SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 500
WHEREAS, The year 2019 marks the 10th anniversary of the
passage of the Tim Cole Act by the 81st Texas Legislature, and
this milestone provides a fitting opportunity to honor the memory
of those esteemed Texans who dedicated their lives to improving
the state's criminal justice system; and
WHEREAS, Signed into law by Governor Rick Perry in 2009,
the Tim Cole Act increased financial compensation for the wrongly
imprisoned; the legislation is named in honor of Timothy Cole,
the first person in the country to be exonerated posthumously
through DNA testing; a veteran of the United States Army and
former Texas Tech student, Mr. Cole died in prison in 1999; his
family and the Innocence Project of Texas worked together to
clear his name, and he received the state's first posthumous
pardon in 2010; five years later, his alma mater presented his
family with an honorary degree in law and social justice to
recognize Mr. Cole's sacrifice and contribution to reforms in the
state's criminal justice system; the City of Lubbock has also
dedicated a statue in his memory; and
WHEREAS, The Innocence Project of Texas was founded in 2006
by attorneys Mike Ware and Jeff Blackburn to provide pro bono
investigative and legal services to indigent Texans convicted of
crimes they did not commit; since its inception, the organization
has won the freedom of 26 men and women; among those cleared were
four men, now deceased, who devoted themselves to helping others
still wrongfully incarcerated; and
WHEREAS, James Lee Woodard of Dallas County was exonerated
in 2009 after 27 years in prison, and while working in behalf of
criminal justice reform, he donated $100,000 to study the causes
of faulty eyewitness identification; he passed away in October
2012; and
WHEREAS, Billy James Smith of Dallas County, exonerated in
2006 after two decades in prison, accepted speaking engagements
across the country to address prison reform; in addition, he
testified before the United States Congress and the Texas
Legislature on numerous pieces of legislation; he passed away in
March 2017; and
WHEREAS, Johnnie Lindsey of Dallas County, imprisoned for
26 years before his exoneration in 2008, became a private
investigator and process server while working to free the
innocent; he died in February 2018; and
WHEREAS, Ronald Gene Taylor of Harris County served 13
years in prison until 2008, when he was exonerated; he dedicated
himself to criminal justice reform at the state and national
level until his death in September 2018; and
WHEREAS, These brave and resolute Texans set an inspiring
example through their tremendous commitment to criminal justice
reform, and their legacy will long endure; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 86th
Legislature, hereby commemorate the 10th anniversary of the
Tim Cole Act and pay tribute to the lives of Timothy Cole, James
Lee Woodard, Johnnie Lindsey, Billy James Smith, and Ronald
Gene Taylor.
West
________________________________
President of the Senate
I hereby certify that the
above Resolution was adopted by
the Senate on March 26, 2019.
________________________________
Secretary of the Senate
________________________________
Member, Texas Senate