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American Morning

Off Death Row

Aired September 03, 2003 - 07:13   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.


SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: More than 100 inmates could soon be off of death row. Their death sentences were overturned yesterday by a federal appeals court in California.
CNN national correspondent Frank Buckley reports on the decision and which inmates it would affect.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The ruling means that prisoners on death row in Arizona, Idaho and Montana remain convicted of their crimes, but their sentences for those crimes have been overturned.

The ruling affects more than 100 death row inmates. It followed a decision last year by the U.S. Supreme Court that said juries, not judges, should sentence people to death.

A question that remained open was whether the new rules could apply retroactively to inmates who were awaiting their executions. The 8-3 ruling by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said they did, and that the death sentences should be commuted to sentences of life in prison.

The other option for prosecutors in the individual jurisdictions that convicted those inmates is to instead retry the penalty phases of each death row inmate.

Before any of that happens, though, it's expected that the Supreme Court will take up the case. Already, Arizona's attorney general says he plans to appeal.

Frank Buckley, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: As we just heard Frank reporting, the ruling covers cases in Idaho, in Montana and in Arizona.

Phoenix public defender Ken Murray was the lead defense attorney in the Ninth Circuit case, and he joins us this morning from Phoenix.

Good morning. Nice to see you. Thanks for joining us.

KEN MURRAY, FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER'S OFFICE: Good morning.

O'BRIEN: When you first heard this ruling, what was your reaction?

MURRAY: Well, of course, I was very happy for my client, Mr. Summerlin, and we were all ecstatic for what this meant for the other individuals on death row in Arizona.

O'BRIEN: Why do you think it's critical that juries play a role in the sentencing of a person to death?

MURRAY: Well, our position has always been, and the Ninth Circuit agreed, that the juries give us a conscience of the community. It reflects the morals and values of the community, and that's why the Constitution established a right to a jury trial, and that was what was missing in Mr. Summerlin's case and that of many others in Arizona who were sentenced to the death penalty.

O'BRIEN: What we heard from Frank Buckley was that what's left open is whether or not to allow these cases to be applied -- this ruling to be applied retroactively. So, first and foremost, I want to play for you a little piece of what the attorney general from Arizona, Terry Goddard, had to say about this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TERRY GODDARD, ARIZONA ATTORNEY GENERAL: Several state supreme courts have weighed in, all saying that this is not a bedrock principle; this is a procedural issue. And therefore, it should not be applied retroactively.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Those were his comments last night. He says bedrock principle, not procedural issue. Explain for me with as little legalese as possible of what that means.

MURRAY: Well, it's difficult to do it without the legalese, but what he's saying, I think, is that the United States Supreme Court will be asked to give the ultimate answer, and that's, you know, their right to take it up there. To us, it is a bedrock principle. It's at the very core of the criminal justice system that you have a right to a jury trial. Everyone else in cases that aren't capital has that right, and they were denying the individuals who were being exposed to the death penalty in Arizona with that same fundamental basic right of our Constitution.

O'BRIEN: You mentioned your client, Warren Summerlin, and, of course, all of this is based on the murder of 36-year-old Brenna Bailey. Your client was sentenced to death for her murder, and as it stands now, that sentence will be commuted to a life sentence. What do you say to the family of Ms. Bailey, who say, well, she paid with her life? Why shouldn't your client pay with his life?

MURRAY: Well, that's an ongoing debate throughout the country on the death penalty. And I say that I understand that taking any life is a horrendous, terrible act, and our country is civilized to such that we say that we have to another certain procedure that make the sentencing to the death penalty reliable, and that didn't happen here. I, myself, am a family member of a victim who was murdered in a robbery, and I know exactly how they feel. But if they let this, it could bring an end to a painful, painful, painful situation.

O'BRIEN: Obviously this is going to be appealed. There are some who say the first part will be upheld, but the part about the retroactive nature might not be. What do you think the chances of that are?

MURRAY: I never get into predicting what the U.S. Supreme Court is going to do. I have no idea.

O'BRIEN: There are some states -- and we only a few seconds left -- that have changed the laws immediately, so now every single death penalty case will go before a jury. Are there some states where that's not going to happen still?

MURRAY: I don't know what they're going to do. I know that the jury has to make the ultimate decision in all of the states, but the exact procedure is left up to each individual state.

O'BRIEN: And we will watch what the Supreme Court does here. Thanks for joining us this morning, Ken Murray. Appreciate it.

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 September 3, 2003 - 07:13   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: More than 100 inmates could soon be off of death row. Their death sentences were overturned yesterday by a federal appeals court in California.
CNN national correspondent Frank Buckley reports on the decision and which inmates it would affect.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The ruling means that prisoners on death row in Arizona, Idaho and Montana remain convicted of their crimes, but their sentences for those crimes have been overturned.

The ruling affects more than 100 death row inmates. It followed a decision last year by the U.S. Supreme Court that said juries, not judges, should sentence people to death.

A question that remained open was whether the new rules could apply retroactively to inmates who were awaiting their executions. The 8-3 ruling by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said they did, and that the death sentences should be commuted to sentences of life in prison.

The other option for prosecutors in the individual jurisdictions that convicted those inmates is to instead retry the penalty phases of each death row inmate.

Before any of that happens, though, it's expected that the Supreme Court will take up the case. Already, Arizona's attorney general says he plans to appeal.

Frank Buckley, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: As we just heard Frank reporting, the ruling covers cases in Idaho, in Montana and in Arizona.

Phoenix public defender Ken Murray was the lead defense attorney in the Ninth Circuit case, and he joins us this morning from Phoenix.

Good morning. Nice to see you. Thanks for joining us.

KEN MURRAY, FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER'S OFFICE: Good morning.

O'BRIEN: When you first heard this ruling, what was your reaction?

MURRAY: Well, of course, I was very happy for my client, Mr. Summerlin, and we were all ecstatic for what this meant for the other individuals on death row in Arizona.

O'BRIEN: Why do you think it's critical that juries play a role in the sentencing of a person to death?

MURRAY: Well, our position has always been, and the Ninth Circuit agreed, that the juries give us a conscience of the community. It reflects the morals and values of the community, and that's why the Constitution established a right to a jury trial, and that was what was missing in Mr. Summerlin's case and that of many others in Arizona who were sentenced to the death penalty.

O'BRIEN: What we heard from Frank Buckley was that what's left open is whether or not to allow these cases to be applied -- this ruling to be applied retroactively. So, first and foremost, I want to play for you a little piece of what the attorney general from Arizona, Terry Goddard, had to say about this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TERRY GODDARD, ARIZONA ATTORNEY GENERAL: Several state supreme courts have weighed in, all saying that this is not a bedrock principle; this is a procedural issue. And therefore, it should not be applied retroactively.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Those were his comments last night. He says bedrock principle, not procedural issue. Explain for me with as little legalese as possible of what that means.

MURRAY: Well, it's difficult to do it without the legalese, but what he's saying, I think, is that the United States Supreme Court will be asked to give the ultimate answer, and that's, you know, their right to take it up there. To us, it is a bedrock principle. It's at the very core of the criminal justice system that you have a right to a jury trial. Everyone else in cases that aren't capital has that right, and they were denying the individuals who were being exposed to the death penalty in Arizona with that same fundamental basic right of our Constitution.

O'BRIEN: You mentioned your client, Warren Summerlin, and, of course, all of this is based on the murder of 36-year-old Brenna Bailey. Your client was sentenced to death for her murder, and as it stands now, that sentence will be commuted to a life sentence. What do you say to the family of Ms. Bailey, who say, well, she paid with her life? Why shouldn't your client pay with his life?

MURRAY: Well, that's an ongoing debate throughout the country on the death penalty. And I say that I understand that taking any life is a horrendous, terrible act, and our country is civilized to such that we say that we have to another certain procedure that make the sentencing to the death penalty reliable, and that didn't happen here. I, myself, am a family member of a victim who was murdered in a robbery, and I know exactly how they feel. But if they let this, it could bring an end to a painful, painful, painful situation.

O'BRIEN: Obviously this is going to be appealed. There are some who say the first part will be upheld, but the part about the retroactive nature might not be. What do you think the chances of that are?

MURRAY: I never get into predicting what the U.S. Supreme Court is going to do. I have no idea.

O'BRIEN: There are some states -- and we only a few seconds left -- that have changed the laws immediately, so now every single death penalty case will go before a jury. Are there some states where that's not going to happen still?

MURRAY: I don't know what they're going to do. I know that the jury has to make the ultimate decision in all of the states, but the exact procedure is left up to each individual state.

O'BRIEN: And we will watch what the Supreme Court does here. Thanks for joining us this morning, Ken Murray. Appreciate it.

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