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Newsbrief:
Lying
Tulia
Undercover
Cop
Indicted
for
Perjury
4/25/03
It couldn't happen to a nicer
guy. Tom Coleman, the undercover cop whose one-man narcotics task
force led to the arrest of 46 people, 39 of them black, in Tulia, TX, in
1999, was indicted by a Swisher County grand jury on three counts of aggravated
perjury Thursday. He faces two to ten years in prison on each count
if convicted.
The indictments came in the
wake of Coleman's testimony last month during an evidentiary hearing into
the cases ordered by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. The judge
hearing that case, retired State District Judge Ron Chapman, recommended
that 38 convictions based on Coleman's work in Tulia be dismissed.
Coleman simply couldn't be believed, said Chapman. "It is stipulated
by all parties and approved by the court that Tom Coleman is simply not
a credible witness under oath," Chapman noted. Chapman claimed to
have made numerous drug buys, but failed to provide audio or video recordings
of his solo work and sometimes worked without notes. Some defendants
were able to prove that Coleman had identified them incorrectly, others
that Coleman had placed them in Tulia when they were hundreds of miles
away. In his testimony last month, Coleman was even weaker than during
the trials, claiming to have forgotten key information while continuing
to assert his truthfulness.
Of the 46 people indicted
on the basis of Coleman's uncorroborated undercover work, eight were found
guilty at trial and 27 pleaded guilty. Eight cases were thrown out
earlier. Thirteen people remain behind prison bars, although they
are likely to be freed once the Court of Criminal Appeals upholds Chapman's
recommendation.
-- END --
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Issue #284, 4/25/03
Editorial: International Singularity | Vienna: UN Reaffirms Prohibitionist Path, Cracks Appear in the Consensus as Clamor for Change Grows | Peru: Coca Farmers Claim Partial Victory After Meeting With President | If It's 20-Apr and We're in San Francisco, This Must Be NORML | California County, Patients Sue Federal Drug Warriors Over Medical Marijuana Raids | Newsbrief: Lying Tulia Undercover Cop Indicted for Perjury | Newsbrief: Canadian Government to Unveil Marijuana Decriminalization Bill in June, Newspaper Says | Newsbrief: Brazilian Health Ministry Proposes Legalization of Drug Possession | Newsbrief: Russia Declares War on Drug Barons | Newsbrief: This Week's Corrupt Cop Story | New WOLA Report on Mexico's Military in the War on Drugs | The Reformer's Calendar
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