Murder on a Sunday Morning

Murder on a Sunday Morning
Directed by	Jean-Xavier de Lestrade
Produced by	Denis Poncet
Cinematography	Isabelle Razavet
Edited by	Pascal Vernier Ragnar Van Leyden
Music by	Hélène Blazy
Distributed by	Pathé Direct Cinema(video)
Release dates	September 14, 2001(2001-09-14)(United States) February 26, 2003(2003-02-26)(France)
Running time	111 minutes
Countries	France United States
Language	English

Murder on a Sunday Morning(French:Un coupable idéal,lit.An Ideal Culprit) is a 2001documentary filmdirected byJean-Xavier de Lestrade.The documentary centers around theBrenton Butler case,in which a fifteen-year-oldAfrican-Americanboy was wrongfully accused ofmurderinJacksonville, Florida.The film follows Butler's public defense attorneys as they piece together the narrative and how the police coerced Butler into confessing. It received critical acclaim and won theAcademy Award for Best Documentary Featureat the74th Academy Awardsin 2002.

Background

InJacksonville,Florida,on the morning of Sunday, May 7, 2000, a tourist Mary Stephens was murdered outside of aRamada Innby an unknown African-American young man. On that same morning, fifteen-year-old Brenton Butler was stopped and questioned by police as he was walking past the crime scene, which was not far from his house. Although Butler was shorter and younger than the description of the shooter that was initially provided by the husband of the victim, who had been standing next to his wife when she was shot. The husbandidentifiedButler as the killer to police. Butler was arrested, and interrogated for twelve hours without the presence of his parents or a lawyer, and signed aconfession.No other suspects were pursued and Butler was charged and tried for murder without anyphysical evidenceagainst him. At trial, the prosecution's case was based solely on the positive eyewitness identification and Butler's signed confession, which Butler later testified he had signed due to physicalcoercionby police.

Summary

The film follows Butler's defense team as they build their case and present it in court. Beginning with the primary witness, Steven's husband and moving towards the confession; the film showcases how the public defender's office rebukes the prosecution's narrative. Defense attorneys submit photographs of Butler's bruised face, confirming their claim that Butler was hit in the face and stomach. In the end, thejuryonly deliberates for 45 minutes before finding Butler not guilty of any criminal misconduct. Following Butler's acquittal the public defender's office brought forth another suspect, Juan Curtis.

Aftermath

After Butler wasacquitted,the police and the prosecutors were heavily criticized by a grand jury that investigated the case and the behavior of the police.

Eventually, theDuval Countysheriff was put in charge of the murder case and ordered it reopened. In 2002, Juan Curtis was convicted of the murder.

External links

• Murder on a Sunday MorningatIMDb