Jim Bob Darnell was the prosecutor in a very interesting case, you can listen to it or read more about it at NPR.
Lubbuck County, Texas. Black man, Jerry Wayne Johnson rapes a girl and smokes the entire time. Police take a photo of asthmatic, non-smoking, alibi having, black man, Timothy Cole, near the scene of the crime and ask girl if it’s him. She says, yes, assuming the police have some evidence. They don’t. He’s convicted by a jury of his peers in Texas, except they’re all white, and sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Jerry Wayne Johnson (guilty) was in jail and heard Timothy Cole (innocent) crying and decided to wait out the statute of limitations and then confess. But when Jerry Wayne Johnson (guilty) did confess, nobody would listen to him.
After Cole was convicted, the real rapist quietly waited for the statute of limitations to run out. Then, in 1995, Johnson wrote a letter to the district court in Lubbock in which he confessed to raping Mallin. He got no reply. So he wrote another letter asking for an attorney so that he could legally confess. Again, he was ignored.
Johnson eventually wrote to the former Lubbock district attorney who prosecuted the case, Jim Bob Darnell, and asked for his help. There was only silence in reply.
Since then, Timothy Cole (innocent) died in jail from an asthma attack because he couldn’t get emergency attention in time. After 14 years in prison. DNA evidence has proven his innocence and Jerry Wayne Johnson’s guilt.
I think Jim Bob Darnell should come forward and answer these questions for us.
- Why did he try a man he had no evidence against, and to the contrary the man had an alibi with multiple witnesses?
- Why was it so difficult, nearly impossible, for Jerry Wayne Johnson (guilty) to confess?
- Why did he personally ignore Jerry Wayne Johnson’s (guilty) letter of confession?
- Why would no judge in Lubbock grant them a hearing to assert Timothy Cole’s innocence?
- Why is Lubbock law enforcement refusing to testify in the trial to assert Timothy Cole’s innocence even though the victim will?
- Why is he not getting involved to at least partially right this wrong he was so much a part of?
4 Comments
uplandgirl
I 100% agree with you! The biggest injustice at this point is the fact that Jim Bob Darnell is allowed to continue to practice law! He should have been disbarred years ago. I don’t know how this man sleeps at night!
bill in seattle
jim bob darnell should be brought to justice. he should be made to pay for this egregious miscarriage of justice. this wasn’t prosecutorial error, it was an intentional and deliberate crime stemming from racist hatred. that this horrible man has risen to a judgeship is abhorrent and should have every citizen of this country writing to him to decry his outrageous acts. you can write to him at dslayton@co.lubbock.tx.us.
Matt
Thanks for commenting you guys. Yeah, I was kind of in shock yesterday after hearing this story. I was driven to write a really good blog post about it. Thanks for reading it!
Robert A. Johnson
I was horrified when I heard this story on the news and even felt some sympathy for the victim of the rape when she realized her error. She must feel terrible. The news broadcast showed her apoligizing to the family of Tim Cole. The judge Jim Bob Darnel should be disbarred and publicly shammed for ignoring evidence proving Tim Cole’s innocence. I have no sympathy for ADA’s who refuse to revist a case when new evidence becomes available. Upon being presented with evidence proving a indivual they prosecuted is innocent they should get the conviction overturned and make a public apology for their error. Failure to do so because of pride or for any reason is unacceptable and they should face punishment.