|
 |   |
|
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Video Plus Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities 
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE
|  |
One-on-One Breaking down the Rae Carruth verdictPosted: Friday January 19, 2001 11:47 PMUpdated: Wednesday January 24, 2001 2:32 PM
Sports Illustrated legal analyst Lester Munson, a former trial attorney, took a few minutes to answer questions from Sports Tonight's Kara Henderson on Friday after Carruth was found guilty on three charges, but innocent of murder in the first degree. Kara Henderson: This jury was deadlocked just yesterday, how were they able to come to a verdict so quickly? Lester Munson: This is a "Friday afternoon compromise," Kara. These jurors were tired of the food in the courthouse coffee shop, they were tired of each other and they could not face a two-day weekend and then coming back to court for more of the same on Monday. So they found common ground and made what is obviously a compromised verdict. Henderson: As for the verdict, how could Rae Carruth be guilty of three charges, including conspiracy to commit murder, but not be guilty of murder itself?
Munson: I think the jury made this compromise and made those findings in order to preserve his life. I believe that this jury was shocked by the idea of the death penalty for a guy who did not pull the trigger, who did not do the shooting, who may have masterminded the entire plot, but was not physically involved in the killing itself. So they backed away from the first-degree murder charge. Henderson: An appeal is obviously coming. How will David Rudolf fight to overturn this verdict and what are his chances? Munson: He's going to use the verdict as the basis for his appeal. He will say that it is inconsistent, he will argue from that, the defendant, Rae Carruth, is entitled to a new trial, starting over again with only the conspiracy charge and the minor charges. They don't have to worry about first-degree murder anymore. He has been found not guilty. He can never be charged with that again. So he wants a new trial dealing with conspiracy only. Henderson: Both sides obviously made tactical errors. What do you think that they were? Munson: The tactical error that prosecution made, Kara, was to make a deal with the evil Van Brett Watkins . Here is a guy who is a psycho, a career criminal and the prosecutors gave him a break, they spared him a death penalty charge in return for testimony that ended up hurting the prosecution very badly. He was a terrible witness. The defense made a tactical error when they did not put Rae Carruth on the stand to explain what happened, to try to impress the jury with his own personal charm. David Rudolf did a great job in this case. He got very close to his dream of a "not guilty" verdict. But then, when he did not put Carruth on the stand, he lost his chance for a total "not guilty." Henderson: Now they did get guilty verdicts on three of the four charges. So there were some highlights for the prosecution. What do you think those were? Munson: The power of the prosecution's case was the voice of Cherica Adams. The 911 tape is the most devastating thing I have ever seen in a courtroom, and I have been around courtrooms for 35 years. Her voice, already shot four times, describing the fact that Rae Carruth and his car were ahead of her, causing her to stop so that the other guys could shoot her -- that was a dramatic moment. Without that, the prosecution had very little in this case. So that was their powerful evidence, the 911 tape. Henderson: Lester, thank you very much. This thing is far from over, so I am sure we will be hearing from you again.
|
