Defendants in Falsified Drug Cases Get Checks
Tulia residents wrongly charged and jailed in falsified drug cases five years ago have begun receiving checks averaging $90,000 each from a lawsuit settlement.
The suit claimed that the arrests were racially motivated.
Retired Judge Ron Chapman decided how the settlement would be divided among the 45 defendants.
Republican Gov. Rick Perry granted pardons last year to 35 defendants in the farming and ranching community of 5,000 located between Amarillo and Lubbock.
Charges were dropped against the others who had been arrested on drug charges.
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