The Trials of Eroy Brown

July 4, 2011
Well documented and unsentimental, Berryhill's account of this infamous 30- year-old murder case that pitted one man's innocent plea against Texas's political might provides a jarring portrait of a once-medieval state prison. Berryhill, chair of the journalism program at Texas Southern University, retells how Eroy Brown, a hapless criminal, was serving 25 years in prison for aiding in a convenience store robbery, stealing $12 and two candy bars. Witnesses tell several versions of how in 1981, while Brown was at the Ellis prison farm near Huntsville, two white Texas prison guards were killed by Brown, who was also shot, but it was claimed that after being threatened, he grabbed one guard's weapon and drowned the other guard, leaving the question of how Brown could have been shot. Brown was charged, and he pleaded self-defense. A court had earlier ruled that Texas inmates were treated with unusual cruelty, supporting Brown's plea, but he faced aggressive prosecutorial maneuvers and willing inmate testimony. After three trials ending finally in acquittal, Brown, now 59, remains in prison for his earlier conviction. Berryhill documents how the old prison rules are no longer in effect, with federal watchdogs looking out for trouble. 16 b&w photos; 3 maps.

September 1, 2011

Readers who have worked in prisons in states other than Texas will consider the case of Eroy Brown bizarre. But this was Texas, and the year was 1980. A black inmate, Brown was accused of drowning his warden and shooting another white prison official. Journalist Berryhill (New York Times Magazine, Harper's, Houston Chronicle) gives a detailed account of Eroy's three trials, which ended with his acquittal on the grounds that he acted in self-defense. Three dedicated lawyers--Craig Washington, Bill Habern, and Tim Sloan--cited in their defense of Brown the recently decided case of Ruiz v. Estelle, which charged Texas prison officials with violating the rights of inmates, often brutally. Although tedious at times, the accounts of the trials are packed with information on how the lawyers pulled it off. It did not end happily, for Brown erred again after his acquittal, but the fact remains: he was proven innocent of the murder conviction, and the case boldly challenged Texas plantation mentality. VERDICT Recommended for students of the law, proponents of civil rights, Texas historians, and lovers of crime sagas.--Frances Sandiford, formerly with Green Haven Correctional Facility Lib., Stormville, NY

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