AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry on Monday pardoned Timothy Cole, who died in 1999 while in prison for a rape he didn't commit.
The pardon, the state's first posthumous act, was welcomed by Cole's family members, who had continued the fight to clear his name.
“Vindication, exoneration and a full pardon from the governor. Those are the things he wanted,” his brother, Cory Session, said. “We're positive Tim is smiling right now, as we are.”
Cole died of cardiac arrest caused by an asthma attack while serving a 25-year sentence, Session said. He had been convicted in the 1985 rape of a Texas Tech student based in part on the victim's identifying him as her attacker and what a judge later called faulty police work and a questionable suspect lineup.
The victim later worked to clear Cole's name. Another man repeatedly confessed to the crime. Cole finally was cleared by DNA evidence in 2008. A state judge exonerated him in 2009.
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott in January issued a legal opinion saying the governor had the authority to grant a posthumous pardon. Perry received the State Board of Pardons and Paroles' recommendation for a pardon Monday morning, election eve, according to a spokeswoman.
“I have been looking forward to the day I could tell Tim Cole's mother that her son's name has been cleared for a crime he did not commit,” Perry said in a statement. “The State of Texas cannot give back the time he spent in prison ... but today I was finally able to tell her we have cleared his name, and hope this brings a measure of peace to his family.”
The Legislature last year increased compensation for those wrongfully convicted. Under the law, Cole's family would be entitled to more than $1 million — $80,000 a year for the 13 years he was imprisoned, according to Sen. Rodney Ellis' office.
Session said his mother is focused on pursuing a federal lawsuit in Lubbock to try to get more information about Cole's case. Compensation “is not what's on her mind,” he said.
Ellis, D-Houston, said much remains to be done to guard against similar wrong convictions.
“While this is the first posthumous pardon in Texas,” Ellis said in a statement, “we have a long way to go if we are going to make sure it is the last.”
