By Shelley Kofler, KERA News
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-891891.mp3
Dallas, TX – Friday, in Fort Worth the family of Tim Cole accepted documents from Governor Rick Perry that posthumously pardon Cole for a rape he didn't commit. KERA's Shelley Kofler reports on the family's hope that Cole's plight will help others.
Standing with Tim Cole's mother and brothers, Governor Rick Perry said the state's pardoning of Tim Cole restores his good name, even though it comes 25 years after Cole was arrested for a rape he didn't commit.
Perry: There's nothing that anyone in this room, there's nothing anyone in this state, there's nothing anyone this world can do to change the past. But we can state clearly, we can say that the full weight of Texas is behind us that your son was innocent.
Tim Cole was a Texas Tech student when he was arrested for rape. He was sentenced to 25 years and was still alive when another inmate confessed. But Cole died in 1999 from asthma complications before he was freed. Two years ago DNA testing linked the rape to the inmate who had confessed. Following the family's campaign and an attorney general's opinion, Governor Perry signed the documents that make Cole the first Texan pardoned after death.
In an emotion filled moment Ruby Session said clearing her son's name ends one fight.
Ruby Session: Even though it's bittersweet, the quest is over.
But Tim Cole's brother, Cory Session says another fight continues. He wants inmates waiting for DNA testing to know there's hope.
Cory Session: If you are waiting for DNA testing, hold on. Do as Tim did. Don't you surrender. Don't you give up. Suffering breeds character. Character breeds faith. Above all hold on to your faith.
Cole's name lives on through legislation Governor Perry signed last year. Under the Tim Cole Act, Texas increased the amount paid to wrongfully convicted inmates to $80,000 for each year in prison plus an annuity. It's the most generous compensation in the country.