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CNN Live Today
Alabama Church Bombing Trial Begins; Interview with Mickey Johnson
Aired May 14, 2002 - 13:16 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: A very old and painful wound has been reopened in the state of Alabama.
71-year-old former Klansman on trial for the 1963 bombing of an African-American church in Birmingham that killed four young girls.
Brian Cabell live in Birmingham with the latest on that case there -- good afternoon.
BRIAN CABELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Bill.
We're at a lunch break right now, but the prosecution testimony has gotten underway. We have heard, first of all, from one of the mothers of one of the victims. She testified from a wheelchair very briefly. Also heard from a gentleman who was instrumental in integration efforts back in the 50s and 60s here in Birmingham, and we also heard from a TV cameraman who photographed one of the mob scenes that Mr. Cherry may have been involved in back in 1957.
As for Mr. Cherry himself, he is 71 years old, a former Ku Klux Klansman. He has said all along he was not involved in this, but all along he has been a target of this investigation, from back in early 60s, as a matter of fact. Two of other four have already been convicted. They have served time. They are serving time -- one is dead, one is serving time right now. A third of the Ku Klux Klansmen has never served time. He died back in 1994. So, Bobby Frank Cherry is the last of these four suspects. He is now on trial.
This trial expected to take about two weeks. Robert Posey, the prosecutor today, made his opening statements. He said that Cherry repeatedly has boasted of being involved in this bombing. He said he wore this crime on his chest like a badge of honor.
He said his only regret was that was more people had not died in the blast. Mickey Johnson is the defense attorney. He said that, I don't dispute what the Ku Klux Klan was capable of, but Bobby Cherry did not do this. He would not have boasted of this, you will not see a credible witness take the stand and tell you he would have boasted of this. The prosecution case is resting heavily, as we understand it, on family and friends of Mr. Cherry, people who will come forward and say Yes, Mr. Cherry repeatedly, over the last 30 or 40 years has said, I was involved in this. But again, the defense attorney is saying, you can't trust their credibility. In fact, with me right now -- let's bring him over here, this is Mickey Johnson.
First of all, is Mr. Cherry himself going to testify? Have you made that decision yet?
MICKEY JOHNSON, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, if we have made that decision, it is not one I would be willing to comment on at this time.
CABELL: You have mentioned in your opening today that you have a confidential informant who will be a key witness for you. Why will she be a key witness for you?
JOHNSON: Well, I think the jury -- one of the things that is bound to be on the jury's mind, one of the questions, I suppose, is why are we sitting here when we are this far down the road, and we have a specific individual identified. I would not normally -- that would usually be obvious in a prosecution's case. It won't be obvious in this case. This will be the first time that I have had to demonstrate to a jury why my client is being charged with a crime.
CABELL: What will this informant say, essentially?
JOHNSON: I don't know. I have never talked to her.
CABELL: But she will say that the FBI targeting of Mr. Cherry was totally wrong? Is that essentially what she will say?
JOHNSON: I don't know that she will comment on anything that the FBI did. She will comment on her information.
CABELL: And her information, you are saying, was a lie back in the mid-60s.
JOHNSON: Yes.
CABELL: And she told the FBI -- she told law enforcement authorities that Cherry was involved?
JOHNSON: She told them that initially, she also told them that she lied when she told them that initially.
CABELL: Have you have talked to this woman?
JOHNSON: No.
CABELL: Isn't it a risk, putting her on the stand, not knowing too much about her credibility?
JOHNSON: It is.
CABELL: Who else will we hear from, besides this confidential informant?
JOHNSON: Oh, I don't know. Those are decisions that I do not make. You plan for certain witnesses, whether they become necessary or expendable in the middle of a trial, you just have to remain flexible on that. Probably some explosives testimony, that type of thing, but other than that, I am not sure.
CABELL: Thank you very much. Mickey Johnson...
JOHNSON: Yes sir, you are welcome.
CABELL: ... defense attorney for Bobby Frank Cherry. Again, this case expected to last about two weeks. If convicted, Bobby Frank Cherry will face the rest of his life in prison -- Bill, back to you.
HEMMER: Brian, thank you.
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