Then 35, he was the lead writer and actor for The OK D.O.C. Players, a drama troupe that performed for Oklahoma schools. His work there so impressed the state parole board chairman that he brought Brooks up for parole two years earlier than expected.
That's when Norman police unveiled previously secret evidence. Ballistics examiners had linked the double-shooting for which Brooks was convicted to three other fatal shootings.
Parole hasn't really been a possibility since then, said Joe Long, 56, who befriended Brooks as a volunteer prison chaplain more than 20 years ago.
Long and his wife, Doobie Potter, think Brooks has been something of a scapegoat. They do not believe he shot anyone, although they acknowledge he committed other crimes and was present during the 1974 shootings of two women. One died.
"It was black-on-white crime, and it was the 70s,” said Potter, 62, a state artist-in-residence who directed the prison drama troupe. "Alfred didn't have money for a good lawyer, and they had to prosecute someone.”
Brooks declined two interview requests.
"You really would be amazed,” Long said of Brooks. "He is very soft-spoken. He is intelligent. ... He uses the wrong words at times because he's self-taught. He's a good-looking guy, like a black Elvis in a way.”
Long said Brooks has not joined any prison gangs and long ago turned his back on the Nation of Islam.
"Every time I talk to him, he's got hope,” Long said. "He's not giving up.”
Neither are police.
"I think Brooks is probably our top suspect,” said Norman police Detective Jim Parks.
If he was involved in the other slayings, he needs to face justice, police said.
"It's important for the families,” said Norman police Lt. Gary Shelton. "And just for the victims themselves. They deserve it.”
What became of Theodore G. X.? 09/07/2008 •Aliases : Theodore Manuel, Talib Karim, Dr. Talim-Karim Muhammad •Background : Theodore Manuel arrived in Oklahoma City from Memphis, Tenn., in...
Black Muslim killings gain new attention... 09/07/2008 For more than three decades, Alfred Brooks has marked time in prison. He's waiting to get out. Police are waiting for him to talk. Classic impasse. In the...
Timeline 09/07/2008 Timeline June 17, 1973 Members of the Nation of Islam cause a disturbance at a Juneteenth celebration at Douglass High School. They order a disc jockey to...
Black Muslims killings compared to Zebra killings 09/07/2008 California connection?
Similarities between the Oklahoma crimes and California's infamous Zebra killings are unmistakable.
In 1973-74, a radical sect...
Fear and distrust over Black Muslims killings 09/07/2008 Fear and distrust
In the 1960s and early 1970s, when it was at the peak of its power, the Nation of Islam was liberating to its adherents and frightening...
Featured Video
