the first time the Waverly Two were able to join the fight for their innocence in person, rather than from behind bars. Ferrone Claiborne [left] and Terence Richardson [center] -- otherwise known as the "Waverly Two" -- and their attorney Jarrett Adams [right] outside of the Supreme Court of Virginia in Feb. 2026. (Photo: Deanna Allbrittin/8News) "We get to walk out of this courtroom not only with hope, but we get to walk out with the freed men behind us," Jarrett Adams, the Waverly Two's attorney, told 8News after the hearing. Richardson and Claiborne's life sentences were commuted by former President Joe Biden in January 2025, as one of his final actions in office. This allowed Richardson and Claiborne to walk out of FCI Petersburg Medium in March and April 2025, respectively. Their case gained the attention of the Biden administration after a years-long effort to spotlight the rare legal maneuver a federal judge used to sentence them to life in prison with no possibility of parole. MORE: How two Virginia men were tried twice for officer’s murder, acquitted, then still sentenced to life The growing support also shone a light on the concerns about investigators never turning over potentially exculpatory evidence -- plus an entirely different suspect -- to neither Sussex County prosecutors nor the Waverly Two's defense teams. How did we get here? While there was little to no evidence tying the Waverly Two to Gibson's death, during their initial state-level proceedings, their defense teams told Richardson and Claiborne that they should accept a plea deal on lesser charges to avoid the death penalty. Citing fear they'd be executed, Richardson pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and Claiborne walked out with his misdemeanor. Gibson's family, who were upset by this outcome, asked the federal courts to weigh in -- and the federal jury ultimately found Richardson and Claiborne not guilty of Gibson's murder. However, the presiding federal judge Robert E. Payne chose to sentence the two to life in prison for their federal drug convictions because of their previous state pleas and what he stated was his personal certainty of their guilt. Richardson and Claiborne have consistently maintained their innocence, which they have spent the last several years working to prove alongside Adams, a man who was previously wrongfully incarcerated. MORE: How two Virginia men were charged with officer’s 1998 murder despite lack of evidence The several pieces of evidence not made available to the Waverly Two during either of their court battles included the statement of a 9-year-old girl who told investigators she saw the murderer, but described a man who looked nothing like Richardson. That same witness also picked a man out of a photo lineup who could be the same man identified by an anonymous caller on a Virginia State Police answering machine -- but Virginia State Police never once interviewed him as a suspect. The absence of this key evidence and several other issues with their legal proceedings -- including contradicting testimonies, the potential bribery of witnesses, possible conflicts of interest and more -- served as ammunition for the Waverly Two's team to begin their work to get Richardson a writ of actual innocence, which would overturn his conviction, in earnest. However, a commuted sentence isn't a full pardon -- meaning the Waverly Two are still seen by many, including the law, as "cop killers." PREVIOUS: ‘The mission just began,' Ferrone Claiborne of the ‘Waverly Two’ released after decades behind bars For them, the journey isn't over until they have been fully exonerated -- but said journey has been rife with hurdles. Ongoing legal battle returns to Supreme Court of Virginia After a substantial battle that went all the way up to the Supreme Court of Virginia, Richardson was granted an evidentiary hearing. That hearing took place in May 2024 and, as a result, the presiding judge ruled that the 9-year-old's witness statement was admissible. A three-justice panel of the Court of Appeals of Virginia then denied Richardson's innocence petition on Tuesday, May 13, 2025. In their opinion, the justices contested the value of the evidence described above and said they believed Richardson's state-level guilty plea essentially functioned as a confession. On Wednesday, the Waverly Two -- as well as several family members, friends and supporters -- accompanied Adams to ask the Supreme Court of Virginia to reverse the appellate court's decision. It was a tight turnaround, as the hearing was rescheduled to an earlier time the same morning. Terence Richardson [left] and Ferrone Claiborne [right], otherwise known as the "Waverly Two," outside of the Supreme Court of Virginia in Feb. 2026. (Photo: Deanna Allbrittin/8News) Per procedure, Adams was given 10 minutes to make his case before four of Virginia's Supreme Court justices, requesting they push back what he called the "clearly wrong findings" of the Court of Appeals of Virginia. FROM 2021: ‘There’s more holes in this case than swiss cheese,’ Virginia NAACP demands Attorney General expedites Waverly Two case Adams argued that it was wrong of the appellate court to say Richardson was not eligible for exoneration based on his previous guilty plea. He stressed that Richardson took the plea deal not only because he was afraid of being executed, but because he was told by his then-defense team that he was guaranteed to lose. This includes attorney David Boone telling Richardson, at the time, that he "did not have a defense." Richardson also made this decision without knowing about the 9-year-old witness or this potential other suspect whose not only better matched her description of the murderer, but also to Gibson's own dying declarations, according to Adams. Per Adams, anyone in Richardson's position would take the "lean sentence" offered in his plea deal over being placed on death row if they were so thoroughly convinced that they would be found guilty of such a "heinous crime." Adams further claimed that the Waverly Two's evidentiary hearing was abnormally strict, saying that his team faced repeated resistance from the team of then-attorney general Jason Miyares (R) when trying to establish things as simple as the chain of custody of case documents. FROM 2022: Attorney General Miyares reverses course on innocence petition of man found not guilty but sentenced to life The Supreme Court of Virginia will issue an opinion on the Waverly Two's appeal, which their legal team expects should happen no later than mid-April. Should the court rule in the Waverly Two's favor, they will have one last chance to argue for their innocence through the state courts. Their legal team told 8News this will begin with new court briefings. 8News has been shining a light on the Waverly Two since 2017, after then-investigative reporter Kerri O'Brien began her research into their case in 2016. We continue to uncover and report new information. For all of our coverage, click here. ...read more read less