Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Drug Related (Possession or sale) |
Sentence: |
18 years |
Years Imprisoned: |
3.9 |
Year Crime: |
1999 |
Year Convicted: |
1999 |
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: |
"Willie B. Hall Jr. 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. Willie Hall was awarded $97,916.63 in lump sum compensation and a monthly annuity payment for life of $1,675.08 by the State of Texas on April 11, 2008." |
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 $1,675.08 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: |
36 |
Age When Released: |
40 |
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: |
"Tulia, Texas, Center on Wrongful Convictions, Northwestern School of Law" |
Information Location 4: |
http://www.law.northwestern.edu/cwc/exonerations/txtuliasummary.html |
Information Source 5: |
"12 Tulia Drug Defendants Released From Jail, Jim Henderson, Houston Chronicle, June 16, 2003." |
Information Location 5: |
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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