老澳门开奖结果

FORT WORTH, Texas - The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has decided to the voting case of Fort Worth grandmother Crystal Mason that it had previously sent back to the Texas Second Court of Appeals to review. That lower court in March 2024.

Mason, a , faces five years in prison for submitting a provisional ballot in 2016 that was never counted as a vote.

In April, the Tarrant County District Attorney鈥檚 Office announced that it had asked the state鈥檚 highest appeals court to overturn the recent decision. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals today accepted the case for review, which means further briefing will occur before the court.

鈥淲hile I am ready for this case to be over and for my acquittal to stand, I will continue to maintain my faith that justice will be done,鈥� says Crystal Mason.

Mason had been convicted of illegal voting despite believing she was fulfilling her civic duty and not realizing the state considered her ineligible to vote.

In the appeal of her conviction, Mason is represented by the 老澳门开奖结果 of Texas, 老澳门开奖结果 National, Texas Civil Rights Project, criminal defense attorney Alison Grinter Allen, and civil attorney Kim T. Cole.

The following statements can be attributed to members of her legal team:

鈥淲e respect the Court of Criminal Appeals鈥� decision to further review this case,鈥� says Tommy Buser-Clancy, senior staff attorney at the 老澳门开奖结果 of Texas. 鈥淲e remain confident that the court of appeals made the right decision in vacating Ms. Mason鈥檚 conviction and rendering an acquittal. We look forward to briefing our position to the court.鈥�

鈥淐rystal Mason鈥檚 acquittal was based on a record that did not support her conviction,鈥� says Sophia Lin Lakin, director of the 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 Voting Rights Project. 鈥淲e are confident the Court of Criminal Appeals will agree and uphold the decision.鈥�

鈥淲e respect the Court of Criminal Appeals鈥� decision to review Ms. Mason鈥檚 case and trust that the Second Court of Appeals鈥� decision to acquit Ms. Mason will be upheld upon review,鈥� says Christina Beeler, senior supervising attorney at Texas Civil Rights Project.

鈥淲e have faith that the court will uphold Crystal 鈥榮 acquittal and all Texans will see a day when they can feel confident in the franchise and go to the polls unafraid that they could face prison time for any mistake or misunderstanding,鈥� says Alison Grinter Allen, criminal defense attorney.

鈥淭he last time this case was before the Court of Criminal Appeals, they rightfully remanded the case back to the 2nd Court of Appeals for review under the accurate interpretation of the law,鈥� says Kim T. Cole, attorney. 鈥淚 trust that this time they will confirm that the 2nd Court of Appeals鈥� decision in reversing Crystal's conviction is the correct and just outcome.鈥�

Access the state鈥檚 petition for discretionary review here:

Access a copy of the Texas Second Court of Appeals ruling here: