WRONGFULLY CONVICTED MAN DIED IN PRISON: IN LOVING MEMORY OF TIMOTHY BRIAN COLE (JULY 1, 1960 TO DECEMBER 2, 1999)

On this date, December 2, 1999, an African American man by the name of Timothy Brian Cole, died in prison due to an asthma attack. He was actually wrongfully convicted of raping a fellow student in 1985. Sadly, a wrongfully convicted person had died in prison. I feel sincerely sorry for Cole and his family, I wished that he could have live and be released from prison. I will post about him from Wikipedia, before giving my thoughts. Keep in mind, as much as I have empathy and sympathy for murdered victims and their families, I feel for innocent people who have died in prison too. 

Timothy Cole

Born	July 1, 1960 Brenham, Texas
Died	December 2, 1999 (aged 39)
Charge(s)	Rape (posthumously overturned)
Conviction status	Died in prison
Occupation	Military veteran University student
Parents	Ruby Cole Session (Mother) DeWitt R. Session (Father, deceased)

 

Timothy Brian Cole (1960–1999) was an African-American military veteran and a Texas Tech University student wrongly convicted of raping a fellow student in 1985.

Cole attended two years of college followed by two years of service in the U.S. Army. After his Army service, he returned to college at Texas Tech in Lubbock. Cole died after serving 14 years in prison, but was posthumously pardoned.

Crime and aftermath:

Cole was convicted by a jury of rape, primarily based on the testimony of the victim, Michele Mallin. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison. While incarcerated, Cole was offered parole if he would admit guilt, but he refused.

Another man, Jerry Wayne Johnson, confessed to the rape in 1995. Further, Mallin later admitted that she was mistaken as to the identity of her attacker. She stated that investigators botched the gathering of evidence and withheld information from her, causing her to believe that Cole was the perpetrator. Mallin told police that the rapist smoked during the rape. However, Cole never smoked because of his severe asthma. DNA evidence later showed him to be innocent.

Cole died in prison on December 2, 1999, during an asthma attack. His family and the victim, through the Innocence Project of Texas, sought to clear his name. On February 6, 2009, a Texas district court judge announced "to a 100 percent moral, factual and legal certainty" that Timothy Cole did not commit the rape. The judge, Charlie Baird, reversed the conviction and ordered Cole's record expunged. It was the first posthumous DNA exoneration in the history of the state of Texas. Cole's exoneration led to numerous changes in Texas law.

Johnson confirmed in court that he was the rapist and asked the victim and Cole's family to forgive him. "It's been on my heart to express my sincerest sorrow and regret and ask to be forgiven," said Johnson, who is serving life in prison for two other 1985 rapes. However, Johnson cannot be charged in the Mallin case because the statute of limitations has expired.

Legislation:

The Texas Senate passed legislation to exonerate Cole. The Texas House of Representatives bill passed through committee and then the full house. After that, it went to Governor Rick Perry to be signed into law. Another bill, named after Cole, was passed by the legislature and sent to the governor on May 11, 2009. It made those who are falsely convicted of a crime eligible for $160,000 for each year of incarceration and provide them with free college tuition. The bill also established the Timothy Cole Advisory Panel on Wrongful Convictions. A panel set up to study the causes of wrongful convictions and to devise ways of preventing them is to report to the Texas governor no later than 2011. While Rick Perry stated he wanted to issue a pardon, he felt that he was not legally able to do so. However, on January 7, 2010, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott issued an opinion which cleared the way for the governor to pardon Cole. On March 2, 2010, Governor Rick Perry granted Timothy Cole the state's first posthumous pardon.

Historical marker at Cole's grave.

Memorials:

On February 3, 2012, on the third anniversary of Cole's exoneration, the State of Texas unveiled a historical marker at his grave. In June 2012, the Lubbock City Council voted to honor Cole with a memorial. The $25,000 granite monument, paid for by local attorney Kevin Glasheen, is to be located on city land that will be turned into a public park.

My thoughts:

I remember Dudley Sharp’s article: Innocents More At Risk Without Death Penalty. I agree that even if a wrongfully convicted person is not sentence to death, he may rot away and die in prison. A person facing the death penalty may have more resources to free him from death row if he was factually innocent. As those innocent people who died in prison before exoneration, we cannot bring them back from the dead too. I hope the justice system can learn their lesson from Tim Cole’s death.