| On January 20, 2005, police in Houston, Texas arrested 34-year-old Arthur Williams after they seized a substance from him that field-tested positive for cocaine.
On January 21, 2005, Williams pled guilty in Harris County Criminal District Court to possession of a controlled substance. He was sentenced to eight months in Texas State Jail.
On February 2, 2005, the Houston Police crime laboratory tested the substance seized from Williams and found no controlled substances. The laboratory test report was forwarded to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office where it was not discovered until 2014.
In 2016, the Harris County District Attorney’s Office conviction integrity unit informed Williams’s defense attorney of the test results and on August 15, 2016, joined in a state law petition for a writ of habeas corpus.
On September 28, 2016, the Texas Court of Criminal appeals granted the writ and vacated the conviction. On October 31, 2016, the prosecution dismissed the charge.
– Maurice Possley
|