Pubdate: Thu, 31 Jul 2003
Source: Austin American-Statesman (TX)
Copyright: 2003 Austin American-Statesman
Contact:  http://www.austin360.com/statesman/editions/today/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/32
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/tulia.htm (Tulia, Texas)

PERRY ADVISED TO PARDON 35 IN TULIA DRUG SWEEP

The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles has told Gov. Rick Perry that he 
should pardon 35 people who were convicted on the word of a now-discredited 
undercover agent in the 1999 Tulia drug busts.

Board Chairman Gerald Garrett said all 18 members of the board recommended 
a pardon in each case.

It will take Perry's staff about one month to review all of the cases and 
advise the governor on whether the pardons should be issued, Perry 
spokesman Gene Acuna said.

"We are expediting the process; however, with that number of cases, we do 
anticipate it will take about a month," Acuna said. "The review is for each 
individual case, and that is standard procedure for every recommendation 
that comes from the board."

Most of those arrested during the drug sweep are now free, waiting to see 
if they will be pardoned, or if the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals will 
throw out their convictions.

Perry had asked the board on May 13 to review the convictions obtained 
almost entirely on the testimony of undercover narcotics agent Tom Coleman. 
Coleman now faces perjury charges.

Garrett said the board spent two months gathering information before 
issuing its recommendations Tuesday afternoon.

Forty-six people -- 39 of whom are black -- were arrested in the busts that 
brought national attention to the small Panhandle community of Tulia.

Thirty-eight of the cases were prosecuted, three of which were not part of 
the board's review.

One of those was the case of Cash Love, whose drug convictions were 
reversed this month by the 7th Court of Criminal Appeals. Two other cases 
involved defendants who were convicted on other charges.

District Judge Ron Chapman has recommended the Court of Criminal Appeals 
overturn the convictions of those prosecuted in the drug sting conducted by 
Coleman and order new trials. A special prosecutor appointed to handle the 
cases has said there will be no new trials.

Coleman has a pretrial hearing on his perjury cases set for Sept. 25.

Compiled from wire reports
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