John Ashley Brown Jr. (c.1962/1963 – April 24, 1997) was an American from

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

who was convicted of

first-degree murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse committed with the necessary intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisdiction. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse ...

and incarcerated on death row in

Louisiana State Penitentiary The Louisiana State Penitentiary (known as Angola, and nicknamed the "Alcatraz of the South", "The Angola Plantation" and "The Farm"Sutton, Keith "Catfish".Out There: Angola angling. ''ESPN Outdoors''. May 31, 2006. Retrieved on August 25, 2010. ...

for 12 years. He was one of six inmates featured in the 1998 documentary entitled '' The Farm: Angola, USA''. He was executed in 1997 for the murder of Omer Laughlin in New Orleans in 1984.

Crime

Brown was a resident of New Orleans. He said that on September 7, 1984, he had run out of

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

and needed money to purchase more of the drug. That evening Omer Laughlin and his wife had eaten dinner at a restaurant near the corner of Dauphine and Touro streets in Faubourg Marigny in

. At approximately 11:45 p.m., they left the restaurant and began walking to their car, located about a block away. A man stepped out of a nearby vehicle and confronted the Laughlins. He pinned them against their car and demanded money from Omer Laughlin. His wife screamed and ran back toward the restaurant. By the time she returned to the car with help, her husband was dead. According to the New Orleans police officer who arrived at the site, he found Omer Laughlin lying "face down in the street, bleeding profusely". An autopsy later revealed that Laughlin had been stabbed thirteen times. His wife gave the police a description of the perpetrator and the vehicle which he had exited just before the attack. She told police that a woman with dark hair had been driving that car.

Arrest

Sergeant James Scott of the

New Orleans Police Department The New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) has primary responsibility for law enforcement in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. The department's jurisdiction covers all of Orleans Parish, Louisiana, Orleans Parish, while the city itself is div ...

was stopped at a traffic light on Franklin Avenue when he heard the description of the crime and the suspects being broadcast over the police radio. He saw a man (later identified as Brown) sitting in a vehicle that matched the description given by Omer Laughlin's wife. A woman, later found to be Anna Hardeman, was at the wheel of the car. When this vehicle pulled into a nearby service station, Scott followed, believing that the people in the car might be the suspects in the reported attack. He watched as the woman put gasoline in the car, while the man walked over to a water hose and began washing his hands. He returned and got back in the car. Scott approached the vehicle and ordered the man to step out and place his hands on the hood of the car. When he did so, Scott observed scratches, marks, and droplets of blood on the man's forearms. He also observed blood between the man's toes, which were visible through the sandals that he was wearing. Scott also saw on the floor of the car a New Orleans shopper's card in the name of Omer Laughlin. Scott arrested Brown and took him into custody. A search of the vehicle pursuant to routine police procedure yielded Laughlin's wallet. A second search pursuant to a warrant led to the discovery of a

Bowie knife A Bowie knife ( ) is a pattern of fixed-blade fighting knives created by Rezin Bowie in the early 19th century for his brother James Bowie, who had become famous for his use of a large knife at a duel known as the Sandbar Fight. Since its fir ...

, which had been concealed underneath the front seat of the car on the passenger side. Laughlin's wife identified Brown from lineup photographs as the man who had attacked her husband.

Trial

Brown was indicted by an

Orleans Parish Orleans Parish (; ) is a parish of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Since 1870, the parish has been coextensive with the city of New Orleans, and the parish and city are largely governed as a single consolidated city. History On April 10, 180 ...

grand jury A grand jury is a jury empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a person to testify. A grand ju ...

for the

of Omer Laughlin. The trial jury convicted Brown of first-degree murder following the guilt phase of a bifurcated trial. After a sentencing hearing, the

jury A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence, make Question of fact, findings of fact, and render an impartiality, impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a sentence (law), penalty or Judgmen ...

unanimously recommended the death penalty. Judge Patrick Quinlan sentenced Brown to death. Anna Hardeman, the driver of the vehicle in which Brown was riding at the time of his arrest, was also indicted for first-degree murder. She was originally charged in the same bill of

indictment An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offense is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use that concept often use that of an ind ...

that named Brown as a defendant, but the prosecution severed the charges against her on the date that the case was called to trial. It announced that she would be tried separately. Shortly after Brown was convicted and sentenced to death, Hardeman pleaded guilty to the amended charge of accessory after the fact to first-degree murder, and was sentenced to five years imprisonment at hard labor.

Execution

Representation in other media

Brown was one of the six inmates featured in the documentary about

, ''The Farm.'' At the time that the documentary was filmed, Brown had reached the last appeal of his conviction and sentence. The documentary showed his hearing before a parole board two days before his execution, several interviews with Brown only hours before his execution, and finally, his body being transported outside of the prison after his execution was completed.

References

Sources

* ''State v. Brown'', 514 So.2d 99 (Louisiana, October 19, 1987). ! colspan="3" , Executions carried out in Louisiana , - ! colspan="3" , Executions carried out in the United States {{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, John A. Jr. 1960s births 1997 deaths American people executed for murder 20th-century executions of American people 20th-century executions by Louisiana People executed by Louisiana by lethal injection People convicted of murder by Louisiana Year of birth uncertain