Court Reverses Death Sentences In Murder-For-Hire Case

There are new developments in the case against an Oklahoma County man convicted of hiring someone to kill his estranged, pregnant wife. Thursday the Court overturned Fabion Brown’s death sentences.

Police found two children in the front yard of a Midwest City home on the morning of January 11, 2012. Their mom, Jessica McPherson Brown, pregnant with a third child, was inside lifeless with a gunshot wound to the head. It was a hit her estranged husband arranged for $250.

From the beginning, Brown maintained his innocence and insisted on representing himself at trial. He was found guilty of murder and conspiracy. In just 90 minutes, jurors decided on the death penalty.

8/11/14 Related Story: Fabion Brown Sentenced To Death In Murder Of Estranged Wife, Unborn Baby

But Thursday, the Court of Criminal Appeals reversed Brown’s sentence.

A presiding judge wrote, "On remand, the trial court should warn Brown as it did in the first stage of trial regarding the dangers of self-representation, but with further emphasis on the particularities of the sentencing phase of a capital trial."

Now, the case will go back to court for resentencing.

Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater released this statement:

I am working through the lengthy Opinion of the Court in the Brown case.  Though I am disappointed that the Court reversed the defendant’s sentence, I respect the Court and its ruling.  I am pleased that the defendant’s guilty verdict was upheld.   At this point, I stand ready to conduct the resentencing of this murderer.

A new court date has yet to be set.