VA - Mark Weiner wrongfully convicted, denied remedy

Mark Weiner was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

http://www.c-ville.com/an-innocent-...l-conviction-precede-sentencing/#.U6YiOHm9LTo

He's about to be sentenced up to 20 years, even though prosecutors admit to not allowing glaringly exculpatory evidence to be heard by the jury.

Very sad case. He is a family man, and all he did was give a troubled girl a ride home on a cold night.

I read the article and seriously had two vastly opposite trains of thought:

First -- I automatically thought, "Figures, an elected official won't cop to lack of a case, erroneously prosecuting a case, etc... instead, let him rot in jail and be featured on '48 Hours' for the next decade and eventually he'll get out and taxpayers will have paid for it all and the sadness of another innocent man behind bars is just too much."

But then.... I read and re-read the article and remembered the time I was a crime victim and didn't follow "common sense" immediately afterwards and was actually accused by the police of making it up until a similar crime nearby by the same perpetrators made LE realize differently -- the only real difference was my reaction vs the other victims reaction. I was afraid and took time to figure out what to do -- and yes, called 2 people, ended up talking to my mother on the phone while the other person I had called contacted 911; the other victim immediately went for help. Let's just say that all worked against me.

I can't put my finger on it -- something made me think of that.

I can understand the victim being afraid of police -- there are plenty who are--and after my experience I'm sure I will always feel the need to over-explain myself if ever again questioned by LE for any reason. We all bring baggage into every experience of our lives, and it's always easy to blame and question the victim if she/he doesn't react JUST the way we would....

As far as whether or not a 52 year old would "talk like that" -- it entirely depends on the 52 year old.... It's not as though "IMMA" is unknown to people of that generation.... baby imma want you... baby imma need you

So... I guess my point is that I'm reserving my judgment & not getting on the bandwagon just yet.

Look at this! What happened to me? I'm usually the first to play devil's advocate and explain why a suspect should NOT be....

Uh oh, does this "mean" something? :scared:

I reached the same conclusion as this paragraph about two minutes after I started reading the article:

That Steiniger started texting her boyfriend about a creepy guy and an abandoned house after he’d kicked her out and she faced a long walk home in the cold, said Enright, “seems to me the sort of thing young people do to get your boyfriend to be concerned. And jumping off the balcony without getting hurt? Her story is replete with problems.”

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Basically this chick made up a ridiculous story to get her uncaring boyfriend's attention, and an innocent man is in prison now because of justice system failures. I hope this story goes more viral. A lot of wasted resources here and the false "victim" should face charges, IMHO.

Victim was examined at a hospital, no signs of sexual trauma.

Cell phone pings from the time she was texting her borfriend (apparently while she was being chloroformed/attacked/removed from the car) pinged off tower at her home address, and not at the tower at the address she said she was taken to.

She received a text from her boyfriend the next day saying, "why did you lie about that"

No evidence anywhere of chloroform or purchases like that

***prosecutors knew all this and did not allow it to be heard at trial***

http://www.lawfareblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Motion_to_Set_Aside_Verdict_FINAL.pdf

The motion to set aside verdict

Can't seem to copy and paste from that PDF

When her boyfriend was receiving texts from the alleged abductor, he threatened to call police. Alleged victim then began calling and texting her boyfriend herself, saying she had escaped and was hiding in the woods. Refused boyfriends advice to hang up and call 911.

Boyfriend called 911 and 911 in turn called alleged victims phone and left voicemail. Victim says she never called 911 because her phone battery went dead, but cellphone records show she

1. Checked and listened to the voicemail from 911 during the time she said her battery went dead

2. Deleted the voicemail from 911 and the record of the call from her phone

Again from the PDF linked above: GPS records of Mark Weiner's cell phone show that he was 17 miles from the address of the alleged assault during time alleged victim says it took place.

Even Weiner's original defense attorney has stated that he provided ineffective counsel!

Hejlena said:

Again from the PDF linked above: GPS records of Mark Weiner's cell phone show that he was 17 miles from the address of the alleged assault during time alleged victim says it took place.

Even Weiner's original defense attorney has stated that he provided ineffective counsel!

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so did he pick her up later on then? how did he come in contact with her?

eta: never mind, I read the story & found my answer

LadyL said:

so did he pick her up later on then? how did he come in contact with her?

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His story has never waivered: he picked her up at a gas station because it was cold and she looked like she needed a ride. Brought her home, dropped her off.

She was walking home from her boyfriend's house after her boyfriend declined several times to allow her to spend the night. She texted her boyfiend at one point earlier in the night asking "if her mom and her had a fight when she got home, could she come back to his house and spend the night".

IMO, she ramped up the drama.

Thank you for additional information!

While reading the singular article, I was also trying to remain unbiased. I remain "on the fence" -- again, my gut reaction was to blame politics & the elected prosecutor for refusal to back down and "an alleged victim" who was baiting her boyfriend and now wanted to save face. Again, I can't pinpoint what it was in the article that made me recollect my personal experiences and give her the benefit of the doubt. I just know that "evidence" can just as easily stack up against the victim as it can the perpetrator when there isn't a consideration for various perspective(s).

It's truly cases like these that make me WISH I could have access to the raw evidential data. I don't want things interpreted for me through an article or prosecutor or defense atty -- I want to see it for myself!!!

Am I the only one?

hopingicanhelp said:

Thank you for additional information!

While reading the singular article, I was also trying to remain unbiased. I remain "on the fence" -- again, my gut reaction was to blame politics & the elected prosecutor for refusal to back down and "an alleged victim" who was baiting her boyfriend and now wanted to save face. Again, I can't pinpoint what it was in the article that made me recollect my personal experiences and give her the benefit of the doubt. I just know that "evidence" can just as easily stack up against the victim as it can the perpetrator when there isn't a consideration for various perspective(s).

It's truly cases like these that make me WISH I could have access to the raw evidential data. I don't want things interpreted for me through an article or prosecutor or defense atty -- I want to see it for myself!!!

Am I the only one?

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Sorry, the cellphone & GPS data seals it for me. It's good that you recognize that an experience from your own life is coloring your perspective, but I think in this case it's probably causing your gut to steer you wrong. I think that is a problem for anyone who has been on one side or other of a lot of these situations. Rather than giving us greater insight, it actually affects our ability to be objective. I think we've all been there with some cases. JMO.

Random observation: the boyfriend should get some credit for calling police when his girlfriend refused to. He was apparently "just not that into her" (re: not letting her spend the night) but he still did the right thing when she pretended to be in danger.

http://www.lawfareblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Motion_to_Set_Aside_Verdict_FINAL.pdf

During three recorded phone calls between the alleged victim and her husband (not to be confused with her boyfriend) who was incarcerated at the time of the alleged assault, the alleged victim told two versions of the alleged events, and finally told her husband she "made the whole thing up to piss [the boyfriend] off.

hopingicanhelp said:

Thank you for additional information!

While reading the singular article, I was also trying to remain unbiased. I remain "on the fence" -- again, my gut reaction was to blame politics & the elected prosecutor for refusal to back down and "an alleged victim" who was baiting her boyfriend and now wanted to save face. Again, I can't pinpoint what it was in the article that made me recollect my personal experiences and give her the benefit of the doubt. I just know that "evidence" can just as easily stack up against the victim as it can the perpetrator when there isn't a consideration for various perspective(s).

It's truly cases like these that make me WISH I could have access to the raw evidential data. I don't want things interpreted for me through an article or prosecutor or defense atty -- I want to see it for myself!!!

Am I the only one?

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Hoping, I don't think you're the only one. I find myself posting pieces that confirm my own idea that the alleged victime made up the whole story, but really my entire point is that the jury never got this information, the whatever lady in charge of the prosecutors office had it, and the guy was convicted, and she is refusing still to look at any evidence that might, could possibly, clear the guy.

I don't have all the facts, but I sure wish the jury might have had them

I'm also very sorry to hear you have yourself have been involved in something like this

I can see why her story isn't believable but something's nagging at me and it won't go away ... him driving around smoking because his wife didn't like cigarettes.

LadyL said:

I can see why her story isn't believable but something's nagging at me and it won't go away ... him driving around smoking because his wife didn't like cigarettes.

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I used to drive around smoking when I was married. I'm a restless person, and I'd just drive around the city.

However, we never know what this guy's original intentions were. Maybe he was driving around looking to a young girl to spark something up with? Doesn't make him a rapist (I know you're not saying it does).

One of the things that has never changed in Weiner's account of that night is his statement that the alleged victim gave him her phone number on a matchbook before she got out at her house.

Apparently he had a lot of matchbooks inside a compartment in the door of his car, which LE never searched for. His original defense attorney, Who has provided a statement admitting that he provided ineffective counsel, stated that he went back to the vehicle and searched again and found the matchbook, but never turned it over or introduced it into trial.

ArianeEmory said:

Random observation: the boyfriend should get some credit for calling police when his girlfriend refused to. He was apparently "just not that into her" (re: not letting her spend the night) but he still did the right thing when she pretended to be in danger.

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Never had a problem with what the boyfriend did -- ABSOLUTELY he did the right thing! Whether it registered on his "hinky meter" or not, he did the responsible thing... truth can be stranger than fiction at times and he erred on the side of caution!

LadyL said:

I can see why her story isn't believable but something's nagging at me and it won't go away ... him driving around smoking because his wife didn't like cigarettes.

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Having been there, done that, I can attest to the desire to "smoke 'em up while you got 'em" -- and while the opportunity presents itself... just putting in my two cents....

Hejlena said:

I don't have all the facts, but I sure wish the jury might have had them

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EXACTLY!! That's what bothers me the most -- there are certain things that don't "let" me jump on the "he's innocent" bandwagon.... but THAT really, really bugs me

How can prosecution get away with not allowing exculpatory evidence to be heard by the jury?

This shouldn't even be a discussion here. Women who trump up charges, to make a man look like a common criminal, are less that human. :banghead:

God bless our decent men................

Tulessa said:

This shouldn't even be a discussion here. Women who trump up charges, to make a man look like a common criminal, are less that human. :banghead:

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Sure does make it more difficult for real victims, smoking gun or not.