MEAWW.COM / NEWS / CRIME & JUSTICE

Arthur Brown: Man put to death for 1992 killings defiantly maintained innocence right before execution

Arthur Brown was convicted in the June 1992 deaths of four people in a Houston home during a drug robbery

HUNTSVILLE, TEXAS: A man sentenced to death in Texas for the murder of four persons insisted on his innocence right up to his execution. Arthur Brown Jr, 52, was executed by lethal injection on Thursday, March 9 at the Huntsville State Penitentiary. He was convicted in the June 1992 deaths of four people in a Houston home during a drug robbery.

Seconds before his death in Texas, Brown remained adamant in his denial of guilt and claimed that the legal system and the prosecution had prevented him from accessing crucial evidence that would have demonstrated his innocence on that particular night, reports Mirror. He was associated with a drug network that moved narcotics from Texas to Alabama. He had bought drugs from Jose Tovar and his wife Rachel.

READ MORE

Who is Stephen Barbee? Texas man, 55, executed for killing pregnant ex-GF and her 7-year-old son in 2005

Tracy Beatty: Texas executes death row inmate who strangled mom to death and buried her in backyard

Who is Arthur Brown Jr?

In December 1993, Brown, 52, received a sentence for the deaths of Audrey Brown, 21, José Tovar, 32, and Jessica Quinones, 19, who was pregnant at the time. Prosecutors claim that Brown was a member of a drug ring and that a Houston couple who served as middlemen was the target of the killings, claims News Week.

Rachel Tovar, Jose's wife, and Nicholas Cortez, a friend who entered the home as the shootings were happening, were also shot during the assault. Three men were found guilty of the murders, and Brown was one of them. The Texas Observer stated that Anthony Dunson is serving a life term and that Marion Dudley was put to death by lethal injection in 2006 for his part. All three of the men consistently asserted their innocence. According to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Brown was declared dead at 6.37 local time (TDCJ). He was executed in Huntsville, Texas, according to KTRK correspondent Courtney Fischer, who was onsite for the incident.

What were Authur Brown's FINAL words?

Brown reiterated his claim of innocence in the matter as he made his final remarks, saying that if he died, "Texas will kill a second innocent man for a murder that occurred in 1992." He said in his last words, "What is occurring here tonight is not justice, it’s murder of an innocent man for a murder that occurred in 1992." Brown continued, "For the last 30 years, I've proven my innocence to the courts, but the courts blocked me and then refused me access to the ballistics for 20 years; I've proven facts and ballistics to be false. My co-defendant was executed in 2006 and if I’m innocent he was innocent and they killed an innocent man, and the state doesn’t want the truth to come out." He concluded, "Tonight, Texas will kill a second innocent man for a murder that occurred in 1992. I have no further words," as cited by Mirror.

Brown was the fifth prisoner executed in Texas

Reports say Brown was the fifth prisoner executed in Texas this year and the ninth in the United States. His was the second of two executions in Texas this week. Gary Green, another inmate, was executed on Tuesday for the murder of his estranged wife and her young daughter.

Many people, including business leaders, spoke out about saving Brown from death just days before his execution. The founder of Virgin Group Richard Branson detailed his thoughts and urged people to sign a petition to help save the man. "For Mr. Brown, this movement may come too late. His life is on the line," wrote the business magnate. "And the Texas courts need to halt the execution to allow for DNA testing and for Mr. Brown’s new lawyers to present evidence of his innocence. The good people of Texas should not stand for the death of an innocent man."

Three family members of Jessica Quinones, including her mother, who witnessed Brown's execution issued a statement in which they described the day as one of "profound relief and gratitude" rather than joy or celebration. "After 30 years of anguish and uncertainty, we are finally able to rest knowing the monster who destroyed so many lives will never again torment the body or soul of another," they stated, as cited by New York Post.