TX- Texas man who died prison officially cleared of rape charge

4-28-2009 Texas:

A judge in a Travis County courtroom has formally cleared the name of a man wrongfully convicted of rape.

Timothy Cole died in prison in 1999 – 13 years into a 25 year sentence for the sexual assault of a Texas Tech University student.

Family members of Tim Cole said after Tuesday's hearing they’re pushing for new laws to be enacted at the State Capitol, as they mark the end of a two decade struggle for justice.

"The evidence is crystal clear that Timothy Cole died in prison an innocent man," said State District Judge Charles Baird, who formally exonerated Cole on Tuesday, after listening to testimony in the case in February.

DNA tests performed last year showed Cole was not the rapist, and those results implicated a man already in prison - who confessed to the crime in the mid-90s but was ignored by authorities in Lubbock County.

Four years after Jerry Wayne Johnson admitted he was the rapist – Cole died in prison from complications after an asthma attack.

But even with Tuesday's exoneration – Cole’s loved ones say their crusade is not over. They’re meeting with Governor Perry on Wednesday.

Cole's mother, Ruby Session, said she is "praying that he will sign the formal pardon. Tim has not been pardoned yet, because there’s no provision for someone who is deceased."

There is legislation calling for posthumous pardons that’s currently under consideration at the Capitol. Lawmakers are also considering measures to compensate posthumous exonerees’ families and provide living exonerees more benefits. Another bill calls for ensuring fair lineup procedures, which Judge Baird says did not happen in Cole's case. Cole's picture was different than the others shown to the victim in the photo lineup.

Cole’s loved ones say they're disappointed this exoneration had to happen in a Travis County court – a judge in Lubbock denied the request for a hearing. ..News Source.. by Reporter: Alexis Patterson