On August 14, 2014, police in Houston, Texas arrested 22-year-old China Chavez after they confiscated several pills from her that they suspected were Xanax, a controlled substance for which she had no valid prescription.
On August 22, 2014, Chavez pled guilty in Harris County Criminal District Court to possession of a controlled substance. She was sentenced to 45 days in Harris County Jail.
The Houston Police crime laboratory tested the pills on November 24, 2014—six weeks after Chavez was released—and determined the pills were a sedative that did not require a prescription and contained no controlled substances.
The laboratory notified the Harris County District Attorney’s Post Conviction Review Unit which informed Chavez’s attorney and joined in the filing of a state petition for a writ of habeas corpus requesting that the conviction be set aside.
On December 18, 2014, the petition was granted and the charge was dismissed.
– Maurice Possley
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