NEW YORK - It’s hard to know whether Brandon Craig is guilty or not.  There isn't much to prove it either way. 

In Session anchor Jami Floyd

On the prosecution side of things, there are three alleged eyewitnesses who have spent the last decade lying to police.  Now they say they saw Brandon Craig shoot and kill those three kids all those years ago. they say now that they are telling the truth; but they have every reason to lie. 

The defense witnesses have a lot more credibility but the defense is in the tough position of trying to prove a negative - that Mr. Craig could not have been the shooter, that he wasn't even there that night. 

We all know how hard it is to prove a negative, which is precisely why we place the burden on the prosecution to prove guilt. When the evidence is open to two possible interpretations we give the benefit of the doubt to the defense. In this case that means Brandon Craig is "not guilty."

-Jami Floyd, In Session anchor

ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico–A jury of eight men and four women will begin deliberating the fate of Brandon Craig, accused of gunning down three teens over an unpaid drug debt in May of 1999.

Brandon Craig awaits a jury's verdict

Prosecutor David Waymire urged jurors to convict Craig on all charges during closing arguments yesterday. He recalled the brutality of the crime, noting that all three victims were shot multiple times, each suffering a lethal head wound.

Waymire conceded his star witnesses were not perfect but they had overcome their fears and followed their conscience to come forward to testify. He pointed out that they had a relationship with Brandon Craig that would have made it difficult for them to testify against him: Luke Morris is the defendant’s cousin, Jeffrey Moore, Craig’s childhood friend, and Jocelyn Schneider, an ex-girlfriend who lived with him.

Waymire also noted that the crime scene analyst opined that the shooter was no farther that five feet away when he opened fire on the victims, corroborating testimony that Craig was on foot and moved side to side when he fired into the victim’s car.

Defense Attorney David Kaplan mocked the credibility of the witnesses and accused them of fabricating their stories so they could save themselves from their own legal problems. He noted the lies Schneider repeatedly told and her effort to elicit details about the crime in text messages to Luke Morris’ sister, Lacey in an effort to get their stories to match. Kaplan noted that she asked Lacey, “Who owed money…”a detail that she should have known if indeed it had been the motive for the triple murders.

In closing, Kaplan recalled the emotion from witnesses such as one neighbor who struggled to contain his sobs when he described discovering the bullet-ridden bodies of the teens, and another witness who choked up when she recalled driving by the victim’s car, and compared that to the absence of emotion from the eyewitnesses.

“The reason they didn’t get choked up is because they weren’t there,” said Kaplan. “It doesn’t resonate; it doesn’t hit them in the gut for having been part of it. It is overwhelming that this is a fabrication.”

Brandon Craig faces life in prison with parole eligibility after 30 years if he is convicted of first-degree Murder.

In Session will bring you comprehensive coverage of the verdict when it is announced.

–Grace Wong, In Session senior field producer

NEW YORK - Phil Spector is on trial—all over again–for the 2003 murder of actress Lana Clarkson at his Los Angeles mansion. Spector’s first trial in 2007 ended with a hung jury, after five months of testimony, more than 70 witnesses and hundreds of exhibits. Even with all of that, the prosecution still couldn't convince twelve jurors that Spector was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Music producer Phil Spector listens to lead prosecutor Alan Jackson, left, during the first trial in 2007

A lot has changed this time around. Spector has a new team of lawyers. Gone are the colorful Bruce Cutler, who famously coined the phrase "accidental suicide" and the brilliant Linda Kenney Baden (she is spending her days down in Florida defending Casey Anthony).

But some things remain the same: Alan Jackson is still on the case and remains one of the finest prosecutors you will ever see in a court of law; but the evidence hasn't changed either—or the lack of it. As terrific a lawyer as Mr. Jackson is, the facts are the facts; and the fact is that there were only two people in the foyer that night: One maintains his innocence, and the other is dead. With that, we can never really know what happened.

A good prosecutor knows he can't prove every case, even if he believes, in his heart of hearts, that a defendant is guilty. No matter what the D.A. thinks, it's the jury that matters. That’s why this time around the result will likely be the same as last time: No result.

-Jami Floyd, In Session anchor

ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico–The jury could begin deliberating the fate of Brandon Craig today, accused of triple murder, after attorneys present closing arguments.

Brandon Craig seated in court

The defense rested Friday after calling eight witnesses aimed at driving reasonable doubt through the government’s case. One of their witnesses, Debbie Mercer, disputed the state’s claims that rifle used in the homicides was dismantled at her home, testifying she did not know any of the eyewitnesses at the time of the incident.

However on cross, she said ammunition, seized from her house in 2006, and consistent with those found at the crime scene, came from the defendant.

Mercer, the girlfriend of Rick Morris and father of Luke Morris, said in May 1999, she had not yet met Morris, her domestic partner of the last 10 years. After Luke disclosed in 2006 that they cut up the murder weapon in her broken hot tub, police searched Mercer’s home and seized three firearms, and a box containing ammunition. The caliber did not match any of the weapons found in Mercer’s home, but is consistent with the casings found at the crime scene.

Asked where the ammo came from, Mercer replied, “It was Brandon’s box. He brought it.”

Other witnesses testified that they Brandon Craig and Jocelyn Schneider did not know each other at the time of the homicides.

Craig has pleaded not guilty to all charges; he faces a minimum of 30 years in prison if he is convicted.

Stay tuned to In Session for all the latest live coverage of this trial.

–Grace Wong, In Session senior field producer

NEW YORK – The big story out of California this week has been the four Oakland police officers shot and killed there. It turns out that, after the first two officers were down, the shooter hid out in his sister’s home. Neighbors knew where the shooter was hiding. But no one called 911 for at least an hour.

Makeshift memorial during a vigil for the four Oakland police officers shot and killed March 24, 2009 in Oakland, California

That’s something that folks from wealthier, safer communities - communities that enjoy a good relationship with law enforcement - just can't understand: The “no-snitch” rule. But I lived in Oakland for a time, and I know that part of town well. 74th Avenue. It’s in the heart of East Oakland; and in East Oakland you just don't want to be a snitch.

Oakland residents are all too familiar with violence. But instead of turning to police for protection, the relationship between the black community and the cops is strained at best.

In January, the shooting death of Oscar Grant, who was black, by a white Bay Area Transit officer brought the city to a boil. Violent protests erupted in the streets. By last Saturday night, at least a dozen pastors were calling for calm. But instead Saturday brought the deadliest police shooting in Oakland history.

The suspected shooter, Lovelle Mixon was black. None of the police officers were. Mixon himself was shot and killed after police tracked him down to his hiding place. If neighbors had called it in, lives might have been saved. But for folks to call 911, they have to feel safe, not just from criminals, but from the cops themselves. That’s why, to stop the violence, we have to rebuild the relationship between the police and the communities they protect and serve.

-Jami Floyd, In Session anchor

NEW YORK - "America's criminal justice system has deteriorated to the point that it is a national disgrace," according to Sen. Jim Webb, a Democrat from Virginia.

Sen. Jim Webb

That's why Webb says he has introduced bipartisan legislation today creating a blue-ribbon commission responsible for conducting an 18-month review of how the nation is dealing with crime and punishment. The group would be responsible for proposing fundamental reforms which reduce the incarceration rate, deal with domestic gang violence, retool the approach towards drug criminalization and improve the treatment of mental illness behind bars.

The United States houses 2.4 million prisoners - that's twenty-five percent of the world's prison population. The incarceration of drug offenders has gone up 1,200 percent since 1980. And there are four times as many mentally ill people in prisons than in mental health facilities.

The bill, known as the National Criminal Justice Commisson Act of 2009, is also concerned with racial disparities within the system. A recent report by the Pew Center on the States details these troubling numbers: "Black adults are four times as likely as whites and nearly 2.5 times as likely as Hispanics to be under correctional control. One in 11 black adults - 9.2 percent - was under correctional supervision at year-end 2007."

Sen. Webb believes, "There is great appreciation from most in this country that we are doing something drastically wrong." If the measure is passed, President Barack Obama would appoint a chairperson for an 11-member panel consisting of experts from the fields of criminal justice, prison administration, law enforcement and social services.

-Bob Regan, In Session senior executive producer

ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico–Brandon Craig is set to begin his defense today after prosecutors called their final witness yesterday, a third person who claims Craig was behind the triple homicide in 1999 that went unsolved for years.

Jeffrey Moore on the witness stand

Jeffrey Moore, the defendant’s childhood friend, testified Craig fired into the orange car carrying three teenagers the night of May 29, 1999 and then terrorized him into helping him get rid of the gun used in the shooting.

“It happened very quick,” said Moore, describing the shooting for the jury. “He [Craig] walked in a half moon shape, moving in the front of the car from the passenger side to the driver’s side back and forth.”

Moore said after the shooting Craig threw the rifle on the floor by his feet and they drove out of the area without any lights on at a high rate of speed. Moore said they drove to trailer where Luke Morris’s father lived, where he waited outside. He suspected Craig went there to destroy the weapon then place the different parts in garbage bags.

“I was ordered to get a garbage bag and throw it,” Moore said. “Brandon told me I was throwing a bag, so if one person went down everyone was going down.”

Defense Attorney Pamela Mackey suggested on cross-examination that Moore caved to police pressure to talk, and that any details he had about the crime were fed to him during repeated police interrogations.

Craig has pleaded not guilty to all charges and maintains the State’s star witnesses are lying to escape their own legal problems.

–Grace Wong, In Session senior field producer

NEW YORK – Historian John Hope Franklin died yesterday in Durham, North Carolina. He was 94. Perhaps you have never heard of Dr. Franklin. Historians - even the great ones - make it their business to document the big events. Rarely are they at the center of it all. But as an African-American child born in the 1960s, I heard early and often about John Hope Franklin. He was not just a historian. He was a scholar of our history— the history of black people in America.

John Hope Franklin

As such, Dr. Franklin wasn't content to sit on the sidelines while his people struggled for equality. He marched on Selma. He met with presidents. He consulted with the lawyers who would argue Brown v. Board of Education in the U.S. Supreme Court. With Dr. Franklin's help, they were able to convince the Justices that separate was inherently unequal. This, of course, had a direct impact on my life and the lives of generations of black children since.

Dr. Franklin was born in 1915. As a black American he lived the history he documented, from Jim Crow to the election of the first African-American president. Dr. Franklin also believed however, that even as they study the past, historians have a role to play in shaping the future. He reshaped America’s racial identity. John Hope Franklin leaves a profound legacy rooted in hope.

-Jami Floyd, In Session anchor

ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico–One of the lead investigators in the triple homicide case against Brandon Craig admitted that some details in the eyewitness' testimony did not check out, and that the tactics police used to pressure the key witnesses to talk could have prompted them to lie.

Prosecutors claim Kevin Shirley, Matthew Hunt, and Luis Garcia were gunned down by Brandon Craig

Cold case investigator Larry Stebleton led the triple homicide investigation in 2004 and questioned all three eyewitnesses in the case. Prosecutors called Stebleton to introduce a video demonstrating the ease and speed of an AK-47 rifle–the suspected murder weapon, even in the hands of an inexperienced shooter. The gun used in the May 1999 homicides was never recovered.

But the greater part of Stebleton’s time on the witness stand was spent reinforcing defense assertions that the eyewitness testimony was uncorroborated and unreliable. Defense attorney David Kaplan pointed out inconsistencies in the government’s case, eliciting concessions from the detective that he could not confirm many details in the eyewitness testimony including the first party that the eyewitnesses said they went to before ending up at the Crawford home.

 The detective also conceded he failed to uncover any police records of a stolen truck that Jocelyn Schneider claimed she was using on the night of the homicides, a revelation made known to investigators on the eve of Craig’s trial. Noting her many lies to police, Kaplan asked the detective, “At this point you have to be asking yourself whether you can believe anything she says,” said Kaplan.

“Yes,” said Stebleton.

The trial resumes today with testimony from the state’s final witness, Craig’s friend Jeffrey Moore. Craig has pleaded not guilty to all charges in this case. The defense is expected to begin presenting evidence on Friday.

Stay tuned to In Session for continued live coverage of the trial.

–Grace Wong, In Session senior field producer

NEW YORK - The Broward Medical Examiner's Office determined that former Playboy Playmate Anna Nicole Smith died of an accidental overdose involving prescription drugs over two years ago. But in the wake of a recent indictment in California involving Smith's ex-boyfriend, Howard K. Stern, and two doctors, prosecutors in Florida announced today they are taking a new look at evidence.

Anna Nicole Smith and Howard K. Stern in Las Vegas on September 15, 2004

"Our prosecutors have met with representatives of the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office and the California Department of Justice and discussed the evidence they have turned up in their investigation," according to Ron Ishoy, spokesman for the Broward State Attorney's Office.

Stern is currently facing charges of conspiring to illegally prescribe drugs for Smith. The new evidence could lead to charges in Florida ranging from manslaughter to first-degree murder.

Smith was found in a room at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on Feb. 8, 2007 after mixing anti-depressants, Valium, anti-anxiety medications, antibiotics, and a sedative, chloral hydrate.

If charges are brought in Florida, it’s far from a slam dunk. Prosecutors would likely have to show that there was such a high degree of negligence committed by Stern or the doctors in providing Smith prescription drugs, that it was tantamount to homicide.

-Bob Regan, In Session senior executive producer