Murder of Scott Amedure
Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox person The murder of Scott Amedure occurred on March 9, 1995, at his mobile home in Lake Orion, Michigan. 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 of the tabloid talk show The Jenny Jones Show. Amedure had publicly revealed in the episode that he had a crush 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 shotgun, confronted Amedure at his home, and fired two shots into Amedure's chest. Schmitz called 911 to report the killing and he was subsequently arrested.
Schmitz was charged with first-degree murder. He utilized the gay panic defense, 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.
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. 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.<ref name="people">Template:Cite web</ref> He also experienced difficulties with relationships and he had past instances of domestic violence.<ref name="wapost">Template:Cite news</ref> Amedure worked as a bartender at Club Flamingo, a gay club in Pontiac, Michigan.<ref name="people"/> According to Amedure's neighbor Gayle Clinton, he "was a talk-show junkie."<ref name="wapost"/>
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 of Jonathan Schmitz, who lived near him in Lake Orion, Michigan. 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,<ref name="urlFatal Shooting Follows Surprise on TV Talk Show–New York Times">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="urlTalk-Show Host, Testifying at Murder Trial, Plays Down Her Role in Program–New York Times">Template:Cite news</ref> although the producers of the show claim that they did tell Schmitz that the admirer could be male or female.<ref name="auto">Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref> 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, "[t]he 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".<ref name="WaPo">Template:Cite news</ref>
Murder
According to footage of the murder trial, a friend of Amedure later stated that Amedure and Schmitz went out drinking together the night after the taping and an alleged sexual encounter occurred.<ref name="auto" /> According to testimony at the murder trial, three days after the taping, Amedure left a "suggestive" note at Schmitz's house.<ref name="urlTalk-Show Guest Is Guilty Of Second-Degree Murder–New York Times">Template:Cite news</ref> After finding the note, Schmitz withdrew money from a bank, purchased a shotgun, went to Amedure's mobile home, and asked Amedure if he 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, and confessed.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Criminal trial
At trial, defense attorneys argued that Schmitz, who had been diagnosed with manic depression (bipolar disorder) and Graves' disease, was caused to commit homicide by mental illness and humiliation, by way of the "gay panic defense".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Schmitz was released from prison on August 22, 2017, after being granted parole.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Civil trial
In 1995, Amedure's family filed a negligence lawsuit against The Jenny Jones Show, Telepictures, and Warner Bros. Represented by Geoffrey Fieger, 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Time Warner's defense attorney later claimed the verdict would cause a "chilling effect" on the industry.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> However, this judgment was later overturned by the Michigan Court of Appeals in a 2-to-1 decision.<ref name="urlMichigan Court of Appeals–Court Opinions">Template:Cite web</ref> The Michigan Supreme Court declined to hear the case.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The court held that the producers of The Jenny Jones Show were not liable for Schmitz's subsequent actions, which they deemed "unforeseeable".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Media coverage
The controversy was covered in the first episode of the Netflix series Trial by Media.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> 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".<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref> Also in 2021, the incident and a portion of the unaired The Jenny Jones Show episode was featured on an episode of VICE TV's docuseries Dark Side of the 90s.Template:Citation needed