Nightmare Over for Crystal Mason, Highest Criminal Court in Texas Dismisses State’s Petition for Review  

AUSTIN, Texas — The Court of Criminal Appeals today let stand a lower court's ruling that acquitted Crystal Mason of illegal voting by dismissing the state’s petition for review as improvidently granted. The lower court’s decision vacates Mason’s conviction in Crystal Mason v. State of Texas and should mark the end to a nearly decade-long legal battle to defend her innocence.

The lower court’s decision found there was insufficient evidence to show that Mason knew she was ineligible to vote. She had faced up to five years in prison.

“In all these years, I never lost my faith that justice would be done,” said Crystal Mason. “I am so happy my nightmare is over and I can move on. I hope people who hear my story are encouraged to make their voices heard and to get out and vote. If the right to vote weren’t so important, they wouldn’t be trying to take it away.”

Mason, a Black mother of three from Fort Worth, was convicted of illegal voting for submitting a provisional ballot in 2016 that was never counted as a vote. She believed she was fulfilling her civic duty and had no idea the state considered her ineligible to vote. The Texas Second Court of Appeals reversed Crystal Mason’s conviction, and the Court of Criminal Appeals upheld that decision.

Mason was represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, the national ACLU, and the Texas Civil Rights Project, along with criminal defense attorney Alison Grinter and civil rights attorney Kim T. Cole.

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

Sophia Lin Lakin, director of the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project: “Crystal Mason has fought this injustice for nearly a decade, and we are thrilled that the Court of Criminal Appeals has finally put an end to this case. No one should face prison for casting a ballot when they had no idea they were ineligible to vote. During a time where politicians are sowing chaos and confusion into our elections, today’s decision is a long-overdue recognition that voting requirements should be transparent, and that we should never criminalize voters over honest mistakes.”

Tommy Buser-Clancy, senior staff attorney of the ACLU of Texas: “Civic participation without fear of imprisonment is a cherished right that is critical to our system of democracy. The highest criminal court in Texas affirmed that right by letting the lower court’s acquittal stand. Ms. Mason has spent nearly a decade defending her rights in Texas and today we see that her efforts have been successful not only in defending her own freedom, but also in protecting the ability of Texans across the state to participate in our democracy without fear."

Zachary Dolling, litigation director for the Texas Civil Rights Project: “Ms. Mason should never have been prosecuted in the first place, and although she’ll never get back the years of her life she spent fighting against this unjust prosecution, she can at least move on. This decision allows us to celebrate Ms. Mason’s bravery and courage over the past six years.”

Alison Grinter, criminal defense attorney: “This is a momentous day for voting rights in Texas. For nearly 10 years, Ms. Mason had to wake up each morning knowing the state was threatening to imprison her for simply doing her civic duty. Tomorrow, she’ll wake up with that burden lifted, knowing that her effort to participate in our democracy should never have been criminalized and that she can continue to do the voter empowerment work that she has been championing for all of these years.”

Kim T. Cole, civil attorney for Mason: “We are grateful that the Court allowed Crystal Mason’s acquittal to stand and finally brought this nearly decade-long injustice to an end. For years, while Crystal lived with the agonizing threat of having her freedom ripped away, she turned her pain into purpose—educating and registering voters and fighting to protect the very right that led to her prosecution. However, justice does not end with an acquittal. Crystal suffered through years of legal battles against a prosecution which we have always maintained was politically motivated and never should have happened.”

Access the Court of Criminal Appeals brief here.
More background here.