A man on death row for killing an HPD officer wins appeal

HOUSTON - Alfred Dwayne Brown says he is innocent despite his conviction and death sentence for the killing of Houston Police Officer Charles Clark in April 2003.

Now the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals says there is evidence he might be right and it is evidence that Harris County prosecutors may have had during his trial and did not share with the defense.

"This thing is outrageous for a lot of reasons," said KHOU 11 News Legal Expert Gerald Treece.

Alfred Brown was convicted in 2005 for the murder of HPD officer Charles Clark during an attempted check cashing store robbery in 2003.

He said all along that he was not there, he was with a girlfriend at her apartment but he had no proof.

Just last year, a retired HPD detective found a box of evidence from the case in his garage. In that box was a phone record that could prove Brown's whereabouts. That record was requested by the lead prosecutor in the case.

"You don't get a fair trial if the government knows that your alibi might be true but does not give you that evidence that helps you," said Treece.

In a statement, Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson said that office, "…discovered that the defense was not provided material information at trial. As a result of this review, our office agreed that Mr. Brown should receive relief in his case so that justice could be served."

The DA's office supported the request for a new trial, "I will now carefully review and evaluate the case to determine the appropriate proceedings," said Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson.

The difference now is that Brown has something, "It is a good piece of evidence in his favor it may give her second thoughts," said Dave Atwood of the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.

Brown will have to wait. Anthony Graves knows something about that, "I don't know if it gets any worse than what I went through," Graves said.

He spent 18 years behind bars, on death row, even had execution dates set twice for a crime he did not commit, "Unfortunately it is the culture. It is the culture to win at all costs."

Graves has had involvement in the Brown case, talking to the girlfriend who told him she was threatened during Grand Jury testimony, "What she revealed to me was really shocking but not surprising."

That witness has now recanted her testimony and now it is the DA's move.

Graves hopes for the best, "We have to actually want to seek justice instead of winning convictions."