Joyce Ann Brown, a convicted robber who won her battle for a new trial with the help of local and nationwide media scrutiny, was freed Friday and said she felt as if she had emerged from nine years in the "Twilight Zone."
Brown, handcuffed and wearing a white blouse and rust-colored slacks, arrived at the Lew Sterrett Justice Center about 2:45 p.m. and was freed 20 minutes later on a $25,000 personal recognizance bond, stepping from custody into the arms of her family."This feels like a dream come true," said Brown, 42. "It seems like nine years, five months and 24 days I've been in the `Twilight Zone,' and I've stepped back into the land of the living."
Brown served nine years in prison for holding up a furrier who was shot to death, a crime she said she did not commit. The CBS television program "60 Minutes" featured her case last month after she had become a local cause celebre.
"I raised my baby through the (prison) visiting room," she said.
Friday was Brown's first day of freedom since being sentenced to life in prison in 1980. Furrier Rubin Danzinger was shot to death during the holdup, and Danzinger's widow testified Brown was one of the robbers.
Brown was convicted as an accomplice to Rene Taylor, who has said Brown was not involved in the holdup. Taylor, identified as the killer, is serving a life prison term.