20/20 TRANSCRIPT: TYRONE BROWN SERVING LIFE FOR A JOINT

John Stossel [ABC News] Good evening, I'm John Stossel

John Stossel [ABC News] And this is "20/20."

Announcer: Deborah Roberts continues, with "Privilege In America."

Deborah Roberts [ABC News] [OC] In our court system, we're all
supposed to be equal under the law, but are we really? Jim Avila has
a tale of Texas justice that might make your blood boil.

Radio Commentator: WVAV, Fort Worth, Dallas

Jim Avila [ABC News] [VO] This is a story of privilege in a Texas
court, where money and connections are not supposed to count, where
we find one judge and two men from very different sides of the tracks
who appear to get anything but equal justice. One man has been in
prison 16 years, and may never get out.

Jim Avila [ABC News] [OC] And your sentence is?

Tyrone Brown [prisoner] Life

Jim Avila [ABC News] [OC] So you got a life sentence. How many
people did you kill?

Tyrone Brown [prisoner] I didn't kill nobody.

Jim Avila [ABC News] [VO] This is the other man, Alex Wood. He did
kill someone. But as you can see, he's not in prison despite several
run-ins with the law and a dead man in his backyard. "Dallas Morning
News" investigative reporter, Brooks Egerton, knows the family history.

Brooks Egerton [reporter] Well, he comes from a moneyed family. His
father used to be pastor of First Baptist Church in Waco.

Jim Avila [ABC News] [OC] First Baptist Church in Waco is not just
the corner church, right?

Brooks Egerton [reporter] No, it's a big deal. This is one of the
most prominent churches in the state of Texas.

Jim Avila [ABC News] [VO] Not only is Alex's father, Reverend John
Wood, religious royalty in Waco, he served on the board of one of the
biggest universities in Texas and has a private big-game museum in
his house, recently featured in "National Geographic" magazine. The
family has political clout, too. Alex's brother-in-law is eight-term
US Congressman Chet Edwards. And Alex dabbled in an expensive hobby,
breeding Egyptian pharaoh hounds. So how did this paragon of
privilege get in trouble? It started when Alex Wood invited a
22-year-old male prostitute, Larry Clark, to his house, says
prosecutor, Rick Jordan.

Rick Jordan [prosecutor] They had sex there. Mr. Wood paid Mr.
Clark. I believe it was $30.

Jim Avila [ABC News] [VO] But Wood wanted a partial refund, and a
fight broke out. Wood shot Clark and then called 911.

Alex Wood [murder suspect] Listen. There's been an accidental
shooting at my house. There's a guy injured and he needs an
ambulance, I think.

Jim Avila [ABC News] [VO] He claims self-defense. But there was one
big problem with that story.

Jim Avila [ABC News] [OC] The man was running away at the time?

Rick Jordan [prosecutor] Exactly.

Jim Avila [ABC News] [OC] His back was turned to Alex Wood.

Rick Jordan [prosecutor] The autopsy shows he was shot from the back.

Jim Avila [ABC News] [VO] Even with that evidence, Prosecutor Jordan
felt compelled to cut Wood a deal after one dramatic day in court.
The grand entrance of one of the most revered people in the city,
family friend and pastor of the mega First Baptist Church of Dallas,
OS Hawkins, seen here in a church video. He'd be a critical witness
for Alex Wood.

Rick Jordan [prosecutor] There were about three women that sit on the
front row of the jury. And when OS Hawkins came in, it was like they
wanted to crawl over the rail and just kiss him. It was that type of
presence when he walked in the courtroom.

Jim Avila [ABC News] [VO] Alex Wood agreed to plead guilty to murder
in return for a light sentence of 10 years probation, a free man if
he stayed clean. This man, Judge Keith Dean, approved the plea.

Rick Jordan [prosecutor] That was a very good outcome for him. He
got a good deal.

Jim Avila [ABC News] [VO] Now to the other side of the tracks and
lifer Tyrone Brown. His background could not be more different. The
second oldest of five children, none of whom finished high school.
Tyrone's mother says he was beaten by his father so badly as a boy,
he was put into foster care for a while. This is where Tyrone lived.
This was his church. And how about your church, could they help you out?

Tyrone Brown [prisoner] It ain't no big old church. It was just a
little - just a little small Baptist church.

Jim Avila [ABC News] [OC] Do you know anybody famous that could help you out?

Tyrone Brown [prisoner] I never met nobody famous.

Jim Avila [ABC News] [VO] That's who Tyrone is. Here is what he did.
When he was 17, he and a friend waited outside a Dallas Bennigan's
for someone to rob. They found a man walking home alone in the dark
and put a gun to his face

Bill Hathaway [robbery victim] First thing he did was say, "Give me
your wallet." I only had two bucks in my wallet. I might had a
little bit of change in my pocket.

Jim Avila [ABC News] [VO] "20/20" tracked down the victim, Bill
Hathaway, who told us he hadn't thought much about the crime until
lately, but does remember Tyrone gave him his wallet back.

Jim Avila [ABC News] [OC] It means it's a serious crime. I mean it's
an armed robbery. But...

Bill Hathaway [robbery victim] Sure.

Jim Avila [ABC News] [OC] ...you weren't hurt?

Bill Hathaway [robbery victim] No.

Jim Avila [ABC News] [OC] You got your wallet back right away?

Bill Hathaway [robbery victim] Right.

Jim Avila [ABC News] [OC] In the same night, you got your $2 back.

Bill Hathaway [robbery victim] Correct. It really wasn't that big of a deal.

Jim Avila [ABC News] [VO] Tyrone Brown pled guilty and that same
Judge Dean gave the teenager 10 years probation, just like Alex Wood.

Jim Avila [ABC News] [OC] Two men, same sentence. But that's where
the story takes a surprising turn. It's what happens next that no
one can fully explain, because while on probation, both men break the
law and must face Judge Keith Dean again. Only this time, they do
not get the same sentence.

Jim Avila [ABC News] [VO] Alex Wood's privileged life continues.
Despite being caught at least twice with cocaine, Wood remains free.
His supervision is not even tightened. In fact, he is given even
more privileges, allowed by Judge Dean to contact probation officers by mail.

Brooks Egerton [reporter] Once a year, you send a postcard to the
judge and say, "Here is my address. Here's what I'm doing."

Jim Avila [ABC News] [VO] There was other alarming behavior. Dog
trainer Margaret Worth, a former friend, says Wood terrorized her
over who owned one of the prized puppies.

Margaret Worth [dog trainer] He took a hammer and smashed the storm
door, and he unlocked the door and he broke into the house

Jim Avila [ABC News] [VO] Worth reported it to police, but decided
not to press charges when Wood's dad intervened, she says, promising
her the pup and no more trouble from his son.

Margaret Worth [dog trainer] Yeah, daddy called and fixed the whole deal.

Brooks Egerton [reporter] Nothing happened to him. He's completed
his probation. And so, he has no conviction on his record.

Jim Avila [ABC News] [OC] And he's free to this day?

Brooks Egerton [reporter] He is free.

Jim Avila [ABC News] [VO] I went to Wood's house on a quiet street in
Waco to ask him how a guy in so much trouble stayed out of prison.

Jim Avila [ABC News] [OC] Congratulations on successfully finishing
your probation.

Jim Avila [ABC News] [VO] But he was camera shy.

Jim Avila [ABC News] [OC] I'm from ABC. We wanna talk to you for a
moment. Can we?

Jim Avila [ABC News] [VO] By phone, Wood told us he's glad he could
afford good attorneys. Tyrone Brown was not so lucky. He settled
for a court-appointed lawyer. Like Wood, Brown did violate his
probation within a few weeks of his sentence, but not with cocaine.

Jim Avila [ABC News] [OC] What'd you do?

Tyrone Brown [prisoner] Well, I, you know, I smoked the joint.

Jim Avila [ABC News] [VO] You heard right, one joint, not nearly as
serious as the cocaine Alex Wood was caught with.

Brooks Egerton [reporter] Typically, your first time that you test
positive for smoking marijuana while you're on probation is something
that is noted in the record, and that's about it.

Jim Avila [ABC News] [VO] Not this time. Not in Judge Keith Dean's
court. I read Tyrone the transcript of his sentencing.

Jim Avila [ABC News] [OC] I have the words here. The judge says,
"You shall be confined for life." Did you hear those words? Do you
remember those words?

Tyrone Brown [prisoner] I mean I heard the "life" word, you know, but
that's about it.

Jim Avila [ABC News] [OC] And then he said, "Good luck, Mr. Brown."

Tyrone Brown [prisoner] Yes.

Jim Avila [ABC News] [VO] Do you remember that?

Tyrone Brown [prisoner] By then, I was in shock. When he said
"life," I'm down. I'm, like, my mind just shut down.

Nora Brown [Tyrone's Mother]Oh, I miss him terribly.

Jim Avila [ABC News] [VO] Tyrone's mother, Nora, got a chilling phone
call. Her son would not be coming home for dinner, ever.

Nora Brown [Tyrone's Mother]"Mama," he said, "they gave me life." And
I mean, I just - ooh, Jesus. I just started crying. You know, and I
started screaming. And I said, "Baby, how can they give you life?
What did they give you life for? For what?"

Jim Avila [ABC News] [VO] No one, not the reporter who uncovered it...

Brooks Egerton [reporter] I don't know, to this day, why these cases
turned out so differently.

Jim Avila [ABC News] [VO] Not the prosecutor assigned to Judge Dean's court.

Rick Jordan [prosecutor] It's just mind-boggling.

Jim Avila [ABC News] [VO] And perhaps most important, not even the
victim of the crime had heard of such a harsh sentence.

Bill Hathaway [robbery victim] Life for smoking marijuana? That's
just - I think that was just a little bit much.

Jim Avila [ABC News] [VO] Keith Dean is considered a good and
respected judge, up for re-election for the fifth time. "20/20"
tried to talk to him at a candidate forum.

Judge Keith Dean [256th Criminal District Court] The Code of Judicial
Conduct just says I can't talk about any case at any point.

Jim Avila [ABC News] [VO] Actually, what the code says is a judge is
not allowed to talk about pending or impending cases.

Jim Avila [ABC News] [OC] Show me here in this code where it says you
can't talk.

Jim Avila [ABC News] [VO] So we went to a second candidate event so
he could explain

Judge Keith Dean [256th Criminal District Court] I would be talking
about a case that is in the court, if I talked about it at all.

Jim Avila [ABC News] [OC] It's not in court. He's in jail. He's in prison.

Judge Keith Dean [256th Criminal District Court] I understand what
you're saying, but...

Jim Avila [ABC News] [OC] He's exhausted all of his appeals. He has
no motions in front of him.

Judge Keith Dean [256th Criminal District Court] I just can't talk
about it. The law won't let me talk about it. And I understand that
you think that I can, but I just can't. I'm not allowed to. If I
could, I would.

Jim Avila [ABC News] [OC] Does this case trouble you at all? Do you
have any trouble sleeping, knowing that this man is in prison for the
rest of his life, has been there in jail for 16 years for smoking one
joint while this other man with privilege and contacts and money
violated at least twice with cocaine and never spent a day in jail?
Both of them in front of your court?

Judge Keith Dean [256th Criminal District Court] I understand you'd
like me to comment on it. I'm just not allowed to.

Jim Avila [ABC News] [VO] The judge is wrong. According to the
executive director of the State Commission on Judicial Conduct who
told "20/20," it may be the judge's personal preference not to
explain his ruling, but there is nothing in the law or judicial code
that prohibits him from talking.

Prison Guard [male] Go ahead and turn around, put your hands through the slot.

Jim Avila [ABC News] [VO] So Tyrone Brown is left to wonder why he
got life while a murderer still has his freedom. And the man
responsible for both decisions...

Judge Keith Dean [256th Criminal District Court] I'm Keith Dean. I'm
judge of the 265th Felony Criminal Court. Thank you.

Jim Avila [ABC News] [VO] Has nothing to add to those final words he
said to Tyrone, "Good luck, Mr. Brown."

Announcer: When "20/20" returns, she made millions in country music,
but she still does her own shopping at Wal-Mart. When she could have
it all, why does she want so little? The flipside of privilege,
anti-privilege, from singing sensation Gretchen
Wilson. Next. Announcer: "Privilege In America" continues. Once
again, John Stossel.

Deborah Roberts [ABC News] [OC] That's "20/20" for tonight. Thanks
for watching. I'm Deborah Roberts.

John Stossel [ABC News] [OC] And I'm John Stossel. Elizabeth Vargas
will be back from maternity leave next week. Until then, we're in
touch so you be in touch