TEXAS JUDGE RELEASES 13 CONVICTED DRUG OFFENDERS

Undercover Narcotics Officer Accused Of Lying, Racism

TULIA, Texas - Applause broke out in a packed courtroom Monday after 13
convicted drug offenders -- 11 of them black -- were released without bail
by a judge who was told they had spent nearly four years behind bars because
of a racist policeman who was a ``cancer'' within the justice system.

``It's good to be out,'' said a smiling Jason Jerome Williams, standing
outside the Swisher County courthouse after being freed by visiting state
District Judge Ron Chapman. ``I'm going to see my little girl tomorrow,''
Williams said.

Williams, and 11 other men and a woman, were released on personal
recognizance bonds while a state appellate court decides whether their
drug-related convictions should be overturned.

Their pursuer, former undercover narcotics officer Tom Coleman, is now
suspected of lying during his testimony in the cases. Witnesses say Coleman
exhibited racist behavior during his investigation of drug crimes in Tulia,
located 35 miles south of Amarillo. He was employed by Swisher County as
part of a regional narcotics task force.

Gov. Rick Perry, who signed a bill that allowed the defendants to be freed,
at least temporarily, could also issue pardons in the cases.

The convictions made national news after the prosecutors' cases -- all built
around Coleman's uncorroborated accounts -- began to fall apart during
appeal.

In all, 46 people, 39 of them black, were arrested in a July 1999 drug raid
based on Coleman's work. Thirty-eight people were ultimately convicted, or
they said they were scared into pleading guilty, fearing longer prison
sentences if they contested Coleman's evidence. The punishments ranged from
probation to 90 years in prison.

After Monday's actions, only three defendants remained behind bars while
their appeals move forward. Coleman has since been indicted on aggravated
perjury charges.

Before Chapman's ruling, he heard from Washington-based defense lawyers that
the 13 defendants were pursued by Coleman mainly because of their ethnicity.
The state's special prosecutor, Rod Hobson of Lubbock, concurred, telling
the judge that it would be in the interest of justice to free the
defendants.