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Barry Mayfield

Other Harris County Drug Cases
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On September 29, 2009, police in Houston, Texas arrested 20-year-old Barry Mayfield after they seized a substance from him that field-tested positive for MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy.

On October 1, 2009, Mayfield pled guilty in Harris County Criminal District Court to a misdemeanor charge of possession of a controlled substance. He was placed on deferred adjudication for one year.

On October 20, 2009, tests performed by the Houston Police crime laboratory were negative for the presence of any controlled substance. The laboratory report was sent to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, but, along with hundreds of other similar reports, it was overlooked until years later.

The Harris County District Attorney’s conviction integrity unit informed Mayfield’s defense attorney of the test results and in August 2016 joined with the defense in filing a state law petition for a writ of habeas corpus to vacate the conviction. On September 1, 2016, the petition was granted, the conviction was vacated, and the prosecution dismissed the charge.

– Maurice Possley

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Posting Date: 9/4/2016
State:Texas
County:Harris
Most Serious Crime:Drug Possession or Sale
Additional Convictions:
Reported Crime Date:2009
Convicted:2009
Exonerated:2016
Sentence:Probation
Race/Ethnicity:Black
Sex:Male
Age at the date of reported crime:20
Contributing Factors:False or Misleading Forensic Evidence
Did DNA evidence contribute to the exoneration?:No