FREEDOM MAY BE NEAR FOR 13 IN TULIA DRUG STING

The 13 people still in prison on convictions from the controversial 1999
Tulia drug sting should be freed, according to a general agreement worked
out Thursday.

The agreement - known legally as findings of fact and conclusions of law -
was hammered out by defense attorneys, special prosecutors and visiting
judge Ron Chapman in a Dallas law office Thursday, according to a source
close to the negotiations.

The two sides and the judge signed the 150-page findings of fact, which
will be sent on to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals for a final
decision, the source said.

The negotiations were confirmed by representatives of the prosecution and
the defense, although neither side would provide details.

Special Prosecutor John Nation confirmed in a call to his office that the
agreement had been worked out, but provided no details.

"We didn't get everything we wanted, and the defense didn't get everything
they wanted," Nation said. "But we were able to come up with consensus
findings that are fair to everyone concerned. I think the public will be
pleased with them."

Defense attorney Jeff Blackburn confirmed he was in Dallas with several
other defense attorneys for the negotiations, but said that the entire
package of agreements had not been finalized, and it was too early to
release any details.

Both sides hashed out the large issues, but several smaller items,
including exhibits used for evidence, have yet to be worked out, Blackburn
said.

"The whole thing has to exist together as a package," Blackburn said. "Not
everything is done. Until it's all done, those findings of fact are still
subject to change. As far as we're concerned, it's not final until it's
filed (with the appeals court)."

The agreement on the larger issues comes after nearly four years of legal
wrangling in the Tulia bust, during which 46 people, 39 of them black, were
arrested on the word of undercover agent Tom Coleman.

The arrests led to a raging controversy, which focused the national media
spotlight on Tulia.

The public reaction was merely a sideshow to the fireworks in the
courtroom, however.

The legal battle kicked into high gear in March when evidentiary hearings
in four of the cases were held in Tulia.

Chapman shocked the crowd in the courtroom when he called a halt to the
hearings during Coleman's rambling, contradictory testimony. Chapman
announced that he had reached an agreement with the prosecution and the
defense to recommend to the appeals court that all the cases be overturned
because Coleman "simply is not credible under oath."

Coleman was indicted last week on three counts of aggravated perjury
related to his testimony during the hearings.

Coleman's last known phone number is disconnected and his attorney could
not be reached for comment.

The defense submitted its proposed findings to the special prosecutors last
week. Those findings were then worked into a form agreeable to both sides
during Thursday's negotiations.

The most striking aspect of the agreed findings is the decision to
recommend the release of the defendants from prison while their cases are
sorted out by the appeals court.

Blackburn said the defense has long supported releasing the prisoners on
bond while the cases work their way through the courts.

The source close to the negotiations said the state joined in Thursday,
agreeing to recommend to the Court of Criminal Appeals that all 13 people
still in prison be released on their own recognizance.

The two sides also agreed that Coleman perjured himself on the stand and
that the prosecution team failed to turn over evidence from Coleman's
background that could have helped the defense.

Most of the responsibility for withholding evidence falls on Coleman, while
Swisher County Sheriff Larry Stewart and District Attorney Terry McEachern
bear a lesser amount of responsibility, the source said.

McEachern could not be reached after business hours and Stewart was out of
town Thursday, and could not be contacted.

The agreement leaves a few matters to be worked out, then the entire
findings of fact, along with related court records, will be forwarded to
the Court of Criminal Appeals. The appeals court will have to decide
whether to release the defendants on bond.

Bond could shorten the jail time spent by the defendants significantly,
assuming the appeals court agrees with the findings and overturns the cases.

The appeals court likely won't rule for at least 90 days, and the issue
could reach into the fall before a ruling is released, the source close to
the negotiations said.

No one is able to predict how the appeals court will rule, Nation said, but
the fact that the agreed findings will soon be before it indicates the
justice system has worked in this instance.

"If the justice system doesn't work, these people would be in jail with no
hope of ever getting their claims heard," Nation said.

"My opinion is for several weeks now, some very fine lawyers and one very
fine judge have been making justice happen."