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Anderson Cooper 360

murder investigation. but they will rely upon common sense. mark has something. if the guy confesses to murder and you don't ask a follow up question. you don't call him out on it. i think prosecutors, again, they have to lean heavier on the timeline and the big lies that they can prove inside the courtroom. >> mark, when the defense argues there could have been two shooters involved in the murders. is that a wise strategy for the defense to try to come up with as many different possibilities just to have some sort of beyond a reasonable doubt in there? >> criminal defense 101. you don't have to prove innocence. you have to prove if there is reasonable doubt. the idea of any alternative besides the one the state presents is not a bad way to do it. the idea that there were two separate long gun used to commit

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Anderson Cooper 360

murder scene. >> how many blackout, ar style rifles did you make for alec murdaugh? >> three. >> when was the last made? >> april 2018. >> anderson, the defense is quick to point out how cooperative they say alec murdaugh was with investigators from the start. they say he granted them several interviews and helped them to unlock his wife's phone once it was found and gave them the pincode and did not ask for a search warrant when they wanted to come into the home, seize the weapons and search his gun room. they wanted to make the point to the jury. >> i want to bring in mark o'meara and a former prosecutor, lead anchor for "court tv." >> mark, much of the focus is several days after the murders murdaugh said to investigators i did him so bad. some construed it as a confession.

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Anderson Cooper 360

to decide what he said on the tape. that is the best evidence? >> yes, sir. >> the defense got the same witness to tell the jury that the murder weapon that killed paul murdaugh was not collected from the gunroom at the house and the ammunition was not a match either. >> neither fired the shots that killed paul, correct? >> i do not have the lab report in front of me. >> have you ever found the murder weapons? >> not that i am aware of, sir. >> you did not find any similar ammunition june 8th or any time after that? >> i did not, sir. >> alec's second cousin and a captain with the department of natural resources testified for the state. he told the injury he built ar style rifles for alec murdaugh, the same type of rifle the prosecution says was used at the

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Anderson Cooper 360

the legal battle in court. >> according to your testimony he said i did him so bad. >> that is what i understood him to say, yes, sir. >> alec murdaugh's defense lawyer cross-examining a witness for the prosecution. the goal is to clear up what he heard or thought he heard alec murdaugh say that seemed to sound like a confession. when alec was interviewed just a few days after his wife and son were murdered he said this. >> it was just so bad. i did him so bad. >> reporter: the witness had told the court he thought alec said i did him so bad. the defense suggested alec said they did him so bad. >> did you consider that as a confession on june 10th? >> it is something we were

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Anderson Cooper 360

definitely going to follow up on. >> why didn't you ask him then and there? why didn't you ask him what you mean by that alec? >> it was early in the investigation. >> what were the things going through your mind when you heard or misheard i did him so bad. you were like i wasn't a good dad? i spoiled him or i killed him? what was going through your mental note? >> there is a mental note it is definitely something we need to follow up on. >> reporter: the defense replayed the part of the interview at regular speed and slowed it down to a third of the speed and play it again. >> we would like to to play it again. >> it is just so bad. they did him so bad. >> you hear they then? >> no, sir, i did not. >> you would agree the jury gets

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Anderson Cooper 360

on the common sense aspect. the guy just confesses to murder and you don't ask a follow-up question? you don't, like, call him out on it? so, i think prosecutors, again, they have to lean heavier on the timeline and the big lies that they can prove inside this courtroom. >> merck, when the defense argues there could've been two shooters involved in the murders, is that a wise strategy for the defense to essentially try to come up with as many different possibilities just to kind of have some sort of reasonable doubt in their? >> well, criminal defense 101. you don't have accrued innocence, you have to prove that there is reasonable doubt. so, the idea of suggesting any alternative besides the one that the state is presenting is not a bad way to do it. and look, let's face it, the idea that there were two separate long guns firearms used to commit this double murder is a question that needs

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CNN Newsroom With Poppy Harlow and Jim Sciutto-20211123-14:15:00

to detain or arrest the individual. what i understood the defense is arguing is that this temporal period stretched over some time. what i understood the state was arguing is that, no, that temporal period is limited to what had occurred there, the escape, the word escape was -- he was escaping from whatever may have occurred that day. >> yes, that is what we're arguing. >> that's not what i'm hearing then. because what i'm hearing is, well, the state limits its argument to that, that's what the second sentence refers to, an escape, that limited temporal period, that's permitted. that's what we talked about in the charge conference. >> yes, judge. >> i don't think that is what we argued about, by email and all the rest, your honor. >> that's what i remember, that's what i'm saying. >> the state limits argument to that. >> okay. >> your honor, if it is okay for me to step out just for a second, i will not disturb the

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CNN Newsroom With Poppy Harlow and Jim Sciutto-20211123-14:11:00

fix it, not by simply saying to the jury that the law is going to come from the court, which it will, but that this is a misstatement of the law, this argument is improper. >> we join. >> thank you, your honor. yesterday, the defense got up here and argued their interpretation of the law. and i didn't object at all because i knew it was their interpretation of what they believe the law to be. they went through the whole probable cause thing, they callcall ed him a burglar. the state didn't objebobject, i understood this was their position. i declared to this jury and i will again this is what the law is and this is how you apply it to these facts and this is the state's interpretation of how you read the law, just like they gave their interpretation in their closing yesterday. i ask that you deny the mistrial. [ inaudible ]

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CNN Newsroom With Poppy Harlow and Jim Sciutto-20211123-14:28:00

warrant and arrests her later. that answers that question that the defense brought up. all right. citizen's arrest. if the observer fails to make at rest immediately after the commission of the offense, or during escape in the case of felonies, his power to do so is extinguished. okay. so, when you're in the store, and the woman shoplifting and you go to do a citizen's arrest, you have to do it right then and there. she comes back in the store four days later, yeah, you can't arrest her. you can't do a citizen's arrest four days later. if you fail to make that arrest after the commission of the offense, you have no power to do a citizen's arrest. in other words, i mean, in other words, this is what we're talking about, we're talking about citizen's arrest for emergency situations. >> judge, i object -- >> emergency situations.

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CNN Newsroom With Poppy Harlow and Jim Sciutto-20211123-14:18:00

don't really think much about what was said yesterday, right, the jury is going to decide something today or get the case today, and that's -- this is the closest thing they're going to hear from the lawyer before they get the case. and so the defense is trying to knock holes to knock her off her track to sort of get -- mess up the flow, i guess, of the argument that is being -- >> raise a doubt in the mind in the jury. that's their job here. >> yeah, absolutely. we heard the defense point out, this is her interpretation and she should be clear about that. the prosecutor saying i think i have been clear, i didn't interrupt the defense yesterday when they were saying what their interpretation was, you know, elliott, as a former prosecutor, as you're listening to lisa dunikoski today in her rebuttal, i'm hearing her go through each point, that the defense made, both over the course of the trial, and also in closing arguments yesterday and do her best to dismantle those. and specifically on self-defense, she's coming back

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