Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Interview With Bob Meyers

Aired December 24, 2003 - 08:13   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: Some of the families of the victims in the D.C. area shootings are furious that a jury has spared convicted sniper Lee Boyd Malvo's life. Dean Meyers was killed in October of 2002. The other convicted sniper, John Muhammad, was sentenced to death for that murder.
Earlier this morning, Dean's brother, Bob Meyers, spoke with me from Philadelphia.

And I asked him how he felt about Malvo getting a life term without parole.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BOB MEYERS, DEAN MEYERS' BROTHER: I believe that the sentencing left some unfinished business. In my opinion, it should have gone for the death sentence.

O'BRIEN: What do you think is the reason behind why it came down the way it did?

MEYERS: Well, that is an open question and it's hard for me to know what that is, for the same reason that it's hard for you to know, because they haven't been real clear about it, at least in information that I've received. But I've heard bits and pieces, mothers talking about their sons; Christmas; he's looking young; you know, those kinds of things. And actually if any of those things were part of the decision-making process, that makes it all the worse because none of those things really come to bear on the acts that were perpetrated or the law.

O'BRIEN: And, in fact, when he was convicted last week, did you pretty much feel he was aiming or headed to the same punishment that John Muhammad was getting?

MEYERS: Well, I was certainly hoping that he was. It's just all been confirmed to me all the more that he is the cold-blooded killer that his taped confession indicates that he was. And, you know, the defense's position was that he was temporarily insane when he was under the control of Mohammed, but now he's fine, they say. So recognizing that fact -- and that's their position -- when we have just emotionally gut wrenching testimony from victims' family members and he just has no response. He has no emotional reaction. There's no apology. There's no remorse.

So if the defense's position is that he's fine now and he's acting this way, then there's just no question that he's the cold- blooded killer that came out in the taped confession.

O'BRIEN: John Allen Muhammad obviously was sentenced to death for killing your brother. I don't know where you stood on the death penalty before your brother was killed. But I'm curious to know when the person responsible for killing your family member is put to death, is that, was that helpful for closure for you? I mean did it feel like that was the first step that was necessary toward your whole family moving on?

MEYERS: Well, I don't think that we'll ever get closure because there's always a huge gap in the, you know, in the family as a result of the loss of Dean and especially the circumstances that he was -- he met his demise. But as far as killing someone, it isn't really helping us finalize the situation. What it really does is it comes to the place where the thing that is most appropriate is done. It's more a matter, in my mind, of what's right. And anything short of that is kind of a cop out, I believe.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: That was Bob Meyers.

He's the brother of Dean Meyers, who was killed by the sniper attacks.

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 - 08:13   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Some of the families of the victims in the D.C. area shootings are furious that a jury has spared convicted sniper Lee Boyd Malvo's life. Dean Meyers was killed in October of 2002. The other convicted sniper, John Muhammad, was sentenced to death for that murder.
Earlier this morning, Dean's brother, Bob Meyers, spoke with me from Philadelphia.

And I asked him how he felt about Malvo getting a life term without parole.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BOB MEYERS, DEAN MEYERS' BROTHER: I believe that the sentencing left some unfinished business. In my opinion, it should have gone for the death sentence.

O'BRIEN: What do you think is the reason behind why it came down the way it did?

MEYERS: Well, that is an open question and it's hard for me to know what that is, for the same reason that it's hard for you to know, because they haven't been real clear about it, at least in information that I've received. But I've heard bits and pieces, mothers talking about their sons; Christmas; he's looking young; you know, those kinds of things. And actually if any of those things were part of the decision-making process, that makes it all the worse because none of those things really come to bear on the acts that were perpetrated or the law.

O'BRIEN: And, in fact, when he was convicted last week, did you pretty much feel he was aiming or headed to the same punishment that John Muhammad was getting?

MEYERS: Well, I was certainly hoping that he was. It's just all been confirmed to me all the more that he is the cold-blooded killer that his taped confession indicates that he was. And, you know, the defense's position was that he was temporarily insane when he was under the control of Mohammed, but now he's fine, they say. So recognizing that fact -- and that's their position -- when we have just emotionally gut wrenching testimony from victims' family members and he just has no response. He has no emotional reaction. There's no apology. There's no remorse.

So if the defense's position is that he's fine now and he's acting this way, then there's just no question that he's the cold- blooded killer that came out in the taped confession.

O'BRIEN: John Allen Muhammad obviously was sentenced to death for killing your brother. I don't know where you stood on the death penalty before your brother was killed. But I'm curious to know when the person responsible for killing your family member is put to death, is that, was that helpful for closure for you? I mean did it feel like that was the first step that was necessary toward your whole family moving on?

MEYERS: Well, I don't think that we'll ever get closure because there's always a huge gap in the, you know, in the family as a result of the loss of Dean and especially the circumstances that he was -- he met his demise. But as far as killing someone, it isn't really helping us finalize the situation. What it really does is it comes to the place where the thing that is most appropriate is done. It's more a matter, in my mind, of what's right. And anything short of that is kind of a cop out, I believe.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: That was Bob Meyers.

He's the brother of Dean Meyers, who was killed by the sniper attacks.

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