The family of Joshua Brown, who was falsely accused of killing a Jackson State student in 2023, has filed a lawsuit against the school and others involved.
Brown was arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of Jaylen Burns on October 15, 2023 – though he was released after 22 days in custody when WLBT obtained security footage of Brown placing him nearly 100 miles away from the Jackson State campus at the time of the murder.
A 13-page complaint filed with the suit claims Brown suffered severe emotional, financial, and reputational damage as a result of his arrest and the accusations of killing Burns. Brown, still a student-athlete on Jones College’s football team, was arrested by Jackson State Campus Police and held in the Hinds County Detention Center until his release.
Jackson State University, Campus Police, the Hinds County Sheriff’s Office, Alpha Phi Alpha (Burns’ fraternity), and others were named in the lawsuit. Allegations detailed in the lawsuit include wrongful imprisonment, defamation, and a conspiracy on behalf of law enforcement to arrest him – while authorities knew he wasn’t involved.
“As time passed, it became evident that the accusation of Joshua Brown was a rush to charge someone for a highly publicized murder on a Mississippi college campus,” the complaint reads. “This rush to ‘solve the crime,’ combined with a reckless and grossly negligent investigation by JSU Campus Police, Acting Interim JSU President Dr. Anthony, Chief Horton, Detective Jackson, and unknown other individuals…caused irreparable damage to Joshua Brown.”
A second suspect, Jamison Kelly, Jr., was also released after being arrested for accessory after the fact. Hinds County Court Judge Johnnie McDaniel ordered his release nearly a month after the murder, stating insufficient evidence.
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation took over the investigation after Brown and Kelly, Jr. were released from custody, though no new suspects have been identified in the murder case.
