Murder on a Sunday morning is a documentary film developed by a French filmmaker by the name Jean-Xavier de Lestrade. The story in the film involves a fifteen years old boy known as Brenton Butler. The boy is suspected of murdering a tourist in Jacksonville, Florida. It happened that Jean was in Jacksonville when the incidence occurred. Butler is presented as a poster teen for racial depiction. The hardworking attorney who has a history of injustices in his past judgments shocks the mass when he decides to take charge of the case and seek for justice to be done against the boy. Police are not out to arrest the person responsible of the murder. Their main aim is to safeguard tourism industry of their town. Finally the attorney manages to defend Brenton and justice takes its course. Initially, the film was released under the title Un couple ideal but later given the title Murder on a Sunday Morning. The film was released by New Video Group, inc. studio in the year 2001 (Erickson, 2002, Par.1).
It happened that on a Sunday morning as an elderly couple which had toured Jacksonville was getting back to their room from breakfast, they were attacked by a robber armed with a gun. A quarrel ensued and the assailant panicked shooting the old woman by the name Mary Ann Stephens. News spread in town reaching the police who initiated a manhunt in bid to arrest the killer. The distance from which the killer shot Mary Ann from made it hard for Stephen to recognize him. When police arrested Brenton, Stephen swiftly claimed that he was the killer. At the time of attack, Breton was going for a job interview. He happened to pass close to the scene where Mary Ann was killed. Police arrested him claiming that he coincided with all the descriptions that Stephen had given them regarding the killer. It proved that police were not aimed at getting the person responsible of the killing. They wanted to retain the good name of the town to ensure that tourism industry is not affected by people fearing of their security (Erickson, 2002, Par. 2).
Police coerced Stephen to confess that Brenton was the person behind the killing of his wife. This marked the beginning of a hard life for Brenton as he struggled to prove that he was innocent. The documentary brings out evidence of injustices that innocent people go through in United States by being implicated with crimes they have not committed. In most cases police do not conduct thorough investigations on crimes. In-stead they decide to associate the crime to anybody who appears to go with the descriptions provided in court in bid to swindle the public that they are working. In most cases they are never candid in conducting their duties. They make arrests based on malice and discrimination. The problem is not only in police department but it is also in the judicial system. The movie reflects the rate of racial discrimination within the country. Despite journalist being at the scene of crime, no one in the court is willing to defend Butler only because he is black.
It is the defense attorney Patrick McGuiness that came to the protection of Brenton. Having noticed injustices meted on the boy, he decided to defend him. McGuiness recognized that since the beginning of the case, he had failed to defend Butler against accusations that he knew he was innocent. He knew that Brenton had not confessed to having committed the crime out of his own will. Police had subjected him to a lot of torture making him take the responsibility. He questioned veracity of the police in conducting the case and availability of substantial evidence regarding the case. Patrick was willing to use his knowledge in legal issues to save Butler for facing a life imprisonment. He understood that allegations aligned in court against his client were subject to corruption and poor investigation. He revisited all episodes of what had transpired leading to Butler’s arrest. Evidence relied by police formed a base for McGuiness allegations of false witness. He unraveled many errors in the way evidence was collected as well as sighting some mutual exclusiveness on the information presented by witnesses. He managed to prove that his client was innocent. Brenton was acquitted of the murder leaving the court having not gotten the person responsible of Mary Ann’s death (Mooviees.com, 2002, Par. 1).
The movie reflects on what takes place in the contemporary life of the Americans. Numerous cases go unresolved due to police conducting shoddy investigations. Great number of people suffers in courts due to them being implicated with crimes they have not committed. The film best explains the reasons why crime never declines in the country despite police claiming to have arrested most of the criminals. A lot of those who commit the crimes go unpunished with innocent victims suffering in court for crimes they have not committed. McGuiness bring out the level of how attorneys are corrupt in the judicial system. His intention to revise the case defending Butler shows how the judicial system can be effective if all the stakeholders accept to work governed by ethics of their profession. He represents a good example of how public servants are supposed to conduct themselves as they serve the public. The documentary shows that there is great need for improvement in system of governance in the country. Even though not all police conduct themselves as those in the film, there is need for the film to be watched by all police including those under training for them to learn how their work is significant in the country. They will also learn of catastrophes that can result if they happen to carry out their duties unethically (Lu, 2007, Par. 1).
Reference list
Erickson, H. (2002). Murder on a Sunday Morning. Web.
Lu, G. (2007). Murder on a Sunday Morning. Web.
Mooviees.com. (2002). Murder on a Sunday Morning (2001). Web.