In 1992, my uncle, Levon Brooks, was sentenced to life in prison for a crime he did not commit.
Levon Brooks before he was wrongfully convicted, and after he was exonerated. Images courtesy of Gloria Williams.
Because of his incredible perseverance and the hard work of the Innocence Project’s lawyers, my uncle was freed, alongside Kennedy Brewer, after spending 16 years in Mississippi State Penitentiary, a terrifying prison and former plantation with a long history of racial terror.
When I heard that Netflix was going to be producing my uncle’s story in a documentary series for the world to watch, I was overcome with emotion. My uncle was special to me and it’s important that we keep his story alive.
I really hope that this series helps introduce more people to the real flaws in our justice system, and that it encourages more people to fight for the wrongfully convicted. That’s why I’ll be joining a panel live on the Innocence Project’s Facebook page tomorrow to discuss how bad evidence has failed people like my uncle Levon — be sure to tune in at 11 a.m. ET tomorrow, Thursday, May 7.
Levon’s conviction was a horrible time for him and our family, and though I’m thankful that he was eventually freed, we’ll never get back the time he spent behind bars. And it makes losing him to cancer just 10 years later all the more gutting for all of us who loved him.
This kind of injustice happens every day to people across our country. That’s why the work of telling these stories matters so much.
The Innocence Project exonerates the wrongly convicted through DNA testing and reforms the criminal justice system to prevent future injustice. www.innocenceproject.org
