Kafka in Tulia

New York Times ^ | July 29, 2002 | Bob Herbert

[Libertarianize the GOP]

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[IronJack]

If the Justice Department is worth its stationery allocation, it should be reviewing this outrage. If the facts are as presented in this article, some of the Boss Hawgs in Tulia should get training in sheet metal fabrication at the local Stoney Lonesome.

[okie01]

As described, this appears to be a clear miscarriage of justice. But, somehow, I have my doubts as to the accuracy of Mr. Herbert's allegations. I wonder if this whole account might not come under the heading of urban myth. Or, more accurately, a "rural myth" from up there on God's Pool Table...

Herbert probably doesn't realize it, but the major Texas media outlets would harbor no compunction about exposing racism in Tulia -- if it existed. If this story happened as described, the Dallas/Ft. Worth, Houston and Austin media outlets would be covering it like white on rice. Not to mention the Amarillo and Lubbock media.

Yet, after three years, this is the very first I've heard about the affair.

So, I'd like to see some corroboration before I buy into Herbert's allegations. Indeed, I wonder if Herbert himself has any corroborative material...

[wardaddy]

NYT/Bob Herbert....geez. This article fails to mention if the charges were federal or state.

Federal Prisons are full of folks of all colors doing serious time for drug conspiracy in which no drugs were found. The NYT is only running with this for the race effect and because it's Texas and not Massachusetts. I wouldn't wager my life on Herbert's veracity.

[gcruse]

I live in Amarillo. The story is true, and well known here. Will that do?

[gcruse]

I live in Amarillo. The story is true, and well known here. Will that do?

[gcruse]

I live in Amarillo. The story is not new around here. It is also true.

[brat]

"If the Justice Department is worth its stationery allocation, it should be reviewing this outrage"

Amen!

[wardaddy]

I am familiar with the story and have been for some time. I do not doubt these folks are in jail. But I don't think Herbert's article was very detailed. It was a bit of a one sided hit piece and has an agenda. The Cumberland Plateau of Tennessee and Kentucky has seen reams of crackers go down for conspiracy involving pot growing and crank labs. Where's the outrage from the NYT?

[gcruse]

If his agenda is to fight the WOD, I have it, too. Does that change the situation?

[wardaddy]

It's already investigating but Herbert left that out. Not to mention that Texas passed a law after this questionable affair which requires more than the single testimony of an undercover LEO to get a conviction in drug conspiracy cases in Texas. Such a restriction does not exist in the Feds if enough 'relevant conduct' is present.

[okie01]

"Will that do?"

That will do. A FReeper being more trustworthy than Herbert, in my estimation.

Are the particulars as reported?

And is there any pressure coming from a.) the local media, and b.) the Texas justice system?

[wardaddy]

It doesn't say a lot of your's or Herbert's objectivity for presenting or reporting the news..repsectively. You are entitled to be subjective though. And no it may or may not alter the facts but in this case Herbert's presentation was less than comprehensive. His take is it's a race piece. Your's is that of a dope legalizer. Mine is certainly not that of a race baiter and my views on the WOD are more ambivalent than I presume are your's.

[ReadMyMind]

Some info from other sources...

CNN: Was Texas town's drug sting racist?
http://www.cnn.com/2000/US/10/10/drug.sting.protest/

Texas Observer: Round Two in Tulia
http://www.texasobserver.org/showArticle.asp?ArticleID=719

Austin Chronicle: Tulia's Freedom Ride
http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/2001-07-27/pols_feature3.html

Washington Post: Department Probes Texas Drug Bust
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/20001026/aponline191246_000.htm

Dallas Morning News: Town s till deep in racial divide
http://www.kingtv.com/sharedcontent/dallas/tsw/stories/063002dntextulia.15de6.html


I couldn't find results of the JD probe that was, according to reports, started in October, 2000. Seems like 20 months might be enough time to figure this out one way or another.

[gcruse]

Be that as it may, whether seen from a perspective of racist or drug warrior, the facts on the ground are as Herbert has laid them out. Having that many people sent to jail and coerced into confessing falsely, and then sent to jail, would have made McCarthy proud. That's what the WOD is doing to America. It doesn't matter if you are black or white.

[okie01]

Thanks for the links. Somehow, I'd missed this story altogether.

I'd hazard a guess, though, that what's going on there has absolutely nothing to do with racism, as commonly understood. And as Herbert would have everybody believe.

Instead, it was a community revulsion against casual disrespect for both the law and community standards, in general, and against teenage drug use, in particular.

That most of the perps were black was coincidental. It wasn't their skin color that got them in trouble, it was what they were doing (or other people were doing around them).

Still, it's a gross miscarriage of justice and a blot on the Swisher County escutcheon.

[wardaddy]

I do not believe in legalizing drugs. I do believe in decriminalizing pot use for personal possession. I also think asset confiscation should be reeled in. I don't think firearm enhancements should apply to sentencing unless used in commission. I also think 10 years is holy plenty for first time offenders even if "kingpins".

Now aside from those personal perspectives, I think that this Tulia case has/was handled poorly but Herbert and a number of other writers have editorialized reporting. Herbert makes the claim no drugs were found. No drugs were found at the time these folks were rounded up. Individual sales were logged...sloppily in some cases it would appear but the claim no drugs were found is misleading. Further, this claim that it's all about purging blacks from Tulia is weak. A number of the jurors who convicted these folks were in fact black. Were they all Toms? Herbert makes no mention of this.

Rightly or wrongly, he is exploiting this as a case study in racism and you have decided to carry the torch on this for your anti-WOD stance. I share more sentiment with your perspective/cause than his but I'm not absolutely anti-WOD either.

[gcruse]

A number of the jurors who convicted
these folks were in fact black. Were they all Toms?

   Au contraire.  They were in fact
   good citizens relying of phony,
   faked-up testimony from the
   'arresting officer' who took notes
   on his leg.

Herbert makes no mention of this.

  Is it a racist case?  Would
  Coleman have been able to
   pull this off if it were whites
   involved?  I guess the answer
   to that question has to come
   from whether you think
   race is a factor in what
   people are predisposed
   to believe.

[wardaddy]

Predisposition has nothing to do with the fact that more blacks are involved in drug trafficking than whites proportionately....along with a host of other crimes. These are simply facts...even though they may be uncomfortable to sensitive folks.

Lower class black communities also tolerate a higher level of drug activity in their communities than do middle class communities of any race. That is also a fact even if unpleasant.

What raises my eyebrows over this particular case is that the drug cases involved powdered coke versus crack which I find problematic.