Pubdate: Sat, 30 Sep 2000 Source: Lubbock Avalanche-Journal (TX) Copyright: 2000 The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal Contact: http://www.lubbockonline.com/interactive/edit.shtml Website: http://www.lubbockonline.com/ Forum: http://chat.lubbockonline.com:90/eshare/ Author: Deon Daugherty, Morris News Service Notes from MAP: Cited: Journey for Justice: http://www.JourneyForJustice.org/ Drug Policy Forum of Texas: http://www.dpft.org/ Updates: From the Journey are at: http://www.dpft.org/txj4jj.html and http://www.csdp.org/j4jtexas/ Bookmarks: MAP's link to Texas articles is: http://www.mapinc.org/states/tx For Journey for Justice Protest news items: http://www.mapinc.org/journey.htm TULIA DRUG-BUST CRITICS MAKE CAPITOL CASE Lawsuit Alleges Civil-Rights Conspiracy AUSTIN -- Tynisha Winkfield plans to move her family out of the tiny West Texas town of Tulia by the end of the year. As she cradled her 8-week-old daughter Dora while standing on the front steps of the state Capitol in Austin on Friday, the 22-year-old said she believes the town is no place for her or her family. Winkfield said that a 1999 drug bust -- which reportedly led to the imprisonment of 16 percent of Tulia's black population -- was unfair. Winkfield was with a group of Tulia adults and children angered by the controversial bust who attended a rally at the Capitol. About 200 people attended the rally, which was called ''Journey for Justice'' and coordinated by the Houston-based Drug Policy Forum of Texas, a group that wants drugs legalized and regulated. Several of Winkfield's family members were among those she said were wrongfully charged with drug crimes in the 1999 bust in which 40 blacks were arrested. Winkfield said her family has called Tulia home since her grandmother was 16 years old. ''This is the only place I've known. Everything is there,'' said Winkfield, who was born and raised in the town of 5,000 people. ''We have to leave our home because one person said that we, my family, broke the law.'' Winkfield was referring to undercover agent Tom Coleman, the lone officer who conducted the 18-month drug operation. Although described by some as an excellent lawman, others have challenged his character. Coleman couldn't be reached for comment Friday. In another development Friday, the Texas affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit seeking $6 million from three people connected with the Tulia bust. The lawsuit, filed in Amarillo, alleges Coleman, Swisher County Sheriff Larry Stewart, and District Attorney Terry McEachern conspired to violate the civil rights of blacks in Tulia. Amarillo attorney Jeff Blackburn filed the suit on behalf of Yul Bryant, a man who Blackburn said protested his innocence for seven months before the charge was dropped and he was released from jail. Blackburn has been a civil rights attorney in the Panhandle and West Texas for about 15 years, but the Tulia case still shocks him, he said. ''This case has got to be one of the most outrageous cases I have ever seen,'' he said. ''What happened in Tulia is a real abomination and a real injustice that has done incredible damage to a lot of human beings. They deserve a real day in court.'' The suit asks for $1 million in actual damages and $1 million in punitive damages from each of the three defendants. McEachern said the allegation that race motivated the sting is ''wrong.'' ''There wasn't any list or target. We prosecute everybody that delivers cocaine,'' he said. Plus, McEachern said, a grand jury handed down indictments against those accused, which triggered the arrests. ''If the grand jury returns an indictment, that is sufficient there is probable cause. Period. And that is determined outside of my presence,'' he said. ''I'm not even present when the grand jury votes.'' The Swisher County sheriff said Friday afternoon that he hadn't yet seen the lawsuit. However, he said, ''The investigation was conducted fairly, and no, there was no racial overtone -- plain and simple.'' Among the Tulia children attending Friday's rally was 10-year-old Brittany White, whose mother was imprisoned in the bust. ''I'm trying to get my mom and other family out of jail,'' she said. LaWanda Smith, one of the 40 blacks arrested, is taking care of the girl and six other children whose parents were incarcerated as a result of the operation. Smith pleaded guilty to possession of powder cocaine and was given three years' deferred adjudication. She contends she is innocent and only took a plea agreement because she wouldn't have had any chance at trial. Plus, she said, she is able to take care of the children of others she believes were victims of racial profiling. Smith is a cashier at a small clothing store in Tulia. Feeding and clothing the children will be a difficult task, but ''I just take one day at a time,'' she said. The 25-year-old said she'd like to leave Tulia and the racism she has seen behind, but has to stay because ''there's nobody else to take care of these children. Everybody else who would is incarcerated.'' Speakers at the rally urged presidential candidate Gov. George W. Bush to take the lead in reforming criminal justice in Texas and to ''show what an efficient criminal justice system looks like.'' Bush spokeswoman Linda Edwards said the governor has ensured that first time drug offenders possessing a small amount get probation and treatment while repeat offenders are imprisoned. ''Gov. Bush has worked very hard on criminal justice and juvenile justice reforms during his term in office. We have seen crime rates decrease, and the revolving door in prisons is closed shut on violent offenders,'' she said. Edwards said the governor isn't aware of the case in Tulia. However, she said, ''It is, of course, unlawful in Texas to stop people or arrest people or charge people based on their race or ethnicity. Gov. Bush absolutely does not tolerate people being stopped or arrested or charged simply based on their race or ethnicity.'' Anita Barrow, whose twin sons are each serving 20 years as a result of the bust, said there is no justice for poor minorities in Tulia. ''If you don't got money, or if you're not white, or if you're white but you hang around with blacks, it's the same thing,'' Barrow said. ''No justice.'' The Rev. Charles Kiker, a retired Tulia Baptist minister, said, ''The 'war on drugs' is a war on people, and especially on black people.'' William Harrell, executive director of the ACLU of Texas, said law enforcement's approach to fighting drugs has taken on genocide proportions. He urged the people at the rally not to forget those imprisoned on drug crimes and their children who live in Tulia. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake