Man receives eight consecutive life sentences after kidnapping teenagers in Prattville

A man has been sentenced to eight consecutive life sentences after two teenage girls were kidnapped at gunpoint from a Walgreens in Prattville.

The kidnapping took place in November 2002. The victims were 17 years old. They survived and were returned to their families.

Prattville police then arrested Michael Jerome Butler of Greenville, who pleaded guilty to two counts of kidnapping, rape, sodomy, robbery and sexual torture in April.

Today, Autauga County Circuit Judge Joy Booth sentenced Butler to serve eight consecutive life sentences in the Alabama Department of Corrections.

Surveillance video from a gas station helped law enforcement identify Butler after the girls were released and share their statements with law enforcement.

Once identified, law enforcement learned that Butler had four felony convictions as part of his investigation. criminal history, according to District Attorney CJ Robinson.

Robinson says after committing the Autauga County crimes, Butler traveled to the Atlanta area. where he was involved in an armed home invasion, shooting, robbery and other crimes. The butler was also tracked to St. Clair County where he kidnapped and murdered a woman to close his crime spree.

Robinson says he was a vocal opponent of prison reform and used Butler's criminal history to paint a picture of what can happen when inmates are released prematurely without the supervision needed to follow them and maintain public safety.

“I am very proud of the work of the Prattville Police Department who led the multi-agency project efforts to apprehend this evil soul. Although Chief Thompson's officers did an extraordinary job, the real heroes are the two young women who lived through every parent's worst nightmare.

“Neither girl ever lost her will to survive. They are not victims, they are survivors. I have spent time with both girls and their families, and left each meeting with tears in my eyes. eye and inspired to keep fighting. Fighting for justice when people are victims and fight for policies that aim to protect us all.

Robinson said, “Unfortunately, when the state of Alabama went all-in on an experiment called prison reform in 2016, we committed to raising a generation of young people who saw their parents/guardians, older siblings, and friends face minimal to no faces consequences of criminal acts.

“Nearly a decade of failed leadership, lies from special sources Interest groups and reckless policies based on skewed statistics have infested our communities with drug dealers, thieves, violent offenders and sexual predators who continue to leave a trail of victims in their wake. We were regularly led to believe that our prisons were full of non-violent drug addicts while thousands were released with all types of backgrounds. conviction that you can imagine.

“Fortunately, the last two legislative sessions we have held great progress to begin to restore accountability and slow the revolving door of violent offenders are released into society after serving only a fraction of their sentence sentence. I couldn't ask for better senators and representatives than we have in Autauga, Chilton and Elmore Counties will unite and pursue policies and solutions focused on directly on public safety.

“The bottom line is simple…a monster like Michael Butler was in jail for his fourth felony by a South Alabama court, but was he released early without an ankle monitor. (which was obligatory) then failed to report for supervision. Butler came to our tour and began his reign of terror. There is no excuse, no justification and no dollar amount that can alleviate the sickening reality that these unspeakable acts of violence could have been avoid. »

— Information from District Attorney CJ Robinson’s Office