Paul Lewis Browning

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Charge:	First Degree Murder and Robbery
Sentence:	Death
Years Imprisoned:	34
Year Crime:	1985
Year Convicted:	1986
Year Cleared:	2020
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Nevada
County or Region of Crime:	Clark
City of Crime:	Las Vegas
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Paul Lewis Brown was wrongly convicted in 1986 of first-degree murder with the use of a deadly weapon, robbery with the use of a deadly weapon, burglary, and escape in the stabbing death of Las Vegas jeweler Hugo Elsen on November 8, 1985. Paul Brown was sentenced to death after his conviction by a jury. On June 10, 2004 the Nevada Supreme Court ordered a new penalty phase trial due to ineffective assistance of counsel, but a different jury again sentenced Brown to death. In 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit overturned Browning’s conviction based on “extreme malfunctions” during his trial. The prosecution wanted to proceed with his retrial. However, due to the death of witnesses who Brown's trial lawyer had failed to adequately cross-examine, on August 21, 2019 Clark County District Court Judge Douglas Herndon dismissed the charges, saying "“a fair trial consistent with due process is no longer possible.” Herndon ordered Brown's release pending the states appeal of his dismissal ruling. Brown was released after 33 years on Nevada's death row. On January 24, 2020 the Nevada Supreme Court affirmed Herndon's ruling dismissing the charges."
Conviction Caused By:
Innocence Proved By:	"In 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit overturned Browning’s conviction based on “extreme malfunctions” during his trial. The prosecution wanted to proceed with his retrial. However, due to the death of witnesses who Brown's trial lawyer had failed to adequately cross-examine, on August 21, 2019 Clark County District Court Judge Douglas Herndon dismissed the charges, saying "“a fair trial consistent with due process is no longer possible.” Herndon ordered Brown's release pending the states appeal of his dismissal ruling. On January 24, 2020 the Nevada Supreme Court affirmed Herndon's ruling dismissing the charges."
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	29
Age When Released:	63
Sex:
Skin/Ethnicity:	Black
Information Source 1:	"Nevada Man Convicted by Prosecutorial Misconduct and ?‘Woefully Inadequate’ Defense Counsel Released After 33 Years on Death Row, Death Penalty Information Center, Sept. 6, 2019"
Information Location 1:	https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/news/nevada-man-convicted-by-prosecutorial-misconduct-and-woefully-inadequate-defense-counsel-released-after-33-years-on-death-row?utm_source=WeeklyUpdate&utm_campaign=d80e65080a-weekly_update_2017_w41_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_37cc7e4461-d80e65080a-344697801
Information Source 2:	"Browning v. Baker, No. 15?–?99002 (9th Cir. 2017) (Granting federal habeas corpus)"
Information Location 2:	http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2017/09/20/15-99002.pdf
Information Source 3:	"Browning v. State, No. 39063 (Nev. Supreme Ct, 6-10-2004) (Ordering new sentencing phase trial.)"
Information Location 3:	https://caselaw.findlaw.com/nv-supreme-court/1076773.html
Information Source 4:	"Inmate released from Nevada prison after decades on death row, By Rachel Crosby, Las Vegas Review-Journal, August 21, 2019"
Information Location 4:	https://www.reviewjournal.com/crime/courts/inmate-released-from-nevada-prison-after-decades-on-death-row-1831280/
Information Source 5:
Information Location 5:
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Paul Lewis Browning

Charge:

First Degree Murder and Robbery

Sentence:

Death

Years Imprisoned:

34

Year Crime:

1985

Year Convicted:

1986

Year Cleared:

2020

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Nevada

County or Region of Crime:

Clark

City of Crime:

Las Vegas

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Innocence Proved By:

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

29

Age When Released:

63

Sex:

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"Nevada Man Convicted by Prosecutorial Misconduct and ?‘Woefully Inadequate’ Defense Counsel Released After 33 Years on Death Row, Death Penalty Information Center, Sept. 6, 2019"

Information Location 1:

https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/news/nevada-man-convicted-by-prosecutorial-misconduct-and-woefully-inadequate-defense-counsel-released-after-33-years-on-death-row?utm_source=WeeklyUpdate&utm_campaign=d80e65080a-weekly_update_2017_w41_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_37cc7e4461-d80e65080a-344697801

Information Source 2:

"Browning v. Baker, No. 15?–?99002 (9th Cir. 2017) (Granting federal habeas corpus)"

Information Location 2:

http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2017/09/20/15-99002.pdf

Information Source 3:

"Browning v. State, No. 39063 (Nev. Supreme Ct, 6-10-2004) (Ordering new sentencing phase trial.)"

Information Location 3:

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/nv-supreme-court/1076773.html

Information Source 4:

"Inmate released from Nevada prison after decades on death row, By Rachel Crosby, Las Vegas Review-Journal, August 21, 2019"

Information Location 4:

https://www.reviewjournal.com/crime/courts/inmate-released-from-nevada-prison-after-decades-on-death-row-1831280/

Information Source 5:

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