| On May 1, 2008, police in Houston, Texas arrested 55-year-old Barry Demings after they seized a powdery substance from him that field-tested positive for cocaine.
On May 5, 2008, Demings pled guilty in Harris County Criminal District Court to possession of a controlled substance. He was sentenced to six months in Harris County Jail.
In February 2010, the Houston Police Department crime lab tested the substance seized from Demings and no controlled substance was found. The negative finding was sent to the Harris County District Attorney’s Post Conviction Review Unit in 2014 and the prosecution informed Demings’ defense lawyer.
In February 2015, the prosecution and defense filed a joint petition for a writ of habeas corpus requesting that Demings’ conviction be vacated. The trial judge recommended that the writ be granted.
In June 2015, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals granted the writ and vacated the conviction. On July 24, 2015, the prosecution dismissed the charge.
– Maurice Possley
|