WRONGFULLY IMPRISONED MAN SUES BRADLEY COUNTY AFTER 31 YEARS BEHIND BARS
Samuel Scott Minton, a Dayton, Tennessee, man who spent over 31 years in prison after his 1994 convictions for aggravated rape and related crimes stemming from a 1993 home invasion in Bradley County, has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Bradley County, former Sheriff Dan Gilley, and former detectives Anthony Benefield and William Burtt.
The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Chattanooga, alleges that the defendants violated Minton’s rights under the Fourth, Fifth, and 14th Amendments through coercive interrogation tactics, fabricated evidence, a coerced false confession, and suggestive identification procedures that ignored his strong alibi—supported by 18 witnesses and time-stamped receipts placing him an hour away in Rhea County at the time of the crime.
Minton, who was a vulnerable 20-year-old with intellectual disabilities and functional illiteracy when arrested, confessed without an attorney after prolonged questioning where detectives allegedly fed him crime details. His convictions were vacated in December 2024 by Hamilton County Criminal Court Judge Amanda Dunn based on new scientific evidence regarding false confessions and flawed eyewitness identifications, with charges dismissed in January 2025.
Now 53, Minton seeks compensatory and punitive damages, plus fees and costs, for the decades lost to wrongful incarceration, during which he missed family relationships, employment opportunities, and personal milestones. The lawsuit emphasizes the devastating impact of the alleged misconduct, stating that the defendants’ actions ruined his life. As of mid-December 2025, the defendants had not been served or responded to comment requests.
