Cache Valley businessman never believed Debra Brown was guilty

Not only did Cache Valley businessman Arthur Taylor believe Debra Brown was innocent in the murder of her friend and employer 75 year old Lael Brown (no relation), but Taylor did something about it. Taylor delved into court documents and turned his information over to officials. Since Brown’s conviction, Taylor has dug out volumes of information and turned it over to officials who helped exonerate Brown after she spent 17 years in prison. On KVNU’s Crosstalk show Wednesday, Taylor said one of the biggest issues is about the state medical examiner’s report. Taylor said in the preliminary hearing the state medical examiner said Lael Brown had been dead for approximately 36 hours which would have put it Saturday evening. But then, he said, the only time Deb Brown had no alibi was between 6 and 7 a.m. “The prosecutor’s office wrote the state medical examiner and asked him to extend the time frame and add 14 hours to it,” Taylor said. “I think the letter is, ‘is it possible it could have been 14 more hours?’ “But in the preliminary (hearing) the medical examiner is very, very succinct about the fact that there was no decomposition that had taken place and many of the other things that start to happen at 48 hours.” Taylor said testimony later showed that two persons had seen and talked to Lael Brown later that afternoon. Taylor is delighted that Brown has her freedom but he says people should make sure something like this never happens again. Now that Brown has been exonerated, the family has expressed great appreciation to Taylor for his help. Taylor believes only the prosecutors felt Brown was guilty. “The time frame’s wrong,” Taylor claims. “They created evidence to fit the facts and I think they need to be looked at seriously. They need to be looked at.” Taylor said that an investigation ought to take place into how this innocent woman got sent to prison for 17 years. “I don’t know that I put as much blame on the police as I do on the prosecution,” he continues. “They’re the big boys in there. They’re the adults in the playground. They’re the ones that are supposed to seek the truth.” Taylor, a former paralegal, said he has stayed close to Brown’s family while she has been in prison for 17 years. She was released on Monday and Taylor is looking forward to meeting her soon.

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