Wrongly Convicted Database Record

 

Go to Database Search Page

Go to  Database Index Page

Marvin Lamont Anderson

 

Charge:

"Rape, Kidnapping (abduction) and Robbery"

Sentence:

210 years

Years Imprisoned:

15

Year Crime:

1982

Year Convicted:

1983

Year Cleared:

2002

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Virginia

County or Region of Crime:

Hanover

City of Crime:

Result:

Pardoned

Summary of Case:

"Marvin Lamont Anderson was wrongly convicted of the 1982 rape and robbery of a Hanover County woman based on her identification and the prosecution's concealment of exculpatory evidence. Martin Anderson was the first person exonerated under a new VA law allowing DNA evidence to supercede VA's 21 day rule for the introduction of new evidence. Marvin Anderson was convicted solely on the eyewitness testimony of the victim. He was paroled in 1997 after 15 years in prison. Anderson was cleared of the crime by the DNA tests four years later on December 6, 2001. Anderson was granted a full pardon by Virginia Governor Mark Warner on August 21, 2002. The actual rapist, John Otis Lincoln, was convicted in January 2003 and on March 27, 2003 was sentenced to 3 life terms plus 40 years. On February 22, 2003 the Virginia Legislature voted to pay Marvin Anderson $1.4 million - a lump sum of $200,000 plus $40,000 a year tax-free for 30 years."

Conviction Caused By:

Eyewitness error and prosecution misconduct.

Innocence Proved By:

DNA evidence excluded Anderson as the woman's attacker. He was the first person exonerated by DNA testing allowed by a new VA law only permitting a DNA evidence exception to VA's 21-day rule for the introduction of new evidence after sentencing.

Defendant Aided By:

Innocence Project (NY) and the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project

Compensation Awarded:

"$1.4 million (State of Virginia, 2-22-2003 -- $200,000 lump sum plus $40,000 a year tax-free for 30 years.)"

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Yes

Age When Imprisoned:

18

Age When Released:

33

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"Wrongly Convicted Man Will Get Lifetime Payments, By Ron Capshaw, Capital News Service, February 26, 2003"

Information Location 1:

http://www.patrickcrusade.org/Wrongly_Convicted_Gets_Lifetime_Payments.html

Information Source 2:

Innocence Project database

Information Location 2:

http://www.innocenceproject.org/case/display_profile.php?id=99

Information Source 3:

"Man Sentenced in Rape Case, Bob Piazza (staff writer), Richmond Times-Dispatch, March 27, 2003"

Information Location 3:

http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/more/MGBRF28CSDD.html

Information Source 4:

Information Location 4:

Information Source 5:

Information Location 5:

Book About Case:

Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

Comments About Case:

Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org

Hosted on forejustice.org and mirrored on justicedenied.org .