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American Morning
Interview with Johnny Spann
Aired November 19, 2002 - 07:43 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 want to take you to Winfield, Alabama right now; that town today dedicating a park to one of its own, Johnny Michael Spann, the first American killed in Afghanistan and working for the CIA about a year ago, in fact.
Spann was conducting questioning in a prison when he was killed by a Taliban soldier. It was at that prison the Taliban-American John Walker Lindh was captured.
Spann's father is dedicated to changing the laws that allowed Walker Lindh to receive only 20 years in prison based on a plea bargaining -- a plea bargain, rather, for fighting on behalf of the Taliban.
Today, though, it's all about remembering Johnny Michael Spann as a hero in Alabama. Live in Winfield is Johnny Spann, the father, with us again.
Good morning to you, Mr. Spann -- nice to see you.
JOHNNY SPANN, FATHER OF JOHNNY MICHAEL SPANN: Good morning to you, too -- thanks.
HEMMER: What do you think you son would think of this dedication today?
SPANN: Mike would be honored. Mike wasn't the type of person that would ask for anything like this. He never asked for any kind of recognition at all. But he would be honored that the mayor and the city council has decided to name the park after him.
HEMMER: What do you think of it? Proud as a father, still suffering, grieving from a loss?
SPANN: Yes, Bill, of course, we're still suffering. It's been almost a year now since Mike died, but it's not getting any easier, but we're learning to live with it. And you know, things like this is good. This is honorable. Mike died an honorable death, and we are very proud of him. And of course, we always appreciate when the nation, anybody, the town or anybody all over the world wants to say anything good about Mike or do anything good for him.
HEMMER: Yes, there was an e-mail that you received from your son while he was in Afghanistan shortly before he was killed. If we can put that e-mail up for our viewers, I want to read it again. This is sent back to you back home. And your son writes: "What everyone needs to understand is these fellows hate you. They hate you because you're American. Support your government and your military, especially when the bodies start coming home."
The body of your son came home. That's what this is all about today. But you have been quite unhappy with the plea bargain that was struck with John Walker Lindh. Why has that not been settled with you?
SPANN: Well, I feel like justice wasn't done, Bill, not only me, but there's, you know, millions of people around the world and around the nation and around America that feel the same way as I do. It seemed like it was pretty cut and dried. We didn't have a chance to go to trial with John Walker Lindh. We can't prove that John Walker Lindh, you know, actually fired a weapon at Mike or killed him or even touched him.
But the thing about it was that he had turned his back on his country and on his friends and on his family, and he had joined the al Qaeda, a group of people that sent their operatives, just like John Walker Lindh, to America. And they hijacked our airplanes and they flew them into our buildings and they killed thousands of American people, not killed them, they murdered them. They murdered our people.
And I just don't think that justice was done, a 20-year sentence for the two counts that they allowed him to plead guilty to. I think we should have went through with the trial, and a charge of conspiring, being a part of conspiracy to kill American people. We all saw on TV exactly what he did -- what the al Qaeda does and how he was a part of them. And we're still seeing that today. The al Qaeda is just -- it's still alive, and they're out there trying to kill us all.
HEMMER: How are you and your wife doing today?
SPANN: We're doing fine, the whole family. Mike, you know, had two sisters and, of course, three children and Shannon (ph). And we're all being able to cope with it pretty good.
We understand if we go back to the thing, you know, we know that every time we look at Mike's picture and every time that somebody says something about Mike and brings up his name, we know and we remember that he lived an honorable life and he died an honorable death.
And if I was sitting here before you today and having to know that if Mike was dead or alive, that he was a traitor to his country, then I'd be very sad, very sad -- more sad than I am today, I think. But just the fact that we know he died an honorable death and he died fighting for his country.
And the things that he said that, you know, "People like me do the things I do, so that people like you can go and continue to do the things that you do." That's the thing he told his sister about two days before he left on the telephone. And that was his attitude, so that makes us feel good when we think about things like that.
HEMMER: We want you to enjoy the day today as much as you can, all right, as a proud father. Thanks for being with us, too.
SPANN: Thank you, sir.
HEMMER: Johnny Spann in Winfield, Alabama.
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 19, 2002 - 07:43 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: We want to take you to Winfield, Alabama right now; that town today dedicating a park to one of its own, Johnny Michael Spann, the first American killed in Afghanistan and working for the CIA about a year ago, in fact.
Spann was conducting questioning in a prison when he was killed by a Taliban soldier. It was at that prison the Taliban-American John Walker Lindh was captured.
Spann's father is dedicated to changing the laws that allowed Walker Lindh to receive only 20 years in prison based on a plea bargaining -- a plea bargain, rather, for fighting on behalf of the Taliban.
Today, though, it's all about remembering Johnny Michael Spann as a hero in Alabama. Live in Winfield is Johnny Spann, the father, with us again.
Good morning to you, Mr. Spann -- nice to see you.
JOHNNY SPANN, FATHER OF JOHNNY MICHAEL SPANN: Good morning to you, too -- thanks.
HEMMER: What do you think you son would think of this dedication today?
SPANN: Mike would be honored. Mike wasn't the type of person that would ask for anything like this. He never asked for any kind of recognition at all. But he would be honored that the mayor and the city council has decided to name the park after him.
HEMMER: What do you think of it? Proud as a father, still suffering, grieving from a loss?
SPANN: Yes, Bill, of course, we're still suffering. It's been almost a year now since Mike died, but it's not getting any easier, but we're learning to live with it. And you know, things like this is good. This is honorable. Mike died an honorable death, and we are very proud of him. And of course, we always appreciate when the nation, anybody, the town or anybody all over the world wants to say anything good about Mike or do anything good for him.
HEMMER: Yes, there was an e-mail that you received from your son while he was in Afghanistan shortly before he was killed. If we can put that e-mail up for our viewers, I want to read it again. This is sent back to you back home. And your son writes: "What everyone needs to understand is these fellows hate you. They hate you because you're American. Support your government and your military, especially when the bodies start coming home."
The body of your son came home. That's what this is all about today. But you have been quite unhappy with the plea bargain that was struck with John Walker Lindh. Why has that not been settled with you?
SPANN: Well, I feel like justice wasn't done, Bill, not only me, but there's, you know, millions of people around the world and around the nation and around America that feel the same way as I do. It seemed like it was pretty cut and dried. We didn't have a chance to go to trial with John Walker Lindh. We can't prove that John Walker Lindh, you know, actually fired a weapon at Mike or killed him or even touched him.
But the thing about it was that he had turned his back on his country and on his friends and on his family, and he had joined the al Qaeda, a group of people that sent their operatives, just like John Walker Lindh, to America. And they hijacked our airplanes and they flew them into our buildings and they killed thousands of American people, not killed them, they murdered them. They murdered our people.
And I just don't think that justice was done, a 20-year sentence for the two counts that they allowed him to plead guilty to. I think we should have went through with the trial, and a charge of conspiring, being a part of conspiracy to kill American people. We all saw on TV exactly what he did -- what the al Qaeda does and how he was a part of them. And we're still seeing that today. The al Qaeda is just -- it's still alive, and they're out there trying to kill us all.
HEMMER: How are you and your wife doing today?
SPANN: We're doing fine, the whole family. Mike, you know, had two sisters and, of course, three children and Shannon (ph). And we're all being able to cope with it pretty good.
We understand if we go back to the thing, you know, we know that every time we look at Mike's picture and every time that somebody says something about Mike and brings up his name, we know and we remember that he lived an honorable life and he died an honorable death.
And if I was sitting here before you today and having to know that if Mike was dead or alive, that he was a traitor to his country, then I'd be very sad, very sad -- more sad than I am today, I think. But just the fact that we know he died an honorable death and he died fighting for his country.
And the things that he said that, you know, "People like me do the things I do, so that people like you can go and continue to do the things that you do." That's the thing he told his sister about two days before he left on the telephone. And that was his attitude, so that makes us feel good when we think about things like that.
HEMMER: We want you to enjoy the day today as much as you can, all right, as a proud father. Thanks for being with us, too.
SPANN: Thank you, sir.
HEMMER: Johnny Spann in Winfield, Alabama.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
