A man is convicted of a murder he says he did not commit. Can he prove he was framed from behind bars?A man is convicted of a murder he says he did not commit. Can he prove he was framed from behind bars?A man is convicted of a murder he says he did not commit. Can he prove he was framed from behind bars?
Photos
Coe Ecker
- Self - Cayuga County Sheriff's Dept.
- (as Ret. Dep. Sheriff Coe Ecker)
Lowell Levine
- Self - Forensic Expert, NY State Police
- (as Dr. Lowell Levine)
James Vargason
- Self - District Attorney
- (archive footage)
David S. Gould
- Self - Cayuga County Sheriff's Office
- (as Sheriff David S. Gould)
Storyline
Featured review
Out Of The Ashes
This is a story about yet another shocking miscarriage of justice that should never have happened. In 1991, the home of social worker Sabina Kulakowski was set on fire, but her naked body was not found inside the house. Instead it turned up a short distance away; she had been the victim of a frenzied knife attack. Her killer had also bitten her savagely.
Roy Brown was arrested primarily because he had a history with social workers, although he said he had never met the victim. The bite marks were compelling evidence, and Brown was convicted. What the jury was not told however was that the first DA on the case had not been totally convinced, so had obtained a second opinion from an eminent specialist, who was emphatic that Brown could not have inflicted them. Alas, as so often happens, this compelling evidence was quietly forgotten. The defence came up with their own expert witness, and as the detective who first worked on the case said, it was his feeling that no jury would convict, and rightly so. Alas again.
As is often the case in the US, Brown's attorney did not put him on the stand; an innocent man should always testify unless there is some compelling reason not to. Indeed, Brown had cooperated fully with the police with the demeanour of an innocent man. Whether or not that would have made any difference, he was given a sentence of 25 years to life.
An appeal failed, and applications for the retesting of DNA evidence in the light of advances in technology were similarly rejected.
The extraordinary chain of events that led to Roy Brown's finding the real killer while still behind bars, to the suicide of Barry Bench and to Brown's eventual acquittal are related by Brown himself, his attorney and others. He was discharged from prison a dying man, but the crowning glory after the end of his torment was a successful liver transplant. Without that, the $2.6 million in damages he would eventually be awarded would have counted for nothing.
The two most outstanding features of this case are the forcefulness of Brown's personality and the intransigence of the criminal justice system. Fortunately for him, the former prevailed.
Roy Brown was arrested primarily because he had a history with social workers, although he said he had never met the victim. The bite marks were compelling evidence, and Brown was convicted. What the jury was not told however was that the first DA on the case had not been totally convinced, so had obtained a second opinion from an eminent specialist, who was emphatic that Brown could not have inflicted them. Alas, as so often happens, this compelling evidence was quietly forgotten. The defence came up with their own expert witness, and as the detective who first worked on the case said, it was his feeling that no jury would convict, and rightly so. Alas again.
As is often the case in the US, Brown's attorney did not put him on the stand; an innocent man should always testify unless there is some compelling reason not to. Indeed, Brown had cooperated fully with the police with the demeanour of an innocent man. Whether or not that would have made any difference, he was given a sentence of 25 years to life.
An appeal failed, and applications for the retesting of DNA evidence in the light of advances in technology were similarly rejected.
The extraordinary chain of events that led to Roy Brown's finding the real killer while still behind bars, to the suicide of Barry Bench and to Brown's eventual acquittal are related by Brown himself, his attorney and others. He was discharged from prison a dying man, but the crowning glory after the end of his torment was a successful liver transplant. Without that, the $2.6 million in damages he would eventually be awarded would have counted for nothing.
The two most outstanding features of this case are the forcefulness of Brown's personality and the intransigence of the criminal justice system. Fortunately for him, the former prevailed.
helpful•10
- a_baron
- Jun 21, 2014
Details
- Runtime44 minutes
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