Utah AG appeals release of Debra Brown
Updated: 6/17/2011 2:43 pm | Published: 6/17/2011 2:41 pm
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - The Utah Attorney General's Office has appealed a state judge's ruling that exonerated a woman and set her free after she served 17 years in prison for murder.
Debra Brown was released from the Utah State Prison in May. She was the first inmate freed under a 2008 Utah law that allows convictions to be overturned based on new factual, not scientific, evidence.
In its appeal to the Utah Supreme Court filed Friday, the state says the judge had insufficient proof that the 53-year-old Brown was innocent.
State attorneys argue that discovery of new evidence in the case raises questions about the investigation into the 1993 shooting death of Brown's employer, but falls short of proving Brown's innocence.
It wasn't clear when the high court will hear the case.
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