TULIA DEFENDANTS RELEASED

Emotions Overwhelming As Families Are Reunited

TULIA - The Swisher County courtroom was the scene of joyful chaos Monday
as family and friends of a dozen newly freed people fought a crush of media
for access to their loved ones, finally free after three years of prison.

The freedom, though long planned and even longer dreamed of, was
overwhelming for many of the dozen defendants from the discredited 1999
Tulia drug sting, leaving them struggling to deal with the rush of emotions.

"It's just too much," said Freddie Brookins Jr., as families members swept
in for hugs of nearly dangerous intensity. "There's happiness, but there's
so much more."

Brookins' father, Freddie Brookins Sr., also had difficulty putting
feelings into words Monday.

"My mind is so crowded right now, I can't even think," the elder Brookins
said as he put his arm around his son's shoulders. "I just can't stop
smiling. That's all I can do is stand here and smile."

The reunions for Brookins and the other families were made possible by a
dramatic chain of events set in motion in March when visiting judge Ron
Chapman called a halt to evidentiary hearings in Tulia. Chapman found that
undercover agent Tom Coleman was giving unreliable testimony about his
actions during the controversial drug sting, which netted 46 people, 39 of
them black.

Chapman, along with prosecutors and defense attorneys, recommended to the
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals that all the cases based on Coleman's
testimony be overturned. That process could take months or even years, so
the Texas Legislature stepped in this session to pass a bill allowing the
court to set bond for the remaining defendants.

Chapman carried through Monday, setting personal recognizance bonds after
cautioning the defendants to live exemplary lives until their cases are
disposed of.

12 Are Released

The hearing was attended by a horde of media, attorneys and most of the
original 46 people arrested in the sting.

Tonya Michelle White, who was cleared of charges in the sting after she
presented an alibi, made the drive from Louisiana to see her two newly
freed siblings and to support the other defendants.

White said she was delighted that the defendants were going free but said
the victory still leaves the war nowhere near complete.

12 Are Released

Twelve people were released on bond Monday.

a.. Dennis Michael Allen, 36, sentenced to 18 years

a.. James Ray Barrow, 33, sentenced to 10 years

a.. Freddie Brookins Jr., 26, sentenced to 20 years

a.. Willie Hall, 40, sentenced to 18 years

a.. Christopher Eugene Jackson, 31, sentenced to 20 years

a.. Calvin Kent Klein, 23, sentenced to 10 years

a.. Joe Welton Moore, 60, sentenced to 90 years

a.. Benny Lee Robinson, 26, sentenced to 10 years

a.. Timothy Wayne Towery, 29, sentenced to 18 years

a.. Kareem White, 27, sentenced to 60 years

a.. Kizzie White, 26, sentenced to 25 years

a.. Jason Jerome Williams, 24, sentenced to 45 years