Suspect Charged with Capital Murder
CUOMO: The trial for the man who killed former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle is set to begin this week. But the popularity of the film "American Sniper" based on Kyle's life raises questions. Will Eddie Ralph, defendant get a fair trial and if he has PTSD and mental illness problems, problems the movie highlights, what will the verdict be? Joining us now are Jeffrey Toobin, CNN senior legal analyst and former federal prosecutor and Paul Callan, CNN legal analyst and criminal defense attorney. Paul, let's start with the first question, which is do you believe that given where they will have this trial and the popularity of the movie, do you think it can be held in a fair way?</s>PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes, I do think it will be held in a fair way. It will be very difficult, obviously, with "American Sniper" being the most popular movie in the country. Everybody is intimately familiar with the victim in this case, which is very rare in a murder case. But in the end you have to say if you choose to shoot a famous person you can't later on say it's unfair to give me a trial because I shot a famous person. He can't go, he's got to be moved someplace else in Texas. Everybody in Texas knows about the case. Everybody in the United States knows about the case.</s>CAMEROTA: Jeffrey, I was surprised to learn that the judge is not going to automatically disqualify potential jurors who have seen the movie or have read Chris Kyle's auto biography.</s>JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Not automatically, but you can be sure they will be questioned closely about whether they have feelings that would disqualify them? You know, we often have this conversation about high profile cases, can you get a fair jury. I think those of us in the news media thinks people follow these cases as much as we do. People don't. People in the real world have other lives, other interests. I think it's usually easier to find an unbiased jury that you might think here.</s>CUOMO: Let's get into it a little bit, though, Paul. Here's what we know. Every show, according to senior producer, John Griffin, every show, every seat that they were having in this area of Texas was sold out. So you know people are watching the movie. But the question is, what message do you take away from it? This man supposedly has PTSD supposedly is going to defend himself with insanity the movie makes very strongly a case that this is much worse than you people know. You don't understand what they deal with over there and how it plagues them coming home. Could that ply to his favor and maybe he gets found guilty but insane?</s>CALLAN: I think that's a great observation. I think in fact the existence of the movie will help him tremendously. It's almost like the movie is an exhibit how veterans returning from Iraq can suffer from conditions, PTSD in particular. Remember, the defense here isn't I didn't do it. The defense is that this mental illness caused me to do it. It's almost as if Chris Kyle is helping him through the grave through this movie requested American sniper" to send a message to the jury in this case.</s>CAMEROTA: Although, Jeffrey, there are some claims the defendant here did not see combat in service and he might not actually have been suffering from PTSD, though it is a convenient narrative because of the movie. That said, he could still be found to be insane.</s>TOOBIN: Absolutely. There are a lot of people who never saw combat. I think it's also worth noting that there is going to be another theme in this trial, which is putting the VA on trial. The defense is going to claim that the veterans administration, which is not a particularly popular institution didn't give him the care he need, he deserved. It was really the VA's fault, at least, if part, for the untreated illness he had.</s>CAMEROTA: That might resonate with the jury as well.</s>CUOMO: That's how he came in the first place. Kyle started some bay through his own therapeutic process to work with guys suffering from</s>PTSD. TOOBIN: I wanted to add. I think that is an enormously important point that maybe we don't focus on enough is that Chad Littlefield was also killed here, which makes this crime so much worse and I feel for his family sometimes this is always referred to as the Chris Kyle case.</s>CUOMO: A big test of sympathies.</s>CAMEROTA: You make a great point and yet, Texas not looking for the death penalty.</s>CALLAN: That's unusual in Texas. They're not shy about seeking the death penalty. I think there is understanding in Texas that in this case because you are dealing with a war veteran and has maybe it doesn't rise to the level of a legitimate insanity defense, there are underlying mental illness issues involved.</s>TOOBIN: There is a little told story here, too. The death penalty in Texas is way down. Prosecutors are asking for it a lot less. Jurors are imposing a lot less. The death penalty is slowing down everywhere, included in Texas.</s>CAMEROTA: All right, Jeffrey Toobin and Paul Callan, thanks, so much for your expertise. And tonight, be sure to watch our CNN special report. It's called "BLOCKBUSTER, THE STORY OF AN AMERICAN SNIPER." We look at this story from every angle at 9:00 p.m. Eastern. Let's go to Michaela.</s>MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: All right, you have a new high-tech car of yours may have all sorts of features. Is it vulnerable to hackers? Security experts looked at 20 different smart cars, find out if yours is hackable coming up.