![]() Once Brent Butler was positively identified as the murderer by an eyewitness the detective thought Brent Butler was guilty. Brent Butler was one of the victims of the strong demand for justice, which was fueled by the media in Jacksonville. After a couple of hours the investigation, acting on their preconceived prejudice notions, rounded up black people from the street who seem like they could have been involved with this murder. Since it was a white woman on vacation that ended up being murdered the media was all over this story in Jacksonville, creating a lot of pressure on the investigation to find the murderer. In addition to the race and class aspect of the detective motivation to get a confession from Brent Butler, the media also played a role in adding fuel to the fire. He felt that the driving sources of these forces were people like Brent Butler, giving blacks a bad name. Whatever the source, the detective felt very strongly that he was put at a disadvantage in life because of the forces of race and class which cause inequality. The detective also would have experienced inequality as a direct result of these forces throughout his life growing up. If you can’t stand being called a nigger and still do you job, you don’t need to be here because you’re gonna get called all kinds of names”” (RCL pg. “I remember having a conversation with a captain, and he sat me down and gave me the spiel about, “I want you to know one of the criteria is that you have to have a thick skin. One of the first things the detective said to Brent Butler was “Its niggers like you that give us a bad name.” Blacks in the police force can be subjects of racism. I believe one of the reasons the detective took these extreme measures is because of the his experiences with the force of race and class throughout his life. My first reaction was why a black detective would intimidate someone of his own race, Brent Butler, into signing a confession for a murder. The detective went as far as hitting Brent Butler and even threated him with his gun in order to get a confession out of Brent Butler. One of the aspects of the Brent Butler case that most surprised me was the fact that he was beaten by a black detective. Brent Butler found out how powerful the forces of race and class can be. People can be falsely labeled and categorized because of a stereotype about their race, which causes a vicious cycle of inequality. Having a certain race and class can increase or decrease your opportunities in life. Race and class are powerful forces in our culture today.
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