TULIA DRUG DEFENDANTS, COUNTY REACH DEAL

Settlement May Avert Lawsuits In Disputed Drug Convictions

Swisher County officials, moving quickly to stave off lawsuits that could
bankrupt the Panhandle county, say they have settled with the 38 Tulia drug
defendants whose convictions a judge said he will recommend be thrown out
because the key prosecution witness was not credible.

The settlements range from $12,000 for the 13 people still in prison to
$6,000 for those who served between six months and three years and $2,000
for those who did not serve any time, officials said. Attorneys for some of
the defendants said they would seek investigations - and possible lawsuits
- - against the Panhandle Narcotics Regional Task Force that directed the
investigation.

Retired state District Judge Ron Chapman on Tuesday said prosecutors and
defense attorneys had agreed after a hearing on four cases that all 38 drug
convictions - almost all involving black defendants - should be thrown out.
The judge, agreeing that former undercover agent Tom Coleman was not
credible, said he will recommend that the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
accept the settlement.

If new trials are ordered, the state's special prosecutors have said that
they would not retry the cases. Defense attorneys had argued that the Tulia
cases were racially charged and based solely on the testimony of Mr.
Coleman, who had a checkered law enforcement career and never provided
corroborating evidence.

At an emergency meeting Tuesday night, the Swisher County Commissioners
Court agreed to settle in exchange for no future lawsuits against the
county, which has an operating budget of $3.1 million. County Judge Harold
Keeter issued a statement saying that county officials had defended
District Attorney Terry McEachern and the prosecution of the cases, but
moved quickly when it became apparent that the convictions would be dismissed.

"The decision ... was not about the guilt or innocence of any of the
defendants," the statement said. "It was about protecting the taxpayers of
this county and bringing closure to a situation that has disrupted and
occupied our citizens for 3 1/2 years."

Michelle Williams said the money would not erase the three years she spent
in prison. "No money in the world can replace the hurt and the pain and the
time I lost being away from my children," she said. "What I want is justice."

Still in question is the fate of Mr. Coleman, who contradicted or changed
his trial testimony during the hearing last month. There was no answer at
his home in Waxahachie on Wednesday. John Nation, a Dallas lawyer who
served as a special prosecutor, said the case is not over, but he declined
further comment.