Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Drug Related (Possession or sale) |
Sentence: |
18 years |
Years Imprisoned: |
4 |
Year Crime: |
1999 |
Year Convicted: |
2000 |
Year Cleared: |
2003 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Texas |
County or Region of Crime: |
Swisher |
City of Crime: |
Tulia |
Result: |
Pardoned |
Summary of Case: |
"Dennis Michael Allen was one of the Tulia 38 wrongly convicted of selling and/or distributing cocaine in and around Tulia, Texas based solely on the word of a discredited Swisher County, Texas undercover sheriff's deputy. Texas Governor Rick Perry pardoned 35 of the Tulia defendants on August 22, 2003, including Allen. On August 29, 2007 the State of Texas awarded Allen compensation of $97,916.63 plus a monthly annuity for life of $1,592.02." |
Conviction Caused By: |
Perjured testimony of the prosecutions sole witness - a sheriff's deputy |
Innocence Proved By: |
Disclosure during an evidentiary hearing in March 2003 that the testimony of the prosecution's sole witness - Tom Coleman - is wholly unreliable. |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
"$228,000 plus total. $97,916.63 plus $1,592.02 monthly annuity (State of Texas, 8-29-2007) and, $130,435 (Swisher County and other defendants, May 2004)" |
Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
32 |
Age When Released: |
36 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
Black |
Information Source 1: |
"Travesty in Tulia, Texas - Frame-up of 38 Innocent People Orchestrated by a County Sheriff, Prosecutor and Judge, By Hans Sherrer, Justice Denied magazine, Issue 23, Winter 2004, pp. 3-5, 27" |
Information Location 1: |
http://justicedenied.org/issue/issue_23/tulia_travesty.html |
Information Source 2: |
"Gov. Perry Grants Pardons to 35 Tulia Defendants, Press Release, Office of the Governor Rick Perry, August 22, 2003" |
Information Location 2: |
http://governor.state.tx.us/news/press-release/4995/ |
Information Source 3: |
"Perry pardons 35 in Tulia case, By Greg Cunningham (staff), Amarillo Globe-News, August 23, 2003" |
Information Location 3: |
http://amarillo.com/stories/082303/new_perrypardons.shtml |
Information Source 4: |
"12 Tulia Drug Defendants Released From Jail, Jim Henderson, Houston Chronicle, June 16, 2003." |
Information Location 4: |
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Information Source 5: |
"Wrongful Convictions Have Cost Texans More Than $93 Million, By Johnathan Silver and Lindsay Carbonell, The Texas Tribune, June 24, 2016" |
Information Location 5: |
https://www.texastribune.org/2016/06/24/wrongful-convictions-cost-texans-over-93-million/ |
Book About Case: |
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Book Information: |
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Book Information (2): |
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Movie About Case: |
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Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org