Albert Greenwood Brown Jr. was born on August 18, 1954, in Tulare, California. He grew up in a family that placed importance on education. His father's family made sure that every child in their household went to college. Brown attended Tulare Western High School and was expected to graduate with the class of 1972.

However, his school life took a serious turn when he was expelled due to an incident involving a gun. On March 13, he accidentally fired the weapon, which grazed another student in the head. This incident led to his expulsion from school. After leaving high school, he joined the United States Marine Corps. His time in the military was also cut short, as he was court-martialed and discharged in 1975 for being absent without leave. Following his discharge, Brown moved to Riverside, California, to live with his mother, who had gone through a divorce. 

On the morning of October 28, 1980, Albert Greenwood Brown Jr. abducted 15-year-old Susan Louise Jordan while she was on her way to school in Riverside, California. Brown pretended to be a jogger to approach her. After dragging her to an orange grove, he raped and sodomized her. He killed her by strangling her with her own shoelace. He also took her identification cards and school books.

That evening, Susan’s mother, Angelina Jordan, reported her missing after Susan’s younger siblings returned home without her. While searching for Susan, Brown called Angelina from a payphone. He told her that her daughter would never come home again and informed her where to find Susan's body.

Brown's arrest occurred on November 6, 1980, after several witnesses identified him and his car near the crime scene. Police found Susan's belongings and noted that Brown had been late to work the day she disappeared. A blood-stained jogging suit and his shoes matched footprints found at the crime scene.

On February 4, 1982, a jury found Brown guilty of first-degree murder as well as charges of kidnapping, rape, and oral copulation. During the trial, he claimed to have been remorseful and presented claims of past abuse. The jury took only a few hours to decide on a death sentence.

Brown was placed on death row at San Quentin State Prison. His sentence faced several appeals over the years. In 1985, the California Supreme Court overturned the sentence. However, the U.S. Supreme Court later reinstated it in 1987. Further attempts by Brown's defense to argue against the sentence were denied in 2007.

In August 2010, with new lethal injection procedures implemented, Brown's execution was scheduled for September 29, 2010. However, this was delayed due to issues with the drugs needed for the execution. Throughout September, various legal maneuvers unfolded, trying to challenge or uphold the execution order. On September 30, 2010, just hours before the scheduled execution, it was halted once again due to complications with the lethal injection drugs, which were running low.

Brown was scheduled to die by lethal injection at 9 p.m. on September 30, 2010, in California's first use of capital punishment since the lifting of a court-ordered moratorium. Brown's death sentence was initially overturned by the California Supreme Court due to issues with jury instructions. However, the U.S. Supreme Court later reinstated the death penalty. As of March 2025, Albert Greenwood Brown Jr. remains on death row at San Quentin State Prison, California.