Man spends nearly 3 decades in jail on wrongful conviction, walks free in 2023

NEW ORLEANS (WGNO)— A New Orleans man has been reunited with his family after spending almost three decades in jail for a crime he reportedly did not commit.

The Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office and the Civil Rights Division successfully regained the freedom of Patrick Brown who has been wrongfully incarcerated for the past 29 years.

Back in 1994, Brown’s stepdaughter, 6 years old at the time, made claims of rape against him. During the trial, the district attorney’s office said the stepdaughter did not testify; instead, family members took the stand on her behalf, sharing what they believed to have happened.

The DA’s office says in 2002 the stepdaughter repeatedly requested a review of the case to “correct the injustice, and rightfully prosecute the actual perpetrator”. The claims were never heard until DA Jason Williams launched the Civil Rights Division.

“Listening and engaging victims and survivors of sexual assault is a top priority in this office. It is incredibly disheartening to know that this woman was dismissed and ignored, no matter how inconvenient her truth, when all she wanted was the real offender to be held responsible,” said District Attorney Jason Williams. 

The case was reopened and through the course of another investigation of the over 20-year-old evidence along with the victim’s account, the injustice was rectified, and Brown was released.

“This case presents multiple injustices: 1. the wrong man has been in prison for 29 years, 2. the right man was not fully investigated and prosecuted, and 3. this victim has endured not just the deep trauma of child sexual assault, but the trauma of knowing the wrong man has been imprisoned for almost three decades while the man who raped her walked free. This is a very sad case, but we are hopeful that this will bring some closure to the victim and that she, and Mr. Brown, can move forward in healing,” said Civil Rights Division Chief Emily Maw.

Latest Stories