Willa Finaye Shelton - Wilson - Innocents Database of Exonerations

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Willa Finaye Shelton - Wilson

Charge:	Drug Related (Possession or sale)
Sentence:	5 years probation
Years Imprisoned:	0.65
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:	"Willa Finaye Wilson AKA Finaye Burnett Shelton, 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 Swisher County, Texas undercover sheriff's deputy Thomas Coleman. It was disclosed during an evidentiary hearing in March 2003 that the testimony of the prosecution's sole witness - Tom Coleman - was wholly unreliable. Texas Governor Rick Perry pardoned 35 of the Tulia defendants on August 22, 2003, including Finaye Burnett Shelton -- who later became known as Willa Finaye Wilson."
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:
Compensation Awarded:	"$147,000 plus total. $16,666.64 lump sum payment plus $246.10 monthly annuity (State of Texas, 11-21-2006) and, $130,435 (Swisher County and other defendants, May 2004)"
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:
Age When Released:
Sex:	Female
Skin/Ethnicity:	Black
Information Source 1:	"Wrongful Convictions Have Cost Texans More Than $93 Million, By Johnathan Silver and Lindsay Carbonell, The Texas Tribune, June 24, 2016"
Information Location 1:	https://www.texastribune.org/2016/06/24/wrongful-convictions-cost-texans-over-93-million/
Information Source 2:	"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 2:	http://justicedenied.org/issue/issue_23/tulia_travesty.html
Information Source 3:	"Gov. Perry Grants Pardons to 35 Tulia Defendants, Press Release, Office of the Governor Rick Perry, August 22, 2003"
Information Location 3:	http://governor.state.tx.us/news/press-release/4995/
Information Source 4:	"Perry pardons 35 in Tulia case, By Greg Cunningham (staff), Amarillo Globe-News, August 23, 2003"
Information Location 4:	http://amarillo.com/stories/082303/new_perrypardons.shtml
Information Source 5:	"Tulia, Texas, Center on Wrongful Convictions, Northwestern School of Law"
Information Location 5:	http://www.law.northwestern.edu/cwc/exonerations/txtuliasummary.html
Book About Case:	"Sting Docket From Amarillo Globe-News, provided by Alan Bean, Exec. Dir of Friends of Justice in Tulia, TX, on July 25, 2003"
Book Information:
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Go to Database Search Page

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Willa Finaye Shelton - Wilson

Charge:

Drug Related (Possession or sale)

Sentence:

5 years probation

Years Imprisoned:

0.65

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:

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:

Compensation Awarded:

"$147,000 plus total. $16,666.64 lump sum payment plus $246.10 monthly annuity (State of Texas, 11-21-2006) and, $130,435 (Swisher County and other defendants, May 2004)"

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Female

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"Wrongful Convictions Have Cost Texans More Than $93 Million, By Johnathan Silver and Lindsay Carbonell, The Texas Tribune, June 24, 2016"

Information Location 1:

https://www.texastribune.org/2016/06/24/wrongful-convictions-cost-texans-over-93-million/

Information Source 2:

"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 2:

http://justicedenied.org/issue/issue_23/tulia_travesty.html

Information Source 3:

"Gov. Perry Grants Pardons to 35 Tulia Defendants, Press Release, Office of the Governor Rick Perry, August 22, 2003"

Information Location 3:

http://governor.state.tx.us/news/press-release/4995/

Information Source 4:

"Perry pardons 35 in Tulia case, By Greg Cunningham (staff), Amarillo Globe-News, August 23, 2003"

Information Location 4:

http://amarillo.com/stories/082303/new_perrypardons.shtml

Information Source 5:

"Tulia, Texas, Center on Wrongful Convictions, Northwestern School of Law"

Information Location 5:

http://www.law.northwestern.edu/cwc/exonerations/txtuliasummary.html

Book About Case:

"Sting Docket From Amarillo Globe-News, provided by Alan Bean, Exec. Dir of Friends of Justice in Tulia, TX, on July 25, 2003"

Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

Comments About Case: