Skip Ribbon Commands
Skip to main content

Cornelia Duncan

Other Female Exoneration Cases with False Forensics
On April 10, 2013, police in Houston, Texas arrested 33-year-old Cornelia Duncan after they seized a white powder from her that field-tested positive for cocaine.

Two days later, on April 12, 2013, Duncan pled guilty in Harris County Criminal District Court to possession of a controlled substance. She was sentenced to six months in Harris County Jail.

In August 2014, the Harris County District Attorney’s Post Conviction Review Unit was informed that the Houston Police Department Crime Laboratory had tested the powder in August 2013 and no controlled substance was found.

The prosecution informed Duncan and joined in a state court petition for a writ of habeas corpus to vacate the conviction. In March 2015, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals granted the petition and vacated the petition. The prosecution dismissed the charge on April 29, 2015.

– Maurice Possley

Report an error or add more information about this case.

Posting Date: 5/8/2015
State:Texas
County:Harris
Most Serious Crime:Drug Possession or Sale
Additional Convictions:
Reported Crime Date:2013
Convicted:2013
Exonerated:2015
Sentence:6 months
Race/Ethnicity:Black
Sex:Female
Age at the date of reported crime:33
Contributing Factors:False or Misleading Forensic Evidence
Did DNA evidence contribute to the exoneration?:No