In 1987, Anthony Robinson was picking up a car for a friend at the University of Houston when university police blocked the parking lot, pulled him out of the car, and arrested him. The police said that Robinson matched the description that a rape victim had given of her attacker: a black man wearing a plaid shirt. The victim also claimed that her attacker had a mustache, which Robinson did not. Robinson was not a student at the University, which he believes encouraged the police to link him to the crime.

At trial, the prosecution relied heavily on the victim's identification of Robinson from a lineup. At the time of Robinson's conviction in 1987, DNA testing was not yet admitted as evidence in Harris County (TX) courts. Robinson had told police he was innocent and had offered to provide the police with a blood sample to prove his innocence. He was sentenced to twenty-seven years and was paroled in 1997. Once paroled, Robinson was able to raise his own funds to pay for the DNA test by working as an order clerk at a local oilfield supply company. Robinson hired Randy Schaffer to clear his record. The DNA testing proved his innocence, which then led the state to conduct its own test, confirming the exculpatory results. On November 7, 2000, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles voted unanimously to recommend Robinson's pardon.