BLAME FOR INJUSTICE IN TULIA SHOULDN'T FALL SOLELY ON EX-COP

For justice truly to be served, the Tulia case shouldn't be considered
closed now that some of the wrongfully convicted defendants are freed on
bail and the prosecution of the officer who engineered their convictions
faces prosecution.

The Tulia story should not end with the trial of ex-officer Tom Coleman.
The breakdown of justice in Tulia was total. It might have started with
Coleman who was charged with felony perjury. But there were others
entrusted with upholding justice who were equally responsible for
railroading dozens of Tulia residents. They, too, must be held accountable.

So far, the Texas justice system seems hesitant to do so. Many people want
to discount or gloss over the unprofessional and questionable behavior of
Swisher County District Attorney Terry McEachern and county Sheriff Larry
Stewart. They should have stopped Coleman. There was plenty of warning
about Coleman's perfidy that they overlooked or ignored.

We again urge the State Bar of Texas to investigate whether the prosecutor
abused or violated state ethics rules governing professional conduct of
prosecutors. State law clearly stipulates that the prosecutor's job is to
see justice is done -- not to secure convictions by any means.

In his zeal to win convictions, McEachern failed to disclose facts that
would have negated the guilt of Tulia defendants, according to court documents.

Stewart's conduct also is troubling. He hired Coleman without doing a
background check, which would have turned up serious problems in Coleman's
performance at other police departments. Most troubling is that six months
into Coleman's undercover drug sting that played out almost entirely in
Tulia's tiny black community, Stewart arrested Coleman on theft charges.
Incredibly, Stewart turned Coleman loose for another 12 months to continue
his drug sting following that arrest. Charges were dropped against Coleman
after he paid $7,000 restitution.

Tainted convictions broke up families and robbed Tulia defendants of their
freedom. Beyond that, though, was the damage done to the Texas Criminal
Justice system.

For now, most of those who were wrongly convicted and sent to prison have
been released or are out on bail. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
should throw out the tainted convictions, which were won on a train of
lies. Tulia defendants also should be pardoned or excused by the Texas
Board of Pardon and Paroles.

There will be a tendency to blame Coleman for the entire Tulia travesty. He
is a tempting scapegoat. But justice requires that the entire cancer be
extracted. And that means dealing with McEachern and Stewart.