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American Morning
Brothers' Fate
Aired November 14, 2002 - 09:23 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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: We could learn the fate this morning of those two teenaged brothers who were found guilty of murdering their father. Alex and Derek King convicted as adults in the beating death of their father, but a judge then threw out the verdict, ordered both sides to settle the case, and those negotiations are now wrapping up.
To Pensacola this morning, and Mark Potter, who is tracking this.
Mark, good morning.
MARK POTTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.
We're outside the courthouse in downtown Pensacola, awaiting a news conference in about 45 minutes on the status of negotiations in the case of Alex and Derek King, ages 13 and 14. The question is whether, in effect, a plea bargain has been reached, or whether the boys will need to be retried on charges they beat their father to death with a baseball bat a year ago this month.
This case, as you remember, attracted national attention, not only because the boys are a young age, but also because separate trials were held for the same murder. In one trial, the boys were charged with killing their father. In the other trial, a family friend and convicted pedophile Ricky Chavez was accused of killing the man. They face separate juries, separate trial. The boys were convicted; Chavez was acquitted.
But after the lawyers in the boys case complained that, in their view, justice was not done, the judge threw out their verdict, saying, indeed, they had not received a fair trial. In another unusual move, the judge asked the defense and prosecution to settle the case through mediation outside the courtroom.
Last week, the two sides, along with the boys who are still in custody, met together for the first time. They met together yesterday all day, trying to reach a settlement with the mediator going between the two sides on the fourth floor of the courthouse here.
At this hour this morning, right now, in the judges's chambers, all sides are meeting to discuss the status of the negotiations and to report to Judge Frank Bell on their progress.
And at the top of the hour, we're expecting the mediator, the court appointed mediator Bill Edmonds to come down here to brief us, and to tell the public whether indeed a settlement has been reached on the fate of these boys, and when that happens, Bill, we'll be here to bring it to you. Back to you.
HEMMER: Thank you, Mark. Thanks for the update there. An amazing story that we all watched several months ago, Mark Potter in Pensacola.
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 November 14, 2002 - 09:23 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: We could learn the fate this morning of those two teenaged brothers who were found guilty of murdering their father. Alex and Derek King convicted as adults in the beating death of their father, but a judge then threw out the verdict, ordered both sides to settle the case, and those negotiations are now wrapping up.
To Pensacola this morning, and Mark Potter, who is tracking this.
Mark, good morning.
MARK POTTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.
We're outside the courthouse in downtown Pensacola, awaiting a news conference in about 45 minutes on the status of negotiations in the case of Alex and Derek King, ages 13 and 14. The question is whether, in effect, a plea bargain has been reached, or whether the boys will need to be retried on charges they beat their father to death with a baseball bat a year ago this month.
This case, as you remember, attracted national attention, not only because the boys are a young age, but also because separate trials were held for the same murder. In one trial, the boys were charged with killing their father. In the other trial, a family friend and convicted pedophile Ricky Chavez was accused of killing the man. They face separate juries, separate trial. The boys were convicted; Chavez was acquitted.
But after the lawyers in the boys case complained that, in their view, justice was not done, the judge threw out their verdict, saying, indeed, they had not received a fair trial. In another unusual move, the judge asked the defense and prosecution to settle the case through mediation outside the courtroom.
Last week, the two sides, along with the boys who are still in custody, met together for the first time. They met together yesterday all day, trying to reach a settlement with the mediator going between the two sides on the fourth floor of the courthouse here.
At this hour this morning, right now, in the judges's chambers, all sides are meeting to discuss the status of the negotiations and to report to Judge Frank Bell on their progress.
And at the top of the hour, we're expecting the mediator, the court appointed mediator Bill Edmonds to come down here to brief us, and to tell the public whether indeed a settlement has been reached on the fate of these boys, and when that happens, Bill, we'll be here to bring it to you. Back to you.
HEMMER: Thank you, Mark. Thanks for the update there. An amazing story that we all watched several months ago, Mark Potter in Pensacola.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
