Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
Sniper Malvo Gets Life
Aired December 24, 2003 - 07:19 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: Some of the families of those killed in the D.C.-area shootings are up in arms about a jury's decision to spare the life of convicted sniper Lee Boyd Malvo.
For more on that controversial decision, CNN's Elaine Quijano reports for us from Chesapeake, Virginia.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The 12 people deciding Lee Malvo's fate were deeply divided and opted for life only after it became evident they were facing a deadlock, according to one juror. Tuesday, Lee Malvo sat at the defense table without looking up and blinked repeatedly as he listened to the sentence: life in prison for two counts of capital murder.
CRAIG COOLEY, ATTORNEY FOR MALVO: He was, on one hand, relieved that the death penalty was not imposed. On the other hand, he's 18 and contemplating living the rest of his natural life in a penitentiary cell.
QUIJANO: At least two jurors appeared to wipe their eyes. Most did not look at Malvo nor at the sniper victims' families. Afterwards, relatives of the dead, and a shooting victim who survived, expressed disappointment.
PAUL LARUFFA, SHOOTING VICTIM: It minimizes what this man did. It minimizes it for the victims and the victims' families.
VICTORIA SNIDER, SISTER OF SNIPER VICTIM: We have lived with the death, and we have lived with watching others die. They continue to kill.
QUIJANO: Prosecutor Robert Horan said the Christmas week timing probably influenced the jury.
ROBERT HORAN, PROSECUTOR: Well, of course, I'm not happy with the decision, but that's the American way. Twelve jurors decide these things. The prosecutor doesn't decide them.
QUIJANO: In making its decision, the four men and eight women on the jury found unanimously that the case met both aggravating factors required to put Malvo to death, that his conduct was depraved, and that he still poses a danger to society. But in the end, jurors exercised the other option available to them: life.
JIM WOLFCALE, JURY FOREMAN: This case was both mentally challenging and emotionally exhausting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUIJANO: Even if jurors had deadlocked, the outcome would have remained the same -- life without parole for Lee Malvo. Formal sentencing is set for March 10 -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Elaine Quijano for us this morning. Elaine, thanks.
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 24, 2003 - 07:19 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Some of the families of those killed in the D.C.-area shootings are up in arms about a jury's decision to spare the life of convicted sniper Lee Boyd Malvo.
For more on that controversial decision, CNN's Elaine Quijano reports for us from Chesapeake, Virginia.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The 12 people deciding Lee Malvo's fate were deeply divided and opted for life only after it became evident they were facing a deadlock, according to one juror. Tuesday, Lee Malvo sat at the defense table without looking up and blinked repeatedly as he listened to the sentence: life in prison for two counts of capital murder.
CRAIG COOLEY, ATTORNEY FOR MALVO: He was, on one hand, relieved that the death penalty was not imposed. On the other hand, he's 18 and contemplating living the rest of his natural life in a penitentiary cell.
QUIJANO: At least two jurors appeared to wipe their eyes. Most did not look at Malvo nor at the sniper victims' families. Afterwards, relatives of the dead, and a shooting victim who survived, expressed disappointment.
PAUL LARUFFA, SHOOTING VICTIM: It minimizes what this man did. It minimizes it for the victims and the victims' families.
VICTORIA SNIDER, SISTER OF SNIPER VICTIM: We have lived with the death, and we have lived with watching others die. They continue to kill.
QUIJANO: Prosecutor Robert Horan said the Christmas week timing probably influenced the jury.
ROBERT HORAN, PROSECUTOR: Well, of course, I'm not happy with the decision, but that's the American way. Twelve jurors decide these things. The prosecutor doesn't decide them.
QUIJANO: In making its decision, the four men and eight women on the jury found unanimously that the case met both aggravating factors required to put Malvo to death, that his conduct was depraved, and that he still poses a danger to society. But in the end, jurors exercised the other option available to them: life.
JIM WOLFCALE, JURY FOREMAN: This case was both mentally challenging and emotionally exhausting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUIJANO: Even if jurors had deadlocked, the outcome would have remained the same -- life without parole for Lee Malvo. Formal sentencing is set for March 10 -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Elaine Quijano for us this morning. Elaine, thanks.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
