Judge decides whether late LSU student Madison Brooks’ supporters can wear pink at alleged rapist’s trial
A Louisiana judge made a ruling whether supports of slain LSU student Madison Brooks can wear pink at the trial of her accused rapist, Desmond Carter.
Supporters of slain Louisiana State University student Madison Brooks will be allowed to wear pink to her alleged rapist’s trial, a judge reportedly ruled Thursday.
The decision came after defense attorneys for Desmond Carter – who is charged with sexually assaulting Brooks just before her death in 2023 – filed a motion in June urging the color to be banned from the courtroom during his upcoming trial.
Carter’s lawyers claimed that Brooks’ friends and family have repeatedly worn pink – Brooks’ favorite color – to the hearings in East Baton Rouge in an effort to intimidate the jury, according to WBRZ.
The stunt, they argued, violates Carter’s right to a fair trial, which is scheduled to begin on Aug. 17, by creating a “carnival atmosphere.”
Prosecutor Sonya Cardia-Porter called the allegations an “absurd exaggeration” and “unpersuasive,” described Brooks’ supporters as “silent, passive spectators” and asked that the jury simply be instructed to “disregard any attire or display” by trial attendees.
Ashley Baustert, Brooks’ mother, also ripped the defense’s claims in a Fox News interview on Wednesday.
“We are not disruptive, we are very peaceful, and it’s really just about Maddie’s favorite color,” Baustert told the outlet. “We wear it to honor her. It’s not about anyone except for Madison.”
Though Judge Gail Ray denied the defense’s motion, T-shirts, signs and badges displaying Brooks’ picture will be prohibited, she said in her decision, according to WAFB.
Carter, 21, faces first-degree and third-degree rape charges.
Brooks, a 19-year-old college sophomore, was allegedly raped by Carter and his pals – Kaivon Washington, 21, and Casen Carver, 22 – in the backseat of a car after the group left Reggie’s, a bar where Brooks worked and they had been drinking heavily, in the early morning of Jan. 15, 2023.
Footage from the car shows Brooks arguing with her alleged attackers before stumbling out onto a busy road, where a rideshare car driver struck her.
She died from “traumatic injuries” after being hit by a vehicle, according to the East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner’s Office.
The driver of the rideshare car was initially arrested, but ultimately was not charged because he was not under the influence and immediately called police.
Washington was indicted on first-degree rape and video voyeurism charges, though a trial date has not been set in his case yet, WAFB reported.
Carver will face a bench trial on Nov. 16 on a principal to third-degree rape charge, according to the outlet.