TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Apr 21, 2026

Samuel Scott Minton, whose conviction was vacated in January 2025 after spending more than 30 years in prison, has sued Bradley County, former Bradley County Sheriff Dan Gilley, former detective William Burtt and the estate of former detective Anthony Benefield. Minton alleges that the officials violated his civil rights, engaged in coercion and fabricated evidence in his case, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports. The defendants deny wrongdoing. Minton was convicted in a 1994 jury trial following the rape and death of a Cleveland woman. He says he confessed to the crime without an attorney present but that many of his statements were made by a detective. The suit describes Minton at the time as a "vulnerable and functionally illiterate 20-year-old man with an intellectual disability." A confirmed alibi later proved that he was an hour away from the crime scene.