Judge hearing attack on LSU student makes unprecedented decision, raising questions about conflict

The Louisiana judge who presided over a high-profile criminal case in which black men were accused of raping a white LSU student overturned a 1972 rape conviction, a year after she released another rape suspect on reduced bail.

District Judge Gail Horne Ray’s decisions, coupled with her son’s serial rape conviction and her possible bias as a life member of the NAACP, have raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest.

Ray took the oath of office as a judge of the 19th District Court on January 12, 2023. Three months later, she fired De’Aundre Cox, who was accused of raping his underage neighbor without informing the victim or notifying prosecutors.

This month, it overturned Donald Ray Link’s 1972 conviction for aggravated rape, which Link’s lawyers had not even requested.

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Madison Brooks, 19, was a sophomore at LSU when she was allegedly raped and then fatally struck by a car in January 2023. (Ashley Baustert)

Link, who was serving a life sentence, appeared before Judge Ray last month to request parole eligibility.

Instead, she overturned the 50-year-old conviction because the jury was given “incorrect instructions” during the trial, which she called a “blatant error,” WAFB reported, citing court records.

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This unprecedented, unprompted decision bypassed the parole process and again led to a confrontation between the judge and East Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar Moore III, who had opposed reducing Cox’s bail last April.

Moore argued that the judge had limited evidence to decide whether Link should be released on parole, saying that defense had already been raised and rejected in the early 1990s, WAFB reported.

Judge Gail Horne Ray, presiding over the rape trial of Madison Brooks, a sophomore at Louisiana State University, made an unprompted and unprecedented decision during the defendant’s hearing: she overturned a 1972 rape conviction and requested probation. (Portrait photo of the District Judge of the State of Louisiana)

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“Ultimately, the Court relies on its ‘inherent authority’ to make its decision,” DA Moore wrote in his court filing, according to WBRZ. “The fact is that the Court does not have the inherent authority to ignore due process of law and decide what it wants, when it wants.”

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The Louisiana Supreme Court issued a stay of that litigation, essentially suspending all action pending the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision.

DA Moore III and Judge Ray did not respond to Fox News Digital’s numerous calls and emails seeking comment.

Judge Ray was asked specific questions, including whether she believed her decision-making capacity might be impaired or whether she was considering recusing herself from the case.

Pictured, from left to right: Kaivon Washington, Everett Lee, Casen Carver and Madison Brooks. (East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office/Instagram)

17-year-old Desmond Carter is being tried as an adult for the alleged rape of LSU sophomore Madison Brooks. (East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office)

The judge and East Baton Rouge district attorney are the presiding judge and lead prosecutor, respectively, in the alleged rape of 19-year-old Madison Brooks, a sophomore at Louisiana State University, that attracted national attention last year.

She was allegedly raped in her car by four suspects – Kaivon Washington, Everett Lee, Casen Carver and Desmond Carter – after a night of drinking at a bar in Tigerland, LSU’s social hub notorious for crime, poor lighting and a lack of sidewalks.

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After the alleged attack in their car, the suspects left the staggering and intoxicated Brooks on the side of a busy four-lane highway in the middle of the night.

She was hit by a car and succumbed to her injuries despite the efforts of two Good Samaritans.

Kathryn Devillier and Beau Adams in Baton Rouge, May 16, 2023. The 21-year-old roommates are credited with prolonging the final moments of Madison Brooks’ life by performing CPR after she was hit by a car. (KR/Mega for Fox News Digital)

Close-ups of the tattoos on the arms of Kathryn Devillier and Beau Adam. The matching tattoos pay homage to Madison Brooks, whose life these 21-year-old roommates are said to have extended in her final moments after she was hit by a car. (KR/Mega for Fox News Digital)

Lawyers for the suspects, some of them civil rights attorneys, claimed that the dogged pursuit of serious charges against black men accused of raping a woman after public outcry had racist undertones.

The case became a public spectacle within weeks of Brooks’ death when the defense leaked several seconds-long video clips that portrayed Brooks in a bad light.

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A few months later, one of the defense attorneys released Brooks’ autopsy report, which contained disturbing and intimate details of the alleged rape.

With the issue of race entering the public conversation, it is notable that Judge Ray is a Silver Life member of the NAACP and has received the Justice for Youth Award from the Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana and the President’s Award from the Baton Rouge NAACP.

Madison Brooks, a 19-year-old sophomore at LSU, was allegedly raped and then fatally struck by a car in January. (Ashley Baustert)

Ashley Baustert, mother of Madison Brooks, stands in front of a Madison Brooks Foundation poster in Times Square on May 8, 2023. (Julia Bonavita/Fox News Digital)

She also represented her son when he pleaded guilty to several rapes between November 1995 and April 1996.

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All of this could at least cast a bad light on an already controversial criminal case and stoke fear in Brooks’ family.

The family’s attorney declined to comment as the family awaits the state Supreme Court’s decision in Link’s case.

LSU student Madison Brooks, who was fatally hit by a car after an alleged rape. (The Brooks Family)

All suspects arrested and charged in connection with the attack on Brooks pleaded not guilty and maintained their innocence.

Her lawyers argued that the sex was consensual and even went so far as to say that this would not even be a criminal case if Brooks had not died.

One of the suspects’ lawyers, Joe Long, told Fox News Digital earlier this week that the case “is moving slowly… largely because the prosecution is fighting the defense’s access to evidence at every turn.”

Carver and Carter are scheduled to appear in court on July 2, which will be held behind closed doors because of the sensitivity of the issue, Long said.

During his court hearing, Long expects to gain access to Brooks’ phone records.

Madison Brooks leaves Reggie’s Bar in Tigerland in Baton Rouge with four men on January 15, 2023. Surveillance video shows the last images of Brooks before she was fatally struck by a car.

Madison Brooks leaves Reggie’s Bar in Tigerland in Baton Rouge with four men on January 15, 2023. The surveillance footage shows Brooks for the last time before she was fatally hit by a car.

“After this hearing, the defense expects to be able to view the blood alcohol content data and challenge the blood alcohol content at the time of the alleged sexual contact,” Long said.

Prosecutors said her blood alcohol content was 0.319%, which the defense intends to contest. The legal limit for drivers in Louisiana is 0.08%.

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“Under Louisiana law, the state must prove that MB (Madison Brooks) could not lawfully consent to sexual intercourse because of a stupor caused by alcohol intoxication. Stupor is a medical term,” Long said.

“We look forward to taking this case to trial in the fall. We ask the public for patience and to wait to make a ruling as we are under a temporary restraining order and cannot release the information we have until trial.”