Desmond Carter, one of three men charged with the gang rape and death of LSU student Madison Brooks, has asked a Louisiana court to ban her family and supporters from wearing pink in the courtroom during his trial. His lawyers argue that the colour, worn by Brooks' loved ones in her memory, could create a "carnival atmosphere" that prejudices or intimidates the jury, while prosecutors have branded the request "absurd" and urged the judge to reject it. A ruling on the motion, which arrives ahead of Carter's trial due to begin on 17 August, was expected on Tuesday.

Brooks, 19, died in January 2023 after she was allegedly assaulted in a car by Carter, Kaivon Washington and Casen Carver following a night out drinking, then left by the roadside in East Baton Rouge before being struck by a passing vehicle. Her blood-alcohol level was recorded at 0.319%, nearly four times the legal driving limit, and the driver who hit her was not charged as he was found not to be impaired. The three defendants deny rape, claiming the sexual contact was consensual, and a separate defence attempt last year to blame her injuries on a prior encounter with another student was rejected by a judge as irrelevant.