Brian Michael Hughes

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Charge:	Drug Related (Possession or sale)
Sentence:	5 years
Years Imprisoned:	1
Year Crime:	2016
Year Convicted:	2017
Year Cleared:	2017
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Louisiana
County or Region of Crime:	Grant
City of Crime:	Dry Prong
Result:	Judicially Exonerated
Summary of Case:	"Brian Michael Hughes was wrongly convicted of methamphetamines in Grant County, Louisiana. The prosecution of Brian Hughes was based on the seizure of a small plastic baggy from his pocket the Grant Parish Sheriff's Department that appeared to be crystal methamphetamine and field tested for methamphetamine, and the substance was later determined to weigh 2.3 grams. The Sheriff's Dept. sent what it represented was the substance seized from Hughes to the Crime Lab in Alexandria, Louisiana. However, when examined by the Crime Lab it weighed 1.73 grams and tested positive for being methamphetamine. During his trial Hughes lawyer elicited testimony from a Sheriff's deputy and a crime lab technician about the weight discrepancy, and raised the possibility that what was forwarded to the crime lab was not the substance seized from Hughes. After his conviction by a jury, Hughes was sentenced to five years in prison at hard labor. Hughes appealed. On November 29, 2017 the Louisiana Court of Appeal, Third Circuit, vacated Hughes conviction on the basis the prosecution introduced insufficient evidence to prove his giult beyond a reasonable doubt because there was no authentication of the drug evidence introduced at trial by the Crime Lab. The Court's ruling stated: "We find the State failed to reasonably explain the weight discrepancy between the substance seized and weighed at the Sheriff’s Office and the substance tested at the Crime Lab and introduced into evidence. Evidence is not relevant unless identified or authenticated as connected wit the case. ... If prejudice results from the trial court’s erroneous admission of irrelevant evidence, the defendant upon appeal is entitled to a reversal of his conviction. ... For the reasons expressed above, we find the lack of a reasonable or legally plausible explanation regarding the weight discrepancy between the substance seized from Defendant and what was offered into evidence establishes reasonable doubt that the original item was either exchanged with another or was tampered with in some untoward way. Thus, we find Defendant’s guilty verdict must be set aside because the State failed to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt" (Louisiana v. Brian Michael Hughes, No. 17-458 (LA Ct. of Appeal, Third Cir., 11-29-2017))"
Conviction Caused By:	Mishandling of drug evidence.
Innocence Proved By:	"On November 29, 2017 the Louisiana Court of Appeal, Third Circuit, vacated Hughes conviction on the basis the prosecution introduced insufficient evidence to prove his giult beyond a reasonable doubt because there was no authentication of the drug evidence introduced at trial by the Crime Lab."
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Sex:	Male
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Information Source 1:	"State of Louisiana v. Brian Michael Hughes, No. 17-458 (LA Ct. of Appeal, Third Cir., 11-29-2017) (Conviction vacated based on insufficient evidence to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.)"
Information Location 1:	http://www.la3circuit.org/Opinions/2017/11/112917/17-0458opi.pdf
Information Source 2:	"Third Circuit reverses conviction, vacates sentence in Grant meth possession case, By Brooke Buford, KALB-TV (Alexandria, LA), December 4, 2017"
Information Location 2:	http://www.kalb.com/content/news/Third-Circuit-reverses-conviction-vacates-sentence-in-Grant-meth-possession-case-461860753.html
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Brian Michael Hughes

Charge:

Drug Related (Possession or sale)

Sentence:

5 years

Years Imprisoned:

1

Year Crime:

2016

Year Convicted:

2017

Year Cleared:

2017

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Louisiana

County or Region of Crime:

Grant

City of Crime:

Dry Prong

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Mishandling of drug evidence.

Innocence Proved By:

"On November 29, 2017 the Louisiana Court of Appeal, Third Circuit, vacated Hughes conviction on the basis the prosecution introduced insufficient evidence to prove his giult beyond a reasonable doubt because there was no authentication of the drug evidence introduced at trial by the Crime Lab."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Information Source 1:

"State of Louisiana v. Brian Michael Hughes, No. 17-458 (LA Ct. of Appeal, Third Cir., 11-29-2017) (Conviction vacated based on insufficient evidence to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.)"

Information Location 1:

http://www.la3circuit.org/Opinions/2017/11/112917/17-0458opi.pdf

Information Source 2:

"Third Circuit reverses conviction, vacates sentence in Grant meth possession case, By Brooke Buford, KALB-TV (Alexandria, LA), December 4, 2017"

Information Location 2:

http://www.kalb.com/content/news/Third-Circuit-reverses-conviction-vacates-sentence-in-Grant-meth-possession-case-461860753.html

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Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

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