November 10, 1999
Web posted at: 10:58 PM EST (0358 GMT)

NEW YORK (CNN) -- To keep a producer from being thrown into jail, CBS News on Wednesday turned over the transcript of an interview that Dan Rather conducted with the third defendant being tried for murder in the dragging death of a black man.

The trial of Shawn Allen Berry, 24, got under way in Jasper, Texas, on Wednesday after a judge refused a defense request for a change of venue.

Two other men, white supremacists John William King and Lawrence Russell Brewer, already have been convicted and sentenced to die for chaining James Byrd Jr. by his ankles to a pickup truck and dragging him along a country road until his body was torn apart.

The interview with Berry was conducted by Rather two months ago. Portions were aired on "60 Minutes II" on September 28. CBS released the entire transcript Wednesday after an appeals court Tuesday refused to overturn two contempt citations against producer Mary Mapes.

Judge Joe Bob Golden, who is presiding at Berry's trial, ordered Mapes jailed twice for refusing to comply with prosecution subpoenas to provide a transcript and videotape of the interview.

CBS President Andrew Heyward said the network "exhausted evey possible legal option" before turning over the material.

"First, let us not lose sight of the most important aspect of this case: A heinous crime was committed, and, as citizens of this country, we believe that those responsible must be brought to justice," Heyward said in a statement released by CBS.

"However, we also believe that a crucially important principle was being threatened in this case: That a free and independent press is one of the cornerstones of a democracy. Journalists cannot be seen as tools of law enforcement or the judicial system. We believe that an attack on this principle is an attack on the First Amendment that can seriously hinder the public's right to a free and open flow of ideas and information."

But, he added, "Defending that principle in this case was not an easy task," and CBS decided to comply with the subpoena because no confidential sources or materials were involved. "The imminent threat by the judge to jail our producer, Mary Mapes, turned an important matter of principle into a media sideshow that diverted attention from the real story -- the trial itself."