Tim Cole
Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Timothy Brian Cole, born in Brenham in 1960, served in the U.S. Army and attended Texas Tech University in Lubbock. While there, Cole was accused of assaulting a fellow student. In September 1986, a jury convicted him and sentenced him to 25 years in prison. Prior to the trial, he was offered probation in exchange for a guilty plea, and while in prison, he was offered parole if he would admit guilt. He refused to take blame for a crime he did not commit. In December 1999, he died in prison at age 39 from complications from asthma. In 2007, the Innocence Project of Texas received a letter from an inmate confessing to the crime for which Cole was convicted. Physical evidence confirmed that this man was guilty and Cole was innocent. The crime victim joined Cole’s family in the effort to clear his name. In District Court in Travis County, Cole’s advocates successfully used a court of inquiry to obtain a hearing on his innocence. In April 2009, the court declared that Cole was innocent of the crime “to a 100% moral, legal and factual certainty.” Following this opinion and order of the court, the other two branches of state government also cleared Cole’s name and record. In 2009, the 81st Texas Legislature enacted the Tim Cole Act, to compensate wrongly convicted individuals, and created the timothy cole advisory panel on wrongful convictions to reverse other wrongful imprisonments and prevent future miscarriages of justice. In March 2010, the Texas Governor’s Ooffice issued the first posthumous pardon in state history. This promise of fairness for all Texans is the legacy of a man who once wrote from prison that "I still believe in the justice system, even though it doesn’t believe in me.” 175 Years of Texas Independence * 1836 - 2011
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Timothy Brian Cole, an Army veteran and Texas Tech student, was wrongly convicted of assault in 1986 and sentenced to 25 years, refusing every offer of freedom that required a false confession. He died in prison in 1999, still maintaining his innocence, and only years later did DNA evidence and another man's confession clear his name. In 2009 a Texas court declared him innocent, the state enacted the Tim Cole Act to compensate the wrongly convicted, and in 2010 the governor issued Texas's first posthumous pardon.
Why it matters
Cole's case became a landmark in the fight against wrongful convictions, reshaping Texas law and standing as a national symbol of the cost of a flawed justice system.
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Related people
- · Timothy Brian Cole
Related events
- · Tim Cole Act (2009)
- · First posthumous pardon in Texas history (2010)
Themes & tags
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