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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, The year 2019 marks the 10th anniversary of the |
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passage of the Tim Cole Act by the 81st Texas Legislature, and this |
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milestone provides a fitting opportunity to honor the memory of |
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those esteemed Texans who dedicated their lives to improving the |
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state's criminal justice system; and |
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WHEREAS, Signed into law by Governor Rick Perry in 2009, the |
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Tim Cole Act increased financial compensation for the wrongly |
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imprisoned; the legislation is named in honor of Timothy Cole, the |
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first person in the country to be exonerated posthumously through |
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DNA testing; a veteran of the U.S. Army and former Texas Tech |
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student, Mr. Cole died in prison in 1999; his family, the crime |
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victim, and the Innocence Project of Texas worked together to clear |
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his name, and he received the state's first posthumous pardon in |
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2010; five years later, his alma mater presented his family with an |
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honorary degree in law and social justice to recognize Mr. Cole's |
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sacrifice and contributions to reforms in the state's criminal |
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justice system; the city of Lubbock now has a statue dedicated to |
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his memory, and a Texas Historical Commission marker is in place |
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near his gravesite in Fort Worth, his hometown; and |
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WHEREAS, The Innocence Project of Texas was founded in 2006 |
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by attorneys Mike Ware and Jeff Blackburn to provide pro bono |
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investigative and legal services to indigent Texans convicted of |
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crimes they did not commit; since its inception, the organization |
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and its board members have won the freedom of 25 men and women; |
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among those cleared were three men, now deceased, who devoted |
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themselves to helping others still wrongfully incarcerated; and |
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WHEREAS, On March 28, 2019, staff, board members, exonerees, |
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and volunteers of the Innocence Project of Texas are visiting the |
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State Capitol for the inaugural Innocence Project of Texas Advocacy |
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Day, bringing broader statewide attention to the need for criminal |
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justice reform and to the contributions of exonerees who have |
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passed away; and |
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WHEREAS, James Lee Woodard of Dallas County was exonerated in |
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2009 following 27 years in prison, and while working on behalf of |
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criminal justice reform, he donated $100,000 to study the causes of |
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wrongful convictions, including faulty eyewitness identification; |
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he passed away in October 2012; and |
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WHEREAS, Billy James Smith of Dallas County, exonerated in |
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2006 following two decades in prison, accepted speaking engagements |
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across the country to address criminal justice reform; in addition, |
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he testified before the U.S. Congress and the Texas Legislature on |
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numerous pieces of legislation; in the spring of 2007, he spoke |
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passionately at a public meeting of the Dallas County Commissioners |
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Court asking that they fund what would become the first Conviction |
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Integrity Unit in the country; the unit's ensuing successes gave |
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rise to conviction integrity units all over the United States; he |
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passed away in March 2017; and |
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WHEREAS, Johnnie Lindsey of Dallas County, imprisoned for 26 |
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years before his exoneration in 2008, became a private investigator |
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and process server while working to free the innocent; he died in |
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February 2018; and |
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WHEREAS, A fourth man, Ronald Gene Taylor of Harris County, |
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served 13 years in prison until 2008, when he was exonerated by the |
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work of the Innocence Project based in New York; he dedicated |
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himself to criminal justice reform at the state and national level |
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until his death in September 2018; and |
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WHEREAS, These brave and resolute Texans set an inspiring |
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example through their tremendous commitment to criminal justice |
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reform, and their legacy will long endure; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 86th Texas |
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Legislature hereby commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Tim Cole |
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Act, pay tribute to the lives of Timothy Cole, James Lee Woodard, |
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Johnnie Lindsey, Billy James Smith, and Ronald Gene Taylor, and |
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recognize the ongoing work of the Innocence Project of Texas to |
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right the wrongs that have occurred through mistakes made in our |
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criminal justice system. |