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American Morning

Malvo Verdict Reaction

Aired December 19, 2003 - 07:10   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: Now to a second conviction in the D.C. sniper shootings. A Virginia jury rejected Lee Boyd Malvo's insanity defense and found him guilty of capital murder. Jurors will now decide whether Malvo should get life in prison or a death sentence.
Benny Oberoi suffered a gunshot wound in September of 2002, while working at a liquor store. And police say that shooting was part of the sniper spree. Benny joins us this morning with his reaction to the verdict. His attorney, Dan Vice, is with us as well this morning. He joins us from Washington, D.C.

Nice to see both of you again. Thanks for coming to talk to us.

First of all, Benny, your reaction, just first and foremost, to the verdict of guilty.

RUPINDER "BENNY" OBEROI, SHOOTING VICTIM: Same, just like before, I'm happy and so are other families are happy, too.

O'BRIEN: Does it bring to you some kind of resolution now that two trials over?

OBEROI: Yes, now we are -- our case is going to put more attention towards the gun dealer who sold the gun -- or they stole a gun from that store. So, our case moves towards that now.

O'BRIEN: You've got this civil lawsuit going on right now.

OBEROI: Exactly.

O'BRIEN: And I'm going to talk to Dan about that in just one moment. But I'm curious to know if you followed the second sniper shooting case very closely? Were you glued to the TV? Did you want to know the details? Or did you feel like you lived through it the first time, you don't want to see it again?

OBEROI: That's true. I was not really glued to the TV in the second -- this time, but I knew what was going on. I was receiving calls from other people, and I was fully aware of what was going on.

O'BRIEN: What did you think of the defense's attempt to show insanity by essentially intimidation or brainwashing?

OBEROI: No, that was not going to work. In Virginia, they have tough laws. I knew that was not going to be the case.

O'BRIEN: Would you like to see Lee Malvo put to death? Or do you think life in prison?

OBEROI: Both of them.

O'BRIEN: You want to see them both of them put to death.

OBEROI: Both of them, yes.

O'BRIEN: He was 17 years old at the time of the shooting. Does that play any role, in your mind, about a consideration that the jury should have about whether to put him to death or not?

OBEROI: No, no. He was never brainwashed. That's totally -- it's a lie. And he was fully responsible for it. And he also said if I go outside today, I'll still kill people, just like I did before.

O'BRIEN: Dan Vice, as we mentioned, is your attorney. And, as we also mentioned, you're involved in a civil lawsuit. So, Dan, I want to ask you a question about the civil suit. Does the verdict now make it easier for you to proceed with your civil lawsuit? Or how does it exactly affect your lawsuit against, as Benny mentioned, the gun manufacturer and the gun dealer?

DAN VICE, SHOOTING VICTIM'S ATTORNEY: Yes, the verdict is very important obviously, because it takes the killers off the street. It also helps our case in trying to find out how two prohibited purchasers could obtain a high-powered military-style assault rifle.

So, Benny's case is moving forward, along with other victims of the attacks. But unfortunately, Congress is considering legislation that would actually throw this case out, that would actually immunize negligent gun dealers and slam the courthouse door on gun violence victims. So, that's something that we're following in Congress and trying to stop as well.

O'BRIEN: Do you think about your shooting every day, Benny? Or is it something that you've now put -- in fact, you were shot in the back.

OBEROI: No, I don't think about it.

O'BRIEN: You've moved on.

OBEROI: Yes, I don't think about it anymore.

O'BRIEN: Well, good. That's good news. Benny Oberoi and Dan Vice, his attorney, joining us this morning. Gentlemen, nice to have you. Thanks for coming in to talk to us.

OBEROI: Thank you.

VICE: Thank you.

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 December 19, 2003 - 07:10   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Now to a second conviction in the D.C. sniper shootings. A Virginia jury rejected Lee Boyd Malvo's insanity defense and found him guilty of capital murder. Jurors will now decide whether Malvo should get life in prison or a death sentence.
Benny Oberoi suffered a gunshot wound in September of 2002, while working at a liquor store. And police say that shooting was part of the sniper spree. Benny joins us this morning with his reaction to the verdict. His attorney, Dan Vice, is with us as well this morning. He joins us from Washington, D.C.

Nice to see both of you again. Thanks for coming to talk to us.

First of all, Benny, your reaction, just first and foremost, to the verdict of guilty.

RUPINDER "BENNY" OBEROI, SHOOTING VICTIM: Same, just like before, I'm happy and so are other families are happy, too.

O'BRIEN: Does it bring to you some kind of resolution now that two trials over?

OBEROI: Yes, now we are -- our case is going to put more attention towards the gun dealer who sold the gun -- or they stole a gun from that store. So, our case moves towards that now.

O'BRIEN: You've got this civil lawsuit going on right now.

OBEROI: Exactly.

O'BRIEN: And I'm going to talk to Dan about that in just one moment. But I'm curious to know if you followed the second sniper shooting case very closely? Were you glued to the TV? Did you want to know the details? Or did you feel like you lived through it the first time, you don't want to see it again?

OBEROI: That's true. I was not really glued to the TV in the second -- this time, but I knew what was going on. I was receiving calls from other people, and I was fully aware of what was going on.

O'BRIEN: What did you think of the defense's attempt to show insanity by essentially intimidation or brainwashing?

OBEROI: No, that was not going to work. In Virginia, they have tough laws. I knew that was not going to be the case.

O'BRIEN: Would you like to see Lee Malvo put to death? Or do you think life in prison?

OBEROI: Both of them.

O'BRIEN: You want to see them both of them put to death.

OBEROI: Both of them, yes.

O'BRIEN: He was 17 years old at the time of the shooting. Does that play any role, in your mind, about a consideration that the jury should have about whether to put him to death or not?

OBEROI: No, no. He was never brainwashed. That's totally -- it's a lie. And he was fully responsible for it. And he also said if I go outside today, I'll still kill people, just like I did before.

O'BRIEN: Dan Vice, as we mentioned, is your attorney. And, as we also mentioned, you're involved in a civil lawsuit. So, Dan, I want to ask you a question about the civil suit. Does the verdict now make it easier for you to proceed with your civil lawsuit? Or how does it exactly affect your lawsuit against, as Benny mentioned, the gun manufacturer and the gun dealer?

DAN VICE, SHOOTING VICTIM'S ATTORNEY: Yes, the verdict is very important obviously, because it takes the killers off the street. It also helps our case in trying to find out how two prohibited purchasers could obtain a high-powered military-style assault rifle.

So, Benny's case is moving forward, along with other victims of the attacks. But unfortunately, Congress is considering legislation that would actually throw this case out, that would actually immunize negligent gun dealers and slam the courthouse door on gun violence victims. So, that's something that we're following in Congress and trying to stop as well.

O'BRIEN: Do you think about your shooting every day, Benny? Or is it something that you've now put -- in fact, you were shot in the back.

OBEROI: No, I don't think about it.

O'BRIEN: You've moved on.

OBEROI: Yes, I don't think about it anymore.

O'BRIEN: Well, good. That's good news. Benny Oberoi and Dan Vice, his attorney, joining us this morning. Gentlemen, nice to have you. Thanks for coming in to talk to us.

OBEROI: Thank you.

VICE: Thank you.

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