Like Brady itself, Brown's case was never a whodunit. It was simply a who did what. At Brown's trial, prosecutors, without any direct evidence to prove which defendants actually killed the victim, argued that Brown was the worst of the worst and was personally responsible. At trial, Brown claimed that when he last saw the victim, he was alive. He said that he was unaware anyone had died until informed by law enforcement. Clearly, the jury did not credit Brown's account. They found him guilty and sentenced him to death. However, the jury was never told that one of Brown's co-defendants, Barry Edge, had confessed to an inmate that Edge and another co-defendant had decided to kill the victim on their own, and then they took his life. Prosecutors were well aware of the confession months before Brown's trial. However, the jury never heard this because they failed to disclose it to Brown, disregarding his plea for life and ignoring his constitutional right to any evidence that is favorable to him and could affect the outcome of the trial. It is the duty of prosecutors to adhere to standards set in the state and federal constitutions, especially in cases where they are seeking the ultimate punishment. In this case, the state had an obligation to evaluate the confession for its potential to exculpate any of the five defendants in this case, including Brown. Part of the Brady requirement is that prosecutors may not assess the potential materiality and favorability of evidence in the light most supportive to the state's case. But, what occurred in Brown's case is exactly what happens all too often in Louisiana courtrooms: the state either failed to recognize the value of the evidence or disregarded it, and then acted accordingly. In my time as a justice and then chief justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court, I confronted cases like Kyles and Brown all too often. Brady issues are and have been, for decades, an endemic and persistent problem in Louisiana courts in both capital and noncapital cases. The Louisiana Supreme Court had a chance to address this in Brown, but instead, once again, neglected to do so."

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