By Pam Dankins
The Clarion-Ledger
Following days of testimony, Hinds County Circuit Court Judge Adrienne Wooten declared a mistrial April 9 in the murder trial of Randall Smith, who is accused of shooting and killing his Jackson State University roommate Flynn Brown in 2022.
Smith is charged with first-degree murder in the Dec. 2, 2022, death of Brown on Jackson State’s campus. Smith, 20 at the time, was on trial for murdering Brown, 22, after an altercation began over doughnuts.
Smith of New Orleans and Brown of New Jersey were suitemates living on the seventh floor of the John W. Dixon Residence Hall on Jackson State’s campus.
A Hinds County jury deliberated for more than three hours April 9 but failed to reach a unanimous decision. A mistrial was declared by Wooten.
After court, Smith was taken back to the Hinds County jail. Prosecutors will now decide whether they want to try the case again.
Following is a recap of everything we know leading up to the judge’s ruling:
Why was a mistrial declared?
The jury deliberated for roughly three hours and 30 minutes April 9 before they sent a note to Wooten stating they could not reach a verdict.
When polled by Wooten, 11 of 12 jurors stated that further deliberations would not assist them with returning a verdict. When Wooten asked if returning to court the next day would assist with arriving at a unanimous verdict, at least three jurors said they were “willing to try.”
Wooten said the court is not in a position to force a jury to arrive at a decision, but it certainly has an obligation to try to determine what direction it must go in as it relates to furthering deliberation or granting a mistrial.
“Based off of what has taken place here on tonight, the court is going to grant a mistrial,” Wooten said.
After the mistrial, jurors spoke to media outlets saying all 12 members believed Smith was guilty but disagreed if Smith was guilty of first-degree murder or a lesser charge such as second-degree murder or manslaughter.
How did Flynn Brown’s family react to mistrial?
Following the ruling, Flynn Brown’s mother, Michele Hill-Brown, and Flynn’s father, Michael Brown, both spoke to reporters saying that they are not going to stop fighting for justice for her son.
“We will get justice for Flynn. … (Smith) was jealous of my son in every way: his athleticism, his personality, his friendliness, his kind heart,” Michele said. “We’re going to get justice. It’s not over.”
Brown was an only child.
“You send your kid from Jersey all the way here,” Michael said. “He gets murdered, slaughtered. And then you can’t find a jury that can just understand the questions or whatever. So, what kind of system are we living in? It’s not fair. You know when I’m going to see my son? When I’m dead, in my grave.”
Defense response to mistrial
After the ruling, defense attorney Kevin Dale Camp spoke to reporters April 9, saying they had hoped to get an acquittal on the case but would “T-up and do it again.” Camp also shared Smith was “disappointed” by the ruling.
“This is hard on him and his family a lot, and I think they want some closure,” Camp said. “That didn’t happen. We’ll have to figure it out a different way.”
What did Smith say in his confession to shooting Brown?
During the trial, the jury listened to a recording of Smith confessing to killing Brown, stuffing Brown’s body into a storage box and dragging it outside. Once outside, Smith dumped the body inside Brown’s Dodge Challenger.
The recording also gave insight into Smith’s version of events leading up to the murder of Brown. Smith said he was eating donuts when Brown took them, leading to a fight where Brown choked him. During the struggle, Smith recalled Brown had a gun in a drawer, retrieved it and fatally shot Brown.
Smith also admitted to changing clothes and cleaning the bloody scene with bleach. Smith maintained the killing was in self-defense.
What did state, defense say to jurors in closing?
Hinds County Assistant District Attorney Briana Keeler urged jurors to focus on the evidence and reject what she outlined as a web of lies spun by Smith.
Keeler said Smith lied about the incident, tried to dispose of the body and cleaned the crime scene with bleach instead of calling 911.
“Bleach is not the smell of fear,” Keeler said. “Bleach is not the smell of panic. Bleach is certainly not the smell of self-defense. That’s the smell of someone trying to erase what happened, someone trying to cover up what they did.”
The defense argued Smith removed Brown’s body and cleaned the room, believing it was the right action at the time.
“All the information that has been brought, points to one thing: that it was self-defense. (Prosecutors) have not shown that he did anything that would have negated that,” Camp said.
Pam Dankins is the breaking news reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Have a tip? Email her at [email protected].
