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CNN Live At Daybreak
Coffey Talk: Sniper Suspect's Trial
Aired October 14, 2003 - 06:34 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.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It was an excruciating three weeks for those who live in and around D.C., snipers cutting down people, 10 in all died. Well, this morning, one year later, perhaps justice.
Suspect John Allen Muhammad goes on trial. The trial will take place in Virginia Beach, and today jury selection begins.
So, it's time for some "Coffey Talk" on the sniper trial. Live on the phone, our legal analyst, Kendall Coffey.
Good morning -- Kendall.
KENDALL COFFEY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Hey, good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: First off, how hard will it be to seat a jury?
COFFEY: Well, it's going to be very tough. That's why the judge has got 140 people called in, and hopes to get 15, which would include three alternates.
But certainly, they hope that by moving it 200 miles from the scene of those horrific crimes there is going to be some better hope of getting people with at least a little bit of an open mind on these crimes.
COSTELLO: You know, Kendall, it appears the evidence against Muhammad is overwhelming, but it's mostly circumstantial, isn't it?
COFFEY: Well, it's circumstantial, but awfully powerful. The real key to the defense is going to be their theory that even if Muhammad's participation was sufficient to make him guilty of the crime of murder, unless it can be shown that he's the triggerman he can't be sentenced to death. The prosecution disagrees with that.
Meanwhile, Malvo, whose fingerprints do appear on the gun that was used as the murder weapon, will be going to trial next month and pleading that he was insane, dominated, indoctrinated and brainwashed by John Muhammad.
COSTELLO: But you've mentioned that this is a death penalty case, and you also mentioned that unless he can prove the guy pulled the trigger, it will be difficult for him to get the death penalty. But this time, he's also charged under a new antiterrorism provision. Tell us about that.
COFFEY: Well, that's critical. The prosecution says that even without the antiterrorism provision, Muhammad was the captain of the killing team. That's enough.
But the untested antiterrorism law is going to be a key thing from a legal standpoint. What it means is if you murder while terrorizing a community, you can be put to death for it. One of the reasons for the venue transfer, they wanted to get the case away from the community that was being terrorized in accordance with that antiterrorism law.
COSTELLO: I was just wondering, because we've had conflicting reports this morning, will his alleged accomplice testify?
COFFEY: He's not going to testify. They already had a preliminary hearing, where he took the Fifth Amendment. But there are going to be considerable controversies in evidentiary battles over the use of some of Malvo's statement, bearing in mind that, of course, Muhammad really wants to show that this guy was the real triggerman. He thinks that's critical to his defense in possibly avoiding the death penalty.
COSTELLO: All right, Kendall Coffey, thanks for joining us live on DAYBREAK this morning live on the phone from Miami.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired October 14, 2003 - 06:34 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It was an excruciating three weeks for those who live in and around D.C., snipers cutting down people, 10 in all died. Well, this morning, one year later, perhaps justice.
Suspect John Allen Muhammad goes on trial. The trial will take place in Virginia Beach, and today jury selection begins.
So, it's time for some "Coffey Talk" on the sniper trial. Live on the phone, our legal analyst, Kendall Coffey.
Good morning -- Kendall.
KENDALL COFFEY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Hey, good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: First off, how hard will it be to seat a jury?
COFFEY: Well, it's going to be very tough. That's why the judge has got 140 people called in, and hopes to get 15, which would include three alternates.
But certainly, they hope that by moving it 200 miles from the scene of those horrific crimes there is going to be some better hope of getting people with at least a little bit of an open mind on these crimes.
COSTELLO: You know, Kendall, it appears the evidence against Muhammad is overwhelming, but it's mostly circumstantial, isn't it?
COFFEY: Well, it's circumstantial, but awfully powerful. The real key to the defense is going to be their theory that even if Muhammad's participation was sufficient to make him guilty of the crime of murder, unless it can be shown that he's the triggerman he can't be sentenced to death. The prosecution disagrees with that.
Meanwhile, Malvo, whose fingerprints do appear on the gun that was used as the murder weapon, will be going to trial next month and pleading that he was insane, dominated, indoctrinated and brainwashed by John Muhammad.
COSTELLO: But you've mentioned that this is a death penalty case, and you also mentioned that unless he can prove the guy pulled the trigger, it will be difficult for him to get the death penalty. But this time, he's also charged under a new antiterrorism provision. Tell us about that.
COFFEY: Well, that's critical. The prosecution says that even without the antiterrorism provision, Muhammad was the captain of the killing team. That's enough.
But the untested antiterrorism law is going to be a key thing from a legal standpoint. What it means is if you murder while terrorizing a community, you can be put to death for it. One of the reasons for the venue transfer, they wanted to get the case away from the community that was being terrorized in accordance with that antiterrorism law.
COSTELLO: I was just wondering, because we've had conflicting reports this morning, will his alleged accomplice testify?
COFFEY: He's not going to testify. They already had a preliminary hearing, where he took the Fifth Amendment. But there are going to be considerable controversies in evidentiary battles over the use of some of Malvo's statement, bearing in mind that, of course, Muhammad really wants to show that this guy was the real triggerman. He thinks that's critical to his defense in possibly avoiding the death penalty.
COSTELLO: All right, Kendall Coffey, thanks for joining us live on DAYBREAK this morning live on the phone from Miami.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
