Elvis Brooks was wrongfully imprisoned for more than four decades following a murder conviction in a fatal bar shooting. His conviction was overturned after nearly 45 years when a prosecutor admitted to withholding key fingerprint evidence that did not match Brooks and implicated other suspects, according to prosecutor records discovered by Brooks’ attorneys 40 years later.

Brooks is eligible for up to $480,000 in compensation from the state of Louisiana. However, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, who has served for two years, has opposed almost all compensation claims by wrongfully convicted individuals, including Brooks’. Murrill asserts that 22 of 23 people seeking compensation have failed to sufficiently prove their innocence.

Murrill’s hard-line stance on compensation claims stands out compared to her peers in other states, according to Jeffrey Gutman, a professor emeritus at the George Washington University Law School and a national expert on compensation funds. Herbert Larson, an attorney representing exonerees and senior professor at Tulane University Law School, noted that the process, which the law states should take no more than five months, often drags on for years, causing financial hardship and emotional pain for those who have already endured decades of wrongful imprisonment.

During his tenure as attorney general, Jeff Landry, a Republican who hired Murrill as the state’s solicitor general, opposed 10 of 12 compensation claims. Civil rights attorneys have described Brooks’ case as an egregious example of wrongful conviction.

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