The man convicted of killing Hee Haw star Dave “Stringbean” Akeman and his wife 34 years ago has been denied parole, according to the Board of Probation and Parole.

A spokeswoman said this morning that John A. Brown, 57, will not be released after receiving four consecutive “no” votes. He has been recommended for another review in 2011.

Two board members, including chairman Charles Traughber, voted in favor of Brown’s release at a July hearing. The votes prompted an outcry against Brown from former stars of the Opry and fans, who petitioned the four board members who still had to cast their vote.

Through 34 years in prison, Brown garnered a great deal of support from those on the outside who saw a man that was truly rehabilitated. Those opposed to his release, including Ramona Jones, wife of Grandpa Jones who found the Akemans dead at their farmhouse near Ridgetop, said they could never support freedom for the man who shot Estelle Akeman dead as she begged for her life.

John Brown and his cousin, Doug Brown, were both convicted and sentenced to serve two life sentences in prison for shooting Stringbean and his wife during a robbery at their home on Nov. 10, 1973. Doug Brown died in prison, and a change in sentencing laws gave John Brown the opportunity for parole hearings starting in 1993.

July’s hearing was his third attempt at getting parole. At the previous two hearings, he was denied because board members said parole would “depreciate the seriousness of the crime.”

Kate Howard
The Tennessean
Nashville, TN

August 8, 2008