Skip Ribbon Commands
Skip to main content

Earnest Bledsoe

Other Drug Exonerations in 2015
https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/PublishingImages/Harris_County.png
On November 14, 2008, police in Houston, Texas arrested 26-year-old Earnest Bledsoe and charged him with possession of a controlled substance after they seized powder from him that field-tested positive for cocaine.

Three days later, on November 17, 2008, Bledsoe pled guilty in Harris County Criminal District Court and was sentenced to 60 days in the Harris County Jail.

In 2015, the Harris County District Attorney’s Conviction Review Section learned that the Houston Police Department Crime Laboratory tested the substance in April 2010 and no drugs were found.

The prosecution notified Bledsoe’s attorney and joined in the filing of a state petition for a writ of habeas corpus in June, 2015 requesting that the conviction be vacated. In July 2015, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals granted the petition and vacated the conviction. On August 26, 2015, the prosecution dismissed the charge.

– Maurice Possley

Report an error or add more information about this case.

Posting Date: 9/11/2015
State:Texas
County:Harris
Most Serious Crime:Drug Possession or Sale
Additional Convictions:
Reported Crime Date:2008
Convicted:2008
Exonerated:2015
Sentence:60 days
Race/Ethnicity:Black
Sex:Male
Age at the date of reported crime:26
Contributing Factors:False or Misleading Forensic Evidence
Did DNA evidence contribute to the exoneration?:No