Even after a special prosecutor and a judge sided with Alfred Dewayne Brown in his quest for “actual innocence,” the state comptroller this week in a surprise move denied the wrongfully convicted former death row prisoner compensation for the 12 years he spent behind bars.

The decision comes almost two months after Harris County District Court Judge George Powell signed an amended judgment, formally declaring Brown innocent almost four years after he was freed. The first time he tried to get money for his time in prison, the state rejected the request because prosecutors had only agreed to toss the case, but had not officially declared him innocent.

Earlier this year, after a 10-month investigation by special prosecutor John Raley found no credible indications of Brown’s guilt, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg took the case back to court to ask for an amended judgment including the words “actual innocence.”

The judge pondered the matter for weeks, wrangling with the question of whether his court had jurisdiction to reopen an already-closed case. In the end, he decided he did — but now the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts has determined otherwise.

“We are disappointed,” said attorney Neal Manne, who represented Brown in his efforts to get state compensation. “But we are not discouraged and we will continue with the process that is set out by law.”

That means going back to the comptroller for reconsideration, then waiting another 45 days for a decision. If the state won’t budge, then Brown and his attorneys can file a motion with the Texas Supreme Court.

To Raley, a longtime civil attorney who is best-known for his work freeing a wrongfully convicted Texas man named Michael Morton, the comptroller’s decision smacked of politics.

“As confirmed by DA Ogg and Judge Powell, Alfred Dewayne Brown is actually innocent,” Raley said in a statement. “In this case, like other cases, an amended judgment following an investigation is valid. The Comptroller’s duty as a public servant is to follow the law regardless of politics.”

Previously, the comptroller’s office indicated in a statement to the Houston Chronicle that the amended judgment would likely meet the requirements for Brown to get his money, which would total nearly $2 million, according to statute.

“Provided the new application meets the qualifications and pending review from our office, yes, Mr. Brown would qualify for compensation,” comptroller spokesman Chris Bryan said last month. “He just needs to send us the paperwork.”

The two-page letter, a copy of which was obtained by the Chronicle, sent Monday from Leonard Higgins in the Comptroller’s Judiciary Section doesn’t offer much insight as to what prompted the change of heart.

“It is not clear that the district court had jurisdiction to withdraw and reenter a dismissal, or enter a second dismissal in Mr. Brown’s case,” the letter notes. “Consequently, the amended motion to dismiss and the order of dismissal do not clearly indicate on their face that Mr. Brown is entitled to compensation.”

To Houston police, the comptroller's decision was a welcome outcome; the chief and union officials have repeatedly questioned Raley's findings in the case, including the issue of whether the judge had jurisdiction to amend the judgment.

"It's still our position that the standard for innocence to be declared is that 'no credible evidence exists' that Mr. Brown was involved in the murder," Chief Art Acevedo said late Tuesday. "We strongly believe that a review of all the facts and evidence in this case by a grand jury or a judge would establish that credible evidence does, in fact, exist."

Evidence uncovered

The now-37-year-old was sent to death row in 2005 after being convicted in the killing of Houston police Officer Charles Clark during a botched robbery of an Ace America Check Cashing in south Houston. During the trial, prosecutors said Brown had shot the officer while his co-defendant Elijah Joubert had killed store clerk Alfredia Jones. Both men were sent to death row, while a third co-defendant — Dashan Glaspie — got a 30-year sentence in exchange for his testimony.

But Brown always said he was innocent, that he’d been at his girlfriend’s apartment just after the slaying, and that a landline phone call he’d made to her that morning would prove it.

For years, officials claimed they had no records of that call. Then in 2013, police investigator Breck McDaniel uncovered the phone records in his garage — a discovery that paved the way for Brown’s release. But Brown wasn’t eligible for state compensation because even though then-District Attorney Devon Anderson agreed to dismiss the charges, she never said he was innocent. After the state denied his first request for money, Brown filed a lawsuit against the county, the city and some of the individuals involved in the case.

In the meantime, prosecutors maintained that the evidence in McDaniel’s garage had been inadvertently misplaced and not intentionally concealed. But in early 2018 — in the course of discovery for the lawsuit — Ogg’s office recovered a 2003 email showing that McDaniel had told former prosecutor Dan Rizzo about the phone records well before the case went to trial.

After publicly releasing the email, Ogg’s office filed a grievance against Rizzo — by then long-retired — and appointed Raley to review the entire case. The Houston-based attorney issued a 179-page report this year clearing Brown and weeks later went on to file a grievance against Rizzo.

That complaint is still in front of the State Bar of Texas, leaving yet another loose end in the 16-year-old case. His attorney declined to comment Tuesday, as the comptroller's decision doesn't relate to Rizzo's involvement in the matter.

As for Brown, he's still living a quiet life in Louisiana.

"Dewayne remains deeply grateful to Special Prosecutor Raley, DA Ogg, and Judge Powell, all of whom have confirmed his actual innocence," Manne said. "He is hopeful that he eventually will receive justice from the State Comptroller, too."

keri.blakinger@chron.com