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Latanya Fergeson

Other Female Exoneration Cases with False Forensics
On August 22, 2008, police in Houston, Texas arrested 29-year-old Latanya Fergeson after they seized a powdered substance from her that field-tested positive for cocaine.

On September 3, 2008, Fergeson pled guilty in Harris County Criminal District Court to possession of a controlled substance. She was placed on probation and sent to a residential drug treatment program. In November 2008, a judge ruled that Fergeson had violated the terms of her probation and sentenced Fergeson to seven months in Texas State Jail.

In 2014, the Harris County District Attorney’s Post-Conviction Review Unit was notified that lab tests were conducted on the powder in July 2011 by the Houston Police crime lab and no controlled substance was found.

The prosecution joined with a defense attorney for Fergeson in filing a state petition for a writ of habeas corpus to vacate the conviction. In July 2015, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals granted the writ and vacated the conviction.

On August 4, 2015, the prosecution dismissed the charge.

– Maurice Possley

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Posting Date: 8/7/2015
State:Texas
County:Harris
Most Serious Crime:Drug Possession or Sale
Additional Convictions:
Reported Crime Date:2008
Convicted:2008
Exonerated:2015
Sentence:7 months
Race/Ethnicity:Black
Sex:Female
Age at the date of reported crime:29
Contributing Factors:False or Misleading Forensic Evidence
Did DNA evidence contribute to the exoneration?:No