SENTENCING THROWN OUT IN TULIA DRUG STING

Panhandle bust in 1999 drew national attention because of allegations of
racial bias

AMARILLO -- An appellate court has set aside the sentencing of a woman
convicted in the controversial 1999 Tulia drug sting.

Kizzie Rashawn White, serving a 25-year sentence for delivery of a
controlled substance, will face a new sentencing hearing after the 7th
Court of Appeals in Amarillo's March 20 decision.

No hearing date has been set.

The Panhandle bust, in which 40 of the 46 people arrested were black,
brought national attention and questions about the way the state's drug
task forces conduct investigations.

Tulia's population is about 5,000, of which about 250 residents are black.

The U.S. Justice Department is still investigating the arrests.

The court ruled that the state didn't meet its burden of proof in arguing
for enhancement on one of the seven charges on which White was tried.

Enhancement allows the prosecution to increase the degree of the felony if
drug sales occur within 1,000 feet of a school or playground.

The court ruled that undercover agent Tom Coleman didn't testify to the
precise location where he allegedly bought drugs from White, voiding the
jury's decision that it happened within 1,000 feet of a school or playground.

White's lawyer, Ron Spriggs, said he was seeking to have the appeals court
throw out the conviction. The court did not do so.

The court also upheld the sentencing on six of the charges against White,
Spriggs said.

District Attorney Terry McEachern characterized the ruling as a minor setback.

Swisher County Sheriff Larry Stewart and McEachern deny allegations of
racial bias and stand by the arrests and convictions.

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.