It did not help him that Florida generally recognizes an exception for declarations against penal interest, because the exception could not be employed under the facts of his case. There is also little question that Butler's confession meets the third part of the test in Chambers, in that it was truly a statement against penal interest. Florida, una turista de 65 aos es asesinada por una bala en la cabeza delante de su esposo, por un joven afroamericano que le roba su cartera. A few days later, the trial court adjudicated him guilty and sentenced him to life on the murder charge and fifty years on the robbery charge. Ninety minutes later, 15-year-old Brenton Butler is arrested. Documentary Crime Oscar-winning documentary that documents a murder trial in which a 15-year-old African-American is wrongfully accused of a 2000 murder in Jacksonville, Florida. [1] Butler was brought to the victim's husband, who identified him as the killer. Now the state argues that the confession fails to meet the test of Chambers because it is unreliable, but the state is plainly not in a good position to make this argument. Mrs. Stephens did not move fast enough, so he pulled out a chrome revolver that he had found several days earlier. Their phone numbers were either unlisted or unpublished and they could not be reached for comment Saturday. [8] Finally, on April 29, 2002, the Butler family accepted a $775,000 settlement from the city. [1], Police brought Butler in for questioning, and he confessed to the murder, both orally and in writing, in front of at least two detectives. Join Facebook to connect with Brent Butler and others you may know. Ninety minutes later, 15-year-old Brenton Butler is the prime suspect because the husband of the victim ID him from 50 feet away.As the case goes on in court all of these different important characters testify their part they had involved with Brenton Butler. Stay up-to-date with how the law affects your life. It is true that certain aspects of Butler's statement, such as the location of the purse and the kind of weapon used, were inconsistent with other facts, but the question is not whether there is some evidence casting doubt on the confession. According to Johnson, Curtis said that the woman threw coffee at him, and when the coffee hit his neck, the gun went off. The book shows the effectthat months of confinementon Jason and his family, and it shows the mindset of one of the detectives, who is also Black, as the case moves toward a judge and a jury. Butler's family sued the city of Jacksonville over the ordeal, alleging racial profiling and inadequate training, and the parties settled on a $775,000 payout. Haiqa Aaqil Murder On a Sunday Morning State of Florida Vs. Brenton Lenoard Butler Initial Il a reu l'Oscar du meilleur film documentaire lors de la Crmonie des Oscars 2002. [1] Butler subsequently confessed to the crime, and the case went to trial. In his defense, Curtis presented evidence that Mr. Stephens had originally identified Brenton Butler. The first point the Court made in Chambers was that the confessions were spontaneous. But of course correction official will be in denial and keep hiding sex crimes. With such exposureand intense local media coverage, the arrest drew much unflattering attention to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. At least one other court has noted that availability is treated as a positive factor in Chambers but as a negative factor in the declaration against penal interest exception to the hearsay rule. There was no evidence presented to the jury in Curtis' case to prove or even suggest that Butler's confession was coerced. The apparent reason for the unavailability requirement is that the hearsay statement is needed all the more if the declarant is not there to testify. Glover served at the time of the Brenton Butler case in 2000, in which the 15-year-old Butler was falsely accused of murder. As it turned out then, Curtis was no better off than Chambers. [2] Williams pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and testified against his co-defendant at the trial; he was sentenced to ten years in prison. [1] State Attorney Shorstein and Jacksonville Sheriff Glover took the unusual steps of apologizing to Butler and re-opening the case of two unrelated suspects. He said that he put the gun inside the purse and threw the purse into the woods near the motel. Jablonski Jablonski was sentenced to 364 days of jail time (how disrespectful to not even round it up to a year). Opines that evan, moore, and dna analysis indicate that tyler man is not a freed convict. TV dramas don't get much timelier than Seven Seconds. McDonald's confessions therefore did not qualify under the exception. En la serie 'Seven Seconds', la muerte de un joven afroamericano de 15 aos en Jersey City suscita un encubrimiento policial y una bsqueda desesperada de la verdad. An Ideal Culprit) is a 2001 documentary film directed by Jean-Xavier de Lestrade. Mississippi also had a voucher rule, which prohibited a party from impeaching his own witness. However, Butler testified that he was beaten and coerced into making a confession. It had been discovered and turned over to the police much earlier by two people who were evidently looking through the dumpster for aluminum cans. He shot 12/23 from two, 2/9 from three, shooting at 43.8% from the . coming on campus to pick up the girl. We conclude that the trial court erred in excluding evidence that another person had confessed to the crime. Acquitted man is witness at retrial. In support of this conclusion, the Court listed four factors that supported the reliability of McDonald's confessions: (1) each of the confessions was made spontaneously to a friend shortly after the murder was committed; (2) the confessions were corroborated by other evidence; (3) the confessions truly were statements against McDonald's penal interest; and (4) McDonald was available to testify and could have been cross-examined by counsel for the State. See Morton v. State, 689 So.2d 259 (Fla.1997), receded from on other grounds by Rodriguez v. State, 753 So.2d 29 (Fla.2000). Family portraits. It took her more than a decade, between working and raising children, to make the story be what it needed to be, and tobring the book to publication. Chambers called McDonald as a witness, but he was not permitted to confront him with the oral confessions. The gist of this testimony was that Jermel Williams told Bryant that he and Curtis had robbed a woman, and Curtis got mad at Williams for telling the story. Nevertheless most arrest that is made by officials is wrongfully made and can lead to wrongful convictions. This seemingly racial bias is what connects the story of the real Brenton Butler and the fictional Brenton Butler of Seven Seconds. Like Butler, he is 15 when he's picked up by police after a woman from Georgia is shot at a nearby hotel. During the trial, however, Butler testified that two detectives involved in the investigation, including Michael Glover, son of the then current Sheriff Nat Glover, had intimidated and physically abused him into confessing. In some cases, judges have a duty to admit evidence that does not fit neatly within the confines of the Evidence Code in order to protect the defendant's right to a fair trial. During their last meeting of the year Monday night Flowery Branch City Council members approved a 120 day moratorium on cell tower applications. [5] The documentary follows Butler's defense team as they build their case for his innocence. The incident could have been worse then what it was., Machine Gun McGurn had what became called a blonde alibi he had been at a hotel with his blonde girlfriend from 9 p.m. on February 13 through 3p.m. I just felt compelled to get it finished. As several courts have observed, a confession made to a police officer may be considered reliable, because it subjects the declarant to prosecution. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. We have considered the possibility that the admission of Butler's confession would ultimately make Butler the main feature of Curtis' trial. Butler categorically stated that he was the one who shot Mrs. Stephens. Butler, un adolescent noir de 15 ans, avoue le crime, admettant qu'il lui a tir dessus aprs lui avoir demand son sac main. Butler did not attempt to shift part of the blame to someone else. The police officers had advised him of his right to remain silent several times, and there is no evidence that they intimidated him.1. "I just wanted to explore how it is that everything could go so utterly wrong," she said. He is scheduled to be back in court June 1. JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA - Police have recommended three officers be suspended for their involvement in the case of a teen wrongly accused of killing a northeast Georgia tourist. Delegal, who's written for several publications including Folio Weekly and Jacksonville Magazine, saidshe was haunted by Butler's story. In a 2010 story, 10 years after the crime, Times-Union courts reporter Paul Pinkham summed up the case's importance: "By the time the trial was over, Butler's public defenders had turned the system on its head and helped change police procedure in Jacksonville forever. If the confession was excluded on the ground that it did not meet the requirements of the declaration against penal interest exception, the effect would be the same as if there were no exception at all. One year ago, Butler was arrested for trespassing at Sandalwood High School when he was allegedly trying to take the same girl off campus in his car. ``It was a poor piece of work,'' Gordon said of the case. [2] At this second trial Curtis was found guilty and sentenced to two consecutive life terms. Brenton Butler We found 14 records for Brenton Butler in IN, FL and 8 other states. Brenton Butler, quien viva en las cercanas del. Police say Butler had been warned repeatedly by school officials and the school resource officer about The case against Butler proceeded to trial, but he was acquitted. Mais plusieurs jours plus tard, lorsqu'il est traduit en justice,. He continued, "Nobody wanted to believe he could be innocent." They heard from the state that Butler could not have committed the crime, because he was home with his family at the time. Published: 5/25/2004 6:45:29 PM. 2. View Essay - Murder On a Sunday Morning from SOCIAL SCI CLU 3M at Milton District High School. In 2004, Butler wrote a book about his experience, entitled They Said It Was Murder. In our view, the argument for admitting the confession in this case is even stronger than the one presented in Chambers. She understands that, saying she had an "obligation" to try to do justice tothe story, and its characters. [1][2], After the case, the State Attorney's Office launched a grand jury investigation into the conduct of the officers and prosecutors, while the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office began an internal affairs investigation. In particular, Butler views the Tenth Amendment as a mere tautology, a view which has changed in subsequent cases. FindLaw.com Free, trusted legal information for consumers and legal professionals, SuperLawyers.com Directory of U.S. attorneys with the exclusive Super Lawyers rating, Abogado.com The #1 Spanish-language legal website for consumers, LawInfo.com Nationwide attorney directory and legal consumer resources. This made him angry, so he demanded her wallet. Today, that is now a rule that officers must perform before questioning anyone taken in. Mr. Stephens described the assailant as a young black man wearing cut off jeans and sneakers in two or three colors of blue. Butler had given a deposition in which he repudiated his earlier confession and denied that he shot Mrs. Stephens. And not interfere with the progress towards coming to a conclusion on the case. The girl's parents had obtained a restraining order against Butler. That teenager becomes the center of a politically-charged confrontation between law enforcement and those they are meant to protect, but the story of the real Brenton Butler is far different from the story seen in Seven Seconds. He raised the gun to her face quickly and it went off. Butler was acquitted of murder and robbery charges in November 2000, according to News4Jax. All rights reserved. Officer Williams said that he asked Mr. Stephens, Are you absolutely sure if this is the individual that you feel shot your wife? Stephens said, Yes, I am. According to Officer Williams, Mr. Stephens then emphasized the point by saying, I'm not going to send an innocent man to jail.. Cool. JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA - Police have recommended three officers be suspended for their involvement in the case of a teen wrongly accused of killing a northeast Georgia tourist. Rule 804(b)(3) of the Federal Rules of Evidence establishes an exception to the hearsay rule for declarations against penal interest. The announcement comes less than a month after Brenton Butler's family reached a $775,000 settlement with the city of Jacksonville. "Seen" is self-published,with a cover by Jacksonville artist Hope McMath, former executive director of the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens, and founder of the Yellow House gallery in Riverside. By agreement of counsel, the jurors in Curtis' case were told that Butler was originally charged with the murder of Mary Ann Stephens, that he went to trial, and that he was acquitted. The officer must also decide if the law is so evil that he/she has no choice but to disobey it and accept whatever punishment results from that decision., Miranda was not aware he should be given a lawyer if could not afford one and the right to not self-incriminate. Many will declare this case to be racial discrimination and racial profiling, due to the fact that Brenton was a black male like the murderer. Copyright 2023, Thomson Reuters. See McCormick on Evidence 253 (John W. Strong ed., 5th Ed.1999). The then 15-year-old said he spent hours being interrogated by police, without his parents' knowledge, and eventually confessed after being beaten and threatened. The Court reasoned that the opposing party could then confront the witness to uncover a possible explanation for the confession. The woman's traumatized husband identifies him as the killer and, after hours in police custody without a lawyer or notification of his parents, a confused and scared Jason eventually confesses. During the investigation of a shooting death outside of a motel, police arrested 15-year-old Brenton Butler and . Maybe if people will do their research on how common this issue is, they would think twice about committing any crime that will land you in prison or jail., Some officers dont know how serious excessive force is and they should take it more serious. An attorney reviewed its long, gripping courtroom scenes, andDelegal has a background in law as well, from working as a paralegal at her husband Tad's law office. Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the world more open and connected. The jurors heard a great deal of evidence relating to Butler's guilt or innocence. 1038. If so, the confession should be admitted in evidence, and the jurors should be allowed to consider the alleged discrepancies, along with the evidence of corroboration. The victim, Mary Ann Stephens, was shot in the head at point-blank range. The same is true of Butler's confession in this case. In Czubak v. State, 644 So.2d 93, 95 (Fla. 2d DCA 1994), for example, the court noted that, regardless of the provisions of section 90.804, Chambers requires the admission of such reliable hearsay statements of witnesses to a third-party confession even if the confessor was available as a witness at the trial. (emphasis added). Mr. Stephens testified that the crimes were committed on the morning of May 7, 2000, as he and his wife were walking back to their motel room after breakfast. According to Officer Martin, Mr. Stephens said that there was no doubt in his mind that Butler was the shooter. Itchanged him. Updated: 6:42 AM EDT May 27, 2004. In Chambers v. Mississippi, 410 U.S. 284, 93 S.Ct. [1], Butler was represented by Patrick McGuinness and Ann Finnell, two attorneys from the public defenders office. Author: WTLV. 15 year old wrongly accused of murder What did the black detective (Mr. Glover) do that was unethical and unlawful to Brenton? Who is Brenton Butler? Butler eventually confessed to the crime, even though the murder weapon was never found and other key physical evidence was missing. Novel by Jacksonville author, daughter of a detective, is inspired by Brenton Butler case. I find no reversible error in the trial court's exclusion of the evidence in question and would affirm the judgment of conviction below. Brenton Leonard Butler) was a murder case in Jacksonville, Florida. 1105 (citation and footnote omitted). Here again, Curtis was no better off than Chambers. On cross-examination, Mr. Stephens conceded that he had originally identified Brenton Butler as the man who shot his wife. This. As reported in a 2000 article in The Guardian, a Florida teen named Brenton Butler was arrested while on his way to submit a job application to a local Blockbuster video store. Netflix provided Bustle the following statement from showrunner Veena Sud: The real Butler's story became fairly well known, having become nationally recognized when it became the subject of the Oscar-winning documentary Murder On A Sunday Morning. Mybook is not the end of the conversation, but the beginning, I hope: conversations about the criminal justice system, conversations about race-based mistaken identity, conversations about structural racism, conversations about family, community, faith, healing.. trial jury: 8 men, 4 women, and a few opinions, Dog killed in Wednesday Sugar Hill house fire, Herschel Walker fires up supporters in Cleveland. Also the media blows things way out of proportion, like in the Michael Brown case. He was precluded, albeit for a slightly different reason, from calling the declarant to the witness stand and confronting him with the confession. 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