JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (AP) - The Tennessee Supreme Court has censured a prosecutor who wrote a book about trying a double murder arising from a Facebook spat.
The Johnson City Press reports the court's Board of Professional Responsibility said in a release Tuesday that Dennis D. Brooks' book poses a conflict of interest and prejudice to the administration of justice. Brooks was lead prosecutor in the 2015 trial of Barbara Potter and Jenelle Potter, both convicted of murder in the deaths of Billy Payne and Billie Hayworth.
The board says Brooks' book, "Too Pretty to Live: The Catfish Murders of East Tennessee," was published before appeals had concluded. The women's motion for a new trial after publication was denied this year.
Brooks said in a statement he disagreed with the warning but wouldn't contest it.