On February 6, 2015, police in Houston, Texas arrested 24-year-old Taylor Monroe after they confiscated a bottle of suspected codeine syrup from him.
On February 11, 2015, Monroe pled guilty in Harris County Criminal District Court to a misdemeanor charge of possession of a controlled substance. He was sentenced to 6 days in the Harris County Jail.
On June 15, 2015, the Houston police crime laboratory tested the liquid and concluded the liquid did not contain any controlled substance.
The lab informed the Harris County District Attorney’s conviction integrity unit, which then notified Monroe’s defense attorney.
The prosecution joined in a defense petition for a state writ of habeas corpus to vacate the conviction. On December 9, 2015, the petition was granted, the conviction was vacated and the prosecution dismissed the charge.
– Maurice Possley
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