May 28 2009
Timothy Cole Act Signed by Governor
The Innocence Project of Texas is pleased to announce that Governor Perry signed the Timothy Cole Act in to law yesterday afternoon increasing the financial compensation received by Texas exonerees. Specifically, the new law, which will go into effect on September 1 of this year, will increase the lump sum payment to Texas exonerees to $80,000 per year for every year they were wrongfully incarcerated. It will also provide exonerees with a lifetime annuity payment so that they may have a steady source of income once they have reentered society. The previous law, which was only available to living exonerees, was also amended by the Tim Cole Act to allow compensation to be paid to the estate of exonerees who pass away during their term of confinement.
The law is named after Timothy Cole, a man who died in prison serving time for a sexual assault that DNA now proves he did not commit. As a result of an investigation of Cole’s case by the Innocence Project of Texas, Cole’s family and the primary rape victim, Michele Mallin, were represented by Jeff Blackburn, Chief Counsel for the Innocence Project of Texas at a hearing that ultimately led to Cole’s exoneration. According to Blackburn, the passage of the Tim Cole Act “shows the power of truth in a courtroom to bring about justice through the system. It also shows that the Texas legislature and the Governor are ready to do the right thing for the most deserving of this state.”
Also deserving credit for the passage of the Tim Cole Act is Lubbock attorney Kevin Glasheen, who is representing several Texas exonerees on their compensation claims. Glasheen worked diligently with Texas legislators including Representative Rafael Anchia, Senator Rodney Ellis, Senator Robert Duncan, and Representative Pete Gallego to push the bill through the legislative process.
The Innocence Project of Texas would finally like to thank Governor Perry for his decision to sign this monumental Act into law. Later today, Cory Session, Timothy Cole’s brother and family spokesperson, and Ruby Session, Cole’s mother, will be visiting the Governor’s Office and meeting with the legislators to thank them for their work on behalf of Texas’s wrongfully convicted.
My name is Johnny Rex Fulce and I noticed that my appeal was precedented several times in the tim cole act. “Ex-Parte Fulce” I found it only once and have been unable to relocate the site that states the law as written into law. Could you please direct me. Thank You, Johnny Rex Fulce