North America

When Sherman Brown was convicted and imprisoned in the brutal killing of a 4-year-old Virginia boy, the Vietnam War was still raging and the Watergate was just a hotel, not a scandal. Then 22, he maintained his innocence at the time and as each decade faded into the next. Now, after nearly a half-century behind bars, Brown is petitioning Virginia’s Supreme Court, saying DNA collected from newly recovered evidence indicates he could not have done the murder. Justices now will have to weigh whether that genetic evidence is strong enough to overturn his 1970 conviction in Albemarle County. If Brown, 69, is exonerated, he would be among the longest-serving prisoners to be cleared of a crime in the US. It would be an extraordinary turnabout for a man who was initially sentenced to death before the sentence was reduced to life.

The Philadelphia home where Oscarwinning actress Grace Kelly grew up and accepted a marriage proposal from Prince Rainier III of Monaco in 1955 is now in the hands of the royal family. Her son, Prince Albert of Monaco, has confirmed to People magazine he was the recent buyer of the six-bedroom, 2.5-storey home in the city’s East Falls area. He was happy to have saved it “from a near certain death or development”, he said. “We’re looking at having it contain some museum exhibit space and maybe use part of it for offices for some of our foundation work.”