Skip Ribbon Commands
Skip to main content

Keith Coleman

Other Houston Drug Exonerations
On November 13, 2006, 24-year-old Keith Coleman was arrested and charged with possession of less than one gram of cocaine in Houston, Texas.

Coleman, who had previous convictions for possession of narcotics, pled guilty two days later, on November 15, 2006. He was sentenced to eight months in the Harris County Jail.

More than four years later, on February 24, 2011, the Houston police crime laboratory, which was attempting to erase an enormous backlog, finally tested the evidence and determined it was not cocaine or any kind of controlled substance.

In April 2012, Coleman filed a state petition for a writ of habeas corpus seeking to vacate his conviction and clear his record. In December 2012, the Harris County District Attorney’s Office and Coleman’s attorney filed a joint agreement to vacate the conviction. A judge granted the motion on December 17, 2012.

On January 16, 2013, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals issued the writ and the charge was dismissed.

– Maurice Possley

Report an error or add more information about this case.

Posting Date: 1/17/2013
State:Texas
County:Harris
Most Serious Crime:Drug Possession or Sale
Additional Convictions:
Reported Crime Date:2006
Convicted:2006
Exonerated:2013
Sentence:8 months
Race/Ethnicity:Black
Sex:Male
Age at the date of reported crime:24
Contributing Factors:False or Misleading Forensic Evidence
Did DNA evidence contribute to the exoneration?:No