Biography
22-year-old Black woman on North Carolina's death row for the alleged killing of a state trooper, condemned along with her co-defendants though only one shot was fired; The Black Panther Vol. 15 no.4 (1976) presents her as unjustly sentenced to death.
Custody research — September 2026
The corrections profile confirms state-prison admission on July 8, 1977 for the Martin County case. Earlier pretrial custody and actual release remain unresolved.
The Fourth Circuit’s 2012 Waddell opinion identifies Faye Brown among North Carolina prisoners sentenced to life in 1977. It explains that a lower court later ordered her release under the disputed eighty-year sentencing rule, but the North Carolina Supreme Court reversed that relief on August 27, 2010. Neither the tentative release calculations nor the reversed order establishes a physical release.
Waddell v. Department of Correction, Fourth Circuit No.11-7234, May25,2012, PDF page 7; Waddell v. Department of Correction, Fourth Circuit No.11-7234, May25,2012, PDF page 10.
The North Carolina Department of Correction roster identifies her as Faye B. Brown, public DOC number 0049355. It records July 8, 1977 state admission and prior death-row status. Its January 8, 1987 date is parole eligibility, and its prospective release information does not establish actual release. Earlier pretrial custody remains unresolved.
North Carolina Department of Correction, 2009 inmate profiles, Faye B. Brown #0049355.
