As published by Walker Funeral Home:
Joyce Ann Brown, who became a tireless champion of the incarcerated and formerly incarcerated after she was exonerated on a robbery conviction, died Saturday. She was 68.
Brown served nine years, five months and 24 days of a life sentence before her robbery conviction was overturned in 1989.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals set aside her conviction because of prosecutorial misconduct. Dallas County prosecutors withheld the fact that the state’s chief witness, a jailhouse informant, was a convicted perjurer.
After she was freed, Brown helped the incarcerated and their families for 25 years, said her daughter, Koquice Spencer of Dallas.
“She’s helped thousands of inmates, not only in Texas, but in other states,” Spencer said. “She was a blessing that comes once in a lifetime.”
Brown lobbied on behalf of many issues, including exoneree compensation in Texas, said longtime friend Cheryl Smith of Dallas.
“Regardless, she was trying to help everybody else, speaking out against wrong,” said Smith, who was editor of the Dallas Weekly when the two met after Brown’s 1989 release.
“One thing she told me in the first interview was ‘I don’t lie,’” Smith said. “That’s something that’s stuck with me the whole time I’ve known her.
“Her family believed her when she was incarcerated, because whatever she did, she did not lie.”
In the spring of 1990, Brown became an assistant to Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price, a position she held for more than nine years.
After completing her day’s work, she turned her attention to helping others. She initially worked evenings from her garage. She later founded MASS Inc., Mothers (Fathers) for the Advancement of Social Systems.
“It was in her to help people,” her daughter said. “There wasn’t a time when she wasn’t helping people. She was constantly on the phone. Her whole life was dedicated to that.”
Brown was down to earth, had a positive attitude and was passionate about her family.
“She loved to cook big meals and just have everybody stop by on Sundays and eat,” her daughter said. “She was just the matriarch of our family; she was the glue that held it together.”
Brown was born Joyce Ann Spencer in Wills Point, where she started school. She grew up in Dallas, where she graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1965.
“She had already bought her ticket for the 50th reunion,” her daughter said.
Brown was married briefly and had three children. She led a double life as a church-going mother who worked part time, while secretly supplementing her income as a call girl. She was arrested on prostitution charges.
She put her past behind her and was rebuilding her life, working at Koslow’s Furs. On May 6, 1980, two black women robbed Fine Furs by Rubin, three miles from Koslow’s. The owner was killed in the robbery. A getaway car had been rented by a Joyce Ann Brown, who was later determined to be from Denver. Brown was identified by an eyewitness — the wife of the furrier — from a police mug shot.
Brown went to police after she learned she was a suspect. Her time card placed her at Koslow’s that day, with the exception of a 36-minute lunch break. She was was jailed and her bond set at $1 million.
Meanwhile, police learned a Joyce Ann Brown of Denver had rented the car and loaned it to a friend. A police search led to Renee Michelle Taylor’s apartment, where they found furs taken in the robbery, as well as the weapon and clothing worn in the crime.
That October, Brown was convicted of the robbery, based on the evidence of the witness and a former cellmate, who claimed she had confessed.
In 1981, Taylor was arrested, charged and sentenced to life in prison.
An investigation by reporter Steve McGonigle of The Dallas Morning News led to national publicity about the case. Defense attorney Jim McCloskey and his Centurion Ministries began working on the appeal.
After McGonigle’s death in 2013, Brown credited the articles for her exoneration.
“He just reported the truth,” Brown said. “If it were not for Steve, Joyce Ann Brown probably would still be in prison ... I owe him a new life.”
Brown often spoke to journalism workshops, including an annual visit to students at Lincoln High School in Dallas.
“She talked about good journalism and good journalists,” Smith said.
In addition to her daughter, Brown is survived by a son, Mygeish Dennis of Dallas; her mother, Ruby Kelley of Dallas; seven sisters; seven brothers; two grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
Joyce Ann Brown Age 68, of Dallas, Texas, passed away June 13, 2015. Survived by her mother and father, Ruby and Robert Kelley; daughter Koquice Moneke Spencer, son Mygeish Dennis; 12 grandchildren, two great-grand children, nine sisters, seven brothers; and a host of relatives and friends.
Visitation on Thursday, June 18, 2015 from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. at Friendship West Baptist Church, 2020 West Wheatland Road, Dallas, Texas 75232. Service: Friday June 19, 2015 at 11:00AM at Friendship West Baptist Church 2020 West Wheatland Rd. Dallas, Texas 75232. Golden Gate Funeral Home of Dallas, Texas serving the Joyce Ann Brown family.
Joyce Ann Brown, who became a tireless champion of the incarcerated and formerly incarcerated after she was exonerated on a robbery conviction, died Saturday. She was 68.
Brown served nine years, five months and 24 days of a life sentence before her robbery conviction was overturned in 1989.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals set aside her conviction because of prosecutorial misconduct. Dallas County prosecutors withheld the fact that the state’s chief witness, a jailhouse informant, was a convicted perjurer.
After she was freed, Brown helped the incarcerated and their families for 25 years, said her daughter, Koquice Spencer of Dallas.
“She’s helped thousands of inmates, not only in Texas, but in other states,” Spencer said. “She was a blessing that comes once in a lifetime.”
Brown lobbied on behalf of many issues, including exoneree compensation in Texas, said longtime friend Cheryl Smith of Dallas.
“Regardless, she was trying to help everybody else, speaking out against wrong,” said Smith, who was editor of the Dallas Weekly when the two met after Brown’s 1989 release.
“One thing she told me in the first interview was ‘I don’t lie,’” Smith said. “That’s something that’s stuck with me the whole time I’ve known her.
“Her family believed her when she was incarcerated, because whatever she did, she did not lie.”
In the spring of 1990, Brown became an assistant to Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price, a position she held for more than nine years.
After completing her day’s work, she turned her attention to helping others. She initially worked evenings from her garage. She later founded MASS Inc., Mothers (Fathers) for the Advancement of Social Systems.
“It was in her to help people,” her daughter said. “There wasn’t a time when she wasn’t helping people. She was constantly on the phone. Her whole life was dedicated to that.”
Brown was down to earth, had a positive attitude and was passionate about her family.
“She loved to cook big meals and just have everybody stop by on Sundays and eat,” her daughter said. “She was just the matriarch of our family; she was the glue that held it together.”
Brown was born Joyce Ann Spencer in Wills Point, where she started school. She grew up in Dallas, where she graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1965.
“She had already bought her ticket for the 50th reunion,” her daughter said.
Brown was married briefly and had three children. She led a double life as a church-going mother who worked part time, while secretly supplementing her income as a call girl. She was arrested on prostitution charges.
She put her past behind her and was rebuilding her life, working at Koslow’s Furs. On May 6, 1980, two black women robbed Fine Furs by Rubin, three miles from Koslow’s. The owner was killed in the robbery. A getaway car had been rented by a Joyce Ann Brown, who was later determined to be from Denver. Brown was identified by an eyewitness — the wife of the furrier — from a police mug shot.
Brown went to police after she learned she was a suspect. Her time card placed her at Koslow’s that day, with the exception of a 36-minute lunch break. She was was jailed and her bond set at $1 million.
Meanwhile, police learned a Joyce Ann Brown of Denver had rented the car and loaned it to a friend. A police search led to Renee Michelle Taylor’s apartment, where they found furs taken in the robbery, as well as the weapon and clothing worn in the crime.
That October, Brown was convicted of the robbery, based on the evidence of the witness and a former cellmate, who claimed she had confessed.
In 1981, Taylor was arrested, charged and sentenced to life in prison.
An investigation by reporter Steve McGonigle of The Dallas Morning News led to national publicity about the case. Defense attorney Jim McCloskey and his Centurion Ministries began working on the appeal.
After McGonigle’s death in 2013, Brown credited the articles for her exoneration.
“He just reported the truth,” Brown said. “If it were not for Steve, Joyce Ann Brown probably would still be in prison ... I owe him a new life.”
Brown often spoke to journalism workshops, including an annual visit to students at Lincoln High School in Dallas.
“She talked about good journalism and good journalists,” Smith said.
In addition to her daughter, Brown is survived by a son, Mygeish Dennis of Dallas; her mother, Ruby Kelley of Dallas; seven sisters; seven brothers; two grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
Joyce Ann Brown Age 68, of Dallas, Texas, passed away June 13, 2015. Survived by her mother and father, Ruby and Robert Kelley; daughter Koquice Moneke Spencer, son Mygeish Dennis; 12 grandchildren, two great-grand children, nine sisters, seven brothers; and a host of relatives and friends.
Visitation on Thursday, June 18, 2015 from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. at Friendship West Baptist Church, 2020 West Wheatland Road, Dallas, Texas 75232. Service: Friday June 19, 2015 at 11:00AM at Friendship West Baptist Church 2020 West Wheatland Rd. Dallas, Texas 75232. Golden Gate Funeral Home of Dallas, Texas serving the Joyce Ann Brown family.
As published by Walker Funeral Home:
Joyce Ann Brown, who became a tireless champion of the incarcerated and formerly incarcerated after she was exonerated on a robbery conviction, died Saturday. She was 68.
Brown served nine years, five months and 24 days of a life sentence before her robbery conviction was overturned in 1989.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals set aside her conviction because of prosecutorial misconduct. Dallas County prosecutors withheld the fact that the state’s chief witness, a jailhouse informant, was a convicted perjurer.
After she was freed, Brown helped the incarcerated and their families for 25 years, said her daughter, Koquice Spencer of Dallas.
“She’s helped thousands of inmates, not only in Texas, but in other states,” Spencer said. “She was a blessing that comes once in a lifetime.”
Brown lobbied on behalf of many issues, including exoneree compensation in Texas, said longtime friend Cheryl Smith of Dallas.
“Regardless, she was trying to help everybody else, speaking out against wrong,” said Smith, who was editor of the Dallas Weekly when the two met after Brown’s 1989 release.
“One thing she told me in the first interview was ‘I don’t lie,’” Smith said. “That’s something that’s stuck with me the whole time I’ve known her.
“Her family believed her when she was incarcerated, because whatever she did, she did not lie.”
In the spring of 1990, Brown became an assistant to Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price, a position she held for more than nine years.
After completing her day’s work, she turned her attention to helping others. She initially worked evenings from her garage. She later founded MASS Inc., Mothers (Fathers) for the Advancement of Social Systems.
“It was in her to help people,” her daughter said. “There wasn’t a time when she wasn’t helping people. She was constantly on the phone. Her whole life was dedicated to that.”
Brown was down to earth, had a positive attitude and was passionate about her family.
“She loved to cook big meals and just have everybody stop by on Sundays and eat,” her daughter said. “She was just the matriarch of our family; she was the glue that held it together.”
Brown was born Joyce Ann Spencer in Wills Point, where she started school. She grew up in Dallas, where she graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1965.
“She had already bought her ticket for the 50th reunion,” her daughter said.
Brown was married briefly and had three children. She led a double life as a church-going mother who worked part time, while secretly supplementing her income as a call girl. She was arrested on prostitution charges.
She put her past behind her and was rebuilding her life, working at Koslow’s Furs. On May 6, 1980, two black women robbed Fine Furs by Rubin, three miles from Koslow’s. The owner was killed in the robbery. A getaway car had been rented by a Joyce Ann Brown, who was later determined to be from Denver. Brown was identified by an eyewitness — the wife of the furrier — from a police mug shot.
Brown went to police after she learned she was a suspect. Her time card placed her at Koslow’s that day, with the exception of a 36-minute lunch break. She was was jailed and her bond set at $1 million.
Meanwhile, police learned a Joyce Ann Brown of Denver had rented the car and loaned it to a friend. A police search led to Renee Michelle Taylor’s apartment, where they found furs taken in the robbery, as well as the weapon and clothing worn in the crime.
That October, Brown was convicted of the robbery, based on the evidence of the witness and a former cellmate, who claimed she had confessed.
In 1981, Taylor was arrested, charged and sentenced to life in prison.
An investigation by reporter Steve McGonigle of The Dallas Morning News led to national publicity about the case. Defense attorney Jim McCloskey and his Centurion Ministries began working on the appeal.
After McGonigle’s death in 2013, Brown credited the articles for her exoneration.
“He just reported the truth,” Brown said. “If it were not for Steve, Joyce Ann Brown probably would still be in prison ... I owe him a new life.”
Brown often spoke to journalism workshops, including an annual visit to students at Lincoln High School in Dallas.
“She talked about good journalism and good journalists,” Smith said.
In addition to her daughter, Brown is survived by a son, Mygeish Dennis of Dallas; her mother, Ruby Kelley of Dallas; seven sisters; seven brothers; two grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
Joyce Ann Brown Age 68, of Dallas, Texas, passed away June 13, 2015. Survived by her mother and father, Ruby and Robert Kelley; daughter Koquice Moneke Spencer, son Mygeish Dennis; 12 grandchildren, two great-grand children, nine sisters, seven brothers; and a host of relatives and friends.
Visitation on Thursday, June 18, 2015 from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. at Friendship West Baptist Church, 2020 West Wheatland Road, Dallas, Texas 75232. Service: Friday June 19, 2015 at 11:00AM at Friendship West Baptist Church 2020 West Wheatland Rd. Dallas, Texas 75232. Golden Gate Funeral Home of Dallas, Texas serving the Joyce Ann Brown family.
Joyce Ann Brown, who became a tireless champion of the incarcerated and formerly incarcerated after she was exonerated on a robbery conviction, died Saturday. She was 68.
Brown served nine years, five months and 24 days of a life sentence before her robbery conviction was overturned in 1989.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals set aside her conviction because of prosecutorial misconduct. Dallas County prosecutors withheld the fact that the state’s chief witness, a jailhouse informant, was a convicted perjurer.
After she was freed, Brown helped the incarcerated and their families for 25 years, said her daughter, Koquice Spencer of Dallas.
“She’s helped thousands of inmates, not only in Texas, but in other states,” Spencer said. “She was a blessing that comes once in a lifetime.”
Brown lobbied on behalf of many issues, including exoneree compensation in Texas, said longtime friend Cheryl Smith of Dallas.
“Regardless, she was trying to help everybody else, speaking out against wrong,” said Smith, who was editor of the Dallas Weekly when the two met after Brown’s 1989 release.
“One thing she told me in the first interview was ‘I don’t lie,’” Smith said. “That’s something that’s stuck with me the whole time I’ve known her.
“Her family believed her when she was incarcerated, because whatever she did, she did not lie.”
In the spring of 1990, Brown became an assistant to Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price, a position she held for more than nine years.
After completing her day’s work, she turned her attention to helping others. She initially worked evenings from her garage. She later founded MASS Inc., Mothers (Fathers) for the Advancement of Social Systems.
“It was in her to help people,” her daughter said. “There wasn’t a time when she wasn’t helping people. She was constantly on the phone. Her whole life was dedicated to that.”
Brown was down to earth, had a positive attitude and was passionate about her family.
“She loved to cook big meals and just have everybody stop by on Sundays and eat,” her daughter said. “She was just the matriarch of our family; she was the glue that held it together.”
Brown was born Joyce Ann Spencer in Wills Point, where she started school. She grew up in Dallas, where she graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1965.
“She had already bought her ticket for the 50th reunion,” her daughter said.
Brown was married briefly and had three children. She led a double life as a church-going mother who worked part time, while secretly supplementing her income as a call girl. She was arrested on prostitution charges.
She put her past behind her and was rebuilding her life, working at Koslow’s Furs. On May 6, 1980, two black women robbed Fine Furs by Rubin, three miles from Koslow’s. The owner was killed in the robbery. A getaway car had been rented by a Joyce Ann Brown, who was later determined to be from Denver. Brown was identified by an eyewitness — the wife of the furrier — from a police mug shot.
Brown went to police after she learned she was a suspect. Her time card placed her at Koslow’s that day, with the exception of a 36-minute lunch break. She was was jailed and her bond set at $1 million.
Meanwhile, police learned a Joyce Ann Brown of Denver had rented the car and loaned it to a friend. A police search led to Renee Michelle Taylor’s apartment, where they found furs taken in the robbery, as well as the weapon and clothing worn in the crime.
That October, Brown was convicted of the robbery, based on the evidence of the witness and a former cellmate, who claimed she had confessed.
In 1981, Taylor was arrested, charged and sentenced to life in prison.
An investigation by reporter Steve McGonigle of The Dallas Morning News led to national publicity about the case. Defense attorney Jim McCloskey and his Centurion Ministries began working on the appeal.
After McGonigle’s death in 2013, Brown credited the articles for her exoneration.
“He just reported the truth,” Brown said. “If it were not for Steve, Joyce Ann Brown probably would still be in prison ... I owe him a new life.”
Brown often spoke to journalism workshops, including an annual visit to students at Lincoln High School in Dallas.
“She talked about good journalism and good journalists,” Smith said.
In addition to her daughter, Brown is survived by a son, Mygeish Dennis of Dallas; her mother, Ruby Kelley of Dallas; seven sisters; seven brothers; two grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
Joyce Ann Brown Age 68, of Dallas, Texas, passed away June 13, 2015. Survived by her mother and father, Ruby and Robert Kelley; daughter Koquice Moneke Spencer, son Mygeish Dennis; 12 grandchildren, two great-grand children, nine sisters, seven brothers; and a host of relatives and friends.
Visitation on Thursday, June 18, 2015 from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. at Friendship West Baptist Church, 2020 West Wheatland Road, Dallas, Texas 75232. Service: Friday June 19, 2015 at 11:00AM at Friendship West Baptist Church 2020 West Wheatland Rd. Dallas, Texas 75232. Golden Gate Funeral Home of Dallas, Texas serving the Joyce Ann Brown family.
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Records on Ancestry
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
