In the summer of 2002, Banks was arrested and charged after classmate Wanetta Gibson falsely accused him of dragging her into a stairway at High School and raping her. Faced with a possible 41 years to life sentence, he accepted a plea deal that included five years in prison, five years of probation, and registering as a sex offender. Gibson and her mother Wanda Rhodes sued the Long Beach Unified School District, claiming the campus was not a safe environment, and won a $1.5 million settlement.
In March 2011, Gibson contacted Banks on Facebook, met with him, and admitted that she had fabricated the story. Banks secretly recorded Gibson's confession, but she refused to tell prosecutors that she had lied so she wouldn't have to return the money she and her family had won in court. Nevertheless, with Gibson's taped admission and help from California Innocence Project attorneys, Los Angeles County prosecutors overturned Banks' conviction on May 24, 2012.
On June 14, 2013, the school district won a $2.6 million judgment against Gibson, which includes the $750,000 settlement initially paid to her along with attorney's fees, interest, and $1 million in punitive damages.
The real problem this case illustrates is how terrible plea bargaining has become. Brian was faced with a potential 44 years in prison so he plead to avoid dying in prison even though he knew he was innocent.
I sat next to him on a plane a while ago. Super nice guy, really personable. He was traveling from LA to Missoula Montana to work on a new tv show about innocent people who'd been convicted and served time in jail. Seems like he's making the best of the awful thing that happened to him.
TooShiftyForYou on July 3rd, 2017 at 13:57 UTC »
In the summer of 2002, Banks was arrested and charged after classmate Wanetta Gibson falsely accused him of dragging her into a stairway at High School and raping her. Faced with a possible 41 years to life sentence, he accepted a plea deal that included five years in prison, five years of probation, and registering as a sex offender. Gibson and her mother Wanda Rhodes sued the Long Beach Unified School District, claiming the campus was not a safe environment, and won a $1.5 million settlement.
In March 2011, Gibson contacted Banks on Facebook, met with him, and admitted that she had fabricated the story. Banks secretly recorded Gibson's confession, but she refused to tell prosecutors that she had lied so she wouldn't have to return the money she and her family had won in court. Nevertheless, with Gibson's taped admission and help from California Innocence Project attorneys, Los Angeles County prosecutors overturned Banks' conviction on May 24, 2012.
On June 14, 2013, the school district won a $2.6 million judgment against Gibson, which includes the $750,000 settlement initially paid to her along with attorney's fees, interest, and $1 million in punitive damages.
justinobrooks on July 3rd, 2017 at 16:16 UTC »
The real problem this case illustrates is how terrible plea bargaining has become. Brian was faced with a potential 44 years in prison so he plead to avoid dying in prison even though he knew he was innocent.
miianwilson on July 3rd, 2017 at 17:00 UTC »
I sat next to him on a plane a while ago. Super nice guy, really personable. He was traveling from LA to Missoula Montana to work on a new tv show about innocent people who'd been convicted and served time in jail. Seems like he's making the best of the awful thing that happened to him.