08/31/2024
Please come and support Selma Butler on September 4 when his long awaited day in court finally begins. Courtroom 706 at 11 AM. His story goes like this:
45 minutes was all it took for the criminal justice system to steal the life of Butler. In November of 1995, at 17 years old, Selma and his 15-year-old friend Gino were wrongly accused of stabbing a 34-year-old woman 66 times in her apartment at the Robert Taylor Homes in Chicago, Illinois. The states theory was that the boys murdered the victim over some ma*****na. Both boys were charged with first degree murder and elected for bench trials before the same Cook County Judge. Gino was acquitted and Selma was found guilty. The only evidence against Selma was the recanted testimony of a 14-year-old boy who testified that he only gave a statement because the police told him he would be charged with the murder if he didn’t. Selma was sentenced to 50 years. He served his entire sentence and for the last two decades has been fighting to clear his name and prove his innocence.
In 2022, the Illinois Appellate Court ordered a hearing after expressing significant concerns during oral argument. Justice Lavin remarked, “I’ve never seen a record like this. Waived opening statements; first witnesses no question, no question, no question, then four questions. You didn’t even need a lunch break, and the case is over.”
He went on to say, “This entire case is justice delayed. I’m here to tell you that in a murder case where somebody gets 50 years in prison, for a lawyer to ask four questions at trial. Four questions at a trial, that is just ineffective assistance, OK? … Something was amiss here, and a man sat in prison all this time on some of the skinniest evidence I’ve ever seen.”
“What I don’t understand, and I respect the work that your office (CCSAO) does, trust me, I really do. But what I don’t understand is why with all of this, and then you throw in the DNA and the Pearson report and all this other stuff, why at the end of the proverbial day didn’t you agree to an evidentiary hearing? Why don’t you agree today? You can agree today!”
Of course the state did not agree to anything and they continue to stand by a conviction built on lies and deceit. So we fight!! On September 4, Selma will finally be heard. We hope you can come and support and appreciate all of you.
60 likes, 6 comments. “Please help support Selma Butler. https://gofund.me/576910da butler”
