‘We wear it to honor her’: Madison Brooks’ mom slams defense push to ban pink in court
Madison Brooks was an LSU student when she was allegedly gang-raped and later killed in Louisiana. Her mother is responding to the defense’s controversial request to prevent spectators from wearing pink during the trial of Desmond Carter, one of Brooks’ alleged attackers. A Baton Rouge judge will determine whether clothing worn in support of the victim could influence the jury.
The Louisiana defense attorney who sought to bar pink clothing from the courtroom in the Madison Brooks rape case was held in contempt Monday.
Caitlin Fowlkes, the attorney for 21-year-old Desmond Carter, included Brooks’ full name in a court filing attached to a July motion asking the judge to prohibit trial spectators from wearing pink. Louisiana law requires sex-crime victims to be identified by their initials in court documents, and attorneys must redact their full names.
Brooks was 19 and attending Louisiana State University when authorities say she was allegedly raped by multiple men after a night out in 2023. She was later struck and killed by a vehicle.
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 ruled in August that Brooks’ supporters could wear pink in court. On Monday, however, Ray found Fowlkes in contempt for failing to remove Brooks’ full name from the filing. The attorney was not given a punishment.
Although Brooks’ name has been widely publicized and discussed by Louisiana’s governor, Ray wrote that “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)
A coroner’s report said Brooks’ blood alcohol content was .319 when she died and that her injuries were consistent with rape.
Carter was 17 when he was taken into custody in connection with the incident. According to officials, Brooks left Reggie’s Bar in Baton Rouge’s Tigerland area with four men: Carter, Casen Carver, Kaivon Washington and Everett Lee. Authorities allege that Carver drove them to a parking lot, where Carter and Washington raped Brooks.
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 alleged assault. They said she gave them several incorrect addresses before asking to be dropped near a subdivision, where they claimed she wandered into the street and was hit by a car.
The driver who struck Brooks stayed at the scene and was ultimately cleared of any charges.
“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 News Outlet.
News Outlet contacted Fowlkes for comment.
