The Life and Legacy of Ms. Joyce Ann Brown
Joyce Ann Brown led a life that movies are made of. Known around the world, she was a daughter, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, aunt, mentor, advocate and friend.
From her humble beginnings in Wills Point, Texas where her parents, Sylvester and Ruby Spencer raised their five children, to stages across the country; the story of her life is filled with intrigue, romance, violence and drama; while also celebrating good, justice, love, faith and honor.
She attended Booker T. Washington High School and graduated from FranklinD.RooseveltHigh School where she was also a cheerleader. After graduation she immediately went to work and then moved to North Dallas. For a brief time she was married to a local entertainer, James Brown.
Joyce loved to have fun. As a young adult, she was known around town at all the nightspots as a stylish dresser who loved to party with two of her “running buddies” Gwen and Eva. She also was known for the love and care she showed to her daughter, Koquice, and sons Lee Jr., and Mygeish.
While working at Koslow’s Furs, she found herself in what would become the first of thousands of headlines and news reports when she was arrested, charged and found guilty of aggravated robbery. Joyce always maintained her innocence in the May 6, 1980 robbery and murder at another furrier, Fine Furs by Rubin.
Although there were several witnesses who said that Joyce was miles away at work; the victim’s wife provided an eyewitness identification, another inmate told of a “jailhouse confession” by Joyce and there was a rush to prosecute attitude. Consequently Joyce was taken from her family to spend her life behind bars, ineligible for parole for at least 20 years.
In her biography, Joyce Ann Brown: Justice Denied, written with journalist Jay Gaines, Joyce’s poignant words tell a story of a woman who was at first confused, disappointed, and yes, angry at a system that failed her.
Determined to do the time and not let the time do her, Joyce enrolled in college, receiving her bachelors degree while continuing to write letters professing her innocence and seeking assistance. Although there was no guarantee that any efforts would result in her freedom, Joyce was ecstatic when Jim McCloskey and Centurion Ministries took up her case.
In October 1989 millions saw Joyce’s story on the award-winning CBS newsmagazine show, 60 Minutes, where correspondent Morley Safer laid out the facts of the case, showing just how far-fetched the idea was of Joyce being able to leave work, commit the crime and return to clock back in at work 36 minutes later. Also, Dallas Morning News staff writers Steve McGonigle and Steve Blow’s coverage of Joyce’s plight helped call attention to the travesty of justice.
People around the world were outraged. The future started looking even brighter when the request for a new trial was granted and a date set. Hundreds gathered, along with MaDear and Koquice as Joyce was released on bond on November 3, 1989.
When Joyce finally went back to court her attorney Kerry Fitzgerald told her something she was longing to hear for quite some time, “It’s over, Joyce. You can go home. You’ve won!”
But Joyce was a realist, she had a promise to keep and she needed to earn a living. At a live broadcast on Soul 73 KKDA-AM, she met Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price and once again came an offer of support. Smiling as she always did, Joyce didn’t let her skepticism show on her face, but she was really getting tired of the posturing.
Much to her surprise, unlike others, the Commissioner’s offer of help was sincere and resulted in her working almost a decade in his office and gaining a friend for life.
She then founded MASS, Inc. — Mothers (Fathers) for the Advancement of Social Systems, and eventually left DallasCounty to run the non-profit full-time, working to benefit the wrongfully convicted, formerly incarcerated, and their families.
Joyce’s speeches were profound and captivating. She would begin: “I’m Joyce Ann Brown and I spent nine years, five months and 24 days in prison for a crime I didn’t commit.”
In 2014, Joyce, along with Koquice, joined Friendship-WestBaptistChurch, Dallas, TX, under the leadership of Pastor Frederick D. Haynes III.
Joyce also made sure that her family members were never far away. Joyce loved rounding everyone up for family nights and excursions to Oklahoma. It wasn’t uncommon to find a gathering either at Joyce’s or MaDear’s, where it always seemed like a family reunion was in progress.
And the official family reunions were also a highlight for Joyce because they were a big production, full of performances, fun and games, and good food. A highlight of these events had to be her show-stopping performances as Aretha Franklin, Etta James or Monique.
She suffered a heart attack on June 10, 2015 and died on June 13. She was 68.
