BAD JOKE and GOOD NEWS

April Fool’s Day. The calendar says it’s spring and I saw crocuses blooming in front of the bank at noon. By 3:00 it was snowing and it’s freezing here tonight. I was pelted with tiny stinging ice balls on the way home from work. I was not amused.

There was one bright spot however. I found news of a little justice in the War on Drugs in my inbox. Particularly timely in the context of the Supreme Court reviewing the racial quota college admissions case today:

Dear Friend,

We have wonderful news from Tulia, Texas, where dozens of African
American residents were arrested, prosecuted and incarcerated for
drug law violations -- all on the word one undercover agent, Tom
Coleman. Today, Dallas Judge Steve Chapman recommended that a higher
court grant new trials to everyone convicted as a result of the
sting. Both sides stipulated that Coleman was "not a credible witness
under oath," Judge Chapman told the Associated Press. While the
outcome of any new trials cannot be predicted with assurance, without
Coleman's testimony the state is left with little or no corroborating
evidence in all cases.

For in-depth information and updates about the Tulia cases, please
see:

Drug Policy Alliance: Tulia

What happened in Tulia is particularly shocking in its starkness,
scale and notoriety. Unfortunately, though, it is just one of the
countless injustices in a war on drugs that disproportionately
targets people of color while wasting millions of taxpayer dollars.
In Tulia and around the country, many individual activists, family
members, lawyers and advocacy organizations have worked tirelessly
for the freedom of the wrongly accused. The William Moses Kunstler
Fund for Racial Justice, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and the
American Civil Liberties Union, in particular, were pivotal in
leading the legal effort and expanding public pressure. Without their
commitment and expertise today's victory would not have been
possible.

The Drug Policy Alliance helped initiate and support this coalition.
We also made sure the media and the public stayed focused on the
unfolding scandal. Alliance staff spoke in Tulia and around the
country; distributed and publicized a compelling video made by the
Kunstler Fund; and was in frequent contact with reporters and
columnists at The New York Times and other media outlets, resulting
in numerous high-profile stories. Last September we held the first
national conference on race and the war on drugs, Breaking in the
Chains: People of Color and the War on Drugs, at which the Tulia case
was highlighted in the context of the nationwide movement for drug
policy reform. Many family members and activists from Tulia attended
the conference, participating in panels, press conferences and other
outreach efforts.

To view the Kunstler Fund video, "Tulia, Texas: Scenes from the Drug
War" visit:
http://www.soros.org:8080/ramgen/tlc/tulia.rm

Your ongoing support, both financial and otherwise, has been critical
to our effort. You share in this victory.

Very truly yours,

Ethan Nadelmann

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Sometimes the system works.

peace unites,

LA Stone