A Louisiana judge presiding over a high-profile criminal case in which a black man was accused of raping a white Louisiana State University student has tossed out a 1972 rape conviction, one year after releasing another rapist on reduced bail.
District Judge Gayle Horne Ray’s decision, combined with her son’s serial rape convictions and her potential bias as a life member of the NAACP, raises concerns about conflicts of interest.
Judge Ray was sworn in as a 19th Judicial District Court Judge on January 12, 2023. Three months later, Judge Ray released DeAndre Cox, who had been accused of raping his neighbor in his early teens, without informing the victim or notifying the District Attorney’s Office.
This month, she dismissed Donald Ray Link’s 1972 rape conviction, a move not sought by Link’s lawyers.
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Madison Brooks, 19, was reportedly a sophomore at Louisiana State University before she was struck and killed by a car in January 2023. (Ashley Baustert)
Mr Link, who was serving a life sentence, appeared before Judge Ray last month to apply for parole eligibility.
Instead, she vacated the 50-year-old conviction, saying jurors received “improper instructions” during the trial, which she called “plain error,” WAFB reported, citing court documents.
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The sudden and unprecedented decision bypassed the parole process and set off another standoff between the judge and East Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar Moore III, who had challenged Cox’s bail reduction last April.
Moore argued that there was limited evidence available to the judge to determine whether Link should be paroled, and said this defense had already been filed and rejected in the early 1990s, WAFB reported.
Judge Gayle Horne Ray, presiding over a rape case involving LSU sophomore Madison Brooks, made the unprecedented and arbitrary decision to vacate the defendant’s 1972 rape conviction during a hearing on his application for parole eligibility. (Photo of a Louisiana District Court Judge)
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“Ultimately, lower courts rely on their ‘inherent authority’ to rule,” Moore wrote in a court filing, according to WBRZ. “The fact is that lower courts do not have the inherent power to ignore due process and consider whatever they want, whenever they want.”
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The Louisiana Supreme Court issued an injunction in the dispute, essentially pausing all action until the U.S. Supreme Court rules.
District Attorney Moore III and Judge Ray did not respond to calls and emails from Fox News Digital seeking comment.
Judge Ray was asked specific questions, including whether he thought his decision-making might be clouded or whether he had considered recusing himself from the case.
Pictured left to right: Kaivon Washington, Everett Lee, Kaysen Carver and Madison Brooks. (East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office/Instagram)
Desmond Carter, 17, is being tried as an adult for the alleged rape of Louisiana State University sophomore Madison Brooks. (East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office)
The judge and the East Baton Rouge district attorney are serving as presiding judge and lead prosecutor, respectively, in the alleged rape case of 19-year-old Louisiana State University sophomore Madison Brooks, which attracted national attention last year.
She was allegedly raped by four suspects — Kaivon Washington, Everett Lee, Kaysen Carver and Desmond Carter — in a car after a night of drinking at a bar in Tigerland, a social hub at Louisiana State University notorious for crime, dim lighting and no sidewalks.
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After attacking Brooks in his car, the suspects reportedly left him, drunk and staggering, on the side of a busy four-lane highway in the middle of the night.
She was hit by a car and died from her injuries despite attempts by two good Samaritans to help.
Katherine Devilliers and Beau Adams of Baton Rouge on May 16, 2023. The 21-year-old roommates are being credited with administering CPR to Madison Brooks after she was hit by a car, helping to keep Brooks alive. (KR/Mega, courtesy of Fox News Digital)
A close-up of Catherine Devilliers and Beau Adam’s matching arm tattoos pay tribute to Madison Brooks, a 21-year-old roommate who the pair reportedly helped keep alive in her final moments after being hit by a car. (KR/Mega, courtesy of Fox News Digital)
Lawyers for the suspects, some of them civil rights lawyers, have argued that there are racist overtones in prosecutors’ aggressive pursuit of high-level charges against black men accused of raping women in the wake of public outcry.
Within weeks of Brooks’ death, the case was thrust into the public eye after the defense leaked several seconds-long snippets of video footage that painted a negative picture of Brooks.
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Months later, one of Brooks’ defense lawyers leaked Brooks’ autopsy report, which contained uncomfortable and personal details about the alleged rape.
It is noteworthy that since racial issues have come into public discussion, Judge Ray has been made a Silver Life Member of the NAACP, received the Justice for Youth Award from the Louisiana Juvenile Justice Project, and the President’s Award from the Baton Rouge NAACP.
Madison Brooks, a 19-year-old Louisiana State University sophomore, was allegedly raped before being hit and killed by a car in January. (Ashley Baustert)
Madison Brooks’ mother, Ashley Baustert, stands in front of the Madison Brooks Foundation sign in Times Square on May 8, 2023. (Julia Bonavita/Fox News Digital)
She also represented her son when he pleaded guilty to multiple charges of rape between November 1995 and April 1996.
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All of this could, at the very least, tarnish an already contentious criminal case and add to anxiety for Brooks’ family.
The family’s attorney has declined to comment for now as the family awaits a state Supreme Court decision in Link’s case.
Madison Brooks, a Louisiana State University student, was killed after being hit by a car during an alleged rape. (The Brooks Family)
All suspects arrested and charged in the Brooks attack have pleaded not guilty and maintain their innocence.
The lawyers argued that the sex was consensual and even went so far as to argue that if Brooks had not died, there would have been no criminal case.
Joe Long, one of the suspects’ lawyers, told Fox News Digital earlier this week that the case is “moving slowly… primarily because the prosecution is blocking the defense’s access to evidence at every turn.”
Carver and Carter are scheduled to appear in court on July 2, but the courtroom will be closed to the public due to the sensitive nature of the matter, Long said.
Long expects to have access to Brooks’ cellphone data during his court appearance.
Madison Brooks was photographed leaving Reggie’s Bar in Tigerland in Baton Rouge with four men on Jan. 15, 2023. Security camera footage shows Brooks’ last known appearance before she was hit by a car and killed.
Madison Brooks was photographed leaving Reggie’s Bar in Tigerland in Baton Rouge with four men on Jan. 15, 2023. Security camera footage is the last known sight of Brooks before she was hit by a car and killed.
“Following this hearing, the defense will review the blood alcohol content data and will challenge the blood alcohol levels present at the time of the alleged sexual contact,” Long said.
Prosecutors said her blood alcohol level was 0.319 percent, but the defense plans to dispute that. The legal limit for drivers in Louisiana is 0.08 percent.
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“Under Louisiana (law), the state has to prove that MB (Madison Brooks) was in an alcoholic coma and therefore could not legally consent to sexual activity. Coma is a medical term,” Long said.
“We look forward to litigating this matter in the fall. We have a protective order and cannot release the information we have until trial, so we ask the public for patience and to reserve judgment.”
