CHARGES EXPECTED TO BE DROPPED AGAINST LAST TULIA DEFENDANT

LUBBOCK, Texas -- Attorneys say charges are expected to be dropped next
week against the last defendant accused in the 1999 Tulia drug bust, which
drew national attention after critics said it was racially motivated.

Zuri Bossett, a 22-year-old single mother who lives in Amarillo and is
eight months pregnant, was accused of selling 1.4 grams of cocaine to an
undercover officer three years ago. Her trial was scheduled for Tuesday,
the anniversary of the day 43 people were indicted for selling drugs to
officer Tom Coleman.

Swisher County District Attorney Terry McEachern declined to comment on the
specifics of the case, but confirmed in Friday's Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
that the charges were expected to be dismissed.

Of those indicted in the bust, 37 were black, three were Hispanic and three
were white, according to the Swisher County Clerk's Office. The U.S.
Department of Justice investigated the bust and is still reviewing information.

Bossett's attorney, Jeff Blackburn, said his client was preparing to enter
college on a basketball scholarship when she was accused of selling
cocaine. She faced up to 20 years in prison if convicted for the
second-degree felony.

"I can go on with my life now and not be scared every day that I'm going to
get arrested and taken away from my children," Bossett said Thursday at a
news conference in front of the Hale County Courthouse.

Blackburn called the agreement to dismiss Bossett's charges a "turning
point in our general campaign to overturn these convictions and release
everybody from legal problems because of Tom Coleman."

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.

Eleven of those arrested in Tulia were found guilty and another 17 accepted
plea agreements.

Blackburn said 14 people arrested during the raid remain in prison.