December 26, 2002

Tulia


The Latest From Tulia. Some tentative, very preliminary steps are being taken to address one of the great miscarriages of justice in the country. By Bob Herbert. [New York Times: Opinion]


A little over 3 years ago, 46 residents of Tulia, Tx, were arrested and charged with selling cocaine.  Of the 46 arrested, 40 were black, and the other 6 had various ties to the black community.  All were poor, and at the time of their arrests, no money, drugs, weapons or other evidence was found to support the allegations, and the prosecution's case rested on the testimony of Tom Coleman, an officer whose reliability as a witness is open to question.


The cases went to trial, and a series of all-white juries found most of those tried guilty - with sentences ranging from 14 years to over 430.  As it became clear that most cases would end with convictions and stiff prison terms, several of those arrested entered into plea-bargains.  A few were able to prove that they were at work or out of town at the time that Tom Coleman claims that they were selling drugs to him (as part of an undercover sting operation he was running), but even as more information comes to light indicating that the cases are likely to be bogus, there are still 14 people in jail on charges stemming from the early morning raid.


Recently, an appelate court has returned some of the cases back to the original court for further investigation, and the judge that presided over the original trials has recused himself.  A new judge, who has no ties to the law-enforcement system in Tulia, has been appointed to take over the cases.


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Posted by thorswitch at December 26, 2002 03:34 AM | TrackBack


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