Victim’s Brother Delivers Emotional impact Statement, Referencing Defendant’s 7 Year Sentence

By Rachel Benck [former] - March 27, 2023
Court | Homicides | stabbing | Suspects | Victims |

In a March 27 hearing, a murder victim’s brother gave an emotional impact statement before DC Superior Court Judge Robert Okun imposed a seven-year sentence in the case.

Cana Browne, 25,  pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter for stabbing 42-year-old Ebony Morgan on May 10, 2022, on the 100 block of P Street, NE. 

“Seven years is bullshit,” the brother said, adding that the loss of his sister almost drove him to commit suicide.

The sentence was determined from a plea agreement the defendant took in December of 2022.

“I know that nothing I do here will bring her back, and I’m sorry,” Judge Okun told Morgan’s family before he accepted the guilty plea. Browne will also have to serve five years on supervised release after the sentence.

According to court documents, after receiving multiple 911 calls, Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers found Morgan, 42, lying on the ground, unconscious, with a puncture wound to the right side of her neck. She died five days later.

Judge Okun took the defendant’s mental health and trauma issues, her nonviolent criminal history, and the fact that she has a two-year-old son into consideration as factors in the sentence. He also recommended additional education, vocational training, and anger management therapy for Browne while she is in prison.