In the ongoing Madison Brooks rape case, recent court developments have granted a favorable ruling to one of the four accused men. District Judge Gail Horne Ray ordered the District Attorney’s Office to provide photo and video evidence from the cellphones of Casen John Carver and Kaivon Washington to Carver’s defense attorneys. The videos, recorded on the night of the incident, allegedly show explicit content involving Brooks and the accused.
Following a hearing in Carver’s case on August 1, 2023, Attorney Joe Long, left, is seen with Casen Carver outside the 19th Judicial District Courthouse. Carver is among the four individuals detained in relation to the purported rape of a deceased LSU student in Madison Brooks. (Source: The Advocate)
Madison Brooks Case
The judge mandated that the prosecution redact any obscene footage under the law before turning over the evidence to Carver’s defense by January 4. Prosecutors assert that Madison Brooks, an LSU student who later died, was too intoxicated to give consent, while the defense claims the sexual encounters were consensual. This ruling comes after previous disputes over evidence disclosure, including a coroner’s report provided by Carver’s attorney, Joe Long, that lacked internal DNA evidence for the defendants. The release of this information prompted criticism from District Attorney Hillar Moore, leading to a protective order to seal certain records. Both sides agreed to the conditions, preventing further disclosure of discovery files to third parties. In October, Long successfully argued for the release of text messages and data from Brooks’ cellphone leading up to the incident. The prosecution, citing rape shield laws, opposed using her phone as evidence. Long, however, contends that Brooks’ phone may contain exculpatory evidence supporting the defendant’s innocence.
Long claims to have reviewed videos from Carver and Washington’s phones, asserting that only two out of 29 videos showed potentially obscene content. He argues that the prosecution is attempting to limit discovery without cause, characterizing it as a “bad-faith tactic” from a weakening case. The three indicted defendants—Carver, Carter, and Washington—face charges of first-degree rape, carrying a mandatory life sentence upon conviction. Meanwhile, Everett Lee, also arrested in connection with the case, has not been formally charged in court.
The incident occurred in January when Brooks left a bar with the accused men. The vehicle they were in parked in a residential driveway, where Washington and Carter allegedly assaulted Brooks in the backseat, with the defendants recording videos. Afterward, they drove Brooks to various locations before dropping her off in a subdivision. Shortly after, she was struck by a vehicle and later died in the hospital. The case has seen ongoing disputes over evidence, raising questions about the nature of the encounters and the strength of the prosecution’s case.
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