Criminal Justice

SENATE PUTS TULIA 13 BIT CLOSER TO FREEDOM

AUSTIN -- The Senate on Wednesday unanimously approved a bill that would
release on bond 13 Texans imprisoned after a controversial 1999 Tulia drug
sting.

The bill now heads to the House which is awaiting the return of Democrats
holed up in Oklahoma.

Senate Bill 1948 by Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, would permit a district
judge in Swisher County to release on bond the Tulia residents while the
Court of Criminal Appeals deliberates their cases.

The bill becomes one of many awaiting debate on the House floor pending the
Democrats return to the Capitol.

Rep. Terry Keo, R-Austin, the House sponsor, said there is support for the
bill in that chamber.

"Now the challenge is to complete the mission by passing this legislation
in the House," Whitmire said.

A walkout earlier this week by Democratic lawmakers over a Congressional
redistricting bill is expected to halt business in the House through at
least midnight tonight.

Whitmire said his bill is needed to end the injustice for the 13 Texans all
of whom were convicted solely on the testimony of an undercover officer who
was found to be not credible.

"It is an embarrassment to the state of Texas to let something like this
happen," Whitmire said. "If we're going to be tough and smart on crime,
we've also got to be fair."

The bill's passage follows Gov. Rick Perry's call on Tuesday for the Texas
Board of Pardons and Paroles to review all 38 of the Tulia convictions.

Perry asked the board to "recommend whether a pardon, commutation of
sentence or other clemency action is appropriate and just."

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst also supports the legislation.

"This is a real travesty of justice," Dewhurst said. "I think our only
recourse is to release the Tulia 13 on bond until the court of appeals has
made its final decision."

In his report to the appeals court, retired state District Judge Ron
Chapman, who presided over evidentiary hearings in March, found that the
only witness against the defendants, undercover officer Tom Coleman, was
guilty of "blatant perjury" during the Tulia prosecutions.

Forty-six Tulia residents, 39 of whom are black, were arrested in the drug
sting, and 38 were convicted on Coleman's testimony.

Special prosecutors hired to help Swisher County with the cases stipulated
during the evidentiary hearings that Coleman -- who has since been indicted
for perjury based on his testimony at the evidentiary hearings -- was not a
credible witness.

Prosecutors have said the cases would be dismissed if the Court of Criminal
Appeals orders new trials. But the appellate court's review could take as
long as two years, some officials say.

If approved by two-thirds of the House and signed by the governor,
Whitmire's Tulia bill would go into effect immediately. If approved by a
lesser margin, it would go into effect Sept. 1.