Photo: The Great North Innocence Project
A Black father has been freed after serving nearly three decades in prison for a murder he did not commit, per ABC News.
Bryan Hooper Sr., a father of two, was wrongfully convicted in 1998 for the killing of 77-year-old Ann Prazniak, whose body was discovered stuffed in a cardboard box in her Minneapolis apartment closet. An autopsy revealed she had died of asphyxiation two weeks before her body was found.
Police initially believed that Prazniak's apartment was being used for a drug and prostitution ring. They found fingerprints from a woman named Chalaka “Shay” Young at the scene, who later implicated Hooper. Young claimed Hooper had killed Prazniak while she acted as a lookout.
Despite conflicting testimonies from four witnesses, Hooper was convicted and sentenced to three life terms in prison. Years later, the witnesses retracted their statements, admitting they had been coerced by law enforcement.
Hooper’s repeated attempts to challenge his conviction were denied until July 2025, when Young, who was incarcerated in Georgia on unrelated charges, confessed in writing.
"I am not okay any longer with an innocent man sitting in prison for a crime he did not commit," Young wrote, noting that she was responsible for "two innocent lives" being destroyed.
This confession led to the reopening of Hooper’s case, and a judge validated his petition for exoneration on Wednesday (September 3).
On Thursday (September 4), Hooper was officially released from prison.
“We are relieved that Mr. Hooper can finally return home to his family," Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said. "We apologize for our office’s role in that injustice."
A GoFundMe campaign was started to support Hooper's recovery.
"Hopefully, good things happen from here," he said.
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