Victim in Timothy Cole case addresses concerns to city - KCBD NewsChannel 11 Lubbock

Victim in Timothy Cole case addresses concerns to city

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Michele Mallin Michele Mallin

By Ann Wyatt Little - bio | email

Lubbock, TX (KCBD) - The victim in a 1985 Lubbock rape case, in which the wrong man went to prison for the crime, brings her concerns to city leaders. It is the second letter this week asking for answers about the investigation that led to Timothy Cole's wrongful conviction.

The page and a half letter written by Michelle Mallin responds to a statement issued by Lubbock City Manager Lee Ann Dumbauld last week. In the letter, Mallin says she felt misled by police.

"I testified against him and I honestly believed he was the right person at the time," said Mallin about the Timothy Cole case last year at a seminar on exonerations and the Supreme Court hosted by Georgetown Law Office of Public Interest and Community Service and The Innocence Project.

"I did physical line up the next day and picked him out immediately," said Mallin. The man she picked from the line up was Timothy Cole, who maintained his innocence up to his death in 1999. Innocence Project attorneys, Cole's family and Mallin still want answers about the investigation that led to Cole's imprisonment. Mallin feels the investigation was not complete or fair and that photo line-ups she picked from were skewed. She writes "an investigation is not a fair investigation if all the facts are not made open."

Attorneys want to question the officers involved, but their initial request was denied. In a statement issued last week, Dumbauld says those officers no longer work for the city and the city must respect their choices. Dumbauld did say the entire city has the deepest sympathy and respect for Cole's family. She also says the city has cooperated with  

The Innocence Project has planned a meeting to talk about the Cole investigation for October 18th at 7 p.m. at St. John's United Methodist Church.

To see the complete letter, Click Here (PDF file). http://ftpcontent4.worldnow.com/kcbd/News_Content/mallinLetterV2.pdf

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