Albert Wesley Brown, 42, pleaded guilty Monday to possession of a controlled drug, larceny of merchandise from a retailer, and possession of a counterfeit driver's license.
In accordance with a plea deal, a Tulsa County judge sentenced Brown to five years in prison for the drug felony. Brown also received one-year and three-year prison terms, to run concurrently.
After proclaiming his innocence while in prison for 20 years, Brown pleaded guilty in May 2002 to the 1981 drowning of Earl Taylor, who interrupted a burglary at his home in Sallisaw. Taylor, 67, was taken to Lake Fort Gibson in Wagoner County, where he was killed.
At Brown's 1983 trial, a jury found him guilty and gave him a life in prison. He was released in October 2001 after DNA testing revealed that forensic trial testimony about hairs linking him to the crime was inaccurate. Lawyers agreed to let Brown stay free on bail during a subsequent investigation. In a plea deal reached in 2002, Brown received credit for about 20 years he had already served in prison, and he was placed on a two-year probation.
Three months later, Brown was ordered back to prison after violating numerous probation rules, including drug use. He was released on March 19.
In the recent Tulsa case, Brown was accused of stealing merchandise at a Tulsa Wal-Mart. Officers also found methamphetamine on Brown, and a counterfeit driver's license.
