Innocent man who died in prison gets marker
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Hundreds gathered to unveil a historical marker at the grave of a man who died in prison but was later cleared by DNA testing of the crime that sent him there.
U.S. Army veteran and Texas Tech University student Tim Cole was convicted of the 1985 rape of a fellow student. He always maintained his innocence, even though admitting to the crime could have earned him parole.
In 1999, at 39, Cole died in prison of asthma complications. In 2008, DNA tests cleared him and implicated convicted rapist Jerry Wayne Johnson, who had confessed in letters to court officials dating to 1995.
Cole's mother, Ruby Session, elected officials and others placed roses at Cole's grave in Fort Worth's Mount Olivet Cemetery. Fellow U.S. Army veterans fired an 18-gun salute.
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http://www.chron.com/news/article/Innocent-man-who-died-in-prison-gets-marker-3087707.php
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I would have gone to the service if I lived in the area. Tim Cole and his family were wronged beyond belief. And through their courage and suffering the ugly truth of the Texas judicial system was actually moved - ever slightly. They paid a huge price to help others and to get Tim's name cleared.
Time Magazine Sept. 19, 2009]
Texas: The Kinder, Gentler Hang 'Em High State
Tim Cole couldn't tell his own story, so his family recounted the saga to the hard-bitten Texas legislators this past spring. The convict had insisted he was innocent up until the day he died. He had refused parole because that would have required him to admit he was guilty of raping a fellow student at Texas Tech University. The ordeal was wrenching: Cole wept during the nights as he awaited a trial that would sentence him to 25 years in jail. Twice during his prison term he was found unconscious in his cell, a result of the asthma that had plagued him since childhood. The third time he suffered an attack, Dec. 2, 1999, he died from heart failure. Then, in 2007, another man confessed to the crime and Cole was declared innocent. Texas lawmakers wept at the tale; as a result, the state with the reputation for being the toughest on crime came up with one of the most generous and supportive programs to compensate those wrongfully convicted: the Tim Cole Act.
"I think Tim Cole's story moved a lot of people," says Lubbock, Texas, attorney Kevin Glasheen, who represents 12 men who were exonerated after serving lengthy terms for rape. "As far as the politicians go, there are a lot of Republicans who do not like abusive government power." But legislators from both parties did more than shed tears. Apart from the Tim Cole Act, they passed a second law creating a well-funded office of expert appellate lawyers to represent death-row inmates, a move to overcome the tales of sleepy defense attorneys and inept lawyering. The two new laws are now being implemented, and their backers hope they will mitigate the state's hang-'em-high image.
May Tim Cole rest in peace and his name remembered forever for his sacrifice for justice.
