DISQUS

Jason · 10 months ago

The article does not mention how he was accused. Was it a case of mistaken identity or did the victim identify a man knowing he wasn't the criminal. It's unfortunate but in many cases it's not a true rape crime and I've yet to see someone prosecuted for false accusations. If whoever accused this man of false rape should be up on charges if that be the case.

TK · 10 months ago

The Lubbock prosecutor should burn. Tim was wrongly accused and the former Lubbock district attorney who prosecuted the case, Jim Bob Darnell, ignored logical aspects of the case and was (probably) anxious to win the case and hang (figuratively) this black man, . Jim Bob Darnell should be BEGGING for forgiveness from the now deceased Tim, his family, all of society, and God. Jim Bob Darnell...you imprisoned and killed an innocent man.

FYI...the victim is working to clear Tim's name. The real rapist was in jail with Tim, waited for the statue of limitations to expire, and confessed...his confession was ignored by JIM BOB DARNELL.

BL · 10 months ago

TK, you need to learn your law sexual assault has NO STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS!! Get your story straight.

Sid · 10 months ago

...yes it does. i don't know the laws of TX but in other states it definitely does.

Ana · 10 months ago

Ermmm... actually, in Texas the statute of limitation on sexual assault against an adult is 7 years.

JAH · 10 months ago

There is currently no statute of limitations on most types of sexual assault in Texas. See Vernon's Ann.Texas C.C.P. Art. 12.01(1)(b). However, at the time of the events in this story, the statute of limitations was either 5 or 10 years. See Venegas v. State, 980 S.W.2d 703 ("Ten year limitations period applied to aggravated sexual assault offense, where original five year limitations period did not run before limitations period was extended to ten years and statute extending limitations period specifically provided for retroactivity if prior limitations period had not expired.)

I am not a lawyer, and this is opinion not legal advise.

B · 10 months ago

Another example of government employees or elected office holders concerned about making good numbers for their next performance review or election destroying someone's life. All he had to do was plead... all he had to do was say he did it... and he would have been out on the street. Guilty out on the street, not guilty behind bars.That says something about the system and what it really does, what it is really for.

Space/trucker · 10 months ago

Can any horror story be wriiten or filmed that's worse than this?
maybe being buried alive for years and years might be comparable. That poor soul....god bless him in heaven....he did him no favors on earth.

Karma · 10 months ago

Considering people are innocent until proven guilty, how the hell was he proven guilty if he was innocent in the first place?

Nagrad · 10 months ago

The victim in the case picked him out of a photo lineup, and then later out of a standing lineup at the police station. This is a great example of why "eyewitness" testimony and lineups are, frankly, given too much weight in our justice system. I'm not saying they're bad, I'm just saying we need to make absolutely certain through other, concrete evidence that the person accused is the person who actually committed the crime. Being picked out of a lineup by one person, whether a witness or the victim, should never, ever, be enough to convict a person.

While our justice system is better than most in the world, it is not perfect, nor do I think it (or any system) can be. At least until we can, you know, scan someones brain and see first hand, but that's a thought for another day.

POd · 10 months ago

AAAHAHAHAHA!

*wipes a tear*

Does anyone seriously believe that? Innocent people die in prison. All that matters to the people who put other people in prison is the paperwork and the fees. OJ gets off with murder yet this guy didnt do a thing and died in jail.

*raises a glas to our fine "protectors"*

Good job. Nicely done. At least everyone had the peace of mind that the job was done well for a few years.

nper · 10 months ago

This was on NPR this morning. Mr. Cole apparently was in the same prison as the man who actually committed the crime. The real criminal followed the case closely but was too much of a coward to come clean.

Austin · 10 months ago

Yet another gold star for the Texas legal system. Bravo.

TK · 10 months ago

Huh, guess I'm not the only one who uses TK on Disqus boards!


This poor man was only 38?? Spent the entirety of his adulthood in prison, and never even got to be there to be exonerated. That's awful.

He was so young, how did he die? =(

B · 10 months ago

They need to punish all the people involved with his conviction. They should make an example and give them a punishment much worse than what this man reciveced

Ricci · 10 months ago

how much money did the lawyer that prosecuted him make. Did the lawyer who prosecuted him give the money he made prosecuting this innocent man back? Will same said lawyer get any time for putting an innocent man in prison. I am sorry for being blunt but I think these lawyers should be held responsable for their actions. We all know how lawyers operated, when will they be held accountable, he was wrong for god's sake and this innocent man paid a terrible price...Who is responsable?

deaths_little_helper · 10 months ago

Not only that, but how about the victim? all along believing the right man was in jail...now she will spend the rest of her life knowing her accusation caused the wrong man to die in prison at such a young age, while the real culprit has remained free, with little chance of catching him now...

P.S. EVIL!

angry · 10 months ago

There is more to this story then this article put out. The girl who was rape described the guy who raped her as a serious chain smoker who smoked the whole time he was with her. He had kidnapped her at knife point and raped her in an abandon parking lot. The real rapist later got caught for doing the exact something to a 15 year old in the same town. He was celled across from Cole and still remembers him crying his innocent.

Cole by the way was not a smoker and he was asthmatic. Plus, 6 different students testified that Cole was studying in his room while they were in the living room playing poker. On top of that, Johnson, the man who actually did it, have been trying to confess to the crime since 1995, after the statue of limitation on the crime had expired. He was continuously ignored by the courts and prosecutors. One judge even through out the confession. Johnson finally was able to contact Cole’s family and they brought it to the media’s attention which brought all this about.

I think what the prosecutor, courts and cops did here should be a crime.

That's Farked Up · 10 months ago

That's all farked up, I hope he died of natural causes and not something violent. Let's hope that there is some kind of compensation for the family and some kind of punishment for the Judges and Lawyers. pathetic!

waldo · 10 months ago

Wow, I would be so pissed. Its a real Shame that he got stuck with that. I would have gave up and changed my plea for parole, and then proven my innocence.

Steve · 10 months ago

Jungbu Expressway's new album,"Doing More of It" rocks!

Moebius · 10 months ago

because in texas its better that a thousand innocents are punished lest one guilty man go free.

or he was just broke and coudlnt afford a real lawyer.

malt666 · 10 months ago

A right proper horror show. Like some kind of of twisted folk song. If evn a portion of the info Angry posted is true charges NEED TO BE FILED!

JoeOvercoat · 10 months ago

They don't tell us how he died....? It would seem to me that if he died because of any negligence while in the State's care, there at least would be a civil suit for loss of income and the like.

Carhaar · 10 months ago

He died of an asthma attack.

Carhaar · 10 months ago

If you belong to Facebook, please join the group "Tim Cole was Innocent".

Paul · 10 months ago

I think you suck coming on here and plugging a website like Facebook

Paul · 10 months ago

We all know that Prosecutors , Judges and cops are all above the law.Cops can put a gun in your face if you or I was to do that to someone that we took as a threat that would be a crime. Prosecutor can lie and withhold information if we were to do that it would be a crimeand Judges are just trying to clime the political ladder.