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. Tulia is 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. As Tulia makes clear, these events are the latest chapter in a story with themes as old as the country itself. It is a gripping, marvellously well-told tale about injustice, race, poverty, hysteria, and desperation in rural America.
Product Identifiers
Publisher
Publicaffairs,U.S.
ISBN-13
9781586484545
eBay Product ID (ePID)
103942038
Product Key Features
Book Title
Tulia: Race, COCAINE, and Corruption in a Small Texas Town
Author
Nate Blakeslee
Format
Paperback
Language
English
Topic
Social Sciences
Publication Year
2006
Type
Textbook
Number of Pages
480 Pages
Dimensions
Item Height
210mm
Item Width
140mm
Additional Product Features
Title_Author
Nate Blakeslee
Topic Area
Family Sociology, Economic Sociology
Country/Region of Manufacture
United States
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