Joseph Weaver

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Charge:	Murder (Conspiracy to commit murder)
Sentence:	Death
Years Imprisoned:	3
Year Crime:
Year Convicted:	1927
Year Cleared:	1930
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Ohio
County or Region of Crime:	Cuyahoga
City of Crime:	Cleveland
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Joseph Weaver was wrongly convicted in April 1927 of first-degree murder in the shooting death of Jasper Russell on the night of March 13, 1927 in Cleveland, Ohio. Weaver's prosecution was based on the testimony of his codefendant, Alexander Maynor. In exchange for his testimony against Weaver, Maynor was allowed to pled guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to prison. After his conviction by a jury Weaver was sentenced to death. In 1928 the Ohio Court of Appeals affirmed Weaver's conviction and sentence, and the Ohio Supreme Court declined to review his case. Maynor recanted his testimony a few days before Weaver's scheduled execution, and admitted Weaver had nothing to do with the murder. Weaver filed a motion for a new trial based on the new evidence of Maynor's recantation. The Court of Common Pleas denied the motion. The Ohio Court of Appeals affirmed the denial on the ground the trial court didn't have jurisdiction to consider Weaver's motion. The Ohio Supreme Court accepted Weaver's case for review. In 1929 the Court reversed Weaver's conviction on the basis the trial judge erred by allowing inadmissible hearsay testimony. In 1930, after the prosecution completed presenting its evidence during his retrial, Weaver's retrial his lawyer made a motion for a directed verdict of acquittal, which the prosecution didn't oppose. The judge granted the motion and Weaver was released."
Conviction Caused By:	Perjury by government's key witnesses -- Weaver's codefendant.
Innocence Proved By:	"In 1930, after the prosecution completed presenting its evidence during his retrial, Weaver's retrial his lawyer made a motion for a directed verdict of acquittal, which the prosecution didn't oppose. The judge granted the motion and Weaver was released."
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:	"$15,000 (State of Ohio, 1933)"
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:
Age When Released:
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Black
Information Source 1:	"“Miscarriages of Justice in Potentially Capital Cases,” Hugo Adam Bedau & Michael L. Radelet, Stanford Law Review, November, 1987, Vol. 40, p. 167."
Information Location 1:
Information Source 2:	"Weaver v. State, 120 Ohio St. 44, 165 N.E. 569 (1929) (Reversing conviction and ordering retrial.)"
Information Location 2:	https://casetext.com/case/weaver-v-state-146
Information Source 3:	"Weaver v. State, 32 Ohio App. 5 (Ohio Ct. App. 1928) (Affirming conviction and death sentence.)"
Information Location 3:	https://casetext.com/case/weaver-v-state-144
Information Source 4:
Information Location 4:
Information Source 5:
Information Location 5:
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Joseph Weaver

Charge:

Murder (Conspiracy to commit murder)

Sentence:

Death

Years Imprisoned:

3

Year Crime:

Year Convicted:

1927

Year Cleared:

1930

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Ohio

County or Region of Crime:

Cuyahoga

City of Crime:

Cleveland

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Perjury by government's key witnesses -- Weaver's codefendant.

Innocence Proved By:

"In 1930, after the prosecution completed presenting its evidence during his retrial, Weaver's retrial his lawyer made a motion for a directed verdict of acquittal, which the prosecution didn't oppose. The judge granted the motion and Weaver was released."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

"$15,000 (State of Ohio, 1933)"

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"“Miscarriages of Justice in Potentially Capital Cases,” Hugo Adam Bedau & Michael L. Radelet, Stanford Law Review, November, 1987, Vol. 40, p. 167."

Information Location 1:

Information Source 2:

"Weaver v. State, 120 Ohio St. 44, 165 N.E. 569 (1929) (Reversing conviction and ordering retrial.)"

Information Location 2:

https://casetext.com/case/weaver-v-state-146

Information Source 3:

"Weaver v. State, 32 Ohio App. 5 (Ohio Ct. App. 1928) (Affirming conviction and death sentence.)"

Information Location 3:

https://casetext.com/case/weaver-v-state-144

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: