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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Furnishing alcoholic to underage persons |
Sentence: |
10 days in jail and $400 fine |
Years Imprisoned: |
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Year Crime: |
2006 |
Year Convicted: |
2007 |
Year Cleared: |
2009 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
West Virginia |
County or Region of Crime: |
Wood |
City of Crime: |
Parkersburg |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated |
Summary of Case: |
"Wrongly convicted in August 2007 of nine counts of providing "alcoholic liquor" at a party for his minor daughter on August 6, 2006. Corra was charged because two minors were injured and two were killed after leaving Corra's home in north Parkersburg, WV. Jeff Corra, the owner of a packing and shipping business, was sentenced to 10 days in jail and a $400 fine. Corra appealed, and on February 27, 2009 the West Virginia Supreme Court overturned his conviction and ordered his acquittal based on the fact that he was factually innocent of the charge. Coors Light was drank by some of the minors, but under West Virginia law a beverage has to have more than 6% alcohol by volume to be considered an "alcoholic liquor," and Coors Light has a lower alcohol content than that, so it does not meet the law's definition of an "alcoholic liquor." In February 2010 Corra filed a lawsuit naming two Woods County prosecutors and two deputy sheriffs alleging they were overly zealous in their investigation and prosecution of him. On September 16, 2010, a Woods County judge denied the defendant's request to dismiss the lawsuit on grounds that it was filed after the statute of limitations had expired and that the prosecutors had "absolute immunity" from being sued. The judge ruled that the lawsuit alleged the prosecutors "threatened" witnesses and that was outside the scope of their lawful duties as prosecutors. When interviewed by the West Virginia Record newspaper for a September 2010 article about his case, Corra said that he had spent at least $125,000 defending himself against the charges and suing the deputies and prosecutors involved. " |
Conviction Caused By: |
"The judge accepted a statutorily false definition of what constitutes "alcoholic liquor."" |
Innocence Proved By: |
"On February 27, 2009 the West Virginia Supreme Court overturned his conviction and ordered his acquittal, based on the fact that he was factually innocent of the charge." |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
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Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
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Age When Released: |
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Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
White |
Information Source 1: |
"West Virginia v Jeff Corra, No. 33911 (WV Supreme Ct, 2-27-2009)" |
Information Location 1: |
http://www.state.wv.us/wvsca/docs/Spring09/33911.htm |
Information Source 2: |
"Justices overturn man's conviction for allowing minors to drink, by Justin Anderson, West Virginia Record, March 12, 2009" |
Information Location 2: |
http://www.wvrecord.com/news/217863-justices-overturns-mans-conviction-for-allowing-minors-to-drink |
Information Source 3: |
"Wood wrongful prosecution suit moving forward, The West Virginia Record, September 23, 2010" |
Information Location 3: |
http://www.wvrecord.com/news/229886-wood-wrongful-prosecution-suit-moving-forward |
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Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org