Texas court ends case against woman sentenced to five years over voting error
Crystal Mason has spent nearly a decade fighting conviction for casting provisional ballot that ultimately wasn’t counted The nearly decade-long case of a Black Texas woman who was sentenced to five years in prison in a controversial illegal voting case will end with an acquittal, the state’s highest criminal court said in a 5-4 decision on Thursday. The woman, Crystal Mason, has been appealing…
Crystal Mason, a Black woman from Texas, has been fighting for nearly a decade against a conviction for casting a provisional ballot that was ultimately not counted. In 2018, she was sentenced to five years in prison, sparking widespread controversy and appeals. In 2024, the Texas court of criminal appeals acquitted her of the charges, but the local prosecutor appealed the decision to the state’s highest criminal court.
However, on Thursday, the court unexpectedly reversed its earlier decision and declined to hear the appeal, allowing Mason's acquittal to stand. The court did not provide any explanation for its decision.
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