Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
Woman Accused of Killing Husband Acting as Own Attorney; Toy Soldiers; Interview with Spike Lee
Aired March 21, 2006 - 08:31 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: It's three days back and forth in a California courtroom. Susan Polk, a woman accused of killing her husband, is acting as her own attorney. On the stand and forced to answer Polk's difficult questions, her own sons.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN POLK, ACCUSED OF MURDER: My recollection is that I stabbed him five or six times. I was on my back the entire time. He was...
ROBERTS (voice-over): Cold-blooded killer or victim?
POLK: What happened is my husband attacked me, and grabbed me by the hair.
ROBERTS: No one argues that Susan Polk killed her husband. The question: Was it self-defense? On the night of October 13th, 2002, Susan Polk and her 70-year-old husband Felix were at their home near San Francisco. He was an accomplished Bay Area psychologist. She, a former patient and mother of their three sons. But their 20-year marriage was ending in divorce, the children and the house itself the subject of a bitter custody fight. That night, Susan Polk stabbed her husband to death. She says he attacked her first with a knife. She then stabbed him over and over, she claims in self-defense.
But prosecutors say Susan Polk spent months going into fits of rage, threatening her husband, and plotted different ways to kill him. One of Susan Polk's three sons is speaking out in her defense. He says the problem was his father.
ELI POLK, SUSAN POLK'S SON: My dad was enraged, just completely enraged, you know, with the idea of my mom leaving, and said that he would destroy her.
ROBERTS: Initially Susan Polk's lawyer was well-known defense attorney Daniel Horowitz, whose own wife was found murdered last October. He claims Susan Polk endured years of abuse at the hands of her husband, about that started when Felix, then Susan's therapist, began having sex with her while she was just a teenager.
DANIEL HOROWITZ, FMR. POLK ATTY.: She has a defense, because if she exploited in the rage of a woman who had been held almost in a cult, the cult of Felix Polk, for all of those years having her youth robbed, then that anger exploding and killing her with all of those stab wounds, which is a sign of anger, is justifiable and understandable. ROBERTS: Polk fired Horowitz in January, and is now representing herself, which means she has to cross-examine her own sons.
POLK: I hope that people will not be prejudiced by the charge that's been brought against me, and that they will listen with an open mind to what I have to say.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Polk's son, Gabriel, will be back on the stand for a fourth day today, but the judge has ordered Polk to wrap it up.
Joining me now from San Francisco is Carol Pogash, who has been in the courtroom every day while working on a book about this trial.
Good morning, Carol.
Have you ever seen anything as strange as this trial is turning out to be?
CAROL POGASH, OBSERVING POLK TRIAL: Nothing close to it, no. And especially right now, to hear a mother cross-examining her own son. Pretty amazing.
ROBERTS: You said that judge Laurel Brady has shown infinite patience so far with Polk acting has her own attorney. That is until yesterday when she started cross-examining Gabriel. The judge said, quote, "I believe that this cross-examination is bordering on the abusive. I'm telling you that you will finish it tomorrow."
Susan Polk, by the way, also had strong words for the judge, saying, "I am objecting to your aligning yourself with the prosecution."
ROBERTS: Carol, why has this cross-examination gone on for so long?
POGASH: Susan Polk said early on, when she was questioning the jurors, that she would not kill or make her case to defend herself, that this was her only chance to tell her story, and I think that's what she's been doing. She has been using this as a platform to talk about what a good mother she was, and to just recount her life.
She has not even broached the issue of the murder of her husband. And as a prosecutor said, she hasn't even talked with her son, questioned him, about the week leading up to the murder. She just has a completely different agenda, or she did until the judge lowered the boom yesterday and said that -- yes?
ROBERTS: I was going to say, she seems to be sort of, you know, portraying history as she sees it, saying things to her son, question like, you don't recall I caught your father poisoning Tuffy, the family dog, and are you aware that your father woke up every day thinking about killing people? You know, this almost speaks to what some observers have said about her, that she refuses to lose an argument.
POGASH: She is -- that's true, she is unwilling to lose an argument, and you know, the judge, every now and then, has to stop her and tell her it's time to move on, as she did yesterday. And told her that -- Susan Polk had her youngest son on the witness stand for three days, and you're right, it got to the point where she was talking about how they treated their dogs, and the D.A. said, I hope we're not going to have to impeach the dog. And it became absurd, and that's when the judge simply said, I'm calling a halt to this. And she also said that she could no longer continue -- that if Susan Polk continued not to push the case forward, that she, the judge, would have to deny her her right -- or her privilege to defend herself.
ROBERTS: To represent herself.
Very quickly, if you could, Carol, how is this playing with the jury, do you think?
POGASH: Well, I noticed that only one juror seems to be taking notes. I don't think that's a good sign. I would guess that at first they were probably very fascinated to watch a mother cross-examine her son, but they must be wondering where the case is going, because she's not talking about the murder, or as she would say, the killing of her husband.
I think today will be very, very interesting to see what happens.
ROBERTS: Very unusual case, to say the least. Carol Pogash, author in San Francisco, thanks for joining us this morning. Appreciate it -- Soledad.
POGASH: You're welcome.
O'BRIEN: We're getting this just into CNN: We're getting word from the White House that the president is going to hold a news conference, going to take place at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time in White House briefing room. The president is going to apparently take a wide variety of questions on a whole range of topics. Of course one of the key issues will be, though, what we've been talking about today, the president attempts to build public support for the U.S. presence in Iraq. No doubt that reporters will be asking him about that this morning. Again, 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time. CNN obviously will carry that for you live.
Some very real soldiers could be very soon coming to the shelves of your local toy store in the form of action figures. CNN's senior Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr explains how and why.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Here, at the Gentle Giant Studios in Los Angeles, Sergeant Tommy Rieman is getting a full-body scan, turning this real life Silver Star soldier into an action figure hero.
A computer spends up to 30 hours printing a three-dimensional wax model, and then the prototype is turned into a doll like this.
SGT. TOMMY RIEMAN, U.S. ARMY, SILVER STAR RECIPIENT: It's not a doing doll; it's an action figure.
STARR: Rieman and eight other soldiers are turned into action figures as part of an Army program to inspire young people to join the military.
Back at the Pentagon, Tommy Rieman recalls December 3rd, 2003.
RIEMAN: I received a bullet in the arm.
STARR: His unit was ambushed on patrol south of Baghdad. Badly outnumbered, riding in Humvee with no doors, no armor. Tommy threw his body in front of enemy fire to protect his buddies, knowing that enemy bullets would hit his body. With 13 bullet and shrapnel wounds, he refused medical care until his whole team got to safety.
RIEMAN: My wounds doesn't count if all of my guys are dead.
STARR: On this third anniversary of the war, Tommy and his guys are still very close.
RIEMAN: Actually my team leader, Stephon Perhaska (ph), I named him the godfather of my child, so it shows you the bond and great relationship we have as a team. There is actually two more guys that are serving in Afghanistan and Iraq for the second and third time.
STARR: But thrilled as he is to be this action figure for children, Tommy Rieman says kids need to know war is not about toy figures and video games.
RIEMAN: And inspire somebody and they can look up and say, you know, he's an E-5. He's 25 years old. He's an action figure. I can do that, too. And if gives them something to look forward to and relate.
STARR: Still, aside from the inspiration, how many new fathers can say this?
RIEMAN: I have a son. When he is five years old, he is going to be playing G.I. Joe with my action figure. I mean, that means the world to any father. I mean, the only word I can use for it is just cool.
STARR: Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: That is cool. No word yet on when those action figures are going to be available to the public.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning, accusations of false advertising. A battle over mouthwash. These are just some of the business stories we're telling you about this morning, ahead.
ROBERTS: Looking out for you. Also, spring is officially here. That means allergies for a lot of folks, including the one sitting next to me. We'll give you some tips on surviving allergy season.
O'BRIEN: Then A.M. Pop. Director Spike Lee join us live. He's going to talk about his new movie, "Inside Man." It is a star-studded flick, kind of a departure for him, too. We'll talk about all of that ahead, on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: So have you guys have been seeing the promos for the movie "Vendetta," right, "V for Vendetta." In the movie, the hero of the film blows up buildings trying to bring down the government. Some folks think that this movie is giving terrorists a good name. We're going to talk about that debate that's raging just ahead.
And next, director Spike Lee is here. There he is, live in our studio. We're going to talk about his new movie. It's called "Inside Man" That's coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Spike Lee's new movie, "Inside Man," is full of thrills and star power. Denzel Washington plays a tough cop matching wits with a clever bank robber, who's played by Clive Owen. Here is a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DENZEL WASHINGTON, ACTOR: Trying to get you what you want but you got to understand this -- you know, it's not like the city of New York has 747s waiting around for days like today.
CLIVE OWEN, ACTOR: I understand that if you don't get my plane ready, then you might as well send a hearse.
WASHINGTON: Please. Let's focus on how we can both get what we want, all right?
OWEN: Hey, you're not listening. You get me what I want. I won't kill anyone.
WASHINGTON: All right. I'm on it. I'm on it. Let's just try to keep everybody calm, OK?
OWEN: Don't I sound calm to you?
WASHINGTON: Yes, you do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Jodie Foster, the other big star here. The director of "Inside Man" is Spike Lee. Joins us now. Nice to see, as always.
SPIKE LEE, DIRECTOR, "INSIDE MAN: Good morning, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: I love this movie.
LEE: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: I thought it was great.
LEE: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: But you know, I got to tell you, I thought, this is not a typical Spike Lee joint.
LEE: Well, you know, I do a lot of things. We've been doing this May -- this August, excuse me. This August is going to be 20 years since "She's Going to Have It." So, you know, we're just trying out different stories. When I read the script, I loved it. It was written by a first-time screen writer. I couldn't figure out -- usually when I'm in a movie theater, I know where the end is going to be.
O'BRIEN: Right. Ten minutes in, you know...
LEE: Ten pages of script, I know what's going to happen. I could not figure out how it was going to end. So I figured the audience wouldn't be able to figure it out also. So Denzel Washington, Jodie Foster, Clive Owen, Christopher Plummer, Willem Dafoe.
O'BRIEN: Good. It's a good cast.
LEE: So we got a great cast.
O'BRIEN: It's a great cast.
LEE: The dream team.
O'BRIEN: You know, and it really does take a story that's kind of is a cliched story, which is a guy and his team knocks over a bank...
LEE: The bank heist.
O'BRIEN: The bank heist story. And then, you're right, all of a sudden, they're not going for the money, and it's weird.
LEE: We have a lot of twists and turns, and it's a really, really New York City film, I think, that people get no matter where they live. And we have plenty of homages to the great "Dog Day Afternoon," directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Al Pacino.
O'BRIEN: Yes, yes, which is a movie, of course, that you love.
LEE: Right.
O'BRIEN: You know, there's -- it has a real post-9/11 feel, too. I mean, I love the scene where the guy who is really a hostage is released and he comes out...
LEE: Yes, he's a Sikh
O'BRIEN: And he's a Sikh, and everyone -- because he looks like what could be a terrorist, they get a little bit...
LEE: Well, anybody with a turban on his head is in the Taliban? Or al Qaeda? Lock 'em up, send 'em down -- what's that thing in Cuba?
O'BRIEN: Guantanamo? Camp X-Ray.
LEE: Lock 'em up!
O'BRIEN: But you also see that the cops -- you know, here's the guy that's come out of the bank. He's got something around his neck. They don't really know what to do. They don't know if he's the robber. They don't know if he's a hostage.
LEE: Well, that's the great plan. As Clive Owen's character says, it's the perfect bank robbery. Everything is in place. And Clive has Denzel guessing. The audience is guessing also.
O'BRIEN: But, and a lot of it is told with interviews.
LEE: Right.
O'BRIEN: I mean, it's not told in sequential order.
LEE: Interrogation breaks it up.
O'BRIEN: Yes. It's a very interesting film. Why -- is this new Spike Lee doing blockbuster films? This is going to be big. This is going to be huge.
LEE: It's not a blockbuster yet. You know, the film opens...
O'BRIEN: It will be. I'm predicting a blockbuster!
LEE: Well, you know what's good, though? It's good with Brian Grazer. Because Brian -- it was his project. Ron Howard, his partner, supposed to direct it first. And he let me do it. He let me direct this film. And it's great having a film where we have TV commercials, where you walk down the street and the thing is on top of the cabs and bus shelters. So...
O'BRIEN: Is that weird? Because you usually don't do the big giant budget ones.
LEE: Oh, I'm not -- you know, usually, the day my films open, people say, so Spike, when's your next film coming out? I'm like, it's opening today!
O'BRIEN: So does that make you say from now on, I like the commercials, I like the ads on top of the taxis? I want to -- that's the new -- everything I'm doing I want an ad for! LEE: Well, I don't want to make B.S. also, so you got to try to find that balance. And I think this script enabled me to put my personal touch and still do a film that hopefully is going to make money.
O'BRIEN: Did you make changes to the script? I mean, you know, some of the stuff that I thought was classic Spike, but I might be making that up. Like a lot of the race stuff, that's, you know, percolating underneath because it's New York.
LEE: That stuff we snuck in there. We didn't want to let it detract the bank robbery story. But my wife Tonya, we were talking about this last night, that this film really reflects the diversity of New York City. Like Denzel has a scene where they're trying to find this tape, and so they played over the loud speaker, saying somebody on the corner must know this language.
O'BRIEN: They play it out loud...
LEE: That's just New York City!
O'BRIEN: And there's a guy who says I know what that is.
LEE: There's somebody -- you play any language, there's someone around the corner who's going to know what language that is. No other city like that in the world.
O'BRIEN: Yes, it's true. It is -- it's a great flick.
LEE: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: It's a really great flick. Spike Lee talking with us this morning about "Inside Man." Opens on Friday. Commercial -- catch the commercial! Look on top of any cab in New York City, you'll see it advertised. Nice to see you, Spike.
LEE: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: John.
ROBERTS: Look for those billboards.
Top stories ahead.
President Bush holds a news conference at 10:00 Eastern time. CNN is going to carry that for you live.
An Ohio man is accused of killing a boy for walking on his lawn.
Testimony in the Moussaoui sentencing trial resumes today.
A storm dumps more than a foot of snow in the Great Plains.
And the spring allergy season is here. Some tips for you on how to survive.
All of that, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
