FREE AT LAST

Why Is Justice So Slow In Tulia? Are There Other Tulias?

Twelve defendants caught up in an absurdly unjust drug sting in Tulia were
freed this week. As the 12, most of whom were black residents of the mostly
white town, celebrated their release with their families, the people of
this state ought to think about why justice has been so slow in coming to
Tulia. Have other such overly enthusiastic undercover police actions
resulted in other mass arrests of apparently innocent people and, most
importantly, what flaws in Texas' criminal justice system allow this sort
of travesty to occur and make it so hard to rectify?

The 11 men and one woman were among the last to be released after a July
1999 drug operation resulted in the arrest of 46 people, 39 of whom were
black. The arrests and subsequent trials were based solely on the testimony
of one white undercover agent, Tom Coleman, now under indictment for
perjury. No drugs or drug money were found, and several of the defendants
were convicted despite solid alibis, no drug history, no video or audio
recordings, and major discrepancies in Coleman's testimony. Even in a small
town like Tulia (population 5,000) -- especially in a small town, where
civil liberties organizations often don't operate -- this sort of systemic
injustice must be rooted out.

A judge set the 12 free on personal recognizance bond pending a ruling by
the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which is considering retired state
District Judge Ron Chapman's recommendation that all the convictions be
overturned. That process could take up to two years, even though a special
prosecutor has said he will dismiss all the charges if the appeals court
orders new trials.

In fact, these 12 victims of Coleman's "blatant lies" -- as Judge Chapman
put it -- are free now only because state lawmakers passed a bill requiring
their release. (Two of the 14 defendants included in the bill were not
released. One had a drug case pending in another county and another had a
case pending on a direct appeal that has not been completed. Other
defendants had already been paroled or released on probation.)

All the defendants who were convicted or who pleaded guilty to avoid a long
prison term should be pardoned so that their records are wiped clean and
they are not further harmed by this misbegotten "criminal justice" scheme.