Elvis Brooks was wrongfully convicted in a fatal bar shooting and spent over four decades in prison before his conviction was overturned. Prosecutor records discovered 40 years later revealed that fingerprints lifted from beer cans held by the robbers did not match Brooks’, and police suspected other men had committed the crime. It took nearly 45 years and a prosecutor’s admission of withholding key fingerprint evidence before the courts threw out Brooks’ conviction.

Brooks is eligible for up to $480,000 in compensation under Louisiana law. However, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, who has served for two years, has opposed nearly all compensation claims by wrongfully convicted individuals, asserting that 22 applicants, including Brooks, 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 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 should take no more than five months by law, often drags on for years, causing financial and emotional hardship for exonerees.

During his eight-year tenure as attorney general, Republican Jeff Landry—who hired Murrill as solicitor general—opposed 10 of 12 compensation claims. Brooks’ case has been described by civil rights attorneys as an egregious example of wrongful conviction.

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