Tulia Race, Cocaine, and Corruption in a Small Texas Town

by Blakeslee, Nate

• ISBN13: 9781586484545
• ISBN10: 1586484540
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-09-12
• Publisher: PublicAffairs

Summary

In the summer of 1999, in the tiny west Texas town of Tulia, thirty-nine people, almost all of them black, were arrested and charged with dealing powdered cocaine. The operation, a federally-funded investigation performed in cooperation with the local authorities, was based on the work of one notoriously unreliable undercover officer. At trial, the prosecution relied almost solely on the uncorroborated, and contradictory, testimony of that officer, Tom Coleman. Despite the flimsiness of the evidence against them, virtually all of the defendants were convicted and given sentences as high as ninety-nine years. Tom Coleman was named a Texas Lawman of the Year for his work.Tuliais the story of this town, the bust, the trials, and the heroic legal battle that ultimately led to the reversal of the convictions in the summer of 2003. Laws have been changed in Texas as a result of the scandal, and the defendants have earned a measure of bittersweet redemption. But the story is much bigger than the tale of just one bust. AsTuliamakes clear, these events are the latest chapter in a story with themes as old as the country itself. It is a gripping, marvelously well-told tale about injustice, race, poverty, hysteria, and desperation in rural America.

Author Biography

Nate Blakeslee, a former editor of the Texas Observer, broke the Tulia story for the Observer in 2000. It was a finalist for a National Magazine Award. In 2004, he won the Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Award for his drug war reporting. Blakeslee's work has also appeared in Texas Monthly and The Nation. He is a Soros Justice Media Fellow. Born and raised in Texas, he lives in Austin.

Table of Contents

PART ONE
Prologue March 20, 2003	3	(14)
CHAPTER ONE Busted	17	(10)
CHAPTER TWO The Richest Land and the Finest People	27	(16)
CHAPTER THREE Bootie's Empire	43	(17)
CHAPTER FOUR The Mayor of Vigo	60	(17)
PART TWO
CHAPTER FIVE "Deep Cover"	77	(18)
CHAPTER SIX Officer of the Year	95	(11)
CHAPTER SEVEN Donnie Smith	106	(32)
CHAPTER EIGHT Freddie Brookins Jr.	138	(20)
CHAPTER NINE One Riot, One Ranger	158	(23)
PART THREE
CHAPTER TEN Black Cards and White Cards	181	(20)
CHAPTER ELEVEN The Jump Out Boys	201	(14)
CHAPTER TWELVE Sin and Redemption	215	(18)
PART FOUR
CHAPTER THIRTEEN East Meets West	233	(19)
CHAPTER FOURTEEN Doing Time	252	(14)
CHAPTER FIFTEEN The Tide Turns	266	(15)
PART FIVE
CHAPTER SIXTEEN The "Dream Team"	281	(33)
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN The Hearing	314	(63)
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN Negotiation	377	(11)
CHAPTER NINETEEN Out the Front Door	388	(11)
Epilogue Summer 2005	399	(10)
Appendix	409	(10)
A Reading Group Guide for Tulia	419	(6)
Notes	425	(16)
Acknowledgments	441	(4)
Index	445