On Thursday, the conviction of Crystal Mason, a Tarrant County resident who was found guilty of voting illegally in 2016 after casting a provisional ballot that was never counted, was overturned.
Mason was spared five years in prison for the conviction after the Texas Second Court of Appeals found him not guilty.
“I am overjoyed to see my faith rewarded today,” Crystal Mason stated in a statement. “I was thrown into this fight for voting rights and will keep swinging to ensure no one else has to face what I’ve endured for over six years, a political ploy where minority voting rights are under attack. I’ve cried and prayed every night for over six years straight that I would remain a free Black woman. I thank everyone whose dedication and support carried me through this time and look forward to celebrating this moment with my family and friends.”
Mason was defended by the Texas Civil Rights Project, the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, and lawyers Alison Grinter Allen and KimCole.
Thomas Buser-Clancy, senior staff attorney for the ACLU of Texas, says in a statement that, “We are relieved for Ms. Mason, who has waited for too long with uncertainty about whether she would be imprisoned and separated from her family for five years simply for trying to do her civic duty. The harms of the criminal prosecution can never fully be undone, but this decision is vindication for Ms. Mason and a win for our democracy, which can only thrive when people can fearlessly engage in the civic process.”
In a statement, Grinter Allen claimed that this conviction was not justified.
Crystal and her family have suffered for over six years as the target of a vanity project by Texas political leaders,” Grinter Allen stated. “We’re happy that the court saw this for the perversion of justice that it is, but the harm that this political prosecution has done to shake Americans’ confidence in their own franchise is incalculable.”
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