Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live Today

Former Atlanta Area Sheriff to be Sentenced Today

Aired August 15, 2002 - 12:48   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: In a murder case that gained national attention, a former Atlanta area sheriff will learn his fate today. Sidney Dorsey will be sentenced for the murder of his successor, Sheriff-elect Derwin Brown.
CNN's Charles Molineaux joins us live from outside a suburban Atlanta court with more from there. Hi there, Charles.

CHARLES MOLINEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Daryn. Yes, Sidney Dorsey's sentencing hearing is actually set to get underway in just about an hour, and actually, it is only expected to take maybe less than an hour to figure out what to do with the sheriff who had the next sheriff killed.

Actually, it was two years ago last week that Derwin Brown was elected sheriff of DeKalb County, ran promising to clean out scandal and corruption in the sheriff's department, where the sheriff, Sidney Dorsey was accused of having his deputies on duty, and at taxpayers' expense, running errands for him and working in his private security company.

Brown was ambushed in his driveway in December of 2000, shot a dozen times. He was murdered actually three days before he was supposed to be sworn in as sheriff, and his murder was unsolved for almost a year until Dorsey was charged last November, and then convicted last month of murder, and 11 other counts, including racketeering and abuse of his office.

In his trial, one admitted accomplice, Patrick Cuffy, told -- testified that Brown's murder was the arrangement of Dorsey and him and three other men, set up having Brown killed. A friend of Dorsey's also testified that before the murder, Dorsey told him Brown would never take office, and that is what happened. Brown ended up being the first U.S. elected official in almost half a century to be elected and then not take office because he was assassinated.

Now today, Dorsey could be sentenced to as much as life plus 40 years behind bars. The judge is actually known for being tough and could be very well handing out the maximum sentence. This is supposed to get underway in about an hour from now. A big consideration, of course, is the fact that Dorsey was not only a sheriff, but also an Atlanta police officer for 30 years. That will be a challenge for corrections officials when he is sent away. Where exactly do they put him? Although, according to the folks from Georgia prisons that I talked to, they do have ways of evaluating, and unfortunately, there are already 91 ex-lawmen already in custody. This is something that they are accustomed to -- Martin (ph) -- Daryn. WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks very much, Charles. We will be getting back to you in about in hour as that sentencing is scheduled for then.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com