David Shawn Pope was exonerated and freed in 2001 after DNA testing proved his innocence of a 1985 sexual assault. Pope had been convicted in 1986 of breaking into the victim's apartment and raping her.

At trial, the prosecution relied heavily on the victim's identification of Pope. Additionally, a knife found in his car was similar to the knife that had been stolen from the victim's kitchen and used to threaten her during the attack. Messages left on the victim's answering machine after the crime were also said to match Pope's voice print, a method no longer used in courts.

Pope's appeals failed. It was an anonymous call that first alerted prosecutors to the wrongful conviction of Pope. DNA testing on the rape kit revealed the profile of another man who was in another Texas prison for another crime. Pope was pardoned by the governor and walked out of jail after spending fifteen years incarcerated for a crime he did not commit.