His conviction was overturned in 2015, he entered law school and was admitted to the Illinois bar in 2019. Mario was sent to prison for 26 years, a total of 9,490 days or 227,760 hours for a crime he did not commit. Mario's conviction was obtained against all the odds: a true statistical anomaly. No conviction in the United States has combined the unique features of this case. Mario's conviction w
as the first one in Illinois or the United States for intimidation based exclusively upon the physical size of the intimidator;
Mario's conviction was the first conviction in Illinois or the United States in which the alleged intimidator received complete immunity for testifying that he alone decided to attack the victim;
Mario's conviction was the first conviction in Illinois or the United States in which the wrong location for the crime was relied upon during the entire trial;
Mario's conviction was the first conviction in Illinois or the United States where Mario has an airtight alibi established by 5 witnesses during the time the State claimed the crime occurred;
Mario's conviction was the first conviction in Illinois or the United States in which the wrong manner of death was relied upon during the entire trial;
Mario's conviction was the first conviction in Illinois or the United States in which blood and fingerprint evidence combined with compelling evidence of motive and opportunity pointed to only one individual as the perpetrator and the police ignored and concealed evidence about this person in an effort to help him have a "new beginning." Mario's conviction was overturned for insufficiency of evidence by the 2nd District Appellate Court in September 2015. The State Supreme Court affirmed a scathing Appellate opinion describing the conviction as unsatisfactory and unreasonable. Mario's Civil Rights lawsuit is pending in the Northern District of Illinois.