CNN's Don Lemon suggests skin color and 'privilege' can account for Laundrie family not talking to police

CNN anchor Don Lemon suggested Monday the skin color of Brian Laundrie, fiancé to Gabby Petito, awarded him the "privilege" of not talking to police during the investigation into her disappearance and possible death.

Petito’s case has captured the country since she went missing earlier this month. Authorities found a body Sunday in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park believed to be the missing young woman, while the current whereabouts of Laundrie, who has been named a person of interest in the case, remain unknown. The discovered body will undergo an autopsy Tuesday.

Laundrie's family members were instructed by their attorney not to talk to the authorities, which Lemon chalked up to "privilege."

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"You ask any person of color, you ask a Black man who – if they have that sort of privilege," Lemon said Monday night.

"It's not privilege, it's a right," CNN's Chris Cuomo said, pushing back. He added that any defense attorney would advise their client not to talk to the police because they can use whatever they say against them.

Lemon argued that while cops are the good guys in many cases, they "aren't" in many more instances. He painted a picture of what he believed often transpired behind closed doors when police take Black people and poor people into custody, as many, he said aren't able to afford a lawyer.

"Do you thi... (Read more)

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