FEELINGS OF UNFAIRNESS LINGER IN TULIA

TULIA, Texas - The day of homecoming began simply enough. After a brief
courtroom appearance, the Tulia 12 walked out into a jubilant crowd that
had waited four years to see them set free.

The taste of freedom came in small doses. Kizzie White didn't have to get
permission to hold her two children close and walk across the street.
Willie Hall appeared almost dazed with the prospect of not wearing prison
whites. Chris Jackson hugged his 12-year-old daughter, Brigitte, for the
first time in four years, crying, "Four years, too long, too long."

For some in Tulia, a fading Panhandle town of about 5,000, this was a day
of joy and vindication. Those freed Monday on bond were the last of a group
arrested in a 1999 drug sting and imprisoned, some with lengthy sentences.
While the state's top criminal court considers their cases, the 12 will
remain free.

While the Tulia defendants' supporters, most of them black, gathered in the
shade outside the courthouse, some white residents attempted to ignore the
TV satellite trucks and army of reporters in the town square. Residents
largely grew tired of the media attention years ago. County and city
officials declined to comment Monday. Customers at the Conestoga Cafe
paused over their coffee long enough to tell reporters they had no desire
to talk to them. "There is a sense of anger among the black population that
is matched by a sense of frustration among the white community," said the
Rev. Charles Davenport of the First Baptist Church, one of the few white
residents in town who would talk. "Whites have mostly been able to put this
behind them and move on. I think both sides feel they have been treated
unfairly."

Mr. Davenport stressed that the community has already begun to heal the
wounds wrought by the controversy. Freddie Brookins Sr., whose son, Freddie
Jr., was released Monday after serving four years in prison, had a
distinctly different perspective.

"What happened in Tulia can't help but change the order of business in this
city. It will open the eyes of many people, that we let the powers that be
make all the decisions for us," Mr. Brookins said. "It's time we started
making our own decisions. Today, we've all been freed."

Mr. Brookins remains convinced that the arrests and the convictions in
Tulia were about race, not drugs. "But we can't afford to let bitterness
take hold. Bitterness and anger will just eat us away, like a cancer," he
said. "I don't see any bitterness in Freddie. It's been hard on him and his
family, but he doesn't let the bitterness in. That's what I'm proudest of."
His son's wife, Terri Brookins, 22, said she hopes that now she and Freddie
Jr. can live peacefully. Whether that will happen in a town where the
shadow of doubt remains about her husband's innocence isn't clear.

"I know there are whispers in this town from some people that all the
defendants will eventually go back to jail, that justice will soon be
done," Ms. Brookins said. "Our life has been put on hold. Freddie did the
time in prison, but I feel like we've been locked up, too."

The release of the Tulia 12 culminates a story of strange twists. Tom
Coleman, the freelance officer responsible for the Tulia arrests, provided
the only evidence against the defendants. He made no video or audiotapes of
his alleged drug buys. Mr. Coleman, who now lives in Waxahachie, was
recently indicted for perjury. The state judge who recommended overturning
the 38 convictions said Mr. Coleman, who no longer works in law
enforcement, had no credibility as a witness.

Yet many in Tulia are still reluctant to acknowledge Mr. Coleman's role.
"Coleman may be a liar. I really don't know," Mr. Davenport said. "Were all
these people guilty or innocent? I just don't know. The majority of this
community doesn't know what happened, and that's the real cause of the
frustration. We know this is not a racist community, and that's the only
message that seems to be getting out through the media."

Pat Devin, a retired schoolteacher, who found the recent revelations about
Mr. Coleman enough to question whether justice had been served in all of
the cases.

"I still feel like there was guilt in this group," she said. "The people
who were on the juries believed the evidence they saw."

Madge Steele, a resident of Tulia since 1961, called the entire episode
heartbreaking.

"It's obvious Tom Coleman was not as straight up as he needed to be, but I
get a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach when I think that it's flaring
up in the media again," Ms. Steele said. "I see those TV trucks on the
square and I just think, 'Oh, no, here we go again.' "

Alan Bean, one of the founders of Friends of Justice, an organization in
Tulia that helped focus attention on the Tulia arrests, said Monday's
release of the 12 is just a beginning, even after Swisher County agreed in
April to cash settlements with the 38 convicted.

"There's just a lot of pain in Tulia. A great reluctance for many people in
the community to acknowledge they were wrong," Mr. Bean said. "There's been
no official recognition by the city or the county that an injustice has
been done. Even when the county offered a $250,000 settlement in return for
no civil suits, they stressed they still supported law enforcement's
handling of the matter."

The excitement among the supporters of those caught up in the drug string
is long overdue.

"There's a lot of excitement. Many, many people have been hoping and
praying for this for so long. Right now, we're just stunned," he said. "But
there are a lot of folks concerned about what happens next. What about jobs
for these people? Will the appeals court drag out the order for a new
trial? There's a lot of work left to do."

[sidebar]

TIMELINE

Four years ago, the Panhandle town of Tulia was divided over the arrests of
46 residents - 39 of them black - on drug charges. Monday, a dozen of those
sentenced were released on bond after a judge ruled the convictions were
improper. Here's how the story unfolded.

July 23, 1999: Arrests are made based on the testimony of one undercover
officer.

December 1999: The first defendant, Joe Moore, 59, is convicted and
sentenced to 90 years in prison.

September 2002: The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals sends two cases back to
district court, asking whether the convictions were based primarily on the
testimony of undercover investigator Tom Coleman.

March: Retired state District Judge Ron Chapman hears testimony about the
cases at the request of the appeals court.

April 1: Judge Chapman recommends that all 38 convictions be thrown out.

April 24: Mr. Coleman is indicted on perjury charges in connection with the
Tulia cases.

June 2: Gov. Rick Perry signs a law allowing the release of those remaining
in prison while the appeals court decides whether they were wrongly convicted.

Monday: Twelve of those convicted are freed on bond.