The author of a book about a wrongfully convicted Fort Worth man who died in prison is pushing for a posthumous university degree for the U.S. Army veteran.
The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal reports Fred B. McKinley has started an online petition to persuade Texas Tech University to confer an honorary degree on Tim Cole, who was asked to leave the university after his 1985 arrest on rape charges.
Cole maintained his innocence until his death in prison at age 39 in 1999. DNA evidence cleared him 10 years after his death.
McKinley, author of "A Plea for Justice: The Timothy Cole Story," wrote the university in 2011 to ask for the degree but was told the standards and criteria to confer it are rigorous and require that most coursework be completed.
Copyright AP - Associated Press
