On the morning of January 14, 1985, a 25-year-old pregnant woman called police in Houston, Texas, and reported she had been raped at knifepoint in her bed as her 2-year-old daughter slept beside her.
The woman, who was Black, said the attack lasted about 20 minutes, after which the assailant cut her telephone line and fled. She described her assailant as a white male in his 30s with an unusual brown skin color, a “honey brown color.”
The woman was taken to the hospital, where a rape kit was collected.
Nearly four months later, the victim was shopping for groceries when she spotted 23-year-old Kevin Byrd and told her husband that he was the man who had raped her. Byrd was Black. Despite that inconsistency, Byrd was arrested on May 11, 1985, based on her identification.
Byrd was charged with rape and went to trial in August 1985 in Harris County District Court. The victim identified him as her attacker.
An analyst from the Houston Police Department Crime Lab testified that semen was detected on swabs from the rape kit, and that no blood type could be determined from the swabs.
On August 7, 1985, the jury convicted Byrd of rape. He was sentenced to life in prison.
In 1994, the trial exhibit with a semen sample was one of many that were slated to be destroyed. Prior to destruction, the clerk submitted a list of cases where evidence would be discarded to the Harris County District Attorney’s office, so they could cross out cases where they wanted evidence preserved. For reasons unknown, a line was drawn through Byrd’s case and the evidence was saved.
In 1997, Byrd’s attorney, Randy Shaffer, obtained a court order for DNA testing. In July 1997, Cellmark, a private DNA laboratory, performed DNA tests on the evidence. The tests excluded Byrd as the source of the biological evidence. The Houston police crime lab reviewed the testing and concurred with Cellmark’s conclusion.
On July 29, 1997, Byrd was released from prison. On October 9, 1997, Governor George W. Bush granted Byrd a pardon based on innocence.
In 2001, Byrd received a lump sum of $30,189 in state compensation plus a monthly annuity of $5,200.
– Maurice Possley
Posting Date: 08-29-2011
Last Update Date: 07-16-2026
