{"id":503,"date":"2008-02-20T11:06:18","date_gmt":"2008-02-20T17:06:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ezing.me\/transfer\/?p=503"},"modified":"2014-09-23T09:24:43","modified_gmt":"2014-09-23T14:24:43","slug":"two-mississippi-prisoners-to-be-exonerated-after-more-than-a-decade-in-prison","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/two-mississippi-prisoners-to-be-exonerated-after-more-than-a-decade-in-prison\/","title":{"rendered":"Two Mississippi Prisoners to be Exonerated After More Than a Decade in Prison"},"content":{"rendered":"

\nOXFORD, Miss – The Mississippi Innocence Project at the
\nUniversity of Mississippi School of Law has announced the
\nexpected exoneration of two men convicted of capital murder
\nand the arrest last week of the man who is thought to be
\nguilty of the crimes.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\nThe local organization worked in conjunction with Jackson
\nattorney Robert B. McDuff and the Innocence Project in New
\nYork on the cases of Kennedy Brewer and Levon Brooks.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nAs a result of post-conviction DNA testing, the state has
\nannounced that it will clear Brewer at a hearing Friday
\n(Feb. 15) in Noxubee County. The Mississippi Innocence
\nProject filed pleadings on behalf of Brooks so that he too
\nis expected to be released and cleared. When he is cleared
\nthis week, Brewer will become the first prisoner in
\nMississippi to be exonerated on the basis of such testing.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nBrewer was convicted in 1995 in Lowndes County for the
\ncapital murder and rape of a 3-year-old girl and was
\nsentenced to death. Brooks also was convicted of capital
\nmurder and rape of a different 3-year-old during his 1992
\ntrial. Both men maintained their innocence, said Tucker
\nCarrington, director of the Mississippi Innocence Project.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nOn July 7, 1992, prior to Brewer’s trial, the rape kit
\ngathered during the investigation was analyzed at the
\nMississippi Crime Laboratory and seminal fluid was
\nidentified. In 2001 at the behest of Brewer’s appellate
\nlawyers, this evidence was submitted to a private
\nlaboratory for post-conviction DNA testing. The testing
\nconfirmed that Brewer was not the donor. However, the state
\ndecided at that time to retry Brewer instead of exonerating
\nhim.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nAs a result, law enforcement did not reinvestigate either
\nthe Brewer or the Brooks case even though the two were
\nremarkably similar in modus operandi and even though the
\nstate had clearly convicted the wrong perpetrator in
\nBrewer’s case, Carrington said.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nLast week, additional testing was conducted by defense
\nattorneys, and the test showed the evidence matched the DNA
\nof an individual who had been a suspect early in the
\ninvestigation. Defense lawyers, working in conjunction with
\nthe state Attorney General’s Office, moved quickly to
\narrest the suspect, Albert Johnson, who still lived in the
\ncommunity where the two girls were abducted and killed.
\nCarrington said Johnson subsequently confessed to both
\ncrimes, thereby clearing Brooks and Brewer.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nCarrington said Mississippi Innocence Project students,
\nparticularly third-year law student McCann LeFeve of
\nGulfport and second-year law student Krystal Walker of
\nLouisville, are playing an important role in the
\ndevelopments.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“The two of them worked feverishly once news of the DNA
\nmatch and arrest arose in the last week, and helped
\nresearch and prepare the writ that was filed in the
\nMississippi Supreme Court this past Friday,” he said.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nCarrington added that the main position of the Mississippi
\nInnocence Project remains unchanged.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“Mississippi needs meaningful criminal justice reform,” he
\nsaid. “Our office endeavors to be a leader – whether it is
\nrepresenting clients with viable claims of innocence or
\nlegislative initiatives. The facts of the Brewer and Brooks
\ncases speak for themselves. They are emblematic of sloppy
\nlaw enforcement, questionable forensic science and the
\nperils of the state’s lack of DNA preservation and testing
\nlegislation.”
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nFor more information on the Mississippi Innocence Project,
\ncontact Tucker Carrington at 662-915-5206. For more
\ninformation on the case of Kennedy Brewer, contact Robert
\nB. McDuff at 601-969-0802. For more information on the case
\nof Levon Brooks, contact either Carrington or McDuff.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nFor more information on the School of Law, visit
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.law.olemiss.edu.<\/a>.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

OXFORD, Miss – The Mississippi Innocence Project at the University of Mississippi School of Law has announced the expected exoneration of two men convicted of capital murder and the arrest last week of the man who is thought to be guilty of the crimes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[222],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nTwo Mississippi Prisoners to be Exonerated After More Than a Decade in Prison - Ole Miss News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/two-mississippi-prisoners-to-be-exonerated-after-more-than-a-decade-in-prison\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Two Mississippi Prisoners to be Exonerated After More Than a Decade in Prison - 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