Tyrone Brown lost his life over two dollars and a joint of marijuana.
He's hoping to get it back, and you can help.
Here's the story: Brown grew up in a poor, black household in Oak Cliff, Texas. He dropped out of high school early on, tired of classes that failed to keep his attention.
Instead, he stole cars and wound up in juvenile correctional institutions.
At 17, along with a friend, Brown held a gun to an innocent man's face and demanded money.
The man gave his wallet to Brown, who removed the cash - two $1 bills. The victim asked that his wallet be returned. Brown obliged.
The victim called the police, who captured the two robbers nearby.
Without proper counsel, and refusing to cooperate, Brown entered a plea of guilty to aggravated robbery in a Dallas court.
Judge Keith Dean, a 20-year veteran of the court, sentenced Brown to 10 years of deferred-adjudication probation, meaning that if Brown cleared probation, he would have no criminal record. If he didn't, sentencing would be determined by the original aggravated robbery charge.
Two months later, Brown failed a urinalysis test, with positive results for marijuana. The court, under Judge Dean's ruling, revoked Brown's probation, sentencing him to life in prison.
Read it again, life.
It gets worse.
The Dallas Morning News broke Brown's story in April 2006, 16 years after his sentencing. Brooks Egerton's feature explored the lives of two men from very different backgrounds.
Both committed serious crimes.
Initially, they received the same sentence. After violating probation, their lives went separate ways.
Like Brown, John Alexander Wood received 10 years of deferred-adjudication probation for his crime. Unlike Brown, Wood murdered a 22-year-old male prostitute.
Still, Wood's sentence hinged on a Judge Dean-approved deal.
"It was sort of a self-defense type of situation," Wood told The Dallas Morning News. "Judge Dean understood this."
Judge Dean also understood that unlike Brown, a black man, Wood is white.
Further, Wood is the son of a prominent Christian pastor in one of the biggest churches in Waco, Texas. His all-star legal defense team made Brown's attorney look like a high school debate coach.
Then, Brown tests positive for marijuana; Wood for cocaine.
Brown received a life sentence.
Wood, who repeatedly failed drug tests on probation and was even arrested for cocaine possession while driving a congressman's car, remained free, though still on probation.
Allowing a killer freedom after multiple failed drug tests is "unheard of with this judge," former probation officer Don Ford told The Dallas Morning News. And "life in prison for smoking a joint - that's harsh in any case."
In 2005, Judge Dean lessened Wood's probation further, no longer requiring drug tests and allowing Woods to own a gun before even meeting with his probation officer.
All the while, Brown is still in jail and won't be up for parole until 2009.
The only way to get out sooner would be for Texas Gov. Rick Perry to commute his sentence.
Luckily, Brown's future is looking better. After The Dallas Morning News article gained national attention, even Judge Dean endorsed Brown's freedom.
A grassroots campaign, including support sites on Facebook and MySpace, along with www.savemrbrown.com and an advocacy group called the November Coalition, has nearly helped set Brown free.
It is now the final step. Gov. Perry is to rule on the case this week, possibly before this goes to print.
Call his office. Tell him you want Tyrone Brown free. Tell him that injustice has kept Brown behind bars for too long. Tell him that a grievous mistake must be corrected.
Brown's freedom may not cure the pain he suffered in prison, withheld from his family for so many years, including his daughter.
It can give him the freedom he's been denied for more than 16 years.
Ty Thompson is a journalism senior. The Texas governor's office number is (512) 463-1782, or 1-800-252-9600. For more, send an e-mail to: tyler.w.thompson@asu.edu.
