Tyrone Brown facts for kids

Tyrone Brown (born 1973) is an African-American man from Texas. In 1990, when he was 17 years old, he was sent to prison for a very long time. This happened after he broke a rule while on probation. He had been on probation for taking two dollars from a man. No one was hurt, and Tyrone gave the wallet back to the person. He stayed in prison for 17 years. In 2006, his story became well-known in the news. Later, the Texas Governor, Rick Perry, gave him a special release called a conditional pardon. Tyrone Brown was set free on March 16, 2007.

Tyrone's Early Life

Tyrone Brown had a difficult childhood. He did not finish high school.

News Attention and Fairness

Tyrone Brown's case was often compared in the news to another case involving a different person. Both cases were handled by the same judge, Keith Dean. The other person had broken rules many times over three years. However, unlike Tyrone, this person was never sent to jail. Their probation rules were even lifted early.

After Tyrone's story and the different way the other person was treated became widely known, the judge, Keith Dean, did not win his re-election. This was partly because of a special report on the ABC News TV show 20/20.