The murder of Scott Amedure occurred on March 9, 1995, at his mobile home in

Lake Orion, Michigan Lake Orion ( ) is a village in the northern outskirts of Metro Detroit in Oakland County, Michigan, United States. The population was 2,973 at the 2010 census. "Lake Orion" can refer to either the village or the much larger Orion Township, of w ...

. The 32-year-old was killed by 24-year-old Jonathan Schmitz, three days after the men appeared as guests for the taping of an

episode An episode is a narrative unit within a larger dramatic work or documentary production, such as a serial (radio and television), series intended for radio, television or Streaming media, streaming consumption. Etymology The noun ''episode'' is ...

of the

tabloid talk show A tabloid talk show is a subgenre of the talk show genre that emphasizes controversial and sensationalistic topical subject matter. The subgenre originated in the United States and achieved peak viewership from the mid-1980s through the end of th ...

The Jenny Jones Show ''The Jenny Jones Show'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Jenny Jones. The show ran for twelve seasons from September 16, 1991, to May 21, 2003, in which it broadcast over 2,000 episodes. Taped at the NBC Towe ...

''. Amedure had publicly revealed in the episode that he had a

crush Crush may refer to: * Infatuation or limerence, the romantic attraction to another person * Puppy love, feelings of love, romance, or infatuation felt by young people Crush may also refer to: Film * Crush (1972 film), ''Crush'' (1972 film), a H ...

on Schmitz, who claimed that he was straight but flattered by the revelation. On the morning of March 9, Amedure left a sexually suggestive note on Schmitz's apartment doorstep. In response, Schmitz purchased a

12-gauge The gauge (in American English or more commonly referred to as bore in British English) of a firearm is a unit of measurement used to express the inner diameter (bore diameter) and other necessary parameters to define in general a smoothbore barr ...

shotgun A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, peppergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge (firearms), cartridge known as a shotshell, which discharges numerous small ...

, confronted Amedure at his home, and fired two shots into Amedure's chest. Schmitz called

911 911, 9/11 or Nine Eleven may refer to: Dates * AD 911 * 911 BC * September 11 ** The 2001 September 11 attacks on the United States by al-Qaeda, commonly referred to as 9/11 ** 11 de Septiembre, Chilean coup d'état in 1973 that ousted the ...

to report the killing and he was subsequently arrested. Schmitz was charged with

first-degree murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse committed with the necessary intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisdiction. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse ...

. He utilized the

gay panic defense The gay panic defense or homosexual advance defense is a victim blaming strategy of legal defense, which refers to a situation in which a heterosexual individual charged with a violent crime against a same-sex attracted individual claims they ...

, in which he claimed that he killed Amedure over embarrassment about the revelation of a same-sex crush. Schmitz was found guilty of

second-degree murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse committed with the necessary intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisdiction. ("The killing of another person without justification or excus ...

. The Amedure family sued ''The Jenny Jones Show'' for wrongful death, although the show was ultimately found to not be liable. Amedure and Schmitz's appearance on ''The Jenny Jones Show'' was shelved, although it was later shown to jurors during the civil trial against ''The Jenny Jones Show''.

Background

Scott Bernard Amedure was born on January 26, 1963, the youngest of six children to Frank Amedure and Patricia Graves. Aged seventeen, Amedure dropped out of high school to join the

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

. He served in the Air Force for four years before he returned to Michigan. Amedure had a history of substance abuse, for which he entered rehabilitation programs twice. He also experienced difficulties with relationships and he had past instances of domestic violence. Amedure worked as a bartender at Club Flamingo, a gay club in

Pontiac, Michigan Pontiac ( ') is a city in and the county seat of Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located roughly northwest of downtown Detroit, Pontiac is part of the Metro Detroit, Detroit metropolitan area, and is vari ...

. According to Amedure's neighbor Gayle Clinton, he "was a talk-show junkie." On March 6, 1995, Amedure was a guest on an episode of ''The Jenny Jones Show'' titled " Revealing Same Sex Secret Crush", in which he admitted to being a

secret admirer A secret admirer is an individual who feels adoration, fondness or love for another person without disclosing their identity to that person, and who might send gifts or love letters to their Puppy love, crush. Grade school The goal of a secret a ...

of Jonathan Schmitz, who lived near him in

. Until the taping, Schmitz did not know who would be revealed as his secret admirer. Schmitz stated that he participated in the show due to curiosity, and he claimed later that the producers implied that his admirer was a woman, although the producers of the show claim that they did tell Schmitz that the admirer could be male or female. During the segment, Amedure was encouraged by Jones to share his fantasies about Schmitz, after which Schmitz was brought onstage. According to ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', " e two men exchanged an awkward embrace before the host dropped her bombshell." In response to Amedure's disclosure, Schmitz laughed, then stated that he was "definitely heterosexual".

Murder

According to footage of the murder trial, it was stated later by a friend of Amedure's that Amedure and Schmitz went out drinking together the night after the taping and an alleged sexual encounter occurred. According to the testimony at the murder trial, three days after the taping, Amedure left a "suggestive" note at Schmitz's house. After finding the note, Schmitz withdrew money from a bank, purchased a

, and then went to Amedure's mobile home. He then asked Amedure if he was the one that left the note. According to court documents, Amedure responded with a smile. Schmitz then returned to his car, got his gun, and returned to Amedure's trailer. He then shot Amedure twice in the chest, killing him. After killing Amedure, Schmitz left the residence, telephoned

9-1-1 911, sometimes written , is an emergency telephone number for Argentina, Canada, the Dominican Republic, Fiji, Jordan, Mexico, Pakistan, Maldives, Palau, Panama, Iraq, the Philippines, Sint Maarten, the United States, and Uruguay, as well as ...

, and confessed to the killing.

Criminal trial

At trial, defense attorneys argued that Schmitz, who had been diagnosed with

manic depression Bipolar disorder (BD), previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that each last from days to weeks, and in some cases months. If the elevated m ...

(bipolar disorder) and

Graves' disease Graves' disease, also known as toxic diffuse goiter or Basedow's disease, is an autoimmune disease that affects the thyroid. It frequently results in and is the most common cause of hyperthyroidism. It also often results in an enlarged thyro ...

, was caused to commit homicide by mental illness and humiliation, by way of the "

". Schmitz was found guilty of second-degree murder in 1996 and sentenced to 25–50 years in prison, but his conviction was overturned on appeal. Upon retrial, he was found guilty of the same charge once again and his sentence was reinstated. Schmitz was released from prison on August 22, 2017, after being granted parole.

Civil trial

In 1995, Amedure's family filed a negligence lawsuit against ''The Jenny Jones Show'',

Telepictures Telepictures (also known as Telepictures Productions; formerly known as Telepictures Distribution and Telepictures Corporation) is an American television show and filmmaking company, currently operating as a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Entertainmen ...

, and

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

Represented by

Geoffrey Fieger Geoffrey Fieger is an American attorney based in Southfield, Michigan. Fieger is the founder of the law firm Fieger Law, and is an occasional legal commentator for NBC and MSNBC. His practice focuses on personal injury, civil rights litigation ...

, Amedure's family alleged that producers of the show "ambushed" Schmitz through the revelation of a same-sex crush and that they should have known the segment would result in violence. In May 1999, the jury awarded the Amedures $29,332,686.

Time Warner Warner Media, LLC ( doing business as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate owned by AT&T. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City. It was established as Time Warne ...

's defense attorney later claimed the verdict would cause a "

chilling effect In a legal context, a chilling effect is the inhibition or discouragement of the legitimate exercise of natural and legal rights by the threat of legal sanction. A chilling effect may be caused by legal actions such as the passing of a law, th ...

" on the industry. However, this judgment was later overturned by the

Michigan Court of Appeals The Michigan Court of Appeals is the intermediate-level appellate court of the state of Michigan. It was created by the Michigan Constitution of 1963, and commenced operations in 1965. Its opinions are reporter (law), reported both in an officia ...

in a 2-to-1 decision. The

Michigan Supreme Court The Michigan Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is Michigan's court of last resort and consists of seven justices. The Court is located in the Michigan Hall of Justice at 925 Ottawa Street in Lansing, the s ...

declined to hear the case. The court held that ''The Jenny Jones Show'' were not liable for Schmitz's subsequent actions, which they deemed "unforeseeable".

Media coverage

The controversy was also covered as the first episode in the Netflix series ''

Trial by Media Trial by media is a phrase popular in the late 20th century and early 21st century to describe the impact of television and newspaper coverage on a person's reputation by creating a widespread perception of guilt or innocence before, or after, a ...

''. In 2021, the controversy was covered in season 6 of the series ''How It Really Happened'' on the US TV network HLN in an episode titled "The Jenny Jones Show: Fatal Attraction". Also in 2021, the incident and a portion of the unaired ''The Jenny Jones Show'' episode was featured on an episode of

VICE TV Vice TV (also known as Vice on TV, or simply Vice, and formerly known as Viceland) is an American basic cable television channel that launched on February 29, 2016. It is a part of the Viceland family of television channels programmed by Vice Me ...

docuseries Television documentaries are televised media productions that screen documentaries. Television documentaries exist either as a television documentary series or as a television documentary film. * Television documentary series, sometimes called d ...

'' Dark Side of the 90s''.

References

External links

Court Opinion – Majority Authored Published

Court Opinion – Dissenting

Overthrown due to Bias

Several articles regarding the Appeals Court Ruling from The Oakland Press

Equality Michigan – LGBT Rights Organization
*
Jonathan Schmitz at the Michigan Dept. of Corrections
{{DEFAULTSORT:Amedure, Scott 1995 in LGBTQ history 1995 in Michigan 1995 murders in the United States American murder victims Deaths by firearm in Michigan LGBTQ history in Michigan March 1995 crimes in the United States People murdered in Michigan Violence against gay men in the United States