Attorney General Alan Wilson assigns senior attorney to Solicitor’s Office to assist in State v. Alexander Devante Dickey case

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) – Attorney General Alan Wilson announced today that his office has assigned Melody Brown, a senior attorney in the Attorney General’s Capital & Collateral Litigation Section, to the Fifth Circuit Solicitor’s Office to conduct a comprehensive review of the case involving the May 3, 2025, murder of Logan Federico.

“Melody Brown is one of the most seasoned attorneys in our office, with extensive experience in cases warranting the death penalty,” Attorney General Wilson said. “She will be reviewing the details of this case to ensure that every step forward is handled with the utmost precision and the highest standards of justice.”

Melody Brown is a senior attorney in the Capital & Collateral Litigation Section of the Attorney General’s Office. That section coordinates:

• All murder conviction direct appeals,
• All death penalty litigation after conviction and sentencing, and
• All federal habeas corpus litigation involving any South Carolina state conviction.

In death penalty cases, the section retains jurisdiction after direct appeal for post-conviction relief (PCR) proceedings in circuit court, PCR appeals in the South Carolina Supreme Court and U.S. Supreme Court, and federal habeas corpus litigation in the District Court, U.S. Court of Appeals, and United States Supreme Court, as well as any successive actions challenging conviction or sentence. 

Additionally, the Attorney General's office will lead a full audit of the defendant’s criminal record and prior proceedings, including an examination of why he was not incarcerated at the time of the murder and what allowed this to occur.

The Attorney General’s Office formally sent a letter to the Solicitor asking him to strongly consider filing a notice of intent to seek the death penalty in this case. Solicitor Gipson responded with his own letter stating that his office cannot decide about seeking the death penalty at this time, since it is still conducting a comprehensive review of the evidence in the case.

Senior Assistant Deputy Attorney General Melody Brown will now be involved in that comprehensive review.

“We owe it to Logan Federico’s family, and to every family in South Carolina, to make sure justice is served,” Wilson said.

You can read the letter from Attorney General Wilson to Solicitor Gipson about assigning Senior Deputy Assistant Attorney General Melody Brown here.