Where Is 'Innocence Files' Former District Attorney Forrest Allgood Today?

The Innocence Files is the newest true-crime show to hit Netflix, and it explores the many broken facets of the criminal justice system. Each episode focuses on an individual who had been wrongfully convicted and the efforts of the lawyers who worked to free the incarcerated men. 

The first two episodes of The Innocence Files are about Levon Brooks and Kennedy Brewer, but instead of only focusing on these victims, the show also takes a closer look at the process and people involved in the miscarriage of justice. 

One of these people is former District Attorney Forrest Allgood, who prosecuted both Brooks' and Brewer’s cases in the 1990s and advocated for the now-denounced practice of forensic odontology, a process in which a dental professional analyzes a bite mark to determine a person's guilt.

As a DA who features heavily in the first two cases but who’s since been voted out of his position, many viewers are wondering where Forrest Allgood is now. 

Allgood served as a Mississippi DA from 1989 until 2015, and in that time, he earned a reputation as one of the most aggressive prosecutors in the entire country. He was a staunch proponent of using now-discredited forensic odontology practices and used this bite-mark evidence to connect Brooks and Brewer to crimes they didn't commit.

Over the years, Allgood came under repeated scrutiny from the public and state officials alike, and was admonished for his vindictive approach to criminal justice. He had a record of misconduct and was known for pursuing ruthless sentences even for first-time offenders, continually relying on dubious experts and questionable testimony.

For example, even when DNA evidence exonerated Brewer and proved his innocence, Allgood came up with an alternate theory that forced Brewer to remain in prison for another seven years.

In 2015, Allgood was defeated by challenger Scott Colom and lost his post as a state district attorney to the young African American Democrat. 

Not a lot is known about his life today, other than the fact that he continues to live in Mississippi and is involved with community organizing, while also serving as a director of the board of the YMCA in Lowndes County.

The former DA declined to be interviewed for The Innocence Files, so his appearances on the show are culled from archival footage. However, in emails between Allgood and one of the show’s producers, Allgood still defends his questionable practices and the use of forensic odontology.

He maintains that at the time of the trials, DNA evidence was still in its nascent years and wasn’t relied on in criminal trials as much as it is today. Forensic odontology, meanwhile, was in its hay-day, with one of the country’s most notorious serial killers at the time, Ted Bundy, being convicted using this forensic method. 

However, as the documentary shows, Allgood continued to defend the use of bite-mark "expert" Michael West long after both the methodology was denounced and West had been labeled a fraud, even within the community of bite-mark analysts. 

And all these years later, with mountains of irrefutable evidence that proves the innocence of the two men, Allgood still defends his actions saying he believed in what he was doing while serving as district attorney. 

Stream The Innocence Files on Netflix.