| On September 29, 2009, police in Houston, Texas arrested 20-year-old Barry Mayfield after they seized a substance from him that field-tested positive for MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy.
On October 1, 2009, Mayfield pled guilty in Harris County Criminal District Court to a misdemeanor charge of possession of a controlled substance. He was placed on deferred adjudication for one year.
On October 20, 2009, tests performed by the Houston Police 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.
The Harris County District Attorney’s conviction integrity unit informed Mayfield’s defense attorney of the test results and in August 2016 joined with the defense in filing a state law petition for a writ of habeas corpus to vacate the conviction. On September 1, 2016, the petition was granted, the conviction was vacated, and the prosecution dismissed the charge.
– Maurice Possley
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