RIGHTING A WRONG: LEGISLATURE CORRECT TO INTERVENE IN TULIA

Something went very wrong four years ago in the Panhandle town of Tulia.
And this week, the Texas Legislature took a bold and laudable step to make
things right.

It is not every day that state legislators intervene in a criminal matter
already adjudicated ­ nor is it every day they should. But when 13 people
are sitting in jail after being convicted on the basis of uncorroborated
testimony of an undercover officer who was later found to be not credible
and indicted for perjury, intervention is needed. Especially when 11 of the
13 are black and the white arresting officer has demonstrated racist
tendencies.

This week, the Texas House of Representatives unanimously approved a bill
allowing the courts to release on bond the so-called Tulia 13, whose
convictions stem from the notorious 1999 drug sting that ensnared more than
10 percent of the town's black population, landed 46 people in jail, and
earned headlines around the world. The bill now heads for the desk of Gov.
Rick Perry, who has indicated through a spokesman that he supports the
measure. If Mr. Perry signs the bill, and retired state District Judge Ron
Chapman issues the bonds, then the prison door will swing open and the 13
men and women will take their first breath of freedom in nearly four years.
The Texas Court of Appeals must still settle the matter of whether these
people were wrongfully convicted in the first place, but they will be free
nonetheless. As well they should be.

The Legislature should be commended for passing this bill. Gov. Perry
should be commended, too, assuming he signs it. And the people of Texas
should thank their lawmakers for doing the right thing.