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CNN Saturday Morning News
Attorney Discusses Florida Boys Who Killed Father
Aired October 19, 2002 - 08:36 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.
KATHLEEN KENNEDY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There is another twist in a Florida case that has already tested legal precedent. A circuit court judge this week threw out the convictions of Alex and Derek King, two teenage boys found guilty last month of killing their father. The prosecution and defense have now been ordered to resolve the case in mediation.
Joining us now on the phone from Pensacola, Florida is Sharon Potter. She's the attorney for Derek King.
We also want to tell you that we invited the prosecutor to join us, but we did not get a response this morning.
Sharon, thanks for coming on the show with us.
SHARON POTTER, ATTORNEY FOR DEREK KING: Sure. Good morning.
KENNEDY: First of all, your reaction to this Thursday decision.
POTTER: I was very surprised. We had made the same argument several times before and the judge had summarily denied our motions before, so we really didn't expect Thursday would be any different.
KENNEDY: What's been, have you talked to the boys? What's been their reaction?
POTTER: Well, obviously they, they're somewhat relieved. They're still facing murder charges, though. So it's kind of a cautious relief, I guess.
KENNEDY: They're very young to understand all this, aren't they?
POTTER: Sure they are.
KENNEDY: Why do you think that the judge overturned this?
POTTER: I don't know. Right now I could only speculate because although he did say that he was quite sure the boys had not received a fair trial, he did not state his basis for that and we won't know that for several weeks until we get his written order on the matter.
KENNEDY: Do you think the dual prosecution had something to do with it?
POTTER: I suspect that it did, yes.
KENNEDY: How so? POTTER: Well, that's been the main basis of our argument all along. And based on some of the statements the judge made, it appeared that he was concerned about that. But right now that's only speculation on my part.
KENNEDY: All right, Sharon, tell us what happens from here.
POTTER: Well, the first thing we have to do is we have to attend mediation, and that will be the defense attorneys and the prosecutor. And the point of the mediation is that maybe we can work something out and avoid a second trial completely. And then if we reach an impasse at mediation, then we just go back to another trial.
KENNEDY: Do you believe it can be mediated?
POTTER: I don't know. It really depends on what the prosecutor comes to the table with. If he comes to the table with something besides second degree murder, then we might be able to talk. But obviously if that's all he comes to the table, we don't have anything to gain by that.
KENNEDY: What kind of deal would you like to see?
POTTER: Well, ideally what I would like to see, I would like to see the charges dropped. And somehow I, you know, I don't think that's going to happen. The boys have already been in jail for over 10 months for a crime that, this terrible crime that so many people believe they didn't commit and even their own jury did not believe they committed it.
So at this point they've already been punished pretty severely and they've lost their father.
KENNEDY: Were you shocked by this verdict?
POTTER: I was only shocked once I found out the basis for the verdict. It's, in a way I was pleased that it was second degree murder and not first degree murder because, of course, that opened up a lot of sentencing options for us. And without knowing the basis for the verdict, I had to be somewhat resigned to it. But then within just a few hours I found out the basis and that was pretty surprising, that the jury had come up with the alternative scenario that nobody had ever argued to them.
KENNEDY: On a personal note, Sharon, what are your hopes for these boys?
POTTER: I would like to see the boys be released from jail, receive extensive counseling for everything they've been through, meaning not having a family for most of their lives, meaning being victimized by a third party and then being charged with this terrible crime and being incarcerated for 10 months and being vilified by so many people. They just really need some help and they need a loving family to take care of them.
KENNEDY: All right, well, the attorney for Derek King, Sharon Potter, thanks for joining us this morning.
And we'll be watching this case very closely.
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 October 19, 2002 - 08:36 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KATHLEEN KENNEDY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There is another twist in a Florida case that has already tested legal precedent. A circuit court judge this week threw out the convictions of Alex and Derek King, two teenage boys found guilty last month of killing their father. The prosecution and defense have now been ordered to resolve the case in mediation.
Joining us now on the phone from Pensacola, Florida is Sharon Potter. She's the attorney for Derek King.
We also want to tell you that we invited the prosecutor to join us, but we did not get a response this morning.
Sharon, thanks for coming on the show with us.
SHARON POTTER, ATTORNEY FOR DEREK KING: Sure. Good morning.
KENNEDY: First of all, your reaction to this Thursday decision.
POTTER: I was very surprised. We had made the same argument several times before and the judge had summarily denied our motions before, so we really didn't expect Thursday would be any different.
KENNEDY: What's been, have you talked to the boys? What's been their reaction?
POTTER: Well, obviously they, they're somewhat relieved. They're still facing murder charges, though. So it's kind of a cautious relief, I guess.
KENNEDY: They're very young to understand all this, aren't they?
POTTER: Sure they are.
KENNEDY: Why do you think that the judge overturned this?
POTTER: I don't know. Right now I could only speculate because although he did say that he was quite sure the boys had not received a fair trial, he did not state his basis for that and we won't know that for several weeks until we get his written order on the matter.
KENNEDY: Do you think the dual prosecution had something to do with it?
POTTER: I suspect that it did, yes.
KENNEDY: How so? POTTER: Well, that's been the main basis of our argument all along. And based on some of the statements the judge made, it appeared that he was concerned about that. But right now that's only speculation on my part.
KENNEDY: All right, Sharon, tell us what happens from here.
POTTER: Well, the first thing we have to do is we have to attend mediation, and that will be the defense attorneys and the prosecutor. And the point of the mediation is that maybe we can work something out and avoid a second trial completely. And then if we reach an impasse at mediation, then we just go back to another trial.
KENNEDY: Do you believe it can be mediated?
POTTER: I don't know. It really depends on what the prosecutor comes to the table with. If he comes to the table with something besides second degree murder, then we might be able to talk. But obviously if that's all he comes to the table, we don't have anything to gain by that.
KENNEDY: What kind of deal would you like to see?
POTTER: Well, ideally what I would like to see, I would like to see the charges dropped. And somehow I, you know, I don't think that's going to happen. The boys have already been in jail for over 10 months for a crime that, this terrible crime that so many people believe they didn't commit and even their own jury did not believe they committed it.
So at this point they've already been punished pretty severely and they've lost their father.
KENNEDY: Were you shocked by this verdict?
POTTER: I was only shocked once I found out the basis for the verdict. It's, in a way I was pleased that it was second degree murder and not first degree murder because, of course, that opened up a lot of sentencing options for us. And without knowing the basis for the verdict, I had to be somewhat resigned to it. But then within just a few hours I found out the basis and that was pretty surprising, that the jury had come up with the alternative scenario that nobody had ever argued to them.
KENNEDY: On a personal note, Sharon, what are your hopes for these boys?
POTTER: I would like to see the boys be released from jail, receive extensive counseling for everything they've been through, meaning not having a family for most of their lives, meaning being victimized by a third party and then being charged with this terrible crime and being incarcerated for 10 months and being vilified by so many people. They just really need some help and they need a loving family to take care of them.
KENNEDY: All right, well, the attorney for Derek King, Sharon Potter, thanks for joining us this morning.
And we'll be watching this case very closely.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
