Shorstein, Glover Apologize To 'Wrongly Accused' Teen
State Attorney, Sheriff Admit Error 3 Months After Murder Trial
JACKSONVILLE – Jacksonville Sheriff Nat Glover stood before reporters and therefore the entire city to admit that he and his agency made a mistake by arresting Brenton Butler for the murder of Georgia tourist Mary Ann Stephens.
Harry Shorstein's Statement
The State Attorney's office is currently involved in an ongoing investigation involving the murder of Brenton Butler. When this office made the decision to prosecute Brenton Butler for this crime, we did what we thought was appropriate based on the evidence presented to us by the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. This included a positive identification by the only eyewitness and a written confession. There has never been any evidence that this officer was or is aware of that Brenton Butler was physically abused in order to obtain a confession.
It would now appear that Brenton Butler was wrongly arrested for this crime and that the jury verdict of innocent was correct. No words can express my personal regret and the regret of my entire office for the ordeal Mr. Butler and his family wrongly endured.
The last thing I ever want to do is prosecute an innocent person. There are now two tragedies that have resulted from this case. The brutal murder of Mary Ann Stephens and the unjust arrest of Brenton Butler.
Because there is an ongoing investigation into this matter it would be inappropriate to make any further comment at this time.
"I personally regret the arrest of Brenton Butler," Glover said.
Butler (pictured, right) was only 15 when he was picked up, walking near the Ramada Inn where Stephens had been shot to death. She and her husband were headed back to their room when a gunman approached and then fired.
Stephens's husband identified Butler, and later Butler confessed. Based on that evidence, the sheriff's office felt that the case was strong enough even though no gun residue was ever found on Butler's hands.
"When you've got an eyewitness and you've got a confession, that's information that you have to move forward with, and we felt this was the right direction," Glover said. "If we had not, then we would not have proceeded with it."
But some organizations warn against the strength of eyewitness accounts. The National Institute of Justice sampled 28 cases in which the people convicted of a crime were later released based on DNA evidence. Out of the 28 people, 24 had been wrongly identified by eyewitnesses.
"When Butler was acquitted, the system worked," Glover said.
Glover said that justice was served in Butler's case, but the defense attorney strongly disagrees. He is filing suit against the sheriff's office and the city.
"I respectfully disagree with the sheriff when he says the system worked. No, the system didn't work. He wasn't supposed to be there," Butler family attorney Tom Fallis said.
Butler (pictured, right) was only 15 when he was picked up, walking near the Ramada Inn where Stephens had been shot to death. She and her husband were headed back to their room when a gunman approached and then fired.
Stephens's husband identified Butler, and later Butler confessed. Based on that evidence, the sheriff's office felt that the case was strong enough even though no gun residue was ever found on Butler's hands.
"When you've got an eyewitness and you've got a confession, that's information that you have to move forward with, and we felt this was the right direction," Glover said. "If we had not, then we would not have proceeded with it."
But some organizations warn against the strength of eyewitness accounts. The National Institute of Justice sampled 28 cases in which the people convicted of a crime were later released based on DNA evidence. Out of the 28 people, 24 had been wrongly identified by eyewitnesses.
"When Butler was acquitted, the system worked," Glover said.
Glover said that justice was served in Butler's case, but the defense attorney strongly disagrees. He is filing suit against the sheriff's office and the city.
"I respectfully disagree with the sheriff when he says the system worked. No, the system didn't work. He wasn't supposed to be there," Butler family attorney Tom Fallis said.