In 2011, Manfred Berg speculated that Washington probably murdered Fryer, but doubted that he raped her. The same year, Julie Armstrong of the University of South Florida argued that Washington was possibly innocent of both charges. In her 2006 book, Patricia Bernstein noted that Washington's motives have never been established clearly, although he did confess to having a dispute about mules with Fryer and there was a witness who alleged to have seen a dispute, as noted previously. She also states that his confession could have been coerced, and that there is evidence of limited intellectual capacity. She suggests that the murder weapon—perhaps the strongest evidence against him—could have been planted by authorities.