A North Carolina judge on Monday dismissed murder and robbery charges first filed in 1993 against a mentally retarded defendant without trial for murder and robbery. Floyd Brown remained in a state hospital after he was found incompetent.

Brown was originally charged with the robbery and beating death of 80-year-old Katherine Lynch in 1993. Serious questions were raised about his alleged confession – Brown has a 50 IQ. Moreover, evidence including the alleged walking stick was lost and the detectives who implicated him later pleaded guilty to federal racketeering charges in unrelated cases. Nevertheless, the prosecutors refused to drop the charges – requiring the court to act. For the full story, click here