SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Proving Failure of Justice, Brothers Exonerated After 30 Years Behind Bars
Attorneys say North Carolina police department in 1983 coerced the intellectually-disabled, African-American teens into confessing to rape and murder of 11-year-old girl
Sep 03, 2014
After spending over 30 years behind bars, Henry McCollum and Leon Brown-- two African-American half brothers who faced the death penalty and life in prison respectively -- were set free on Wednesday after a DNA test proved that the men had no connection to the 1983 rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl for which they were accused, charged and convicted.
Attorneys for Brown and McCollum, who were 15 and 19 at the time of the arrest, said that the police department of Red Springs, North Carolina had coerced the then-teenagers, who are both diagnosed with intellectual disabilities, into signing false confessions after hours of interrogations.
"It's terrifying that our justice system allowed two intellectually disabled children to go to prison for a crime they had nothing to do with, and then to suffer there for 30 years," said Ken Rose, a senior staff attorney at the Center for Death Penalty Litigation in Durham, who has represented McCollum for 20 years. "Henry watched dozens of people be hauled away for execution. He would become so distraught he had to be put in isolation. It's impossible to put into words what these men have been through and how much they have lost."
"It's impossible to put into words what these men have been through and how much they have lost."
--Ken Rose, attorney for Henry McCollum
The Robeson County Superior Court judge dismissed all charges on Tuesday after a morning hearing during which the North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission, an independent state agency, presented the results of its investigation, including DNA testing of items found at the crime scene.
According to a statement released by Brown and McCollum's defense, the Commission found that none of the items could be traced to the two men. Instead, critical DNA evidence matched another individual named Roscoe Artis, a convicted rapist and murderer who lived less than 100 yards from where the body of 11-year-old Sabrina Buie was found.
After the charges were dropped, the packed court room "erupted in applause and tears," the News & Observer reports. "I thank God for the strength to carry me through 31 years," McCollum, who had been North Carolina's longest-serving death row inmate, told the paper. Despite being freed, prison officials insisted the brothers spend one last night behind bars.
"This case is a tragedy which has profoundly affected not only the lives of the people involved, but which profoundly affects our system of justice in North Carolina," said Ann Kirby, co-counsel for Leon Brown.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Lauren McCauley
Lauren McCauley is a former senior editor for Common Dreams covering national and international politics and progressive news. She is now the Editor of Maine Morning Star. Lauren also helped produce a number of documentary films, including the award-winning Soundtrack for a Revolution and The Hollywood Complex, as well as one currently in production about civil rights icon James Meredith. Her writing has been featured on Newsweek, BillMoyers.com, TruthDig, Truthout, In These Times, and Extra! the newsletter of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. She currently lives in Kennebunk, Maine with her husband, two children, a dog, and several chickens.
After spending over 30 years behind bars, Henry McCollum and Leon Brown-- two African-American half brothers who faced the death penalty and life in prison respectively -- were set free on Wednesday after a DNA test proved that the men had no connection to the 1983 rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl for which they were accused, charged and convicted.
Attorneys for Brown and McCollum, who were 15 and 19 at the time of the arrest, said that the police department of Red Springs, North Carolina had coerced the then-teenagers, who are both diagnosed with intellectual disabilities, into signing false confessions after hours of interrogations.
"It's terrifying that our justice system allowed two intellectually disabled children to go to prison for a crime they had nothing to do with, and then to suffer there for 30 years," said Ken Rose, a senior staff attorney at the Center for Death Penalty Litigation in Durham, who has represented McCollum for 20 years. "Henry watched dozens of people be hauled away for execution. He would become so distraught he had to be put in isolation. It's impossible to put into words what these men have been through and how much they have lost."
"It's impossible to put into words what these men have been through and how much they have lost."
--Ken Rose, attorney for Henry McCollum
The Robeson County Superior Court judge dismissed all charges on Tuesday after a morning hearing during which the North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission, an independent state agency, presented the results of its investigation, including DNA testing of items found at the crime scene.
According to a statement released by Brown and McCollum's defense, the Commission found that none of the items could be traced to the two men. Instead, critical DNA evidence matched another individual named Roscoe Artis, a convicted rapist and murderer who lived less than 100 yards from where the body of 11-year-old Sabrina Buie was found.
After the charges were dropped, the packed court room "erupted in applause and tears," the News & Observer reports. "I thank God for the strength to carry me through 31 years," McCollum, who had been North Carolina's longest-serving death row inmate, told the paper. Despite being freed, prison officials insisted the brothers spend one last night behind bars.
"This case is a tragedy which has profoundly affected not only the lives of the people involved, but which profoundly affects our system of justice in North Carolina," said Ann Kirby, co-counsel for Leon Brown.
Lauren McCauley
Lauren McCauley is a former senior editor for Common Dreams covering national and international politics and progressive news. She is now the Editor of Maine Morning Star. Lauren also helped produce a number of documentary films, including the award-winning Soundtrack for a Revolution and The Hollywood Complex, as well as one currently in production about civil rights icon James Meredith. Her writing has been featured on Newsweek, BillMoyers.com, TruthDig, Truthout, In These Times, and Extra! the newsletter of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. She currently lives in Kennebunk, Maine with her husband, two children, a dog, and several chickens.
After spending over 30 years behind bars, Henry McCollum and Leon Brown-- two African-American half brothers who faced the death penalty and life in prison respectively -- were set free on Wednesday after a DNA test proved that the men had no connection to the 1983 rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl for which they were accused, charged and convicted.
Attorneys for Brown and McCollum, who were 15 and 19 at the time of the arrest, said that the police department of Red Springs, North Carolina had coerced the then-teenagers, who are both diagnosed with intellectual disabilities, into signing false confessions after hours of interrogations.
"It's terrifying that our justice system allowed two intellectually disabled children to go to prison for a crime they had nothing to do with, and then to suffer there for 30 years," said Ken Rose, a senior staff attorney at the Center for Death Penalty Litigation in Durham, who has represented McCollum for 20 years. "Henry watched dozens of people be hauled away for execution. He would become so distraught he had to be put in isolation. It's impossible to put into words what these men have been through and how much they have lost."
"It's impossible to put into words what these men have been through and how much they have lost."
--Ken Rose, attorney for Henry McCollum
The Robeson County Superior Court judge dismissed all charges on Tuesday after a morning hearing during which the North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission, an independent state agency, presented the results of its investigation, including DNA testing of items found at the crime scene.
According to a statement released by Brown and McCollum's defense, the Commission found that none of the items could be traced to the two men. Instead, critical DNA evidence matched another individual named Roscoe Artis, a convicted rapist and murderer who lived less than 100 yards from where the body of 11-year-old Sabrina Buie was found.
After the charges were dropped, the packed court room "erupted in applause and tears," the News & Observer reports. "I thank God for the strength to carry me through 31 years," McCollum, who had been North Carolina's longest-serving death row inmate, told the paper. Despite being freed, prison officials insisted the brothers spend one last night behind bars.
"This case is a tragedy which has profoundly affected not only the lives of the people involved, but which profoundly affects our system of justice in North Carolina," said Ann Kirby, co-counsel for Leon Brown.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.