Understanding the Controversial Case
An Oklahoma man facing nearly eight decades in prison for the brutal sexual and physical abuse of two teenagers is instead walking free. Eighteen-year-old Jesse Butler admitted to committing these horrific crimes against his two former girlfriends while he was still a minor. He pleaded no contest to his 10 felony charges. This is a body cam video of his arrest. It was just released, where his mother calls the arrest of her son, quote, an awful experience for a child.
Well, protests have erupted, expressing outrage at what this means for Butler’s victims.
The Legal Proceedings and Outcome
Butler was initially charged as an adult, but in a stunning turn of events, that status was reverted back to being considered a so-called youthful offender because it happened while he was under the age of 18. So that means in spite of his 78-year prison sentence, he is walking free, tasked with completing community service and counseling. He has a curfew, but by his next birthday, he could have his entire criminal record expunged, meaning he will never have to register as a sex offender.
But here to break it down, I’d like to welcome Oklahoma criminal defense attorney James Wirth. James, thank you so much for giving us some of your time. Thank you. This sounds pretty unbelievable. There have been massive protests there in Oklahoma, you know, after a judge allowed Butler to avoid that 78 years in prison. Explain what happened here.
The Youthful Offender System
Yeah, I think there are a lot of misconceptions about how the system works. Anytime we’re talking about charging a minor with a crime when they were a minor at the time they committed it, there’s protection for that individual as well as protections for the victim and the public at large. So, I mean, the first interesting thing here regarding some concerns that maybe there was a sweet deal that was done is that the prosecutor, under Oklahoma law, this is the only offense that is rape in the first degree is the only offense where the prosecutor can decide whether to initially charge it as an adult or as a youthful offender.
And in this case, they decided to initially charge it as an adult. But that does give the defendant the right then to file for what we call reverse certification to be treated as either a youthful offender or as a juvenile. And they filed that motion. At that point, they can request a report that a youthful offender study has done. As part of that, there’s a psychological evaluation.
Factors Considered by the Court
And there are six different factors that they look into when the court decides, based on Oklahoma law, whether they should be treated as a youthful offender or not. That’s based on the age and maturity of the defendant, the nature and the seriousness of the crime, the prior record history of the defendant, the home environment, and the social background.
The amenability to rehabilitation is a big one. If they find that the defendant, the minor, is not going to be amenable to treatment, not going to be something that they can benefit from, they can resolve the concerns, then they’re not going to be a good candidate for a youthful offender program. Lastly, and most importantly, perhaps, is public safety. They do look into public safety and whether they believe that treatment with the Office of Juvenile Affairs and going through a program there is going to protect the public sufficiently.
Discussion and Implications
Obviously, there are a lot of facts in this case that are not available to the public. We don’t have the youthful offender study. We don’t have the psychological evaluation. We don’t have all the police reports. The people who do have all of that information would be the defense, the prosecutor, the judge, and the Office of Juvenile Affairs. They’re the ones that went in there, and they actually came to an agreement in this case, and we don’t necessarily know why, but this occurred back in July, way before there was any outrage, way before there was any 78-year sentence.
This occurred all before that on the motion to reverse certify as a youthful offender. There was an agreement between the prosecutor and the defense that was accepted by the judge based on the report from OJA that this defendant should be treated as a youthful offender. Subsequently, and as normally done in a youthful offender case, you’ve got two different potential sentences. You’ve got the adult sentence; if they don’t properly complete the program, in which case they can be blended into an adult sentence or bridged to an adult sentence.
The Role of a Youthful Offender Sentence
I want to make sure everybody understands that that 78-year sentence was determined already knowing that he was going to be treated as a youthful offender. Generally, that’s done to have a huge, heavy sentence hanging over his head to put him in a position where he must be fully compliant, so that he knows the seriousness of it. And again, that’s regarding all youthful offenders, not necessarily this case, so that the consequences are there. And suppose he screws up, does not complete it, or even if he does things well, but the court ultimately determines that the juvenile charge for the youthful offender loses jurisdiction before the age of 19, at that point. In that case, they have to decide whether he’s going to be bridged into that adult sentence of 78 years.
All right. So, James, with that 78-year sentence, though, is it possible that he will not have to serve any time in prison? Yeah, theoretically, that is possible. Right now, he’s under the control of OJA, going through a rehabilitation plan. And at some point, that’s going to come to an end because the court loses jurisdiction at 19. And then the court has to make the tough decision for a youthful offender on whether they’ve received sufficient rehabilitation and they’re not a danger to the public, or whether to bridge them into an adult sentence, which could have him serving that 78 years.
Community Concerns and Influence
Yeah, and I want to ask you, we’re running out of time, but Butler’s father is the former director of football operations at Oklahoma State University. We know that Oklahoma is a state where football is huge. Critics say that he’s being given preferential treatment because of that, saying that the justice system is failing the victims in this case. What is your take? Yeah, I mean, given the severity of the allegations, I can certainly understand that concern.
Without knowing what’s in all of the reports, it would be difficult to say. What I can say regarding favorable treatment is that the DA elected to file this as an adult, not a youthful offender, but then agreed that it should be treated as a youthful offender. I can also note that the judge, just in the way that they pronounced it, what the judge has said is that the court proceeds within the dictates of the Oklahoma Youthful Offenders Act. That seems to indicate either they were concerned that there could be some blowback and that they were wanting everyone to know I’m operating within the law here, or that could be the judge indicating my hands are a little bit tied here based on Oklahoma law because this person was 16 and a half or so when the crimes were committed. I’m a little bit tied under the law based on the facts to go with the youthful offender program. And so for now, though, Butler is walking free. Tulsa felony attorney James Wirth, based in Oklahoma, thank you so much for your time.
Explore Your Legal Options
If you have questions or need legal advice regarding a specific case, feel free to reach out to our office for a low-cost initial strategy session. Contact us at 918-879-1681 to take the first step towards understanding your legal rights and options.
