TULIA TRAVESTY: MISCONDUCT MAY GO DEEPER THAN ROGUE COP

The more we learn about the infamous drug busts in Tulia back in 1999, the
more we have to conclude this travesty of justice goes beyond just one
rogue cop.

What happened in the small Panhandle town plays right into the hands of
those critics who deride Texas' criminal justice system. It is bad enough
that dozens of black Texans were convicted on the uncorroborated word of a
now discredited white undercover officer. But a court filing now suggests
the Swisher County prosecutor, also white, knew his key witness couldn't be
trusted.

The documents argue that District Attorney Terry McEachern nevertheless
kept his mouth shut and went ahead with prosecuting 38 people. The defense
lawyers didn't have the benefit of knowing that the officer, Tom Coleman,
had been arrested on a theft charge in the middle of his drug
investigation. Had they been told, his credibility would have been
destroyed. And dozens of defendants would have been spared from prison,
where 13 still remain.

Mr. Coleman has since been indicted on three counts of perjury, alleging he
lied while testifying at hearings reviewing several of the drug cases. But
the accountability must not stop there. State officials must look into
whether prosecutorial misconduct occurred and, if so, pursue charges. The
responsibility for this travesty lies not only with Mr. Coleman but also
with any of his superiors who might have been able to stop it.

A just-announced congressional inquiry may uncover why law enforcement
officials allowed the uncorroborated testimony of a key witness to carry so
much weight. But the courts also need to release on bond the 13 people
still in prison, until the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals decides whether
to dismiss all of the convictions. Something truly devastating happened to
the people of Tulia four years ago. Lives were ripped apart, unjustifiably.
It is time to begin putting them back together.