Pubdate: Sat, 23 Aug 2003
Source: Dallas Morning News (TX)
Copyright: 2003 The Dallas Morning News
Contact:  http://www.dallasnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/117
Author: DAVID SEDENO,  The Dallas Morning News

35 CONVICTED IN TULIA BUSTS ARE PARDONED

Gov. Rick Perry on Friday pardoned 35 people, most of them black, who were 
convicted in a 1999 drug sting in Tulia, Texas. It was the latest in a 
series of legal moves aimed at correcting what many called a judicial 
system gone awry in the small Panhandle town.

Mr. Perry acted on the recommendation of the Board of Pardons and Paroles, 
which reviewed the cases after the arresting undercover agent, Tom Coleman, 
was discredited during a review ordered by the Texas Court of Criminal 
Appeals. "Texans demand a justice system that is tough but fair," the 
governor said in a statement. "I believe my decision to grant pardons in 
these cases is both appropriate and just."

Attorneys said the governor's action clears the way for their clients' 
records to be expunged, allowing them to get back to seeking jobs and 
continuing their education.

"This feels great. It's the day we've been waiting for because now I don't 
have all of this on my shoulders," said Freddie Brookins Jr., 26, who was 
released in June pending an appeal and has remained in Tulia. "I've been 
trying to find a job since I got out, but it's been hard to find one around 
here, probably because of this thing."

Federal lawsuits Meanwhile, attorneys also filed the first of what may 
eventually be several federal lawsuits alleging violation of the civil 
rights of those arrested in the drug sting. The lawsuit filed in U.S. 
District Court in Amarillo on Friday was initiated on behalf of two women ­ 
Tonya White and Zuri Bossett ­ who were arrested and indicted in 1999 with 
dozens of others. Their cases were dismissed last year after authorities 
determined they were not in Tulia at the time that Mr. Coleman alleged he 
bought drugs from them. "This isn't over for our clients until everyone is 
held accountable in this mess," said Vanita Gupta, deputy counsel for the 
NAACP Legal Defense Fund, which represented several defendants. "The sting 
was not about Tom Coleman's actions but about a systematic effort that 
resulted in these convictions." Named in the lawsuit were Mr. Coleman, who 
lives in Waxahachie, Swisher County Sheriff Larry Stewart and District 
Attorney Terry McEachern. Mr. Coleman's attorney could not be reached for 
comment, and Sheriff Stewart declined to comment.

Mr. McEachern said he had not seen the lawsuit as of Friday afternoon but 
added that he's not worried about it.

"It goes with the territory," he said. "I don't think probably 90 percent, 
or even higher than that, of the people actually know what went on in 
Tulia." He said he was comfortable with events in the Tulia case, but "you 
can always look back and play Monday morning quarterback." A grievance 
committee from the Texas State Bar is investigating Mr. McEachern for his 
role in the drug sting prosecutions, according to the Lubbock 
Avalanche-Journal.

'Inaccurate' portrayal He said publicity about the cases has portrayed 
events unfairly because of lack of information distributed by investigative 
authorities. He said he has no plans to step down from his post.

"The media has been given information that is not totally inaccurate but 
somewhat inaccurate," he said, "and it has been shed in the worst light." 
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and, said one attorney, is also aimed 
at stopping narcotics task forces that receive federal money but have 
little independent oversight.

"This lawsuit is the only tool available to us to get those wrongdoers and 
to make them pay for what was done not only to these two women but 
ultimately to all who were victimized in Tulia," said Jeff Blackburn, an 
Amarillo lawyer representing several Tulia defendants. "It's our hope that 
we will expose the problem with the task force model of law enforcement 
throughout this state."

Earlier this year, Swisher County officials reached a $250,000 settlement 
with the 38 people who were convicted in the drug sting in an effort to 
stop future civil lawsuits. Ms. White and Ms. Bossett were not part of that 
settlement because their cases had been dismissed.

Undercover officer Mr. Coleman, the son of a Texas Rangers captain, was 
hired in 1998 to work undercover as part of the Panhandle Regional 
Narcotics Task Force with his main objective being to investigate drug 
dealing in Tulia. Mr. Coleman worked alone but never used electronic 
recording or videotaping devices to corroborate his drug buys. His 
investigation led to the arrests in 1999 of 46 people. Eight cases were 
dropped, but 38 others lead to guilty convictions or guilty pleas for drug 
offenses. Some people were sentenced to hefty prison terms.

Earlier this year, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals granted attorneys a 
review hearing for eight cases. After Mr. Coleman's inconsistent testimony, 
visiting state District Judge Ron Chapman of Dallas recommended the high 
court throw out all the Tulia cases in which Mr. Coleman was the key 
witness. Mr. Coleman faces two counts of perjury.

The governor, meanwhile, asked the parole board to review the Tulia cases. 
In June he signed into law a bill that allowed for the release of 12 of the 
Tulia defendants still imprisoned pending their appeals. Judge Chapman 
ordered their release on personal recognizance bonds on June 16. One 
defendant was later jailed on a disorderly conduct charge in Amarillo, but 
his attorneys believe he eventually will be released. "We commend the 
governor for doing the right thing," Ms. Gupta said. "The exonerations were 
the only possible solutions, and we and our clients are ecstatic about this."

Mr. Brookins said he hopes he'll soon have a clean record so he can enroll 
at a nearby community college next year.

Two months ago, after his release, Mr. Brookins stood in the parking lot of 
the Swisher County Courthouse talking about his newfound freedom yet 
declining to comment on how he might seek justice for his imprisonment. On 
Friday, he was more vocal, echoing comments from his attorneys. "I believe 
that anyone who had something to do with the drug sting should be held 
accountable," he said. "I believe they should be the ones doing time."
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