‘We wear it to honor her’: Madison Brooks’ mom slams defense push to ban pink in court
Madison Brooks was a student at LSU when she was allegedly gang raped then killed in Louisiana. Her mother responds directly to the defense’s controversial motion to ban spectators from wearing pink attire during Desmond Carter’s trial. Carter is one of Brooks’ accused attackers. A Baton Rouge judge will decide whether victim-support clothing could bias the jury.
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The defense attorney who asked a Louisiana judge to ban pink from the courtroom in the Madison Brooks rape case was held in contempt Monday.
Caitlin Fowlkes, who represents 21-year-old Desmond Carter, used Brooks’ full name in a court filing attached to her July motion seeking to ban trial spectators from wearing pink. Under Louisiana law, sex crime victims must be identified only by their initials in court filings, and attorneys are required to redact their full names.
Brooks, a 19-year-old Louisiana State University student at the time, was allegedly gang-raped by a group of men after a night out in 2023, then struck and killed by a car.
MADISON BROOKS’ MOM SLAMS ATTEMPT TO BAN PINK AT TRIAL FOR SLAIN LSU STUDENT: ‘WE WEAR IT TO HONOR HER’
A photo of LSU student Madison Brooks, who was fatally hit by a car after an alleged rape in 2023. (The Brooks family)
Judge Gail Horne Ray had ruled in August that Brooks’ supporters could wear pink in the courtroom, but on Monday she found Fowlkes in contempt for failing to redact Brooks’ full name from the filing. Fowlkes received no punishment.
While Brooks’ name has received significant public attention and has been discussed by the governor of Louisiana, Ray wrote “the law is clear that an attorney’s failure to comply with the provisions of this law ‘shall be punishable as contempt of court.”
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Madison Brooks, left, was sexually assaulted and killed in 2023, according to authorities. Desmond Carter is charged in connection with the case. (Ashley Baustert, East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office)
According to a coroner’s report, Brooks had a BAC of .319 at the time of her death and had injuries consistent with rape.
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Carter was 17 years old when he was taken into custody at the time of the incident. Brooks left Reggie’s Bar in Tigerland alongside three men — Carter, Casen Carver, Kaivon Washington and Everett Lee, according to officials. Authorities say Carver drove the group to a parking lot where Carter and Washington allegedly raped Brooks.
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Madison Brooks is seen leaving Tigerland Bar, Reggie’s, with four men in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on Jan. 15, 2023. The security footage is the last sighting of Brooks, before she was fatally struck by a car. (WFAB)
The men told police that Brooks asked to be taken home after the incident, providing multiple incorrect addresses before requesting to be let out near a subdivision, where they said she wandered into the street and was struck by a car.
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The driver of the car that hit her remained on the scene and was ultimately cleared of charges.
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“Maddie felt safe that night, she thought these were her friends and I think a lot of selfish choices were made that night, and ultimately it led in a horrific ending,” Brooks’ mother, Ashley Baustert, previously told Fox News Digital.
Fox News Digital reached out to Fowlkes for comment.