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American Morning

Sniper Trials: Case Against Muhammad

Aired October 31, 2003 - 07:16   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.


SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: It was a tough day for witnesses and jurors in the sniper trial. Graphic evidence and testimony against defendant John Allen Muhammad brought some jurors to tears yesterday.
Here's CNN's Jeanne Meserve.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A piece of lumber smacking the pavement. That's what William Franklin thought he heard in the Home Depot parking lot. Only later did he realize that the spray he felt on his face was his wife Linda's blood.

In court Thursday, his frantic 911 call was played. Panic pitched his voice so high the dispatcher first thought Franklin was a woman. He is heard sobbing and wailing, as he tells the dispatcher, "My wife, she's been shot in the head."

Defense attorneys strenuously objected to the use of the 911 tape, which moved two jurors to tears. A few members of the public were also in the courtroom.

TIM WALKER, WATCHED TRIAL: He was standing over the top of his wife, who had been shot, you know, directly in the head. And my heart went out for him and his family.

MESERVE: Gruesome crime scene and autopsy photographs showing portions of Franklin's head blown away were also exhibited, despite objections from the defense that they were prejudicial.

LAURENT PICHET, WATCHED TRIAL: I was very, very shocked, and you don't think a round, even a rifle round could do such damage to someone's skull.

MESERVE: Jurors were also shown the tarot card inscribed with the word, "Call me God," found at one shooting scene, and a note discovered at another, which demanded $10 million or prepare body bags.

(on camera): Sniper survivor Jeffrey Hopper testified how he and his wife had avoided stopping for food and gas in Washington, D.C. because of the sniper shootings. But when he stepped out of a restaurant in Ashland, Virginia, he heard a noise, felt a shock wave and realized he, too, had been shot.

Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Virginia Beach, Virginia. (END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: In the courtroom during this gut-wrenching day was "Washington Post" reporter Carol Morello, and she joins us from Virginia Beach this morning.

Carol, good morning. Thanks for joining us.

CAROL MORELLO, "WASHINGTON POST" REPORTER: Thank you, Soledad. Good morning.

O'BRIEN: Thank you very much.

Do you think it's fair to describe this as the most wrenching day so far in this trial?

MORELLO: So far, yes, it was gut-wrenching. You know, Paul Ebert, who's the prosecutor in the case, has a reputation of making the presence of the dead felt in the courtroom through testimony and photographs. And certainly yesterday was the most dramatic example.

He started out using -- having the daughter of Linda Franklin testify, and she gave this very poignant soliloquy about her mother, in which she talked about a single woman who had traveled around the world with her children as a school teacher teaching in Department of Defense schools until she met the love of her life, a Marine, in Okinawa. And they were married eight years ago. And anyone who is a mother or who is a daughter or who has one had to be touched by that.

O'BRIEN: Now, she had been...

MORELLO: And it was...

O'BRIEN: Forgive me, Carol. I'm going to interrupt you there for a second.

MORELLO: OK.

O'BRIEN: Because just from evidentiary rules, she wasn't an eyewitness in any way. So, is that basically the prosecutor's attempt, as you say, to bring the dead alive, to some degree, in the courtroom and make the impact of their loss felt?

MORELLO: Exactly. The objective is to make them seem human. And every time the defense objects, he claims that the defense is trying to dehumanize them.

O'BRIEN: Now, when you talk about the 911 tape, I understand that the judge actually warned the jurors ahead of time and told some of the spectators, who obviously are free to leave, that if they wanted to, they could leave the courtroom. Did some people leave?

MORELLO: Yes, some people left. Among them was Mr. Franklin himself, who had just stepped down from the stand. And some of the jurors were openly weeping. Several of them, all of them women, were openly weeping while hearing that. And, you know, it's very difficult to sit there and listen and watch this. You can't help but feeling that you are somewhat of a voyeur listening in on some intensely private moments in people's lives. It's very hard and very wrenching to listen to.

O'BRIEN: What was John Allen Muhammad's demeanor during all of this? I mean, it's fairly unusual to have jurors weeping openly in testimony, and certainly this is a week of very heavy and emotional testimony. What was his reaction to all of that?

MORELLO: Well, that's a good question. Obviously, we have no idea what's going through his mind. But as he sat and listened to this, his demeanor was exactly the same as it has been through two weeks of testimony. He sat like a statue, totally impassive. He generally sits with his chin cradled in the palm of his hand or with his hands clasped before his mouth. He betrays absolutely no emotion. We have no idea what he's thinking. He doesn't lift an eyebrow. He doesn't frown. There's nothing to give any indication for all intents and purposes on the outside. He appears to be the only person in the courtroom who's unmoved by this heart-wrenching testimony.

O'BRIEN: Carol Morello who writes for "The Washington Post" from Virginia Beach for us this morning. Thanks so much, Carol, for giving us a little insight into what was going on inside that courtroom. Appreciate it.

MORELLO: Thank you.

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 31, 2003 - 07:16   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: It was a tough day for witnesses and jurors in the sniper trial. Graphic evidence and testimony against defendant John Allen Muhammad brought some jurors to tears yesterday.
Here's CNN's Jeanne Meserve.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A piece of lumber smacking the pavement. That's what William Franklin thought he heard in the Home Depot parking lot. Only later did he realize that the spray he felt on his face was his wife Linda's blood.

In court Thursday, his frantic 911 call was played. Panic pitched his voice so high the dispatcher first thought Franklin was a woman. He is heard sobbing and wailing, as he tells the dispatcher, "My wife, she's been shot in the head."

Defense attorneys strenuously objected to the use of the 911 tape, which moved two jurors to tears. A few members of the public were also in the courtroom.

TIM WALKER, WATCHED TRIAL: He was standing over the top of his wife, who had been shot, you know, directly in the head. And my heart went out for him and his family.

MESERVE: Gruesome crime scene and autopsy photographs showing portions of Franklin's head blown away were also exhibited, despite objections from the defense that they were prejudicial.

LAURENT PICHET, WATCHED TRIAL: I was very, very shocked, and you don't think a round, even a rifle round could do such damage to someone's skull.

MESERVE: Jurors were also shown the tarot card inscribed with the word, "Call me God," found at one shooting scene, and a note discovered at another, which demanded $10 million or prepare body bags.

(on camera): Sniper survivor Jeffrey Hopper testified how he and his wife had avoided stopping for food and gas in Washington, D.C. because of the sniper shootings. But when he stepped out of a restaurant in Ashland, Virginia, he heard a noise, felt a shock wave and realized he, too, had been shot.

Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Virginia Beach, Virginia. (END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: In the courtroom during this gut-wrenching day was "Washington Post" reporter Carol Morello, and she joins us from Virginia Beach this morning.

Carol, good morning. Thanks for joining us.

CAROL MORELLO, "WASHINGTON POST" REPORTER: Thank you, Soledad. Good morning.

O'BRIEN: Thank you very much.

Do you think it's fair to describe this as the most wrenching day so far in this trial?

MORELLO: So far, yes, it was gut-wrenching. You know, Paul Ebert, who's the prosecutor in the case, has a reputation of making the presence of the dead felt in the courtroom through testimony and photographs. And certainly yesterday was the most dramatic example.

He started out using -- having the daughter of Linda Franklin testify, and she gave this very poignant soliloquy about her mother, in which she talked about a single woman who had traveled around the world with her children as a school teacher teaching in Department of Defense schools until she met the love of her life, a Marine, in Okinawa. And they were married eight years ago. And anyone who is a mother or who is a daughter or who has one had to be touched by that.

O'BRIEN: Now, she had been...

MORELLO: And it was...

O'BRIEN: Forgive me, Carol. I'm going to interrupt you there for a second.

MORELLO: OK.

O'BRIEN: Because just from evidentiary rules, she wasn't an eyewitness in any way. So, is that basically the prosecutor's attempt, as you say, to bring the dead alive, to some degree, in the courtroom and make the impact of their loss felt?

MORELLO: Exactly. The objective is to make them seem human. And every time the defense objects, he claims that the defense is trying to dehumanize them.

O'BRIEN: Now, when you talk about the 911 tape, I understand that the judge actually warned the jurors ahead of time and told some of the spectators, who obviously are free to leave, that if they wanted to, they could leave the courtroom. Did some people leave?

MORELLO: Yes, some people left. Among them was Mr. Franklin himself, who had just stepped down from the stand. And some of the jurors were openly weeping. Several of them, all of them women, were openly weeping while hearing that. And, you know, it's very difficult to sit there and listen and watch this. You can't help but feeling that you are somewhat of a voyeur listening in on some intensely private moments in people's lives. It's very hard and very wrenching to listen to.

O'BRIEN: What was John Allen Muhammad's demeanor during all of this? I mean, it's fairly unusual to have jurors weeping openly in testimony, and certainly this is a week of very heavy and emotional testimony. What was his reaction to all of that?

MORELLO: Well, that's a good question. Obviously, we have no idea what's going through his mind. But as he sat and listened to this, his demeanor was exactly the same as it has been through two weeks of testimony. He sat like a statue, totally impassive. He generally sits with his chin cradled in the palm of his hand or with his hands clasped before his mouth. He betrays absolutely no emotion. We have no idea what he's thinking. He doesn't lift an eyebrow. He doesn't frown. There's nothing to give any indication for all intents and purposes on the outside. He appears to be the only person in the courtroom who's unmoved by this heart-wrenching testimony.

O'BRIEN: Carol Morello who writes for "The Washington Post" from Virginia Beach for us this morning. Thanks so much, Carol, for giving us a little insight into what was going on inside that courtroom. Appreciate it.

MORELLO: Thank you.

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