JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – The family of the man who was falsely accused of killing a Jackson State University (JSU) student in 2023 filed a lawsuit against the university and other officials.

According to court documents, Joshua Brown’s mother, Shirley, filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi. She said the allegations that her son killed Jaylen Burns were false, and the defendants “negligently, grossly negligently and/or recklessly withheld truthful information from the judge issuing the arrest warrant.”

After his arrest in 2023, Brown, who was 19 at the time, was held in the Hinds County Detention Center in Raymond. The court documents stated that the conditions at the jail were inhumane.

Investigators said the fatal shooting happened at the University Pointe Apartment Complex on JSU’s campus on October 15, 2023. Burns was an industrial technology major from Chicago, Illinois.

Brown was arrested a few days after the death of Burns. He was initially charged with murder and illegal possession of a firearm on school property. A second person, Jamison Kelly, Jr., was also arrested and charged in connection to Burns’ death.

In November 2023, a judge ruled that there was no evidence linking Kelly to the crime of accessory to murder after the fact. Brown was also released from custody, and the charges against him were dismissed. This came after Brown’s family provided video evidence that showed he was 90 miles away from JSU at the time of Burns’ death.

The parties named in the lawsuit include JSU, JSU campus police, former JSU Police Chief Herman Horton, Hinds County Sheriff Tyree Jones, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Delta Phi Chapter and Dr. Elayne Hayes Anthony, who was the acting JSU president at the time of Burns’ death.

According to court documents, the defendants violated Brown’s rights and that he suffered “substantial damages, including mental anguish and suffering, harm to his reputation and standing in the community.”

The lawsuit is seeking compensatory damages, punitive damages, and reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs. The family is seeking a trial by jury.