Sunday Morning Trial

Murder on a Sunday Morning
The film Murder on a Sunday Morning depicts the true story of the trial of a fifteen-year-old boy named Brenton Butler. On May 7, 2000, a 65-year-old woman named Mary Ann Stephens was shot and killed at a motel in Florida. Only a few hours later, the police saw Brenton walking on the street nearby and arrested him. After months, Brenton went to trial for the murder of the woman. Various police officials testified, under oath, evidence which placed Brenton at fault, but Brenton’s lawyer, Patrick McGuinness, was able to disprove the evidence. In the end, the jury saw through the false accusations proposed by various police officials and plead not guilty. Currently, police officials and other people of political importance

have the power to send innocent people to prison with just their word; this is a social injustice to the public and measures should be taken to stop it.
With the help of Patrick McGuinness and Ann Finnell, Brenton is able to prove his innocence to the jury due to the lack of credible evidence provided by the prosecution.

The officers did very little investigation work in the case, and simply blamed the first African American which they could find. McGuinness proves this in court by describing to the jury the various areas which the detectives overlooked. The only actual evidence presented in the case was the eyewitness testimony of the victim’s husband and a written confession which was forced from the defendant after numerous threats and injuries caused by several officers. Over time, it becomes more and more apparent that the officers’ story was false and Brenton was innocent. Brenton was to trial for murder with very little evidence, all of which was proven to be false. Even though Brenton was released in the end, the time he spent in jail waiting for his trial would most likely haunt him

forever.
In an instant, Brenton Butler was removed from everything he knew and loved. This is a moment which would change his life forever. Although Brenton was ultimately found not guilty, the accusation of a few officers was enough to affect him for life. As a fifteen-year-old, Brenton would have had to miss school while in jail. Even if education was provided, it would be drastically worse than the typical education system. For many, a traumatic experience like this would be difficult to recover from and the time away from school would cause them to feel behind forever. Even though Brenton was found to be innocent, his friends and family would always look at him differently after his trial. Most likely, the trauma from the trial would change Brenton’s attitude forever, and he would never be seen as the same person. Although Brenton was ultimately proven innocent, a few police officials should not have the ability to keep an innocent person in jail for six months, as this is a restriction of basic freedoms and would cause permanent trauma.
Members of society often view police officials as symbols of safety and integrity.

For Brenton Butler, they were just the opposite. The detectives on the case were able to use their status to prosecute Brenton without having any substantial evidence other than the false story they provided. This is a major flaw in the justice system in America. People of political power are able to control every aspect of one’s life. They even have to take away one’s freedom and basic rights by sentencing them to prison for a crime which they did not commit. Brenton is just one of the thousands of victims of this social injustice, many of which, were never proven

innocent.
Murder on a Sunday Morning depicts the trial of an innocent man for murder. The case detectives were able to frame Brenton for the murder due to the strong political influence which they had. In the end, Brenton was found to be innocent, but the accusations placed upon him would remain with him forever. It is a social injustice for police officials and other people of political importance to have the power to send innocent people to prison with simply their word. This is a detriment to society which must be stopped. Together citizens can stand up against this injustice and fight for something which is fair for all in order to prevent others from falling victim to the same political harassment as Brenton Butler.