APPELLATE COURT TOSSES OUT SENTENCING IN TULIA DRUG STING

An appellate court has set aside the sentencing of a woman convicted in the
controversial 1999 Tulia drug sting.

Kizzie Rashawn White, serving a 25-year sentence for delivery of a
controlled substance, will face a new sentencing hearing following the 7th
Court of Appeals in Amarillo's March 20 decision.

No hearing date has been set.

The Panhandle bust, in which 40 of the 46 people arrested were black,
brought national attention and questions about the way the state's drug
task forces conduct investigations. The U.S. Justice Department is still
investigating the bust.

The court ruled that the state didn't meet its burden of proof in arguing
for enhancement on one of the seven charges White was tried on. Enhancement
allows the prosecution to increase the degree of the felony if drug sales
occur within 1,000 feet of a school or playground.

The court ruled that undercover agent Tom Coleman didn't testify to the
precise location where he allegedly bought drugs from White, voiding the
jury's decision that it happened within 1,000 feet of a school or playground.

White's attorney, Ron Spriggs, said he was seeking to have the appeals
court toss out the conviction. The court did not overturn the convictions.
The court also upheld sentencing on six of the charges against White,
Spriggs said.

District Attorney Terry McEachern characterized the ruling as a minor setback.

Critics said the investigation and arrests were racially motivated. Tulia's
population is about 5,000, of which about 250 residents are black.

Swisher County Sheriff Larry Stewart and McEachern deny allegations of
racial bias and stand by the arrests and convictions.

Coleman has been criticized for having no corroborating evidence to support
the drug busts he made. Coleman has said a higher proportion of blacks were
arrested only because he was working in the black community.