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| Saturday, March 22, 2003 |
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Retarded man may be freed in killing By Paula McMahon and Ardy Friedberg | Florida Correspondents Posted March 20, 2003
MIAMI -- A federal judge Wednesday threw out a mentally
retarded man's conviction for the 1990 killing of a Broward deputy
sheriff, saying Tim Brown did not understand his rights when he
confessed. Prosecutors have 90 days to free Brown or try him again on a charge of killing of Deputy Sheriff Patrick Behan, U.S. District Judge Donald Graham ruled. Brown, who was 15 and had a mental age of 7 or 8 when he was arrested, has served nearly 12 years of a life sentence for the murder conviction. Even if prosecutors decide to retry him, experts said Brown likely will go free. The only evidence prosecutors had -- his confession -- can no longer be used against him because of the judge's ruling. And a Broward Sheriff's Office investigation caught a new suspect, Andrew Johnson, on tape claiming responsibility for the killing. Johnson later denied he did it. "I'm bringing my son home," said Brown's mother, Othalean Brown, as she celebrated in her Hollywood apartment. "I'm going to grab his hand and hold him and probably never let go." Prosecutors said they have not yet decided whether to appeal the 90-page decision. Broward State Attorney Mike Satz said he would discuss the order with Sheriff Ken Jenne, the Attorney General's Office and the Behan family before making a decision. The judge said Brown did not understand his rights because of his mental retardation and the detectives' poor explanations. Also, the judge wrote, the rights-waiver form gave Brown incorrect and unclear information about his right to have an attorney present before and during interrogation. Jenne said his department has made changes to improve how his detectives deal with people with mental disabilities. Brown's case is the latest in a series of troubling and embarrassing incidents for the Broward justice system. If he were to go free, Brown will be the third Broward man with mental retardation or mental illness to be exonerated or have very serious questions raised about their guilt in recent years. Paula McMahon and Ardy Friedberg are reporters for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, a Tribune Publishing newspaper. |
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