A Louisiana man, Patrick Brown has been released from prison after spending 29 years behind bars for the alleged rape of his stepdaughter, an offence he didn’t commit.
Brown, aged 49, was convicted of raping his 6-year-old stepdaughter in 1994 after pleading not guilty in a trial in which the victim did not testify – instead, adults testified “to what they believed she had said,” and was sentenced to life without parole.
Since 2002, the stepdaughter had repeatedly asked the DA’s office under former administrations to review the case and prosecute the actual perpetrator.
The office’s civil rights division opened an investigation into the victim’s case, found that the evidence corroborated her account, and asked the court to rectify the case.
“The attorneys in the Civil Rights Division in Orleans Parish are the only prosecutors I have ever worked with in Louisiana who truly take the admonition to ‘do Justice’ seriously – as evidenced by the fact that they listened to the victim in this case the first time she reached out, instead of ignoring her like their predecessors did for more than 20 years,” Kelly Orians told CNN.
“Although the right decision was reached on Monday, and there is reason to celebrate, it will never make up for the pain, loss, and trauma that Mr. Brown, his step-daughter, and their family have endured over the last three decades,” she added.
