Skip Ribbon Commands
Skip to main content

Forrest Hobson

Other Texas exonerations with no crime
https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/PublishingImages/Bowie_County.jpg
On May 20, 2019, Bowie County, Texas sheriff’s officer Colten Johnson went to the home of 22-year-old Forrest Hobson to arrest Hobson for a probation violation. When Hobson was searched, Johnson recovered a plastic bag containing a white crystalline powder.

Johnson administered two field tests on some of the powder. The first was negative for any controlled substance. The second, however, was positive for the presence of methamphetamine.

Hobson was indicted on a charge of possession of a controlled substance—about 68 grams of methamphetamine. On September 16, 2019, Hobson pled guilty to the charge in Bowie County Criminal District Court. He was sentenced to eight years in prison.

On April 8, 2020, the Texas Department of Public Safety crime laboratory reported that a test on the substance seized from Hobson was negative for the presence of any controlled substance.

On May 15, 2020, Bowie County assistant public defender Sylvia Delgado filed a state petition for a writ of habeas corpus. The prosecution did not oppose the petition and Bowie County District Judge Bill Miller recommended that the writ be granted.

On March 31, 2021, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals granted the writ and ordered that Hobson’s conviction be vacated. On April 19, 2021, the charge was dismissed and Hobson was released.

– Maurice Possley

Report an error or add more information about this case.

Posting Date: 5/6/2021
Last Updated: 5/6/2021
State:Texas
County:Bowie
Most Serious Crime:Drug Possession or Sale
Additional Convictions:
Reported Crime Date:2019
Convicted:2019
Exonerated:2021
Sentence:8 years
Race/Ethnicity:White
Sex:Male
Age at the date of reported crime:22
Contributing Factors:False or Misleading Forensic Evidence
Did DNA evidence contribute to the exoneration?:No