Mark Weiner

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Charge:	Kidnapping (incld. Abduction)
Sentence:	20 years with 12 years suspended
Years Imprisoned:	2.17
Year Crime:	2012
Year Convicted:	2013
Year Cleared:	2015
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Virginia
County or Region of Crime:	Albemarle
City of Crime:
Result:	Judicially Exonerated
Summary of Case:	"Mark Weiner was wrongly convicted in 2013 of kidnapping a woman on December 12, 2012 and taking her to an abandoned house. Weiner was convicted based on Chelsea Steiniger's eyewitness identification and her testimony that she narrated her abduction in a series of text messages to her boyfriend and that she escaped by leaping from a balcony of the abandoned house. After his conviction by a jury, Weiner filed a motion for a new trial based on new cellphone data and other evidence showing Steiniger's story was a fabrication. On June 9, 2015 Albemarle Circuit Court Judge Cheryl HigginIn denied Weiner's motion and sentenced him to 20 years in prison with 12 years suspended. On July 8, 2015 Albemarle County Commonwealth’s Attorney Denise Lunsford learned that Steiniger had sold cocaine to an undercover police officer in a different county, but she was not charged. Based on that new evidence undermining Steiniger's credibility, Lunsford filed a motion to vacate Weiner's conviction. On July 14, 2015 an Albemarle County judge granted the motion. Lunsford announced that Weiner would not be retried. On July 14, 2017 Weiner filed a federal civil rights lawsuit that alleged his constitutional rights were violated by Albemarle County, the Albemarle County Commonwealth Attorney's Office, and Lunsford."
Conviction Caused By:
Innocence Proved By:
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	52
Age When Released:	54
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	White
Information Source 1:	"Conviction in abduction case that relied on text message evidence is overturned, By Justin Jouvenal, The Washington Post, July 14, 2015"
Information Location 1:	https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/conviction-in-abduction-case-that-relied-on-text-message-evidence-is-overturned/2015/07/14/5d398ad8-2a54-11e5-a5ea-cf74396e59ec_story.html
Information Source 2:	"New evidence ‘not relevant’: Mark Weiner sentenced to eight years, By Lisa Provence, C-VILLE Weekly (Charlottesville, VA), June 9, 2015"
Information Location 2:	http://www.c-ville.com/new-evidence-not-relevant-mark-weiner-sentenced-8-years/#.VqU5t79r0Qo
Information Source 3:	"Man sues Albemarle County, Lunsford over vacated 2013 abduction conviction, By Dean Seal, The Daily Progress (Charlottesville, VA), July 26, 2017"
Information Location 3:	http://www.dailyprogress.com/news/local/man-sues-albemarle-county-lunsford-over-vacated-abduction-conviction/article_d72d5058-721a-11e7-9311-7f55cd629581.html
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Mark Weiner

Charge:

Kidnapping (incld. Abduction)

Sentence:

20 years with 12 years suspended

Years Imprisoned:

2.17

Year Crime:

2012

Year Convicted:

2013

Year Cleared:

2015

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Virginia

County or Region of Crime:

Albemarle

City of Crime:

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Innocence Proved By:

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

52

Age When Released:

54

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"Conviction in abduction case that relied on text message evidence is overturned, By Justin Jouvenal, The Washington Post, July 14, 2015"

Information Location 1:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/conviction-in-abduction-case-that-relied-on-text-message-evidence-is-overturned/2015/07/14/5d398ad8-2a54-11e5-a5ea-cf74396e59ec_story.html

Information Source 2:

"New evidence ‘not relevant’: Mark Weiner sentenced to eight years, By Lisa Provence, C-VILLE Weekly (Charlottesville, VA), June 9, 2015"

Information Location 2:

http://www.c-ville.com/new-evidence-not-relevant-mark-weiner-sentenced-8-years/#.VqU5t79r0Qo

Information Source 3:

"Man sues Albemarle County, Lunsford over vacated 2013 abduction conviction, By Dean Seal, The Daily Progress (Charlottesville, VA), July 26, 2017"

Information Location 3:

http://www.dailyprogress.com/news/local/man-sues-albemarle-county-lunsford-over-vacated-abduction-conviction/article_d72d5058-721a-11e7-9311-7f55cd629581.html

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