Publicizing an Unjust Murder Conviction
“Our campaign succeeded beyond expectations. Michael is very knowledgeable and tenacious, especially if the project has a social impact he believes in.”
The Project
Florida high school student Brent Bartholomew wanted to raise awareness of his 8-minute YouTube video documenting what he believed was the unjust murder conviction of Tennesse woman Angel Bumpass. Bumpass’s case had also been the subject of an A&E television show.
The Pitch
After speaking with Brent and watching his YouTube video, it was clear there were key facts that Angel Bumpass’s defense team, the trial judge, and the A&E producers overlooked.
We strategized that the best way to get the media’s attention was to highlight the novelty of a 17-year old spending a significant portion of his summer investigating a murder trial.
The Placements
We booked an interview for Brent with the USA Today-owned Naples Daily News, the main daily newspaper in Brent’s hometown of Naples, Florida. Nearly 1 million people visit the Daily News’ website each month. The paper subseuqently published a feature about Brent’s quest to bring attention to Angel’s case, which you can read here.
NBC 2 Fort Myers then sent a film crew and a correspondent to interview Brent at his home. NBC aired a 3-minute segment about Brent’s mission and published a profile online. You can see the segment here.