Hearing Thursday in Mississippi for Levon Brooks

District Attorney Forrest Allgood, of Noxubee County, Mississippi, has announced that he intends to drop the capital murder indictment against Innocence Project client Levon Brooks at a hearing Thursday morning in Macon, Mississippi.

Brooks spent 15 years in prison for the rape and murder of his girlfriend’s three-year-old daughter – a crime he did not commit. He was wrongfully convicted with the flawed forensic analysis of medical examiner Steven Hayne and bite mark analyst Michael West. Hayne and West also helped secure the wrongful conviction of Innocence Project client Kennedy Brewer, who was exonerated in February after 15 years behind bars. DNA evidence in the Brewer case led to the identification of the real perpetrator, Justin Albert Johnson, who confessed to both the Brewer and Brooks crimes.

Innocence Project Co-Director Peter Neufeld and Staff Attorney Vanessa Potkin will represent Brooks at Thursday’s hearing.

Read today’s Jackson Clarion Ledger article here.

Read more about Brooks and Brewer’s cases here.

Read about calls for reform to the Mississippi criminal justice system here.