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June 17, 2003: Well, here we are again almost 2 1/2 months later.   Anita and I attended the hearing in Tulia yesterday that resulted in the freeing of most of those incarcerated as a result of the infamous drug sting of '99.  One can pick up almost any major paper and read quotes from a stunning list of media personalities, politicians, lawyers, and notable activists who were in attendance.  However, I want to share some of the more intimate moments from my perspective. 

The scene outside of the courthouse, before and after the hearing, was an absolute media feeding-frenzy.  I met folks representing outlets from coast to coast.  Freddie Brookins Sr. (shown below), a guy I attended high school with, seemed the center of attention during the hour before the hearing began.  He was smiling from ear to ear most of the time, but I knew he must have been exhausted.  When I was able to finally shake his hand and offer a big hug, I told him he HAD to introduce me to his son, Freddie Jr., who has been in prison for almost 4 years.  A few moments later, those of us who thought to enter the courtroom early enough waited patiently for the hearing to begin.  Sheriff Stewart stood near the door, smiling as though he was as pleased as the rest of us at what was about to occur. The most notable fact about this scene (at least to my mind) was that the defendants were all seated in the JURY BOX.   Anyway, we then listened to the eloquent remarks of several lawyers (and they were eloquent...it's just that I don't want to repeat what one can read everywhere) followed by an already prepared statement by the judge that would result in the release of the defendants.  After applauding the Judge's decision we  made our way outside of the courtroom and out to the parking lot where friends and family awaited the release of the prisoners.  Well, I couldn't wait around for that because I was the sound guy for a soon-to-begin celebration in the nearby Memorial Building.  It was all kind of strange because the defendants were free...but not yet exonerated. Some thought we should not celebrate at all; others thought, well, we can celebrate a little.  ...but I thought hell, if I have been in prison for 4 years and I'm gettin' out today because me and my friends turned injustice on its head...I'm celebratin'!!  OK, we still have much to accomplish, but this is a big day.  We have come all the way from nobody paying attention to EVERYBODY, especially the politicians,  rushing to jump on the "me too" bandwagon lest they wind up on the wrong side of history. 

So we ate brisket, ribs and sausage, and the speakers spoke until there were few left to listen.  Then Alan Bean , myself,  and the few others remaining wandered outside where defendants and their families were talking to the press.  I ran into Freddie again.  As he rubbed his forehead, he was trying to decide whether or not he really wanted to be on national NPR at 7:30 in the morning.   A nearby media somebody from California suggested that Freddie needed an agent.   Then I wandered over to where Joe Moore was finally getting a chance to eat something.  You see, I met Joe (shown below)  at least once back in 1973 or so.  Although I was tempted to remind him of the circumstances under which we made our acquaintance, I knew that it would serve no useful purpose, so I just said  'Hi Joe.  Believe it or not,  we met back in the 70s'  "I believe it... In fact,  I think I remember your mother too." 

By that time, Freddie seemed almost free of the media assault. His son stood nearby, so I wandered back over. 'Are you gonna introduce me to your son now?'  So I met Freddie Jr.  It was a big deal.  It was like the entire 3 1/2 year fight was over my being able to shake this man's hand.    Freddie had previously told me that his son was wanting to go to college, so I mentioned the possibility of his attending Texas Tech.  Freddie seemed to like the idea, and I was grinning inside at the sight of this "scumbag drug dealer" graduating with honors from Texas Tech University.  Anyway, I left with the feeling that Freddie Jr. will leave his mark one way or another.  His Dad has certainly impressed me for the past three years. 

Jeff Frazier, Texas ACLU and my cousin Nancy Bean, Tulia resident and cofounder of Friends of Justice. Shown screen left is Thelma Johnson, President and cofounder of Friends of Justice.

The day ended for Anita and me at the home of Alan and Nancy Bean.  We were joined by Charles & Patricia Kiker, Ann del Llano, Jeff Frazier and Scott Henson of Texas ACLU, and Barbara Markham.  Jeff, Alan and I got out our guitars, and we sang and talked about myriad moments from the past three years.   Alan and I had each written songs during the early days of the struggle that predicted this day's coming.  Alan and I always believed...I think most of us did. To say it was an emotional experience to sing these songs on this day would be a considerable understatement.

From Alan Bean's Black and Blue

         somehow Jesse's gonna have his day--don't ask me how I know
        there's just a certain inevitability about it
        like the shifting tides--like the way we rise
        there's just a certain inevitability about it
        when it's down to you, and it's stuck like glue
                    ...and it's black and blue.

From A Valley Tale

       for the voice took flight and the people did hear
        and the people sang loud, and the people sang clear
        and the heavens thundered as the people wailed
        then the valley trembled, and the courthouse fell

April 05, 2003:
The tragic saga in Tulia, Texas, may soon be over. In the middle of extensive hearings in Tulia, a Dallas judge recommended that all of the 38 convictions be tossed. The Texas Court of Appeals has the final say, but expectations are that at least some amount of justice will soon  be served in Tulia.  In addition, a special prosecutor may recommend that Tom Coleman should answer to charges of perjury.   Congratulations to the Friends of Justice and all of the other organizations that made this possible.  My CD, Collateral Damage: Just Say Know, features the voices of Tulia children as it chronicles the outrageous drug sting and subsequent birth of the Friends of Justice.  If you want to get a taste of what happened from 1998-2002  in story and song, this CD can be purchased at Yellowhouse music. Click here for details.

Full Story on what happened recently in Tulia: 02TEXA.html-pagewanted=print&position=top (or below).

New York Times

Texas Court Acts to Clear 38, Almost All Black, in Drug Case

By SIMON ROMERO with ADAM LIPTAK

ULIA, Tex., April 1 — Conceding that they had made a catastrophic mistake in relying solely on the uncorroborated testimony of an undercover officer, prosecutors moved today to overturn the convictions of 38 people, almost all of them black, who were caught in a series of drug arrests in 1999 that tore this town apart.

A judge agreed with the prosecutors, and defense lawyers, that the Texas courts should vacate every conviction arising from the drug sting, including those in which the defendants pleaded guilty.

The extraordinary turnabout followed hearings here last month in which the undercover officer, Thomas Coleman, and many other witnesses testified about his troubled law enforcement career, unorthodox methods, pervasive errors, combustible temperament and apparent racism.

But the drug prosecutions were fueled by more than one unreliable officer, defense lawyers said. The prosecutions were, these lawyers said, the consequence of poisonous small-town race relations, a misguided desire to claim victories at any cost in the war on drugs and a legal system in which poor defendants did not have a fighting chance against thin but confident testimony from a single police officer.

"It is established by all parties and approved by the court that Tom Coleman is simply not a credible witness under oath," Ron Chapman, a retired state court judge who presided over the hearings, said from the bench today. Judge Chapman said he would recommend that a higher court overturn the convictions of everyone convicted in the sting. In the meantime, the 16 people still in prison will remain there.
Roderique S. Hobson Jr., a lawyer in Lubbock who was recently brought in as a special prosecutor on the case, said, "What we've seen here is the beginning of a vindication of the system."

Throughout this town of 5,000 perched on the flatlands of the Texas panhandle between Amarillo and Lubbock, there were displays of surprise and gratification after today's developments. Outside the courthouse, Pattie Brookins, the mother of Freddie Brookins Jr., one of the four men challenging their convictions on drug charges in last month's hearings, could not stop weeping as she stood in front of the jail where her son was still being held.
"It's been a long time coming," Ms. Brookins said. "I guess this is what satisfaction feels like."
Swisher County, of which Tulia is the seat, also agreed to pay $250,000 to the 38 defendants. Defense lawyers said the money would be allocated based largely on how long the defendants spent in prison. In exchange, the defendants gave up the right to file civil suits against the county and its employees, including the sheriff here, Larry Stewart, and the original prosecutor, Terry D. McEachern. The agreement probably precludes suits against Mr. Coleman.

Forty-six people were arrested in the drug sweep, but several of the cases were dismissed as Mr. Coleman's evidence unraveled.

Seven of the 38 who were convicted based on his accusations went to trial, receiving sentences of at least 20 years. Fourteen other people received prison sentences after pleading guilty. Twelve pleaded guilty and were sentenced to probation or had earlier probation revoked. Two people pleaded guilty to misdemeanors and were fined. Three had cases dismissed but had probation revoked in other counties while the Tulia charges were pending.

Defense lawyers said they might pursue suits against others, including the Panhandle Regional Narcotics Trafficking Task Force, the federally financed consortium of 26 Texas counties that helped hire and supervise Mr. Coleman.
Judge Chapman granted a request by Mr. McEachern and two other local prosecutors that they be allowed to withdraw from the cases based on what he described as Mr. Coleman's apparent perjury. Mr. Hobson, the new special prosecutor, made a similar request, but Judge Chapman asked him to continue to represent the state in the cases.
Sheriff Stewart, who hired Mr. Coleman in January 1998 as an undercover officer, did not allow reporters to visit the four inmates in the county jail today but in telephone interviews the men reflected on their experience with Swisher County's legal system.

None of the four men said that they planned to stay in Tulia, which has a small African-American population of about 400.
Joseph Moore, 60, a hog farmer who Mr. Coleman said was the kingpin of cocaine trafficking in Tulia, said he hoped to move to a small town nearby in New Mexico or Oklahoma where he hoped to get his health in order.
"The last 45 months in prison have been hell for me," Mr. Moore said. "My diabetes started to act up and I almost died in jail. I don't know if anyone can understand what it means to almost die alone, incarcerated by mistake."

Christopher Jackson, who turns 31 on Wednesday, said he hoped to pass a high school graduation equivalency test and planned to start his own welding business. "This is a very blessed moment," Mr. Jackson said.
Jason Williams, 24, said he was planning to study business management to eventually open his own electronics store. "I want to make this dusty little town into just a memory," Mr. Williams said.

Sheriff Stewart said in a statement, "The agreement reached among the parties involved is not about guilt or innocence but is intended to end the controversy that surrounds these cases."
For a small community that had nearly a tenth of its black population incarcerated on drug-related charges, the drug sting masterminded by Mr. Coleman has left an enduring mark.
Tynisha Winkfield, interviewed at a Pizza Hut restaurant where people in the courtroom repaired to celebrate the settlement over lunch, said her boyfriend, Jerrod Ervine, and uncle, Billie Wafer, had been jailed and subsequently released as a result of the sting.

Another uncle, Kenneth Powell, is one of 16 people still in prison because of the sting or as a result of probation violations related to drug charges originating from Mr. Coleman's undercover operation.
"Kids have lost parents and families have lost money because of this," said Ms. Winkfield, who works as a bartender at the Country Club, a bar on the outskirts of this dry town whose clientele is entirely white.
Lawyers for the defendants, from Amarillo, New York and Washington, expressed satisfaction at today's developments and dismay at how long the process had taken.

"It came later than it should have come, but at least it came," said Mitchell E. Zamoff, a lawyer with Hogan & Hartson in Washington. That firm and Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering, also in Washington, represented two of the defendants. Others were represented by the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and Jeff Blackburn, a lawyer in Amarillo.
Mr. Coleman testified last month that although most of the supposed drug transactions were in public places, he did not wear a recording device, arrange for video surveillance, ask anyone to accompany him, ask anyone to observe the deals or fingerprint the plastic bags containing the drugs. He worked alone and did not tape record his drug buys. No drugs, weapons or large sums of cash were found when 46 people, more than 10 percent of Tulia's black population, were arrested early in the morning on July 23, 1999.

Mr. Coleman also testified that he made routine use of the most charged of racial epithets.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the state's highest court for criminal matters, is not required to accept the parties' request or Judge Chapman's recommendation. When the appeals court ordered last month's hearings, it indicated that much will turn on whether there was other evidence of guilt and whether defense lawyers were told enough about Mr. Coleman by prosecutors to try to discredit his testimony at their client's trials in late 1999 and early 2000.
Defense lawyers will spend the next few weeks gathering further information on those points. They will submit the information, as proposed findings of fact, to Judge Chapman for his consideration and approval. The findings will serve as the basis for Judge Chapman's recommendation to the appeals court.
Legal experts cautioned that the appeals court can be unpredictable and does not always accept even requests joined in by all parties.

The appeals court could reject Judge Chapman's recommendation in some or all of the cases, overturn the convictions outright or order new trials. But given their concessions about Mr. Coleman today, prosecutors are unlikely to pursue retrials even if the appeals court allows them.

Mr. Coleman, who was not at the courthouse today, could not be reached for comment. His phone number is unlisted. Mr. McEachern, the original prosecutor, did not respond to a message seeking comment.
At a small housing project behind the Sales Barn, a feedlot where auctions of livestock from surrounding ranches are held each week, talk about financial awards or the legal complexities of the settlement seemed far away. Tina S. Yarlrough, a 38-year-old housekeeper, wondered if life in Tulia could get back to normal.

"It used to be pretty calm around here," Ms. Yarlrough said as she sat on her porch swapping jokes with her neighbors. "Then it got to the point where you couldn't have a boyfriend or a girlfriend with so many people locked up. The only ones left were your kinfolk."

May 20, 2002:
Brad is scheduling an extensive tour of the western states.  Click here for details.

April 04, 2002:
Collateral Damage: Just Say Know is now available (finally).  Click here to place your order. For those in the Lubbock area, please join us for our CD release celebration and concert.

January 20th, 2002: 
The release of Brad's new CD, Collateral Damage, will be delayed until about
the middle of March.  Please check back soon for updates.  

Original photo appeared in 
the Austin American-Statesman, 
9/30/00
When Justice Acy  was  2, 
her mother was sent to prison 
on drug charges. Click photo 
for full story

December 29th, 2001:
Brad Carter is currently producing a new CD with a social justice theme.  Of special interests, some of the CD focuses on the infamous drug sting of 1999 in Tulia, Texas. The Tulia-based Friends of Justice, including their Children's Choir, will be  featured as guest performers.  This CD will be offered to non-profit groups interested in social justice issues at a substantial discount for redistribution.  Partial proceeds will benefit Friends of Justice. The CD is scheduled to be released in February. If your group is interested in this project, please contact Anita Hunter or Brad Carter at (806) 792-0566, or email to bcarter@yellowhousemusic.com.  Texas groups should be prepared to furnish a tax ID number to avoid local sales taxes.

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