Utah- Debra Brown was released from prison after being found "factually innocent" of murder, but Attorney General Mark Shurtleff is appealing the decision.
Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff has flip-flopped on a decision not to appeal a Logan woman’s exoneration in a 1993 slaying, officials at the Rocky Mountain Innocence Center (RMIC) said Wednesday night.
The decision comes more than two weeks after 53-year-old Debra Brown was released from prison after being found "factually innocent" in her employer’s shooting death by a 2nd District Court judge.
"RMIC believes the attorney general’s decision is incredibly irresponsible to taxpayers and cruel to Debra Brown and her family and supporters," the innocence center said in a statement. "After being promised that the state would not appeal, Ms. Brown and her family were beginning to put their long ordeal behind them and to heal. Ms. Brown was looking forward to what she described lovingly as her ‘new, improved, restored life.’ The attorney general’s change of mind has left her and her family ‘broken-hearted.’ "
"It’s certainly disheartening for the family," said Debra Brown’s brother, David Scott.
Scott said the family has faith that Brown’s attorney, Alan Sullivan, will resolve the matter.
On Wednesday, the Attorney General’s Office said it planned to hold a news conference Thursday to "discuss the new factual-innocence law."
Brown was cleared under a 2008 statute that allows an inmate to seek a hearing to prove her innocence, even when no new DNA evidence exists.
Assistant Attorney General Scott Reed told The Salt Lake Tribune that the case could set a dangerous precedent for the state’s legal system.
The Attorney General’s Office, however, will not ask that Brown be returned to prison, where she spent nearly 17 years, even if the appeal is successful.
"It’s not fair to her, at this point," Reed said. "The conviction on the books is what’s important. Where she resides for the rest of her life is of little consequence to us."
Link:
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/51887164-78/brown-appeal-attorney-reed.html.csp