Check out the new Cold Case on a string of unsolved crimes from the 1970s. For decades, police have attributed the crimes to a group of Black Muslims, but they’ve never been able to prove it.

Police are on one side. On the other is Alfred Brooks, the only man convicted in any of the crimes.

Brooks wasn’t a good guy when he was running free in the 1970s. He did some bad things, and by his own admission, if he didn’t kill one woman and wound another, he was at least there when it happened – and didn’t come forward to police. That’ll land anyone in prison, and he’s doing time for murder.

His friends, though, are convinced he wasn’t part of the other crimes in the series. Joe Long and Doobie Potter are kind, sensitive artists; Joe, a mime, has been a volunteer prison chaplain, and Doobie helped convicts write and stage plays. They’ve been around the system, and they trust Brooks enough that they’re willing to let him move in with them if he’s ever released. They told me that Brooks is completely rehabilitated, a rare success story in a prison underworld that often turns bad men worse. And they said that he’s been denied parole repeatedly because of unsubstantiated allegations that he killed other people, even though he was never charged in any of those crimes.

After 34 years, there are still so many questions.

Did Brooks commit the murder for which he was convicted? A jury and the surviving victim said he did.

Did Brooks commit the other crimes? That’s never been proven.

Does he know who committed those crimes? Even if he does and tells us, how can we ever know he’s telling the truth?

Can a convict truly be rehabilitated, and if so, what is the ethical thing to do with that person?

Should a man who once faced a death sentence (Brooks’ sentence was changed in 1977 to consecutive life terms) ever be allowed parole?

This Cold Case was more difficult to write than most, largely because of all of those questions and many more.

Who’s right? Who’s wrong?

Will we ever know for sure?

In the meantime … please take this opportunity to review some of our past cases and explore the revamped site. This week, we’ll be posting a story and videos from The Oklahoman’s Ron Jackson.

More is on the way.