Murder on a Sunday Morning (Un coupable idéal)

This programme contains some scenes which some viewers may find upsetting.

The suspect's going to be a skinny black male, wearing dark shorts,

possibly using, like, a small Derringer-type pistol.

Very, very tragic. Very tragic.

I'm Pat McGuinness. I'll be 50 on Christmas Day.

And I defend people charged with killing people.

James Stevens and his wife were at their local Ramada Inn.

They went to a continental breakfast.

As they left, they were walking down a breezeway in that hotel,

and somebody shot and killed Mr Stevens' wife.

At that same time, Brenton Butler was at his home saying good morning,

taking care of his dog,

but those two events collided about two-and-a-half hours later.

He was arrested by the police and taken to be viewed by Mr Stevens,

and Mr Stevens identified him as the man who shot his wife.

This entire case, everything important took place in two hours,

between 7 and 9 on a Sunday morning.

And what the jury ultimately comes to believe about those two hours

is going to determine whether Brent goes to prison for life

or is returned to his family.

On the morning of 8th May, I first read about the Brenton Butler case

in the paper.

The article said a 15-year-old black kid had shot and murdered a white tourist,

and that he had confessed.

If true, that appeared to be the end of the story.

My immediate reaction was he had thrown his own life away,

as well as that of the tourist.

I had a chance later that morning to meet Brenton Butler for the first time.

What he told me about the case made sense.

What he told me about how the detectives had treated him

made me angry,

and as I learned more, I became increasingly angry.

The suspect's going to be a skinny black male, wearing dark shorts,

unknown shirt, had on a hat.

Last seen on foot, running southbound,

possibly using like a small Derringer-type pistol.

And the latest update is a black male with a fish-like hat on,

with a cloth build.

OK, Officer Martin, I've asked you here today

because you've been listed by the State

as a potential witness in the cases pending against Brenton Butler.

Specifically, Mr Butler's been charged with responsibility

for the death of Mary Anne Stevens on or about 7th May of 2000.

I'm Ann Finnell.

I'm an attorney with the Public Defender's Office

in Jacksonville, Florida,

and I've worked here for almost 23 years.

The canine officer, we were talking about how little we had,

just a black male in the area.

And I was actually facing north, and he was facing south,

and he said, "Well, there's a young black male right there,

"it could be him, it could be anybody".

I said, "Well, OK, I'll go talk to him," you know?

Being that we didn't have much to go on, I said, "Well,

"I'll go round there and talk to him".

So, I pulled out and drove over to him.

I told him that we had a murder up the street,

that the police were looking for anybody that may be able to help us

solve it, or anybody who could have seen anything.

I asked him if he lived in the area, he said, yes, he lived nearby.

I said, "Well, would you mind coming up here and talking

"to the detectives for a minute and telling them if you'd seen anything".

He goes, "No, not at all".

When you get to the hotel, where do you park?

I parked almost in that ditch, somewhere along in here.

I was half hanging in and out of it.

I remember having to jump across that ditch.

OK, so then what happens?

They went and talked amongst themselves for a minute or two

and went and got the victim's husband,

and he indicated that Brenton Butler was the person who shot his wife.

So he's about 50 feet away and he says, "That's the guy"?

Right. And we were all, well, kind of taken aback.

So, we had him come over even closer almost to the car at that time,

and he looked again and said, "Yeah, that's the guy".

Officer Martin came in and candidly admitted that the only reason

Brenton Butler was even stopped that morning was

because he happened to be a black male walking in the neighbourhood.

Now, think about that.

That means for every African-American in Jacksonville, Florida,

if they happen to be walking down the street,

lawfully going about their own business, not doing anything wrong,

that they're subject to being stopped and asked to get in a police car

and driven away from what they're doing...

...and subject to being shown to the victim of a crime,

with the possibility that that victim

would identify them under the most suggestive of circumstances,

that being that they happen to be sitting in the back seat of a police car.

And most victims would think

that they wouldn't be sitting in the back seat of a police car

unless they'd done something wrong, right?

So that's where we are today in Jacksonville, Florida.

And I personally find that to be disgusting and reprehensible.

OK, the case set for today

is the State of Florida versus Brenton Leonard Butler.

Is the State now ready to proceed with its opening statement?

- Yes, Your Honour. - OK, Miss Stair, you may proceed.

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. May it please the court? -Certainly.

On May 7th of this year, the defendant, Brenton Butler,

approached Mary Anne and James Stevens

at the Ramada Inn

and he demanded Mrs Stevens' purse.

Before she had a chance to comply,

he raised a gun to her face and fired,

hitting Mrs Stevens at the bridge of her nose, killing her.

The evidence that you will hear

that proves the defendant is the one who committed this crime

really comes down to two things. First, Mr Stevens,

the only eyewitness to the actual shooting,

positively identified the defendant as the person

who did this to his wife

and he will come here in court

and he will positively identify the defendant in court.

The second piece of evidence is that the defendant

gave a statement to the police

on the afternoon of the shooting,

admitting to the shooting.

That's great.

- May it please the court? - Sure.

Counsel for the State. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.

The evidence in this case will show you that Brenton Butler

did not commit this homicide and, in fact, could not have killed

Mrs Stevens, the morning of May 7th.

At 12 noon, you will hear that Detectives Williams and Darnell

began their questioning of Brenton Butler.

They asked Brenton Butler where he was Saturday night

and Sunday morning. "On Sunday morning, I woke up,

"I took a shower, I brushed my teeth,

"I saw my mum and my little brother.

"I took care of my dog and, a little after nine,

"I left to go to Blockbuster, to fill out a job application".

And the detectives told him,

"You're lying! We've got an eyewitness".

Detective Glover arrived at the Homicide Office before 6:00pm

and he will tell you,

he will tell you, that he was told that Brenton Butler

was ready to confess. Ready to confess.

Here is a boy who has said absolutely nothing but,

"It's not me, I didn't do this".

And at 5:56, you'll learn that Detective Glover

entered the interview room alone to talk to Brenton Butler.

And Detective Glover said, "You're not innocent.

"You're not innocent. We've got an eyewitness.

"It's niggers like you that make me mad these days".

And Detective Glover said, "You know, if I had done this,

"I'd have thrown that purse and gun in the woods.

"Isn't that what you did?

"Didn't you throw that gun and that purse in the woods?"

And Detective Glover takes Brenton Butler, alone,

hanging on to Brenton Butler's belly belt, as Brenton is handcuffed,

into the woods, deep into the woods.

And in the middle of the woods, in that semi-darkness

right before it gets totally dark, ladies and gentlemen,

Detective Glover hit him in the stomach,

not once, but twice, and hit him in his face.

- Could you state your name, please? - James Marion Stevens.

Now, the Stevens were in 142. That's on this side, right here.

OK, so, 142.

Now, this is where they turned.

It's about 7:30 in the morning. They've got muffins, coffee, paper.

They're talking to each other as they walk.

After you finished breakfast, did you see anyone

on the way back to your room? -Yes, ma'am.

I saw a black gentleman walking down the sidewalk ahead of me,

maybe 100 to 150 feet.

He had on short pants that went right below the knees

and a dark shirt.

Plus, he was wearing a hat with a narrow brim.

We were proceeding down, talking.

All this sudden, there was somebody

in my wife's face and my face and said, "Give me your pocketbook".

She first said, "Oh!", like that, and she started to drop

the pocketbook off her shoulder and her arm to give it to him.

So they looked up and then turned and wheeled.

He thought the man right handed, which makes sense,

because the bullet entered here.

So... turn with your right hand. OK, all right. Turn.

The gun is less than 18 inches from her face.

He says, "Give me the purse," or, "Give me the wallet".

There's some conflict about that.

She starts to take the purse off. Before she can do it, he fires.

She's falling back. -How close was he to you?

Two and a half, three feet.

What part of his body were you looking at?

I was looking at his face.

But you indicated you also saw his gun.

Yes, after he told her to give him her pocketbook,

he raised the pistol and shot her, right in here.

And you're indicating over your nose area.

Well, it's in the bridge, right there. -OK.

You're indicating

on the right side, the bridge of the nose, is that correct? -Yes. -OK.

Now... -Horseshi... No, not the right side.

I'm showing you the wrong side. It was on this side.

OK. But you're indicating the bridge area.

The bridge area, yes. -OK. Now, the person that did this

on May 7th, that confronted you and your wife and shot your wife,

do you see this person in the courtroom today? -Yes, ma'am.

Could you identify where he is sitting and what he's wearing?

He's sitting right below Miss Nell, there. He has a red shirt on.