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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Rape |
Sentence: |
Life Imprisonment |
Years Imprisoned: |
30.92 |
Year Crime: |
1983 |
Year Convicted: |
1984 |
Year Cleared: |
2014 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
North Carolina |
County or Region of Crime: |
Robeson |
City of Crime: |
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Result: |
Judicially Exonerated Released |
Summary of Case: |
"Leon Brown and Henry Lee McCollum were brothers and codefendants wrongly convicted in October 1984 of the rape and first-degree murder of 11-year-old Sabrina Buie in Robeson County, North Carolina in September 1983. Their convictinos by a jury after a joint trial were based on the confessions to the crime that each gave to the police. No physical evidence or eyewitness evidence tied either Henry McCollum or Brown to the crime. Both were both sentenced to death. In 1988 the North Carolina Supreme Court reversed the convictions of both defendants and ordered new trials. McCollum was retried in 1991 and reconvicted of rape and murder and again sentenced to death. Brown was retried in 1992 and after only being convicted of rape he was sentenced to life in prison. Post-conviction DNA testing of crime scene evidence excluded McCollum and Brown while solely identifying the DNA profile of Roscoe Artis. On September 2, 2014 the convictions of McCollum and Brown were set-aside and a new trial ordered based on new DNA evidence excluding them as the victim's assailant, and the charges were dismissed with prejudice based on the prosectors announcement that they would not be retried. On June 4, 2015 North Carolina's Gov. Pat McCrory (R) announced that he had pardoned McCollum and Brown them and stated: “It’s the right thing to do.” The pardon allows McCollum and Brown to pursue a state claim under North Carolina's wrongful imprisonment compensatoin statute. McCollum and Brown were in custody for 30 years and 11 months from their arrest on September 29, 1983 until the order for their release on September 2, 2014. Artis is currently serving a sentence of life in prison for a crime committed less than the rape and murder of Buie that was similar to the rape and murder of Buie. On September 2, 2015 it was announced that McCollum and Brown would both receive compensation of $750,000 from the State of North Carolina. On April 11, 2017 a motion was filed to dismiss the federal civil rights lawsuit of McCollum and Brown against the Robeson County Sheriff and local and state investigators, after they reached a settlement for an undisclosed sum." |
Conviction Caused By: |
False confessions |
Innocence Proved By: |
"On September 2, 2014 the convictions of McCollum and Brown were set-aside and a new trial ordered based on new DNA evidence excluding them as the victim's assailant, and the charges were dismissed with prejudice based on the prosectors announcement that they would not be retried. On June 4, 2015 North Carolina's Gov. Pat McCrory (R) announced that he had pardoned McCollum and Brown them and stated: “It’s the right thing to do.” The pardon allows McCollum and Brown to pursue a state claim under North Carolina's wrongful imprisonment compensatoin statute." |
Defendant Aided By: |
North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission |
Compensation Awarded: |
"$750,000 (State of North Carolina, 9-3-2015) and Undisclosed amt (Robeson County, 4-11-2017)" |
Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
15 |
Age When Released: |
46 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
Black |
Information Source 1: |
"State of North Carolina v. Henry Lee McCollum and Leon Brown, No. 83 CRS 15506-07 and 83 CRS 15822-23 (General Ct. of Justice, Superior Ct. Div., Robeson County, NC) Sept. 2, 2014 (Setting-aside convictions and granting retrial, and ordering dismissal of charges with prejudice.)" |
Information Location 1: |
http://www.innocencecommission-nc.gov/Forms/pdf/McCollum-Brown/Postconviction%20Opinion%20-%20State%20v.%20McCollum%20and%20Brown.pdf |
Information Source 2: |
"Pardons for brothers bring tears of joy, new outlook, By Paul Woolverton and Paige Rentz (Staff writers), Fayette Observer (Fayette, NC), June 4, 2015" |
Information Location 2: |
http://www.fayobserver.com/news/local/wrongly-convicted-fayetteville-brothers-pardoned-in-murder-case/article_af5c5828-24dc-5500-8cfc-5196d43f499d.html |
Information Source 3: |
"North Carolina governor pardons two men who spent 30 years behind bars, By Mark Berman (Staff writer), Washington Post, June 4, 2015" |
Information Location 3: |
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2015/06/04/north-carolina-governor-pardons-two-men-who-spent-30-years-behind-bars/ |
Information Source 4: |
"Wrongfully Convicted Brothers Awarded $750,000 in Compensation After More Than 30 Years in Prison, By Tara Fowler, People Magazine, Sept. 3, 2015" |
Information Location 4: |
http://www.people.com/article/wrongfully-convicted-brothers-awarded-750000-compensation |
Information Source 5: |
"Brothers Wrongfully Imprisoned 30 Years Settle Rights Suit, By Jonathan Drew (Associated Press), US News & World Report, April 11, 2017" |
Information Location 5: |
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/north-carolina/articles/2017-04-12/apnewsbreak-wrongfully-imprisoned-brothers-reach-settlement |
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Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org