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Walker Lindh Sentencing to Have Few Surprises

Aired October 04, 2002 - 14:05   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.


KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Now to the John Walker Lindh case, which is writing its final chapter as we speak. The California native who took up arms for the Taliban is being sentenced this hour in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia. In accordance with his guilty plea back in July, and his reported cooperation with authorities, he is due to get 20 years in prison, and that is actually bargain.
CNN Legal Analyst Jeffrey Toobin is live from New York to talk us through the process -- hi, Jeffrey.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Hey, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: So why do you think this is a bargain?

TOOBIN: Well, because when this case was begun, when John Walker Lindh was arrested, remember there was talk about treason, about the possible death penalty, about whether John Walker Lindh was involved in the death of Johnny Spann, the CIA agent, who died at Tora Bora, near where Walker Lindh was captured. All of that has fallen away. He pled guilty to a relatively modest charge of providing material assistance to the Taliban. No charge of treason, no charge of murder.

And, accordingly, he got a much less -- much less of a sentence, 20 years. It is no slap on the wrist, but it is a long way from life in prison.

PHILLIPS: Interesting, you mentioned Johnny Spann and I think -- I believe he is in the courtroom. Do you think his presence could make a difference here?

TOOBIN: Well, that is actually an outstanding issue. We don't know. The -- yesterday, we learned the defense filed a motion saying that Johnny Spann's father should not be allowed to speak at the sentencing because he is not -- his son was not a victim of John Walker Lindh. He did not plead guilty to harming Johnny Spann in any way. So we don't know whether the elder Mr. Spann will speak.

I think, at this point, the deal is pretty much set, but the defense certainly doesn't want to take any chances of a very emotional environment being set, and somehow an increased sentence or a worse sentence being imposed on their client.

PHILLIPS: Well, with Walker Lindh cooperating and everybody saying he's been on such good behavior, how much time do you think he's really looking at?

TOOBIN: Well, he will be sentenced to 20 years, but in the federal system, you can get time -- what is called good time, which is time off for good behavior. You can reduce your sentence by about 10 percent.

He also will get credit for time served. He has been in jail for, you know, pushing a year now. So, he probably will serve about 17 or 18 years, and when you think about it, he's only in his early 20s. He will be out of prison, certainly, before the time he's 40, and that is a long life, presumably, ahead of him, so his lawyers certainly did a pretty good job for him.

PHILLIPS: Well, you and I have worked together on a lot of these cases involving so many of these terrorist suspects, and we have had a lot of bizarre circumstances, shall we say. Do you expect any surprises here?

TOOBIN: You know, I don't. One of the real differences between this and, say, Zacarias Moussaoui is that John Walker Lindh has been represented by some very accomplished attorneys, led by Jim Brosnahan of San Francisco. These people know what they are doing. When you talk about Zacarias Moussaoui, he is representing himself. Every time he goes into court, it's a magical mystery tour. Today, this should go pretty much according to plan.

PHILLIPS: CNN Legal Analyst Jeffrey Toobin. Thank you so much.

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 4, 2002 - 14:05   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Now to the John Walker Lindh case, which is writing its final chapter as we speak. The California native who took up arms for the Taliban is being sentenced this hour in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia. In accordance with his guilty plea back in July, and his reported cooperation with authorities, he is due to get 20 years in prison, and that is actually bargain.
CNN Legal Analyst Jeffrey Toobin is live from New York to talk us through the process -- hi, Jeffrey.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Hey, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: So why do you think this is a bargain?

TOOBIN: Well, because when this case was begun, when John Walker Lindh was arrested, remember there was talk about treason, about the possible death penalty, about whether John Walker Lindh was involved in the death of Johnny Spann, the CIA agent, who died at Tora Bora, near where Walker Lindh was captured. All of that has fallen away. He pled guilty to a relatively modest charge of providing material assistance to the Taliban. No charge of treason, no charge of murder.

And, accordingly, he got a much less -- much less of a sentence, 20 years. It is no slap on the wrist, but it is a long way from life in prison.

PHILLIPS: Interesting, you mentioned Johnny Spann and I think -- I believe he is in the courtroom. Do you think his presence could make a difference here?

TOOBIN: Well, that is actually an outstanding issue. We don't know. The -- yesterday, we learned the defense filed a motion saying that Johnny Spann's father should not be allowed to speak at the sentencing because he is not -- his son was not a victim of John Walker Lindh. He did not plead guilty to harming Johnny Spann in any way. So we don't know whether the elder Mr. Spann will speak.

I think, at this point, the deal is pretty much set, but the defense certainly doesn't want to take any chances of a very emotional environment being set, and somehow an increased sentence or a worse sentence being imposed on their client.

PHILLIPS: Well, with Walker Lindh cooperating and everybody saying he's been on such good behavior, how much time do you think he's really looking at?

TOOBIN: Well, he will be sentenced to 20 years, but in the federal system, you can get time -- what is called good time, which is time off for good behavior. You can reduce your sentence by about 10 percent.

He also will get credit for time served. He has been in jail for, you know, pushing a year now. So, he probably will serve about 17 or 18 years, and when you think about it, he's only in his early 20s. He will be out of prison, certainly, before the time he's 40, and that is a long life, presumably, ahead of him, so his lawyers certainly did a pretty good job for him.

PHILLIPS: Well, you and I have worked together on a lot of these cases involving so many of these terrorist suspects, and we have had a lot of bizarre circumstances, shall we say. Do you expect any surprises here?

TOOBIN: You know, I don't. One of the real differences between this and, say, Zacarias Moussaoui is that John Walker Lindh has been represented by some very accomplished attorneys, led by Jim Brosnahan of San Francisco. These people know what they are doing. When you talk about Zacarias Moussaoui, he is representing himself. Every time he goes into court, it's a magical mystery tour. Today, this should go pretty much according to plan.

PHILLIPS: CNN Legal Analyst Jeffrey Toobin. Thank you so much.

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