A recent New York Times Magazine featured the work of the Convictions Integrity Unit of Harris County, Texas, in exonerating wrongfully convicted defendants. It brings much-needed attention to some of the worst flaws in our criminal justice system.
The case that was featured involved a young mother from Louisiana. The car she was travelling in with a friend was stopped in Houston for a minor traffic violation—failing to signal when changing lanes. The officer saw a needle, some white powder, and a light-colored crumb that was thought to be crack cocaine. The officers subjected a portion of the crumb to a field test using NARK II, a now-notoriously unreliable test. When the crumb tested positive for an illegal substance, the defendant, as the owner of the car, was arrested and booked. The evidence was sent to the lab.
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