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Bryan Hooper Sr. walked out of Stillwater Correctional Facility on Thursday morning after nearly three decades behind bars, freed when a judge overturned his conviction in a 1998 Minneapolis murder tainted by false testimony.
The decision came a day after state District Court Judge Marta Chou vacated his first-degree murder conviction, following revelations that the woman whose testimony had secured Hooper’s conviction later admitted she herself committed the crime. The ruling was confirmed by the Great North Innocence Project, which represented Hooper.
“Today, the courts have affirmed what Bryan Hooper, his family, his loved ones, and his advocates have always known: Mr. Hooper is an innocent man,” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said in a statement. “It is our duty as prosecutors to hold the correct individuals responsible for their actions, and that duty demands that we acknowledge our mistakes and make things right as quickly as we can.”
Outside the prison in Bayport, Minn., Hooper embraced his children and told reporters he planned to spend time with family and share a meal. For now, he intends to remain in the Twin Cities area, where his children live, Project spokesperson Hayley Poxleitner said.
In 1998, a jury convicted Hooper of three counts of first-degree murder — premeditated murder, felony murder during burglary, and felony murder during kidnapping — in connection with the death of 77-year-old Ann Prazniak. The case against him relied heavily on the testimony of the woman who has since confessed.
Court documents state that Prazniak’s body was discovered in April 1998 in her Minneapolis apartment. It had been hidden in a cardboard box wrapped in Christmas lights and shoved into a closet. Her ankles, mouth, wrists, nose, and head were bound, and her body had been wrapped in garbage bags, blankets, and bedding. The medical examiner ruled her death as asphyxiation, occurring between two weeks and a month before police found her.
Hooper was sentenced to three life terms, with parole possible after 30 years. In 2020, a judge vacated two of the three murder charges, agreeing with Hooper’s argument that he could not lawfully be convicted three times for killing a single victim.
Last month, Moriarty’s office publicly backed Hooper’s release after reexamining the case. A critical witness had recanted her testimony, admitting she killed Prazniak and concealed her body. With support from the Innocence Project, prosecutors asked the court to overturn Hooper’s conviction.
“The Court finds that Mr. Hooper’s conviction was tainted by false evidence and that without this false testimony, the jury might have reached a different conclusion,” Judge Chou wrote in her order.
It remains unclear whether prosecutors will charge the woman now believed responsible. She is currently serving time in Georgia for an assault-related crime and is expected to be released in about four years.
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