PERRY GRANTS FULL PARDONS TO 35 IN TULIA STING

AUSTIN -- Gov. Rick Perry granted full pardons Friday to 35 people caught
in a 1999 Tulia drug sting and convicted on apparently false testimony by
an undercover officer.

Almost immediately, an attorney representing the Tulia residents said the
case for justice will continue in federal courts.

"As great as this pardon is, this does not signal the end of this
struggle," said attorney Jeff Blackburn, who filed a federal lawsuit in
Amarillo Friday against a regional drug task force and several local
government officials.

"The parties responsible for what happened to the people of Tulia have yet
to be brought to the bar of justice," Blackburn said.

Of the original 46 Tulia residents arrested in the undercover sting, 39
were black, prompting accusations of a racially motivated roundup.

Perry announced the pardons in the notorious Tulia case along with 25
others. In June he had signed into law a bill releasing those incarcerated
in the Tulia busts, pending an appeal.

"Questions surrounding testimony from the key witnesses in these cases,
coupled with recommendations from the Board of Pardons and Paroles, weighed
heavily in my final decision," Perry said.

"Texans demand a system that is tough but fair. I believe my decision to
grant pardons in these cases is both appropriate and just," he added.

Perry spokesman Kathy Walt, however, said the pardons granted were not
based on a determination of innocence.

A full pardon does not have the legal effect of expunging a criminal record
or of exoneration except in rare cases based upon innocence, according to
the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles. This means the Tulia residents will
still have records that say they were convicted on the charges.

Walt said the governor's office reviewed each case individually and noted
that there were three Tulia cases not eligible for pardons.

Two of those already had been dismissed while a third defendant, Lawanda
Smith, had agreed to deferred adjudication, a form of voluntary probation.

Fourteen of those convicted in the Tulia busts had served up to four years
in prison before their release was ordered in June.

The release was possible under legislation unanimously adopted by the Texas
House and Senate last spring, sponsored by Rep. Terry Keel, R-Austin, and
Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston.

Blackburn said the Tulia busts began to unravel with a key defense
discovery in April 2002 that proved testimony of Tom Coleman, the sole
undercover officer and prosecution witness, had lied.

Defendant Tanya White was days from her trial, he said, when documents
emerged showing she was banking in Oklahoma on the day Coleman claims she
delivered cocaine to him.

"This proved forever that Coleman was a liar and that he was perjuring
himself in order to falsely convict black people in Tulia. Once we proved
that, frankly, it's all been downhill for them since," Blackburn said.

The cause was further bolstered when Coleman perjured himself during court
hearings last March, he added.

The Swisher County visiting district judge, retired state District Judge
Ron Chapman, reported after the March hearings that Coleman was guilty of
"blatant perjury."

Will Harrell, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of
Texas, said the federal lawsuit will seek to reform the drug task system
throughout Texas.

He said systemic flaws such as police misconduct, abuse of authority and
inadequate legal representation for the poor need to be addressed.

Harrell praised Perry for taking steps to improve and monitor the task
forces, but he said more needs to be done.

Blackburn said the federal suit will seek unspecified damages, noting the
task force has $2.5 million cash on hand along with other assets.

Yet, he said the real issue will be to expose the system that supported and
motivated an officer like Coleman.

"We hope this lawsuit will reveal not only the truth of what happened in
Tulia but also the kinds of abuses that have occurred throughout this state
due to their lack of supervision and control."

Blackburn added he is not accustomed to winning cases such as this one and
often thought the day of pardons would never arrive.

"I'm frankly shellshocked right now," he said. "It's hard to believe that
this is really happening."