JACKSONVILLE -- Gov. Jeb Bush on Wednesday named a special prosecutor to look into the prosecution of a teenager who was acquitted in the murder of a Georgia visitor.

Police say they now are developing evidence against two other suspects and have apologized to the teen, who is suing.

The governor appointed State Attorney Brad King of Ocala to look into the handling of the case of Brenton Butler, now 16, whom a jury found not guilty in the May 7 robbery and gun slaying of Mary Ann Stephens outside a hotel.

State Attorney Harry Shorstein and Sheriff Nat Glover both apologized last week to the youth, who claimed that the sheriff's son, Detective Michael Glover, bullied and threatened him into confessing to the crime. Butler was arrested after officers who saw him in the area after Stephens' slaying took him to the victim's husband, who said he was the killer. No weapon was found, nor any evidence that Butler had fired a gun.

Burning ban, low winds give firefighters a break

ORLANDO -- Florida fire officials on Wednesday reported the smallest number of new fires in 10 days and gave credit to a burning ban covering more than half the state and greater public awareness of the fire risk during the drought.

Fire officials reported 20 new fires covering 60 acres statewide early Wednesday, said Jim Harrell of the Division of Forestry.

"The burning ban is probably having some effect," Harrell said. "We haven't had really strong winds," he added.

The greatest fire activity was south and west of Orlando, where firefighters were monitoring eight blazes that posed no threat, including a 10,000-acre blaze that had closed a stretch of Interstate 4 for 10 days. It is fully contained now.

Florida Agriculture Secretary Terry Rhodes on Monday ordered an emergency ban of all outdoor burning, except for cooking in barbecue grills, in 39 of the 67 counties. The ban covers all of Florida south of Gainesville.

Home accident costs legislator a fingertip

MIAMI -- U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen severed the tip of a finger on her right hand when she slammed her daughter's bedroom door on it, then suffered a black eye after she realized her injury and fainted on a tile floor.

"I got out of bed really fast," Ros-Lehtinen said. "I was really light-headed -- I closed the door on my finger. It was a silly household accident."

The incident occurred Monday morning as she was getting her two daughters ready for school. Ros-Lehtinen ran to the kitchen to get ice, saw that the fingertip was gone and fell to the floor, causing the black eye and cutting her lower lip and chin.

Doctors at Baptist Hospital in west Miami-Dade County were unable to reattach the fingertip. They instead grafted it to her right palm. The congresswoman said she expects to have more surgery done in several weeks.

No link found between two meningitis cases

BRADENTON -- Manatee County health officials on Wednesday ruled out a possible link between two recent cases of bacterial meningitis, one of which was fatal.

Health officials had wondered whether the father of an 18-year-old Bayshore High School girl stricken with the disease might have inadvertently transferred the bacteria to a Bradenton teen who died of the disease Friday. The girl's father works as a cook at the Bollettieri Sports Academy, where the 13-year-old boy lived and attended tennis classes.

But tests on the father came back negative, said Manatee County's chief epidemiologist.

The girl is recovering at Blake Memorial Hospital.

A private memorial service for the boy was held Wednesday.

Authorities have refused to publicly identify the two teens.

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Lucy Morgan

From the Times state desk