Prosecuting Breonna Taylor's Killers

As a former prosecutor, Georgetown Law Professor Paul Butler says there is a clear criminal case against the police officers who killed Breonna Taylor on March 13, 2020. In a new video, Butler delivers the opening statement he would give if prosecuting the case in Kentucky.

In the video Butler discusses: Charges. Butler says the evidence warrants three charges against three Louisville police officers: second-degree manslaughter, reckless homicide, and complicity.

The no-knock warrant. “[Police] said didn't need a no-knock warrant for Breonna because she posed no threat. But what they did was the worst of all, it was the most reckless they knocked, but they didn't announce.”

Possible claims of self-defense. “[T]he judge is going to tell you that the law in Kentucky is: you can't use a gun in self-defense that puts innocent people in danger.”

Consciousness of guilt. “There's a legal term for why these three men wrote a police report full of lies. There's a legal term for why these men did not use their cameras when they killed Breonna Taylor, that term is called ‘consciousness of guilt.’ These officers didn't want anybody to see what they were doing.”

Here is a quote from Butler explaining why he made the video: “Breonna Taylor has made the cover of Vanity Fair and O magazines, and many Americans, including Kamala Harris and LeBron James, have pushed for charges against the police officers involved in her death. As a former prosecutor I think it’s past time that the cops involved in her death be brought to justice. I’m concerned that Daniel Cameron, the Kentucky Attorney General who spoke at the RNC convention, will be guided by politics, not justice. I made this video to demonstrate that Cameron has no excuse not to do his job.”