Hearings set for Friday in two Mississippi cases, Innocence Project calls for immediate forensic oversight

(Jackson, MS; February 14, 2008) — Innocence Project client Kennedy Brewer served 15 years behind bars in Mississippi – much of it on death row – for a heinous child murder that DNA now proves he didn’t commit. A hearing in his case is set for tomorrow (Friday, Feb. 15) at 10:30 a.m., and the Innocence Project is asking that all charges against him be dismissed, making him the first person exonerated by DNA evidence in Mississippi. Details on tomorrow’s hearing are available here.

Immediately after Brewer’s hearing, the Innocence Project expects that the case of Levon Brooks will be heard. Brooks has been in prison for more than 15 years for an eerily similar child murder in the same town as the crime for which Brewer was convicted. The same man, Justin Albert Johnson, has been implicated by DNA in the Brewer case and has admitted to committing both murders by himself. The Innocence Project represents both men and is asking that Brooks’ conviction be thrown out at tomorrow’s hearing.

Read more background on both cases in the Innocence Project press release.

The Innocence Project also sent a letter today to Mississippi’s Commissioner of Public Safety urging him to fill the long-vacant position of State Medical Examiner, which oversees Mississippi criminal autopsies. One cause of the wrongful convictions of Brewer and Brooks was the faulty – and possibly fraudulent – forensic practices of two Mississippi forensic experts, Medical Examiner Steven Hayne and bite mark analyst Michael West. Both men have been solidly discredited for years, but fall under no official oversight.

The letter says:

The case of Mr. Brewer and Mr. Brooks make clear why this oversight is necessary, and the State Legislature made clear two decades ago that it believes this is an important function…. We ask for your urgent attention to this matter. The grave consequences illustrated by the cases of Mr. Brewer and Mr. Brooks call for the prompt appointment and full funding of a qualified State Medical Examiner, which falls directly under your authority.

Read the full letter here.