Louisiana man wrongly convicted of rape released after 29 years in prison

A Louisiana man who served 29 years for a crime he did not commit has been released from prison after it was revealed in court that the victim had told the prosecutors in New Orleans for over two decades that the man was innocent, but she was repeatedly ignored.

Patrick Brown, 49, was sentenced to life without parole in December 1994 after he was accused of raping his six-year old stepdaughter. But for over 20 years, the victim, named in court as LB, had told authorities that her step-father was innocent and implicated another family member, named as LW, who had bragged about it around the time of the crime, according to filings and prosecutors notes from the time.

Brown, who appeared in court on Monday morning wept into the arms of his attorney as the decision to vacate his conviction was delivered by presiding judge Calvin Johnson.

Specifically, the victim had tested positive for a gonorrheal infection shortly after the offense. Brown was not tested for active infection, instead for antibodies, while LW was only tested for active infection.

LB had signed an affidavit in 2015 that named LW as the man who had raped her.

Before proceedings began, Brown had appeared in an orange jumpsuit after he was transferred from the Louisiana State Penitentiary earlier in the morning. His attorney Kelly Orians applied to the court to allow him to wear civilian clothing before the proceedings began.