Case Study - Brenton Butler
The Case
On the morning of May 7th, 2000 the murder of Mary Ann Stephens occurred. She was a tourist to Jacksonville, Florida along with her husband. The two were staying at the Ramada Inn Hotel and had just came from breakfast when they were approached by a young black man who held them at gunpoint, took Mrs. Stephens' purse then proceeded to shoot her between the eyes. When the police first arrived, the elderly woman's body was several inches away from the path on which her and her husband were walking along to get back to their room. Her body was strewn across the grass, covered in blood with the bullet and it's wound being clearly visible to the naked eye. This case became controversial and it is believed that there was racial discrimination and profiling involved because Brenton Butler, and young black male, was arrested several hours later by police.
Police Investigation
In the process of the arrest of Brenton Butler, there was no extensive investigation done by the police. During the trial, this fact was admitted by the officers when Pat McGuiness, who was representing Brenton, raised the point of them not questioning neighbours, not checking for DNA on the stolen purse etc. When they arrived at the scene, they asked Mr. Stephens to give them a description of the shooter. Mr. Stephens described the shooter to be tall, skinny build, dark shirt and shorts, a fishing hat and black in skin color. Police that were surveying the area saw Brenton Butler, who was at the time walking from his home to Blockbuster to hand out a resume, a thinly framed, tall, male wearing a dark shirt and dark shorts...coincidentally, Brenton Butler was a black male. Officer Williams and Officer Darnell told Brenton there had been a murder nearby and asked him to come with them to ask him some questions about anything he may have seen, which Brenton agreed to. When they brought 15-year-old Brenton Butler to the crime scene, Mr. Stephens immediately identified Brenton as being the
On the morning of May 7th, 2000 the murder of Mary Ann Stephens occurred. She was a tourist to Jacksonville, Florida along with her husband. The two were staying at the Ramada Inn Hotel and had just came from breakfast when they were approached by a young black man who held them at gunpoint, took Mrs. Stephens' purse then proceeded to shoot her between the eyes. When the police first arrived, the elderly woman's body was several inches away from the path on which her and her husband were walking along to get back to their room. Her body was strewn across the grass, covered in blood with the bullet and it's wound being clearly visible to the naked eye. This case became controversial and it is believed that there was racial discrimination and profiling involved because Brenton Butler, and young black male, was arrested several hours later by police.
Police Investigation
In the process of the arrest of Brenton Butler, there was no extensive investigation done by the police. During the trial, this fact was admitted by the officers when Pat McGuiness, who was representing Brenton, raised the point of them not questioning neighbours, not checking for DNA on the stolen purse etc. When they arrived at the scene, they asked Mr. Stephens to give them a description of the shooter. Mr. Stephens described the shooter to be tall, skinny build, dark shirt and shorts, a fishing hat and black in skin color. Police that were surveying the area saw Brenton Butler, who was at the time walking from his home to Blockbuster to hand out a resume, a thinly framed, tall, male wearing a dark shirt and dark shorts...coincidentally, Brenton Butler was a black male. Officer Williams and Officer Darnell told Brenton there had been a murder nearby and asked him to come with them to ask him some questions about anything he may have seen, which Brenton agreed to. When they brought 15-year-old Brenton Butler to the crime scene, Mr. Stephens immediately identified Brenton as being the