False Drug Convictions in Texas – 21 People Exonerated
21 people who pleaded guilty and served time for possession of controlled substances in Texas have had their false drug convictions reversed. This is from an article in the Austin American Statesman. Prosecutors say that there are almost certainly more out there, yet to be found. False convictions are a huge problem in the criminal justice system, both statewide and nationally. The University of Michigan Law School maintains a National Registry of Exonerations, indexing over 1,300 of these cases.
Forensic Testing Labs are Overrun
In all of these cases, crime labs have been unable to analyze the substances and produce lab reports before these cases plea out. Defendants wait many months, even years before results come back. The Texas Department of Public Safety takes on average 6 months to return lab results. In one Houston case, lab results took 6 years. In the meantime, the defendants plead guilty, often on the first setting, sometimes within days, and start serving their time. Most of these cases are possession under a gram—“mere dustings”—as the article puts it. Possession under a gram in Texas is a State Jail Felony.
Lab results are critically important for a number of reasons. One reason is that, often times, there is no honor among drug dealers. You may not have purchased drugs, even if you think you have. Sometimes what appears to be a controlled substance to you or to police officers may turn out to be something perfectly legal. The Statesman article mentions Joey Carabajal, who pled guilty to possession of codeine. Both he and Round Rock police believed the substance was codeine. He pled guilty and served almost a year for a false drug conviction. It took 10 months for a DPS lab report to come back negative and exonerate him.
The Exonerees are Poor, Habitual Offenders
As the article notes, there is a pattern that runs through these cases. The people getting false drug convictions are habitual offenders who are poor and have long criminal histories. Even though they want to get out, they simply cannot afford the high bonds that judges typically put on repeat offenders. Sometimes, a defendant may take the first plea offer simply to get out for time served, or get on with serving their time. There is usually an incentive to take a conviction and begin the sentence. In Tarrant County, you can get 2-for-1, or even 3-for-1 credit for days served in the Texas Dept of Corrections. But while you are stuck in Tarrant County jail waiting for your case to resolve, you only get 1-for-1 credit.
There can also be other, more systemic incentives to plea. In Harris County, for example, the D.A. offers “one-day deals”—plea offers that are only good for the first setting. After that the offer gets heavier. As the article notes, Houston is the worst offender. 13 out of the 21 cases are from Houston.
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