We often hear about the injustices our people face when entangled in the U.S. legal system. Local, state and national stats paint a horrid picture of Black people being over-policed, over-arrested, over-incarcerated, and over-sentenced when compared to their white counterparts accused of similar wrongdoings.
But stats alone can’t do justice to the injustices so many Blacks face in the system. The numbers often mask the very real human dramas occurring every hour on the hour to some Black man, woman, or child.
The Defender spoke to one such “statistic,” Tommie Cole, who is now freed from the Harris County Jail after spending two years incarcerated for a crime he did not commit. Here’s part 2 of his story.
Defender: So, you’re out now. When did the process to free you start?
Cole: Within that time, I was in there [jail] with a childhood schoolmate. He told me about Restoring Justice. My sister gave them a call and explained the situation to them. And from then on, that was it. I explained to [Monique Joseph] my situation. I just told her, “Ma’am, I’m just trying to get a lower bond, a bond that I can make because I have horses. My kids stay with me. I have a job that I need to get back to.” And by that time, I lost everything. I had to sell everything to get the bond made. So, by me selling everything, I still couldn’t come up with the $750,000 cash that they wanted in order for me to make the bond.
Defender: What happened next?
Cole: My sister, she did some research and she went and talked to the lawyer I had, Hynes Nelson. She watched six videos of my arrest, and no video showed that I had a gun on me. So, she asked Mr. Nelson, “Why can’t you go in front of the judge and explain my brother’s situation since he was not in the wrong with anything?” She told me Mr. Nelson was like the judge didn’t wanna see me because of my background, and that it’s best if I take the 15 to 25 years just to get it over with, because the judge is not going to go any lower. I wrote letters to the judge, Kim Ogg, everyone in the justice system, explaining my situation. I was basically in jail for two years for nothing, because of my background. And Hynes Nelson didn’t wanna do anything. I didn’t hear anything from him until my bond got lowered to $500,000. Then, my sisters and my family made the bond. That’s when I talked to Ms. Monique Joseph.
Defender: So, Restoring Justice made a difference?
Cole: I asked Ms. Joseph if there was any way possible that Restoring Justice could take my case, and she said, yes. When Mr. Drew took over the case, it took him roughly two months and my case was dismissed because there was no evidence, and they saw that the police were lying… He looked at the videos and he was like, there’s no evidence saying that I had a gun. And he saw one police officer getting the gun out of his car and showing it to me and giving it to the other officer.
Defender: How did being in jail for two years impact you?
Cole: I lost everything. I couldn’t keep anything. I lost the job. I sold all my horses, had to let my dogs go back because my sister couldn’t keep them. My five kids, they split and went their ways. I’m just now getting them to come back to talk to me and spend some time with them. It’s hard.
Defender: How did you maintain your sanity while in jail, knowing all you were doing was trying to get to work?
Cole: By praying and just really just keeping faith. Because if I had not kept faith, praying, and keeping myself sane, staying to myself, I’d have been signed [the plea bargain to take the 10 to 25 years in jail]. I know it’s a waiting game. Sitting in there, going upstairs, going back down, eating cold peanut butter and jelly sandwiches all day, no water, no milk, no nothing; just sitting in there. I just prayed; kept my head up and prayed. The first “offer” was 25-to-life. And I never even signed for Hynes Nelson to be my lawyer. I never signed for him. When you have a court-appointed lawyer, they assign your lawyer, the lawyer comes to you and tells you, “I’m your lawyer,” and you sign that paperwork saying, “I agree to let you be my lawyer.” I never signed that yellow sheet of paper. I never signed anything.
Defender: What’s your assessment of the criminal justice system?
Cole: It’s like a swap out. Gimme him, gimme you, we’ll swap him out. He got this, he got that. He paid me this and he can’t pay for this. So, we’ll hang him and let him go.
Defender: So, you’re finally out, but you’ve lost your job. How were your living arrangements impacted?
Cole: I had to get rid of my house. And right now, I stay with my sister and her family. And you best believe I’m trying to get outta there and get in my own again; trying to get back to driving trucks and get all my licenses, get everything back. Right now, I’m trying to countersue so I can get something to get me not all the way back to where I was, but at least some of the way back: my cars, my truck, my horses, my family. I’m struggling right now. It’s hard.
Defender: Is there anyone out there, any organizations trying to help you?
Cole: The only organization that’s helping right now is Restoring Justice. But, they helped me get a job. I’m working right now with a guy named Bruce Robinson. He’s an interior designer. He’s helping me out a lot. I sent him my story on how everything is and what’s going on. I understand that a civil suit lawyer’s gonna cost like $22,000. It’s a lot. So, he’s helping me, taking it day by day, just going back and forth to work day by day. He’s helped me out a lot too. He helped me get a truck.
