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American Morning
Teacher Murder Trial: Closing Arguments Set to Begin
Aired May 14, 2001 - 09:01 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.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to go ahead and start in Florida this morning, where closing arguments are set to begin in the trial of a teen charged with killing his teacher. Nathaniel Brazill could face life in prison if he's convicted of first degree murder.
Our Mark Potter has been covering the trial for us and he's joining us once again from West Palm Beach -- Mark, good morning.
MARK POTTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
Well, the court is just now coming into session. The judge, Richard Wennet, is on the bench waiting for the jury to come in. And the schedule for today is for the closing arguments to take at least the morning, perhaps into the afternoon. Each side has been given two hours and 15 minutes to present its side. The defense, however, has said it would take about half that.
After instructions from the judge, the jury will then get the case and begin its deliberations and that probably will occur some time this afternoon maybe mid afternoon. Now, a year after the killing of teacher Barry Grunow at Lake Worth Community Middle School, school officials are still trying to figure out exactly what happened and are trying to prevent it from happening again. They have instituted new security measures and are concentrating now on violence prevention.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): Last spring, the desperate call to 911 came from Lake Worth Community Middle School.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have a teacher that's been shot.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's been shot?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, a teacher has been shot in the 300 building.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
POTTER: The victim, Barry Grunow, a language arts teacher, was killed by one of his students, Nathaniel Brazill, who at the time was 13 years old. He claims it was an accidental shooting.
ROBERT HATCHER, SCHOOL PRINCIPAL: I remember hearing the call that a teacher had been shot, and just thinking to myself, there's just no way. It must be a mistake.
POTTER: In the year since then, the Palm Beach County school system has increased security, with more police officers, stricter procedures, and increased hallway monitoring. But the biggest focus is on education, teaching students how to prevent violence.
ART JOHNSON, PALM BEACH SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT: We teach our adults how to teach youngsters to deal with conflict, because many times the first impulse is to use physical violence, or to go and get a weapon.
POTTER: Students who see something suspicious are urged to report it. Palm Beach County has produced TV public service announcements aimed at young people.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Speak up. Tell someone.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It could save a life.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Maybe a friend.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Maybe my own.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
POTTER: The school system also pays more attention to bullying and threats. Teacher Margot Collins learned one of her students had threatened her.
MARGOT COLLINS, MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHER: So I wrote the letter and I gave it to my principal. The day I came back from vacation and the students came back the next day. And that student was not in my class. So the problem was solved.
POTTER: But violence can be hard to predict. School officials say Nathaniel Brazill was a good and likable student.
HATCHER: That's what makes it so difficult is, you know, you take a kid like that, that would do something like this. There's no way to predict.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
POTTER: Now, in emphasizing conflict resolution and prevention, school officials say that physical security measures can only do so much and they argue that if they actually become overbearing, they can hinder the students' ability to learn. Meanwhile, this week at Lake Worth Community Middle School, where the shooting occurred, extra counselors are standing by in case students need help or just want to talk about what has been happening in this trial -- Daryn, back to you.
KAGAN: So, Mark, with closing arguments on the docket for today, was this jury sequestered over the weekend or were they allowed to go home?
POTTER: No, the jury was allowed to go home. In fact, that's a bit of an issue. They've been home Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, four days, and there's been a lot of argument over whether that was a good idea and, you know, that certainly enables the jury -- they're not supposed to watch TV and read the newspapers, but there's more the likelihood that something could happen and, of course, there are four days now since they've seen the evidence and there are some who say that the judge should have just gone all the way through and given this to the jury on Thursday or Friday -- back to you.
KAGAN: Mark Potter in West Palm Beach, thank you. We'll check back with you.
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