Bryan Hooper exonerated after 27 years in prison when a witness confessed to the 1998 Minneapolis murder he did not commit

Minneapolis, MN — Bryan Hooper exonerated and finally free, walked out of Stillwater Correctional Facility on Thursday after serving 27 years for a crime he didn’t commit.

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His release came after a stunning confession from the prosecution’s star witness, who admitted she — not Hooper — had killed 77-year-old Ann Prazniak in 1998.

Chalaka Young, once the central witness in Hooper’s conviction, wrote a handwritten confession in July from a Georgia prison.

In it, she said guilt had consumed her for decades. “I am not okay any longer with an innocent man sitting in prison for a crime he did not commit,” she wrote. “My soul purpose here is to take responsibility for two innocent lives that I have destroyed.”

Hooper, now in his early 50s, had been sentenced to three life terms. His conviction relied heavily on Young’s testimony and four others who have since recanted, revealing they were offered incentives to testify against him.

Though Bryan Hooper exonerated is now a headline, the years lost can’t be returned. His daughter Bri’ana Hooper expressed both grief and relief:

“Twenty-seven years of missed birthdays, milestones, and holidays — time we can’t get back. But today, we don’t have to lose anymore.”

Investigators originally found Prazniak’s body inside a cardboard box in her Minneapolis apartment, weeks after her death. The apartment had become known as a drug and prostitution haven.

Both Hooper and Young’s fingerprints were found at the scene. While Hooper admitted being there, he always maintained his innocence in the murder.

Young, currently serving time for an unrelated offense, has not yet been charged in the reopened murder case. She confessed again in recorded calls to both investigators and Hooper’s family.

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty issued a formal apology and confirmed Hooper’s release:

“We are convinced that Bryan Hooper did not commit that crime. We can never return what was taken from him, but we can do the right thing today.”

As Bryan Hooper exonerated continues to trend nationally, his case underscores deep cracks in the justice system — especially the dangers of incentivized testimony and prosecutorial deals.

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Now reunited with his children in the Twin Cities, Hooper plans to begin rebuilding his life and advocating for others facing wrongful convictions.