UPDATE: Man Jailed for Life for Joint to Be Freed

UPDATE: Man Jailed for Life for Joint to Be Freed
Following 20/20 Report, Dallas Voters Ousted Judge from Bench
By JIM AVILA and JOAN MARTELLI

March 10, 2007 — Its official: Tyrone Brown, the man sentenced to life in prison for violating probation with a single marijuana cigarette, will be a free man.

ABC News' "20/20" documented this story in November 2006. Brown is African American, poor and without connections. His harsh sentence was contrasted with the mercy shown a white criminal who murdered someone, then repeatedly violated his parole with cocaine.

The privileged criminal, who was the son of a Baptist minister and the brother-in-law of a U.S. congressman, was never sent to jail, and now even his probation has been lifted.

Brown was involved in an armed robbery that yielded $2. He, too, was first sentenced to probation, but when he violated it just once with a marijuana joint, he was sentenced to life. He has served 17 years.Both men were sentenced by the same judge, Keith Dean.
(snip)

After the "20/20" report, Dallas voters ousted Dean from the bench, and Friday Tyrone Brown was granted a "conditional pardon" by Texas Gov. Rick Perry.
(snip/...)

http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=2940660&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312

http://www.judgekeithdean.net/mediac/450_0/media/Judge_Keith_Dean$20small$202.jpg

Judge Keith Dean

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



TOM FOX/DMN, File
When Tyrone Brown violated his probation by smoking marijuana, he never expected a judge to give him a life sentence. Inset: John Alexander Wood lives in Waco despite being on probation for murder in Dallas County.

Scales of justice can swing wildly
Two very different men commit two very different crimes. When both violate probation, there are very different results: The robber gets life; the killer remains free.


12:51 AM CDT on Sunday, April 23, 2006By BROOKS EGERTON / The Dallas Morning News


First came the poor man, barely 17 years old – too young to buy beer or vote, but an adult under the Texas penal code. He took part in a $2 stickup in which no one got hurt. He pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery and was put on 10 years of probation.

He broke the rules once, by smoking marijuana. A Dallas judge responded in the harshest possible way: He replaced the original sentence with a life term in prison.

When Tyrone Brown violated his probation by smoking marijuana, he never expected a judge to give him a life sentence. Inset: John Alexander Wood lives in Waco despite being on probation for murder in Dallas County.
There Tyrone Brown sits today, 16 years later, tattooed and angry and pondering self-destruction. "I've tried suicide a few times," he writes. "What am I to make of a life filled with failure, including failing to end my life?"

Now the flip side of the coin, also from Judge Keith Dean's court: A well-connected man pleaded guilty to murder – for shooting an unarmed prostitute in the back – and also got 10 years of probation.
(snip/...)

http://www.dallasnews.com/s/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/042306dnmettwomen.2e5ca5a.html

make me so proud to be an American.

:sarcasm:

Since the guy was poor, don't expect too many responses to your post.

But thanks for posting it anyway.

They should give him a million dollars in recompence. It's the least they could do.

That might cover this unreal injustice.

:smoke: Decriminalize it already. Jeebus!

This kind of thing goes on everywhere. Obviously, this shouldn't have happened in the first place, but the important thing is the error was corrected and that Tyrone is free.

It doesn't make you proud, that's another matter.

:patriot:

As if the truth matters any more.

That's hardly a super-patriotic position. I happen to have an acquaintance who sat for months in a foreign jail, having done nothing, without any form of redress. This kind of thing happens *everywhere*. It doesn't always come to a positive end.

There's enough crap our country does badly without picking on one of the more positive things.

This man was in prison for 16 years for smoking a joint. A little difference there, and I'll bet that foreign country does not claim the same things this country does about justice and liberty for all. If this was the only case such as this and if this was the only judge out there that sentenced people unfairly, that would be another story, but it is not. Justice can be bought and sold in this country, and for the most part judgment is much harsher for those who have darker skin. That this was brought to the forefront and justice was finally served makes me proud of the people who fought for it, but not for the country that continues even today in allowing this type of injustice to be carried out.

We do have means of redress in this country, which not all countries have (I won't go into the details of my friend's case, but he had neither attorney or judge to hear his case ... he was eventually released without any charges filed).

There are worse countries than this one. To think otherwise is to insult the good things our forebears have done.

So even if they are worse, that does not make us better because we are not only hypocritical in our claims but we also hide behind them. We hide behind the statue of liberty while giving some immigrants preference over others, he hide behind the lady of justice while giving some people preference over others in our court system, we hide behind our constitution while we deny rights to so many of our citizens. I'm sorry, I think it is even hypocritical to even claim we have anything to be proud of these days.

The words to a song from "Jesus Christ Superstar" plays in my head a lot these days when I think about our country.

This was unexpected
What do I do now?
Could we start again please
I'd been very hopeful so far
Now for the first time I think we're going wrong
Hurry up and tell me
This is just a dream
Or could we start again please

Or because a cop planted drugs on you, as they are routinely TRAINED to do.

You're not reading things in context.

I've already admitted to all that -- I'm just saying, those things happen in most "first world" countries (as well as third world). To say otherwise is to ignore the impact of Alpha primates on
society. lol

There are many people on DU who live in a wonderland centered around Europe as some salvation when it has always been as large a part of the problem as we have. Until we understand that, we get nowhere.

There are many things we do wrong here; there are many things we do right. If you need to see us as some satanic aberration, then be my guest, but it remains a far more complicated world than that.

Do you think the judge simply made a mistake when he issued a life sentence for such a minor offense? No, the state of Texas very deliberately took away this man's freedom and cost the state who knows how many tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars of taxpayer money because of one little joint.

This war on drugs is a travesty of justice, it does not make me one bit proud of our legal system. He may be out now, but it is already too late this man's life has been taken away from him because of something that shouldn't even be illegal.

Hurray!



That Judge needs to never step foot in a courtroom again.

Marijuana needs to be legal.

"Prisoners gain weight in prison.. i'm sure he was happier there!" I assume some republican, somewhere, is thinking this.

should serve the remainder of the sentence.

was seeing that the good folks of Dallas kicked the "judge" to the curb.

Honest, hard-hitting reporting, with underlying progressive and humanistic values. The way reporting should be, advocating against injustice.

Grass roots organization to get this corrupt judge off the bench.

And, although the victim, Tyrone Brown, has suffered an enormous injustice, he is now free! Free at last! And I hope he gives up suicidal thoughts, and learns from all this and grows into a great man who can help others. It is not that often that injustice is reversed, and it takes quite a lot of effort by a lot of good people to accomplish something like this. We should be ashamed of our so-called justice system, but also proud of the people who fight for justice, despite many defeats. They are the best of America! And that kind of civic strength needs to be replicated a million-fold. There are a million Tyrone Browns--people who shouldn't be in prison, people who should have been shown mercy, people who would never have been in trouble with the law if society's resources were properly used for education and social support, when they need it, or when their parents need it--instead of being squandered on incarcerating good people who make minor mistakes, and get criminalized for things that should never be a crime. Petty theft by teenagers! Why on earth criminalize someone for that? The judge should have pulled $2 out of his pocket and handed it to the kid, and said, "Go in peace, my son!" Where is wisdom? Smoking a joint! Good Lord! Bush slaughters a hundred thousand innocent people, and he's President of the United States. What kind of justice is that--jail for smoking a joint? Jail for any length of time--let alone for life! It's madness. And the discrepancy of treatment is beyond comprehension. How can we expect our young people to behave lawfully, and to learn civic virtue, when they know that massive lawlessness is not just tolerated, it is rewarded with great wealth and power? Don't steal small--steal big, and you can strut around the world like a dictator!

This is such a heartening story. Something good happening in our country. Bless you, Judi Lynn, for posting it!

he mentioned that there were a helluva lot more african americans than caucasions...people are full of it if they think racism isn't alive and well in modern day Texas.

Stories like this get my blood boiling.

The system is racist in every state. Texas is bad though. The routine in Cook County Jail is beat them to a pulp and ask questions later. it is really bad there

I hope the former judge Dean has a fitting end to his life story, preferably jailed for DUI after his career is ruined.

The old saying 'one law for the rich, one law for the poor' is still true in so many cases, and it's sickening.

If taking part in a $2 robbery as a teenager and smoking a joint could get Brown a life sentence - what sort of a punishment should Bush have if the laws were applied equally?

He got a brand new license number and the old license number forever expunged from the records to prevent any paper trail connections to prior convictions.

How many more Tyrone Browns did he put in jail for marijuana or something just as harmless? I'm willing to bet that it's not just one.

Just serves to prove that racism is still going strong, and all it takes is a few people in power with bigoted or hate-filled views to destroy the lives of many.

But it's too bad it took 17 years.

when it was still a felony for possession, the penalty was 2yrs-life. There was supposed to be some guy that was serving a life sentence for possession of a joint. When the law was changed to a misdemeanor, allegedly the guy's sentence wasn't commuted. When I first saw this, I thought this was the guy, but obviously not. He would be in now a lot longer than 17 yrs. I really don't know if it was ever true, but in Texas it seemed very likely at the time.

That the good people of Texas could make it a full time job, just keeping their eyes on their public officials and scrutinizing their courts.

As for this judge, he should be investigated far more thoroughly and ultimately, disbarred. Losing the election just ain't enough. It looks to me as if there was some serious money changing hands, to benefit the killer.

Of course, we all know something like that would never happen. Really. No. Really.

The little representation they do get is from an over worked and under paid court appointed attorney or yes man.

...go figure.

I think "judge" Dean ought to be sentenced to life - OFF the bench and disbarred. This is disgusting. Has anyone checked to see if Dean is a member of the KKK?

If your bail is set at a million dollars and you're rich, no probem coming up with that 10%.

You can buy your way out of jail.(pre-sentencing). Most court cases take 9mo to a year to get to court so the person who bought his way spends far less time in jail than the person who couldn't pay that bill. - I'm talking from DUI to rapists and murderers.

Then in court, it depends on how good your Lawyer is. Those who can pay for the best lawyer do the least time. Two people committing the same crime are not equal if one is poor and the other is even middle class because it comes down to the legal representation you can afford.

nt

It was armed robbery. They attempted to minimize it by calling it a "stick up" in which $2.00 was netted. I don't think the behavior should be minimized because his armed robbery was unsuccessful.

He received a suspended sentence for the armed robbery and while out on probation, violated the rules of which he was well aware, and for which he knew the penalties.

Because of his unwillingness to follow the rules, his the suspension on the armed robbery was lifted.

It is not truthful to say that he got life for possessing marijuana. It is truthful to say that he got a break on an egregious offense, and then blew it when he refused to follow the rules.

What should happen to people who don't follow the rules? How many chances should they get?

You've got the talking points down and would fit right in.

that ARMED robbery wasn't traumatizing to the victims? They weren't hurt so forget about it? The fact that he was armed should be overlooked?

This wasn't someone who got caught running a stop sign. He committed a felony while armed and was using the weapon.

I can't believe that even ONE person doesn't see this as a gross miscarriage of justice.

did! same judge. think about it.

And hopefully, the poster will stay down there and leave the rest of the country alone.

:rofl:

Armed robbery was certainly a serious offense but once released, giving the boy LIFE for a joint? Jeez Louize, I hope Emerald Green up there has no kids and/or lots of money and it goes without saying, he/she is probably NOT African American.

Our prisons are full of poor people and black people. It's a national disgrace. We have destroyed their generation at a time when we need to be nurturing and supporting the young and poor.
We need our kids, people. But they are fodder for the prison industrail complex and no more.
They are tortured, unfairly sentenced and their lives are permanently destroyed while rich white fuckers get to do whatever they please.

This kid will never get those years back. Ever.

Think about that.

you don't know what I feel or think. You don't know what I think should happen to this boy.

He is at least thirty-five years old now and probably older. He is a man educated in the prison system, thanks to an unfair sentence given by a corrupt judge. The first sentence for the armed robbery should have been one that would have been beneficial to a seventeen year old with no prior record. His breaking parole by smoking a joint, should have been at the most the carrying out of the origianal sentence, not life. For me, smoking a joint should not be a reason for breaking parole.

I thought he was a minor when he violated parole.

Look: I don't necessarily disagree with you. I just did not like the tone of this thread in which they minimized his crime. Armed robbery is not just a "stick up."

a stick up is an armed robbery. And that could be with a gun, knife, stick or any other type of weapon. It can also be any where from a person just pointing a weapon all the way to them being more threatening and causing more distress on the victim. Don't get me wrong, no one enjoys having a weapon used to threaten them, but I am sure that I would rather have a knife shown to me than have it held to my throat. there are degrees to all things in this life and according to the victim he was not that traumatized by the robbery so the young men must not have been very threatening/violent toward him.

But I don't think anyone was wanting to give him a walk for what he had done. They were just wanting it to be an appropriate sentence and not one that was based more on his skin color/economic level. The difference from the judge on the two sentences was moe than adequate to show that it was.

There has been attempts to minimize discrepancies in sentencing including taking away judicial discretion, review of sentencing, reports from several agencies on what the result should be. We still have a long way to go, and it varies from state to state.

Are you saying you think every teen who makes a series of dumb-ass decisions that don't hurt anyone should be jailed for life?

Get ready to build a whole lot of prisons and be prepared to go visit the *entire young population* of America as they cool their heels forever.

This case is a prime example of the need for real Judicial review and standardized sentencing. It also shows the need for youth outreach and probation options.

I think a lot of people are just fine with discarding certain kids while working to cover up the offenses of others, even if they wouldn't admit that to themselves.


What should happen to people who don't follow the rules? Consistent treatment.

PROPERTY CRIME it's by definition far worse than when a white man murders a woman?

Where the hell are your priorities???

:sarcasm:

This by no means mitigates the circumstances of the offense, but the prostitute was a man.

John Alexander Wood's journey toward Judge Dean's courtroom began on a March evening in 1995. He picked up a 22-year-old hustler named Larry Clark on an Oak Lawn street, and they went to Mr. Wood's nearby home.

Police reports, citing Mr. Wood's statements and physical evidence, say the two men had sex, for which Mr. Wood paid $30. Afterward, Mr. Clark asked for a ride home, but Mr. Wood balked and demanded his money back. A fight ensued.

Mr. Clark ran into the back yard, which was enclosed by a high fence. Mr. Wood, using a small semiautomatic pistol, fatally shot him from behind and took the money from Mr. Clark's pocket.

http://www.dallasnews.com/s/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/042306dnmettwomen.2e5ca5a.html

In a way, it almost seems more incredible that the jury didn't seem more hostile. "Ewww he was a gay". (Sorry, horrid sarcasm to prove a point).

He only killed a gay "fag" prostitute.

:sarcasm: (just in case)

I knew this long ago, but had forgotten. Reading the article more closely brought it all back, and that was one truly goddawful trial, and ridiculous conditions following the trial.

Also, was glad to see the article points out Judge Dean is a Republican. Figures.

Thanks for the reminder.

This was not only murder, it was a murder while commiting armed robbery. I take it that Mr. Clark was unarmed, and since he was shot in the back it could not be considered self defense. What the heck?? How in the world was this a walk? This judge should go to prison for abeting in this crime. At least that is how I see in my world of equal fairness and justice for all.

:hi:

That is what I believe should happen. I just don't like the spin on this post in an attempt to sugar-coat his crime. Armed robbery with a deadly weapon. Yikes!

I am not sure how to combat the unfair treatment. Some things have been tried: no discretion for the judge, just let the legislature make consequences. But, that can also lead to harsh sentences with no consideration for the specific facts of the case. Perhaps closer review of the judge's decisions or annual review of the defendant's sentence. Just a few thoughts

He shot someone in the back. A coward. If he get a lesser sentence because the victim was gay, that's the travesty of justice between the two cases.

Between the two cases, I don't think that the black criminal should have gotten a lesser sentence, I think that the white felons sentence should have been sentenced as harsh as the law allowed. But then in 20 years, someone would have been crying about how the white murderer was a victim of society and was really a victim himself.

I don't believe that the black parolee should have been sentenced to life for a probation over a joint though. The drug war is a failure.

Also, you might want to compare the treatment Brown got with the treatment given to the well-connected white guy who killed somebody. He got probation and repeatedly was caught with cocaine and never did any time.

Why don't you tell us what you think a reasonable punishment for violating probation by smoking a joint is?

It was more than a violation of probation. A probation violation usually gets, in our state, up to a maximum of a 60 day sentence (less for first violation).

But, this was a suspended sentence conditioned on law abiding behavior and following rules of probation. I don't know if it could have been handled as a probation violation or if it was all or nothing. I don't know what the judicial discretion was.

There should be fair and even handed treatment of offenders regardless of race. And there should be consequences for his illegal behavior.

and netting $2.00 should be punished more harshly than the cold-blooded murder of an unarmed woman?

How is murder LESS egregious than robbery? Enquiring minds want to know.........

Oh, that's right - it's all about PROPERTY RIGHTS. Ownership society. Blah blah blah.

I would think the guidelines would require more time in prison for a murder than for just threatening murder. I am surprised that they could suspend a murder sentence. Perhaps the legislature needs to set up more guidelines so the judges have less discretion and therefore more even handed rulings.

From the article, the victim of the $2.00 heist thought that the sentence for probation violation was way too harsh...he says
<snip>

Mr. Hathaway, the robbery victim, knew nothing about the case's outcome until contacted recently by The News. He, too, was astounded.

"Goodness gracious," he said in a phone call from Virginia, where he now lives. "You have got to be kidding me. ... Nobody touched me at all."

He had handed his wallet over, Brown and his accomplice took the $2.00 out, then handed the wallet back when Hathaway asked for it.

The article is comparing the way justice is unevenly handed out in this country, and it's obvious to me that blacks and Latinos are convicted and put in prison for far longer terms than whites are. The guy who kept violating probation and testing positive for cocaine suffered no punishment at all, and murder is the most serious crime. Your last question, "What should happen to people who don't follow the rules? How many chances should they get?"

Compare the sentences handed out in both cases...one was severely punished, one went free after repeated parole violations. My question is this...why isn't justice applied evenly in this country?

Did you notice the other fellow in the article? Killed a woman. Pleaded guilty to shooting her in the back. She's dead. Finito. Gone, buried. THAT man got probation, and violated it MULTIPLE times with cocaine possession, but never once et a foot in jail.

Yes, armed robbery is a felony. Last time I checked, so is first-degree murder.

And there should be fair and even-handed treatment to everyone regardless of the race of the person.

I just want the facts to be the truth rather than sugar-coated.

He got a huge break on an armed robbery. And, my guess is that if you read the transcript of the sentencing, he was warned that he got a great break and a great opportunity to stop illegal behavior and become a productive member of society. And I'll bet the defendant vowed never to break the law.

And he did.

So, what should happen to him? As a society, what should we do?

Armed Robbery--Life suspended while on probation
Violation of the rules of probation:

what should be the consequences?

I am tired of DU where instead of talking about issues, we assume and ridicule. You don't know what I believe or what I feel, and you are grouping me in with freepers. Let's have a discussion without name calling or making assumptions.

I never insulted you or assumed anything about your beliefs, but I didn't understand why you wouldn't want similar sentencing guidelines applied to everyone.

Still don't.

If you think everyone who commits a crime will listen to one warning and straighten out, I'd suggest that's unlikely.


Everyone else:
The prostitute the other guy killed was male and very poor with no immediate family alive. Hence his death could be marginalized and forgotten easily.

But don't let that stop you. Of course the guidelines should be applied equally to everyone.

Thanks for playing.

thing because the judge is shown for what a loser he is on national tv and the murderer is also branded by the exposure. Maybe, just maybe, this will cause some future judge from making such egregious decisions.

but appear to have absolutely no issue whatsoever with the belevolance of the court concerning the man who shot a woman in the back and killed her, who did NOT go to prison, all under the careful eye of the same judge.

Looked up another article on this bad joke, written in December, 2006. It would appear that far more people agree with DU'ers on the way this was handled. From that article:

December 9, 2006 - Dallas Morning News (TX)
DA Wants Prisoner's Freedom
Perry Asked To Commute Life Term For Minor Probation Violation
By Brooks Egerton, The Dallas Morning News

~snip~
The contrasting case was that of John Alexander "Alex" Wood, a well-connected man who shot an unarmed prostitute in the back in 1995 and pleaded guilty to murder. Like Mr. Brown, he had no adult criminal record and got 10 years of deferred-adjudication probation.

Mr. Wood repeatedly tested positive for cocaine while on probation and committed other violations. He was arrested for cocaine possession in Waco while driving a congressman's car, but prosecutors there didn't press charges because of unspecified evidence problems. He smashed a woman's door in a dispute over a dog, but again the case was dropped.

Judge Dean let Mr. Wood stay free and eventually exempted him from most standard conditions of probation: no drug tests, no ban on gun ownership, no meetings with a probation officer. Mr. Wood completed his sentence in May, leaving him with no conviction on his record.

The district attorney is asking the governor to commute Mr. Brown's prison term to the 16 years he has already served.

"It is the belief of this office that Mr. Brown has paid his debt for this crime, and that life imprisonment is too harsh a penalty," Mr. Hill wrote.

Bill Hathaway, the robbery victim, has echoed that sentiment. He didn't know about Mr. Brown's sentence until The News contacted him earlier this year and said then: "You have got to be kidding me."
(snip/...)

http://www.november.org/thewall/cases/brown-ty/brown-ty.html

Because if I say what I really think about them it'll get deleted :)

Thanks for always posting great stuff!

That's another "come to Texas" moment, when the wealthy and connected walk and the poor are incarcerated. It's justice Texas style.

"as Texas goes, there goes the nation."

There was no justice reflected in either of these cases.

edited to add - that this decision by Gov. Perry is significant. It would not have happened when Bush was here, even with the 20/20 report. So, to put back on my optimist hat, progress is being made. Too bad, we wont see any changed decision on the killer.

We have one young man who has been unjustly imprisoned and subjected to an education in crime for the last 16 years. He is now to be set free, as he should be, upon the very society who has wronged him. We have another man who is a murderer who has been taught he can get away with killing people - depending on his victims' social status - who is still roaming the streets. How have the people been served by this travesty? The judge should be sent to jail for endangerment of the people at large.

media maybe even more than that judge. where are the investigations into this administration?

during their clients trial, in Texas.

So damned sad.

I am glad he is being freed but good God, how does this shit happen????

Please take a look at the freegarytyler.com website (click below) and sign the petition. Let's be active participants in freeing an innocent man. Thanks.

That's some screwed-up "justice", there.

Proportional to population.

Does anyone think that Americans are seven times more criminal than Canadians?

If not, then why is our incarceration rate so high here in "the land of the free"?

White people enjoyed putting blacks in jail in 1970 too but as you can see, incarceration rates were much lower then.

What do you think happened in 1970 to start incarceration rates climbing the way they have for the last thirty five years or so?

I think I know but I would like to hear your opinion.

It lives in denial and comforts itself with jingoistic notions of being the best country on earth and the richest country on earth.

The privileged criminal, who was the son of a Baptist minister and the brother-in-law of a U.S. congressman, was never sent to jail, and now even his probation has been lifted.

His sentence had to be a political favor. Does anyone know who the Congressman was? I can't find it yet.

with liberty and justice for all. I cannot bring myself to tell a lie in front of 20 first graders.

Life in prison for a joint = justice.



(Please note that i'm being 100% sarcastic.)

We can't even pretend to be free when we jail people for choosing to put substances into their own bodies while not harming others.

That this is even debated is insane.

I keep coming back to the comparison of Chong and Limbaugh.

17 years.

I see it as another situation like Iraq, where contractors stand in line to fill their pocketbooks. Jail is big business.

I believe there are very very few people who actually should be behind bars. And here is my bottom line- these people could be valuable assets to our society. Instead they are liabilities while we pay for their jailed lives, and after they get out. No good ever comes of it.

Sad and sick. I'm ashamed of a large percentage of people who live in this country. Time's running out.

statements of the "Christian" juror who decided that the murderer did the world a favor by killing the 22-year-old prostitute, so the jury was pretty much on his side. Also, because he had ties to the religious community, they decided he was A-OK.