Summary Of State Of Florida V. Brenton Leonard Butler

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State of Florida v. Brenton Leonard Butler is a case where the State of Florida accused Brenton Leonard Butler, a 15-year-old high school freshman, of the murder of Mary Ann Stephens by a gunshot to the head through the bridge of her head. Since Brenton fit the description of the suspect according to Officer Martin and his partner, they approached Mr. Butler and asked questions regarding the shooting. The officers later asked victim’s husband, James Stephens, if Brenton was the man that shot his wife and being he was the only eyewitness, the officers arrested Mr. Butler. It is easier to wrongfully accuse as an African American male of a crime and that was the accusations put against Mr. Butler.
On May 7, 2000, in Jacksonville, Florida, Mary …show more content…

There were various reasons that aided the jury’s decision to declare Mr. Butler not guilty. The officers failed to inform Butler’s family upon his arrest and interrogated him privately without a parent or lawyer present. Both Detective James H. Williams and Dwayne Darnell interrogated Butler alone at separate occasions. Detective Williams claimed to have done a thorough investigation, however, failed to ask neighbors if they had seen Butler earlier that Sunday morning. Detective Darnell wrote a statement telling Butler what he did and Detective Darnell threatened to hit Butler every 10 seconds he did not sign the paper that resulted in Butler getting in twice in the eye. When Mr. Stephens provided the description of the shooter, he described an African American male that was significantly taller and older than Butler was. When Detective Michael Glover, the son of Nat Glover, was interrogating Brenton, he used excessive amounts of physical force and mental games to make 15-year-old Brenton Butler into thinking he was guilty of shooting Mrs. Stephens. This interrogation by Detective Glover ended in him taking Butler back to the woods and proceeded to punch him in the stomach twice and once in the face. Lastly, a man who collects cans to help him make ends meet discovered the purse of Mrs. Stephens along with her identification reported it to the police and when the police arrived the purse did not undergo proper processing for