Looking for a murder suspect named Joyce Ann Brown, police grabbed the wrong woman, but she was convicted anyway
Joyce Ann Brown was convicted of a 1980 murder in Dallas based on testimony from a witness who identified her from a photograph.
Ms. Brown had become a suspect when police learned that a car used in the crime had been rented by someone named Joyce Ann Brown. Unfortunately, the Joyce Ann Brown who rented the car and the Joyce Ann Brown whom the police arrested were different persons.
An eyewitness erroneously identified the one who had been arrested, and that Joyce Ann Brown was charged with the crime. Before trial, police and prosecutors discovered the error but proceeded with the prosecution anyway.
Brown was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. After an investigation by Jim McCloskey of Centurion Ministries and an exposé by CBS Sixty Minutes, Brown's conviction was reversed because police and prosecutors had failed to turn over exculpatory evidence in their possession. All charges were dismissed in 1990.
