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American Morning

Prosecution Shows Tape of Brazill Interrogation

Aired May 07, 2001 - 11:37   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: All right, taking place right now is the trial of Nathaniel Brazill. He's the 14-year-old boy charged with murdering his teacher. The trial is under way right now in Florida, and this tape -- or actually, we were looking at a tape just moments ago of when police were questioning Nathaniel after the shooting, and we're going to go to our Mark Potter, who's on the phone now in West Palm Beach. Mark, is that where you are?

MARK POTTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we're en route to West Palm Beach, and we have been covering this trial, which is expected to last to the end of this week.

PHILLIPS: OK, now, Mark, we're -- they are showing the tape right now. What are they hoping to accomplish by showing this tape in the courtroom?

POTTER: Well, both sides are hoping to get something from this tape. The prosecution hopes to show that Nathaniel confessed to shooting his teacher. The defense hopes to show, through this tape, that Nathaniel expressed shock and sadness in learning that his teacher Barry Grunow had been killed.

Their position is that, while it's clear that Nathaniel was holding the gun when it went off and Barry Grunow, his teacher, was killed, that he did not intend to do it intentionally, and the hope of the defense attorneys, they say, is that the jury will see to the way that he acts in this tape that he truly was shocked to learn that the teacher had been killed and that he didn't mean it.

So, both sides are hoping to get something from this tape. The defense attorney, Robert Udell, said on Friday that if the prosecution didn't show this tape, that the defense would, and they are also saying, the defense, that this will be sort of a one-two punch. They hope to put Nathaniel Brazill himself on the witness stand later this week to show that the story that he told then is the same one he will be telling now to the jury. So, both sides are hoping to use this.

PHILLIPS: All right, Mark Potter on your way to the trial. We'll check in with you and see how things are developing. Thanks so much.

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