Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Millionaire Cleared

Aired November 12, 2003 - 07:09   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: Now to that stunning not guilty verdict in the murder trial of real estate heir Robert Durst. Many legal experts had said this was a slam dunk for the prosecution. Jurors, though, had their reasonable doubts.
In a moment, we'll talk with one of the attorneys for Robert Durst.

First, though, in Galveston, here is Ed Lavandera on that trial.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We, the jury, find the defendant, Robert Durst, not guilty.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN DALLAS BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): How does a jury find a man not guilty, who admits he shot his neighbor, cut up the corpse, dumped the body parts in Galveston Bay and then tried to hide from authorities? Some members of that jury tried to explain.

JOANNE GONGORA, JUROR: We all kept coming back to that original charge: Was it an act of self defense or an accident of how Morris Black met his death? And that's the question that we answered in our verdict.

ROBBIE CLARAC, JUROR: We can't convict someone on our thoughts or what we think or what we perceive or what we speculate. We can't do that. We went on the facts that were presented to us from the prosecution, and we could not convict him. He is not guilty.

DEBORAH WARREN, JUROR: There were people that cried. There were people that fussed and argued. My stomach is still knotted up, but we did the best with what we had. And whether it agrees to you all or to anyone else out there in America, this is what we came up with.

LAVANDERA: Most jurors said they did not believe much of Robert Durst's testimony. Despite that, they say, the prosecution presented too many different explanations as to why Robert Durst would murder his neighbor.

CHRIS LOVELL, JUROR: We're going to convict Mr. Durst but here's your reason why, A, B, C, or D. Pick one, and we're going to send him away. Well, that's not the way it works. Tell me what happened.

LAVANDERA: Prosecutors say they're dismayed and disappointed in the verdict, but also say they respect the jury's decision.

When asked if they thought Robert Durst would be a threat whenever he gets out of jail, the prosecutor would only say...

KURT SISTRUNK, PROSECUTOR: Mr. Durst is not going to be invited to my for any house for any reason at all.

LAVANDERA (on camera): Mr. Durst isn't a free man just yet. He's still in jail, indicted on a bail-jumping charge. If he's convicted of that crime, he could be sent to prison for 10 years. But, still, that's far less than the life sentence he avoided in his murder trial.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, Galveston, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: Chip Lewis is one of the attorneys who defended Robert Durst. He's with us now live in Houston, Texas.

Mr. Lewis, good morning to you.

CHIP LEWIS, ATTORNEY FOR DURST: Good morning, Bill.

HEMMER: How surprised were you when that verdict came down yesterday?

LEWIS: Not at all.

HEMMER: Why not?

LEWIS: I had spent the last three months of my life with these jurors getting to them know very well, watching their every move, watching how they absorbed the evidence and reacted to the give and flow, the give and take, the ebb and the flow in the courtroom. And I felt that they were going to follow the law and find the correct verdict in this case, which they did.

HEMMER: Yes, obviously, though, five days of deliberations. You had to be concerned at some point, right, even if you were confident?

LEWIS: Well, no. I think they were a very deliberate and thoughtful group, who was going to sift through the evidence piece by piece to assuage any feelings that any of the jurors might have had before they came out and rendered such an important verdict.

HEMMER: What did Robert Durst say to you yesterday after the verdict was read?

LEWIS: He was excited, relieved, ready to get on with his life. We still have another charge to deal with, and he's very anxious to put that one to rest as well.

HEMMER: I'll talk about that charge in a moment, though. There was no consideration for the jurors on any manslaughter charge. Would it have been different had the rule of law listed that possibility for jurors? LEWIS: Well, the law in Texas and in many jurisdictions leaves it up to the litigants to decide whether or not a lesser included charge should be submitted to the jury. The prosecution, given the horrific facts of the case surrounding Mr. Durst's actions after the death of Morris Black, they were never going to opt for anything but murder. We made a strategic decision that we would not give the jury an out, a compromise if you will, and went forward with the charge of murder only. And it looks like that was a wise choice.

HEMMER: Mr. Lewis, explain this to me if you could. How much explaining did you have to do when the prosecution claimed that Robert Durst wanted Morris Black's identity; that's why he allegedly killed this man? And then the events afterward, fleeing the scene in Galveston, Texas, in very graphic form here again, chopping up his body, leaving it in the bay of Galveston. How did you as a defense attorney fight back those claims?

LEWIS: Well, the identity theft was nothing more than a passing fancy. The jury saw through that very quickly. So, we didn't have to devote much of our attention to that fact.

We did have to devote a large amount of our attention to the acts that happened after Morris Black's death. And early on when we started questioning these jurors before they were selected in the case, we made it a point, it was our mantra if you will, that what happened after Morris Black died cannot change the fact that it was self-defense and an accident. And the jury followed those marching orders.

We very carefully, if you will, we strategized and made sure each witness that we could make that point, which we did. It was our theme throughout the trial, and it was something that the jury commented on to an individual when they were debriefed after the case.

HEMMER: Mr. Durst still remains in jail. He'll be held on a bail-jumping charge there. We'll see what happens, whether or not he'll be released from jail once that concludes.

Chip Lewis, thanks for your time in Houston, Texas, this morning.

LEWIS: My pleasure. . 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 12, 2003 - 07:09   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Now to that stunning not guilty verdict in the murder trial of real estate heir Robert Durst. Many legal experts had said this was a slam dunk for the prosecution. Jurors, though, had their reasonable doubts.
In a moment, we'll talk with one of the attorneys for Robert Durst.

First, though, in Galveston, here is Ed Lavandera on that trial.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We, the jury, find the defendant, Robert Durst, not guilty.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN DALLAS BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): How does a jury find a man not guilty, who admits he shot his neighbor, cut up the corpse, dumped the body parts in Galveston Bay and then tried to hide from authorities? Some members of that jury tried to explain.

JOANNE GONGORA, JUROR: We all kept coming back to that original charge: Was it an act of self defense or an accident of how Morris Black met his death? And that's the question that we answered in our verdict.

ROBBIE CLARAC, JUROR: We can't convict someone on our thoughts or what we think or what we perceive or what we speculate. We can't do that. We went on the facts that were presented to us from the prosecution, and we could not convict him. He is not guilty.

DEBORAH WARREN, JUROR: There were people that cried. There were people that fussed and argued. My stomach is still knotted up, but we did the best with what we had. And whether it agrees to you all or to anyone else out there in America, this is what we came up with.

LAVANDERA: Most jurors said they did not believe much of Robert Durst's testimony. Despite that, they say, the prosecution presented too many different explanations as to why Robert Durst would murder his neighbor.

CHRIS LOVELL, JUROR: We're going to convict Mr. Durst but here's your reason why, A, B, C, or D. Pick one, and we're going to send him away. Well, that's not the way it works. Tell me what happened.

LAVANDERA: Prosecutors say they're dismayed and disappointed in the verdict, but also say they respect the jury's decision.

When asked if they thought Robert Durst would be a threat whenever he gets out of jail, the prosecutor would only say...

KURT SISTRUNK, PROSECUTOR: Mr. Durst is not going to be invited to my for any house for any reason at all.

LAVANDERA (on camera): Mr. Durst isn't a free man just yet. He's still in jail, indicted on a bail-jumping charge. If he's convicted of that crime, he could be sent to prison for 10 years. But, still, that's far less than the life sentence he avoided in his murder trial.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, Galveston, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: Chip Lewis is one of the attorneys who defended Robert Durst. He's with us now live in Houston, Texas.

Mr. Lewis, good morning to you.

CHIP LEWIS, ATTORNEY FOR DURST: Good morning, Bill.

HEMMER: How surprised were you when that verdict came down yesterday?

LEWIS: Not at all.

HEMMER: Why not?

LEWIS: I had spent the last three months of my life with these jurors getting to them know very well, watching their every move, watching how they absorbed the evidence and reacted to the give and flow, the give and take, the ebb and the flow in the courtroom. And I felt that they were going to follow the law and find the correct verdict in this case, which they did.

HEMMER: Yes, obviously, though, five days of deliberations. You had to be concerned at some point, right, even if you were confident?

LEWIS: Well, no. I think they were a very deliberate and thoughtful group, who was going to sift through the evidence piece by piece to assuage any feelings that any of the jurors might have had before they came out and rendered such an important verdict.

HEMMER: What did Robert Durst say to you yesterday after the verdict was read?

LEWIS: He was excited, relieved, ready to get on with his life. We still have another charge to deal with, and he's very anxious to put that one to rest as well.

HEMMER: I'll talk about that charge in a moment, though. There was no consideration for the jurors on any manslaughter charge. Would it have been different had the rule of law listed that possibility for jurors? LEWIS: Well, the law in Texas and in many jurisdictions leaves it up to the litigants to decide whether or not a lesser included charge should be submitted to the jury. The prosecution, given the horrific facts of the case surrounding Mr. Durst's actions after the death of Morris Black, they were never going to opt for anything but murder. We made a strategic decision that we would not give the jury an out, a compromise if you will, and went forward with the charge of murder only. And it looks like that was a wise choice.

HEMMER: Mr. Lewis, explain this to me if you could. How much explaining did you have to do when the prosecution claimed that Robert Durst wanted Morris Black's identity; that's why he allegedly killed this man? And then the events afterward, fleeing the scene in Galveston, Texas, in very graphic form here again, chopping up his body, leaving it in the bay of Galveston. How did you as a defense attorney fight back those claims?

LEWIS: Well, the identity theft was nothing more than a passing fancy. The jury saw through that very quickly. So, we didn't have to devote much of our attention to that fact.

We did have to devote a large amount of our attention to the acts that happened after Morris Black's death. And early on when we started questioning these jurors before they were selected in the case, we made it a point, it was our mantra if you will, that what happened after Morris Black died cannot change the fact that it was self-defense and an accident. And the jury followed those marching orders.

We very carefully, if you will, we strategized and made sure each witness that we could make that point, which we did. It was our theme throughout the trial, and it was something that the jury commented on to an individual when they were debriefed after the case.

HEMMER: Mr. Durst still remains in jail. He'll be held on a bail-jumping charge there. We'll see what happens, whether or not he'll be released from jail once that concludes.

Chip Lewis, thanks for your time in Houston, Texas, this morning.

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