| On July 28, 2009, police in Houston, Texas arrested 33-year-old Byron Smith after they confiscated a substance from him that field-tested positive for cocaine.
On July 30, 2009, Smith pled guilty in Harris County Criminal District Court to possession of a controlled substance. He was sentenced to six months in the Harris County Jail.
On September 14, 2010, tests performed by the Houston Police Department crime laboratory were negative for the presence of any controlled substance.
The laboratory report was sent to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, but, along with hundreds of other similar reports, it was overlooked until years later.
Eventually, the District Attorney’s conviction integrity unit began notifying defendants of the lab results. In 2016, Smith’s defense attorney was informed of the negative test results. On June 23, 2016, the prosecution and defense jointly filed a state law petition for a writ of habeas corpus to vacate the conviction.
On July 27, 2016, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals granted the writ and vacated the conviction. On August 24, 2016, the prosecution dismissed the charge.
– Maurice Possley
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