Return to Transcripts main page

Legal View with Ashleigh Banfield

David Sweat's Condition; Sweat Talks to Authorities; Greece Shuts Down Banks. Aired 12-12:30p ET

Aired June 29, 2015 - 12:00   ET

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

[12:00:00] MACHADO: Definitely something that is raising concern, but at this point authorities aren't linking these.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Alina Machado for us. Thanks so much, Alina.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Something to definitely watch throughout the week.

Thank you all for joining us "AT THIS HOUR" today.

BERMAN: LEGAL VIEW with Ashleigh Banfield starts right now.

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone, I'm Ashleigh Banfield. Welcome to LEGAL VIEW.

We begin hour in upstate New York. Escaped killer David Sweat is back in custody and a sense of relief and a spirit of gratitude has rolled right across the entire community for the officials who worked tirelessly to make that a reality. This morning in Malone, New York, thank you signs on the local Dairy Queen, the McDonald's and pretty much anything else that could put together the letters. After a 22-day manhunt, Sweat is no longer a dangerous threat to that community or to any of the neighboring towns. Instead, he is in serious condition at the Albany Medical Center and a team of specialists is involved in his care. Yes, I said "serious," not critical. He's apparently doing a little bit better.

The nightmare ended with one lone officer, and you're looking at him. New York State Police Sergeant Jay Cook. It was Officer Cook who spotted Sweat near a barn in Constable, New York, just two miles from the Canadian border. But when Sweat took off running, Sergeant Cook took off after him and shot him twice in the torso. The other deal has been emotionally draining for all parties, and that includes David Sweat's mother, Pamela Sweat. She gave an exclusive interview to TWC News in Binghamton to share her thoughts on her son's capture and the nerve-wracking manhunt.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAMELA SWEAT, DAVID SWEAT'S MOTHER: It was really rough. With me, I couldn't hardly sleep at night. And every time one of the cars would move, I'd be jumpy. Just hoping that he would turn himself in. I felt like a big lift was off my shoulders that he was captured and he is alive. He's been in jail all this time. He should have just stayed there instead of leaving with that other guy.

You know, my son knows that if he would have came here, I would have knocked him out and had them guys take him to jail by themselves because that's just the way I am. I've always done it to him when he was bad. He always got in trouble and every time he did, I would grab him by the ear and take him to the police station. I just want to know what's the matter we my son.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: His mother, Pamela Sweat.

Our Sara Ganim is live outside of the Albany Medical Center where Sweat is now holed up. Polo Sandoval is live in Malone, where all of that went down. And Jean Casarez joins me from Plattsburgh, where the prison guard, Gene Palmer, is expected to appear in court for his alleged participation in some of this. That will happen this afternoon.

So I begin with you, Sara, at the hospital. Up until yesterday, that hospital behind you never thought for a moment it was going to have a dangerous killer as one of its patients. What did they do about the security situation and how many guards are effectively bedside and ward side and outside that hospital?

SARA GANIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ashleigh, they do have a trained security team here. He was brought here because of their level one trauma center, but they are well equipped to handle a prisoner like David Sweat and he is being guarded. He's in a secure area of the hospital. He's being guarded not just by law enforcement, but also by hospital staff keeping a close eye on him 24/7, presumably, while he is being treated.

We know that his condition has been upgraded from critical, which it was last night when he arrived, to serious now. We know that he did not have to undergo any surgical procedures, but he is being closely monitored and hospital staff are telling us that they expect him to continue to be here for a few more day, Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: And are the investigators trying to talk to him to get any information? I'm not sure where he is in his Miranda at this point, but are they trying to find out what happened?

GANIM: Absolutely. Authorities have said that they are happy that he survived this, that he's alive. They hope that he recovers. They want to talk to him. They want to know, not just how did they pull off this brazen escape, but were there others, aside from the two who have already been charged, that helped him. State police saying this morning that he is beginning to speak, but it's unclear if he's speaking to authorities, if he's actually being interviewed. That's not clear yet. Of course, we do expect that in the coming days, Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: A couple of details about his dead co-conspirator. What is the story about Richard Matt and the condition that they found him in once they gunned him down? GANIM: Yes, that's right. A law enforcement source telling Alexandra

Field, one of our correspondents, that Richard Matt was - wreaked of alcohol at the time that he was shot dead. As they approached, they could smell alcohol from several feet away. There's also the presumption that he was ill based on some evidence that he had either fallen ill from drinking or eating something bad, Ashleigh. So that's what we're learning.

[12:05:20] Of course we know, you know, these two men were out in very rough terrain. They were - it was the definition of roughing it. We know that David Sweat, when he was found, he had bug spray on him. He had masks. He was trying to figure out how to live in this terrain. It was very difficult.

Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: Richard Matt, sick and drunk upon his death. What a life not lived.

Sara Ganim, stand by for a moment.

Polo Sandoval, if you could pick up the story from there in the field where this happened. It is just remarkable what Sergeant Jay Cook did when you think he was alone on patrol in the incredibly remote place where you are. Pick up the story from there and walk me through some of the details we're getting on this takedown.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ashleigh, you touched on a very important point here. Nearly 1,200 officers canvassing the area here for the last three weeks and yet this all ended with a single confrontation between two men that New York State Police officer and cop killer David Sweat. And it all played out right here in this field.

And let me show you exactly what this officer is now telling New York Governor Andrew Cuomo that went down yesterday afternoon. That Police Sergeant Jay Cook saying that he was on patrol on the road, which only is about 50 yards in front of me, when he noticed a suspicious individual (INAUDIBLE) identified him as David Sweat. That's when Sweat made a clear break for the tree line that you see off in the distance here.

Two main key things that were playing out in the officer's mind according to what the governor is saying. He was worried that if he made it to that tree line, he could potentially blend in, in those dense woods and slip out of reach. The other concern here, Ashleigh, if you were a - if you were to trek through those woods, make it out the other end, the U.S./Canadian border is only another mile and a half or so. So now investigators have reason to believe that David Sweat was desperate and willing to try to make it across that international boundary.

And so what we're now learning is that that officer basically got down on one knee, drew his weapon and then fired at least two times hitting David Sweat in the back, disabling him, injuring him and then putting those handcuffs on. Those two shots, Ashleigh, was really the beginning of the end of this intense manhunt and this nightmare for the people in this upstate New York community.

BANFIELD: Polo, it's not lost on anyone that the guy he shot and then took in alive is a cop killer, a cop killer, and he's been taken in by cops. Are there any police officers commenting on the immense satisfaction, not just in getting an inmate, a dangerous inmate and putting him behind bars, but getting the guy that killed one of their own?

SANDOVAL: You know, interesting that you ask, Ashleigh. I specifically spoke to the sheriff of Broom County, New York, which is a good four hours south of here. Keep in mind that Dave Sweat was actually serving time for shooting and killing a Broom County sheriff's deputy back in 2002. The sheriff there telling us that really his - the family of that deputy, Kevin Tarsia, overjoyed knowing that this individual is going back behind bars. And, of course, this weekend, on the anniversary of his death, they plan to reflect on what happened in this field just about 24 hours ago.

BANFIELD: All right, I want to go to our Jean Casarez, if I can for a moment, Polo. And that is the other part of this puzzle, which is those who may have helped the two get away.

So back to the guards, Jean Casarez. Gene Palmer expected to make an appearance today. Where are we at in his process?

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're right here at the courthouse. And this is the courthouse of the township of Plattsburgh. And the clerk has told us that today's proceeding is simply called a court appearance.

But, Ashleigh, we're getting some new information right now in that I do want to say it is of a legal nature. Apparently David Sweat is beginning to talk to authorities, saying that Joyce Mitchell was going to pick them up. And this is the value of having someone that is alive because they are going to be able to add and fill in the pieces. And also saying at the same point of time that he and David - he and the other inmate were together up until about five days ago, Richard Matt, until Richard Matt said that David Sweat was bogging him down and so they separated.

But that information then could be used in a court of law. Today it's all about Gene Palmer, because that's the defendant that is expected to be here at 4:00 this afternoon. Now, last week's proceeding was continued to today because he has a brand new attorney. But he is the prison guard that has been charged with three felonies and one misdemeanor. Promoting prison contraband is the highest degree felony that he has and that is because of bringing in -- and I say bringing in because he already made a statement to the New York State Police admitting that he did it - pliers and other tools inside the prison for Matt and Sweat, and then also tampering with physical evidence, paintings that Matt and Sweat had given to him that he allegedly burned and buried after they both escaped and then, obviously, obstructing justice. That charge because of everything that this has to do with.

[12:10:16] Now, this is a very low court. He has a brand new attorney out of Albany, William Drier (ph). It will be the first time that anybody gets to see him. But we will see how this case proceeds in light of the fact we now know that David Sweat is talking and may help or not help this defendant, Gene Palmer.

BANFIELD: And you may wonder how much you can believe about him, but my goodness, Jean Casarez, this detail about how Sweat left Matt behind because he was dragging him down and now we learn that Matt was sick and drunk and that's why he was shot dead and maybe that would have been the fate of Sweat as well. So Jean Casarez reporting for us live. Thank you for that.

So if David Sweat survives the wounds that he has, and, quite frankly, he's been upgraded from critical now to serious, how else do you go ahead and punish the guy? I mean what more can you give someone than life without the possibility of parole? Turns out, plenty. Find out in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BANFIELD: And our breaking news coming to us from a hospital bed where David Sweat, who is newly admitted to the Albany Hospital, is apparently talking and giving a few details about that manhunt in which for 23 days a thousand officers at the minimum were on the hunt looking for him. He's now saying that the plan originally was to break out of the prison and have that employee, Joyce Mitchell, pick them up and take them to Mexico. Apparently when she did not show up, Sweat and Matt knew right away they had to improvise. So all those guessing games were right. They were on the run and doing whatever they could as they went.

[12:15:20] Here's something else that he told investigators. Apparently he was with Richard Matt up until just five days ago, but then decided to leave him behind because David Sweat thought that Richard Matt, the one who was shot dead, was slowing him down. We got some information earlier today that apparently Richard Matt, on the left, when he was shot dead, they were able to determine he was not only drunk, or at least had been drinking, but was also sick. So perhaps that is the why - that is the reason that David Sweat left him behind. But he is talking to authorities and so far the information seems pretty rich.

For the legal view on what lies ahead now and what we can even believe from this person, I want to bring in HLN legal analyst and defense attorney Joey Jackson and CNN legal analyst and defense attorney Danny Cevallos.

So, clearly the details are important because there are two people whose cases depend on what these facts and witness and evidence patterns will be.

JOEY JACKSON, HLN LEGAL ANALYST: No doubt.

BANFIELD: How can you believe a man like this? JACKSON: That's the million-dollar question. I think there's a couple

of things that are very important. The one thing is to get him to speak, of course, and you want him to speak. He's in stable condition, and so therefore, you know, you want that to occur.

The other thing is that to vet every single thing that this person tells you because they're not the most - he's not the most honorable individual in the world based upon what he does. And so based upon what he has done and what he just did. And so I think what they're going to do, that is investigators, is speak to him but vet the story very thoroughly. If he has vendettas against corrections officer or other civilians in that jail, what is not to prevent him from saying something which is absolutely not true. So just vet exactly what he tells you to make sure the information is reliable.

BANFIELD: He's sitting in a hospital bed right now, presumably chained pretty darn good, more than the average con that has to go in for some treatment before he gets processed, but what is the incentive for that guy to talk to investigators? What more can you take from him? He's in for life without parole.

DANNY CEVALLOS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Oh, it won't be about when he gets out, but it will be about his treatment and his privileges while he serves his time. And there is a - people who don't realize this. There's a very wide variety of privileges you can have. Everything up from special housing unit, the shoe, as it's called, all the way down to where these two inmates were, which was honor housing. Keep in mind, these two were both killers, but they had worked their way in the New York prison system and earned their way up to honor housing.

So this is a man who has been very accustomed to some privileges to, in prison life, relatively speaking, a decent life. He's been able to live cooking burgers on a stove and probably access to TV. So the question becomes, what do you dangle in front of him to extract this information? And the answer is, there's quite a bit. They could dangle all kinds of privileges in front of him and get him out of - say, out of the shoe earlier than would be expected. As it is now, he's looking at - at least seven years consecutive by law added on to his sentence. But as you pointed out, to many people psychologically adding seven to infinity is still infinity.

JACKSON: Right.

BANFIELD: (INAUDIBLE).

JACKSON: Yes, just briefly on that. Just as a follow-up, briefly.

BANFIELD: Real quick.

JACKSON: I mean from a prosecution perspective, seven years adding on to your life, that doesn't do anything.

BANFIELD: Yes.

JACKSON: But privileges, even something as basic as visits, we'll give you more visits, or we'll cut away your visits, that's going to be very huge.

BANFIELD: Commissary.

JACKSON: Or recreation. You want to be out of that cell. You want to - I mean you can't really enjoy prison, but certainly you want to have as much of it accommodating life as you possibly can.

BANFIELD: And who knows how much leeway they have with the shoe, with solitary, because if that dude goes back, my guess is he's going back for a lot of time in solitary after all of this.

Guys, thank you. Appreciate it, both of you.

JACKSON: Thank you, Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: So there's something else that's going on that you may have been paying some attention to but it's getting real big. We're going to keep you updated on what's happening with the prison escapees and the news as we get it, but banks are shutting down and long lines at gas stations are forming. ATMs are running dry and people are desperate to get cash out and they can't. This is happening in Greece. It's a big tourist destination for Americans. It's not what you think, though. This could actually hit your wallet and your investments and your 401(k). Why is little Greece having such a massive impact?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:22:53] BANFIELD: Imagine for a moment the United States government just shut down all banks in this country for a week and then told you all you could get out of an ATM was $60 a day, if the ATM actually has any money left in it. That is exactly what's happening in Greece right now and it's all about that looming debt crisis you keep hearing about that is threatening financial ruin in that country and elsewhere, too. This is not just Greece's problem.

Because fear over what's happening in Greece and them possibly deciding to ixnay (ph) the European Union is actually sending big reverberations in the markets around the world, and that means you and your 401(k) and any kind of investment you have.

Joining me now from the New York Stock Exchange is CNN business correspondent Alison Kosik.

A lot of people don't understand why little Greece could be so powerful in terms of making waves over here, but can you - can you basically spell it out?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Of course. Well, first - first let's go to the numbers because people are always watching the numbers. The Dow actually has picked up steam in that selloff. We're seeing the Dow down 220 points.

The interesting thing here is that the U.S. actually has little direct exposure to Greece. In fact, this financial crisis with Greece, it's been going on for years, which means companies here in the U.S., investment houses here in the U.S., they've had a lot of time to divest, to take their investments out of Greece.

So then everybody asks, well, why are we seeing this selloff here in U.S. markets? Well, part of it is, this is unchartered territory because Greece owes $1.6 billion to its international creditors. If it doesn't make that payment, it's in default and it runs the risk of leaving the European Union. And then there's the risk of, well, what's the implication of Greece, first of all, not paying off its debt and, secondly, what are the implications of it leaving the European Union? It's this uncertainty, it's this unchartered territory is what is spooking the markets here.

Now, you can only imagine, as you mentioned, how spooked the people in Greece are. Their banks are closed for a week. They can't get but $60 a day out of their ATMs. There's also a referendum vote coming on the fifth where you've got the prime minister of Greece saying to the people of Greece look, I'm going to show you what our international creditors showed to me, the proposal on how we can get out of this mess, and he's putting it to the people of Greece to decide, do you like it or not?

[12:25:13] Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: So I just - I'm just looking at a headline that's coming out of CNN "Money" now right now saying that Greece could be the biggest national default in history. I guess the question I have for you, out of the parade of horribles for the Greek people to vote on, is it my understanding they have two choices - number one, live in unbelievable austerity and pain and suffering to try to get your financial picture back and appease the European Union, or pull out of the European Union, create havoc for everyone and good luck going it alone because that ain't going to be easy either.

KOSIK: It is really an in or out vote. A vote of no is basically - Greece basically turning its back on the European Union saying, we're not going to pay our debts, we're going to leave the European Union.

Here's the interesting part of this, though, Ashleigh. This referendum vote is for something that will already have expired. By the way, the deadline to pay this debt is tomorrow. So what they're going to be voting on won't even be in existence anymore. So that's kind of confusing to a lot of people at this point, Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: Very frustrating, I'm sure, for the people of Greece and everyone else around the world watching these markets.

Alison Kosik, thank you for that.

KOSIK: You got it.

BANFIELD: And Greece is not the only country with a debt crisis spinning out of control because, guess what? Right here, Puerto Rico, no longer can make its payments on $73 billion worth of debt. And this is according to its governor. In an interview with "The New York Times," he's warning that the economy of Puerto Rico could enter a, quote, "death spiral." So, close to home? How about home? There you go. Up next, how close was that second inmate to slipping across the

Canadian border before being shot with two slugs in the back? You're going to see how that capture went down.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)