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CNN NEWSROOM

Jodi Arias Speaks To Jury; Man Videos & Dodges Tornado; Oklahoma Tornado

Aired May 21, 2013 - 13:59   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


JODI ARIAS, CONVICTED OF MURDER: I'll share a few examples that I thought of. A few months before trial, and by that I mean jury selection, my hair was past my waist and I donated it to Locks of Love, a nonprofit, which creates wigs for cancer patients who lost their hair. In fact, that was my third donation to that organization since I was arrested. If I'm allowed to live in prison, I will continue to donate to that organization for the rest of my life.

Over the years I've spent in incarceration, I've received many requests from women to teach them Spanish or American sign language. Because my case was pending, I just didn't have the time. In prison I will. If I'm sentenced to life, I will live among the general population of women and I'll be able to share my knowledge of those subjects with them, the ones who have a desire to learn also. I may even be able to start classes.

If I get permission, I'd like to implement a recycling program. The women's prison in Goodyear (ph) houses thousands of women and each week huge loads of waste are hauled off to a landfill. A substantial portion of that could be kept of a landfill and recycled instead. It may even create new jobs for the people there. This is one small thing that could have a far-reaching and positive impact on the community and on the planet.

There is a higher rate of illiteracy in prison than in everyday society. I know that reading has enriched my life by expanding my knowledge base and opening my eyes to new worlds and different cultures. I can help other women become literate so that they too can add that dimension to their life. Along the lines of literacy, I'd like to start a book club or a reading group. Something that brings people together in a positive and constructive way so that we can share and recommend other good books and stimulate discussions of a higher nature.

Additionally, I designed a t-shirt -- this is the t-shirt -- which 100 percent of the proceeds go to support non-profit organizations which also assist other victims of domestic violence. Some people may not believe that I am a survivor of domestic violence. They're entitled to their opinion. I'm supporting this cause because it's very, very important to me.

These are only a handful of examples. I've never been to prison. I don't know from personal experience what it's like there. But I'm certain that after I arrive, I'll likely find many other ways in which I can contribute to the women there. I would like to share with you now a few things about me and a few things about my family.

When I was little, my mom took a lot of pictures of me. I'm the first child. She had her camera everywhere and she would take a lot of pictures of me when I was first born. (INAUDIBLE) overcast day, but when it was sunny she would take me out to the backyard and turn on the sprinkler so I could play. That's me attempting to dress myself.

A few years later, Carl (ph) came along, my little brother, and we became inseparable. When we were little, my parents took us everywhere, including Sea World, here, and Hawaii. But my fondest memories with him are of us goofing off at home on a lazy Saturday just making a mess of the living room in our pajamas.

When I was 11 years old, and this slide is backward, I apologize. When I was 11 years old, my little sister Angela (ph) was born four weeks early. (INAUDIBLE). I was so excited to have a baby sister. I watched my mom's stomach grow. I watched Angela come into this world. And after the doctor swaddled her, he turned to me and said -- my mom said, do you want to hold her first?

These are various school pictures. And on occasions my family and I would get together for family portraits such as these. In ninth grade my family and I moved back to Wirika (ph), but I still went back to San Maria periodically to visit friends.

This is Patty (ph). She was my best friend for years. She was here last week to testify on my behalf, as you heard Mr. Nurmi tell you in opening statements, but she didn't return today because she and her nine-year-old daughter were threatened and harassed if she came back to the state.

I'm 21 years old here. After I moved out of my parents' house at age 17, my relationship with my dad improved a little. This is my grandma and her twins. My aunt is on the left, my mom is on the right. These were my parents when they were just a little bit younger. This is Bobby and I. A little out of order chronologically.

We're hanging out in our dirty little run down house, mind you, that I had mentioned previously. At times we lived there without power and phone. The winterers were freezing. We could see our breath inside the house. My parents did not support this relationship. And we were young and just trying to figure out life on our own.

When this picture -- when I see this picture, I'm reminded of that quote by Charles Dickens when he says, "they were the best of times, they were the worst of times." We're smiling here in the picture (INAUDIBLE) that. It was a difficult relationship, but Bobby will always, always be special to me.

I'm 21 here. This is a photo of Matt McCartney (ph) and I taken a few months after we broke up, a few months after he moved down to Big Sir (ph), where I was working at the time. As you know, we remain friends. And on this day when your life (ph) (INAUDIBLE). Darryl (ph) and I began seeing each other a little over a year after that. In this photo I'm coming out of a red-headed stage that I went through for a few years.

This is one of my favorite pictures of Darryl and me. We were actually both (ph) a restaurant in Monterey where our friend Tony (ph) and his family were playing blues and reggae live (ph). He dedicated songs to us and we danced. Darryl was a good dancer. When we began dating, we started a yearly tradition. It was, we'd go camping every summer at this (INAUDIBLE) little campground. It's called Kurt Creek (ph). It's down at Big Sur (ph). It is an area that the locals called "the south coast."

This is Darryl, Jack and I at the time. It's hard to see in this photo, but the ocean is in the background. It's on the terrace. After we bought our house in Palm Desert, we sought out some snow in the nearby mountain that first winter. We settled in and made a little life for ourselves from that span of time. Jack was always with us on the weekends. He took that picture of me.

I made friends with my co-workers and sometimes we'd go out after a shift and just chill and hang out. Darryl and Jack and I did a lot of things together. Here we rode the aerial tram in Palm Springs to the top of the (INAUDIBLE) Mountain. Darryl's ex-wife took this picture. We were all at Chuck E. Cheese's celebrating Jack's 7th birthday. Jack and I bonded. He's a great kid. I haven't seen him since June 3, 2008. I hear he's much bigger now, taller than me.

My family and I still got together periodically for group portraits. These were taken at a park in (INAUDIBLE). In 2010, my little sister gave birth to this beautiful little girl on the right. The tiny premature baby that I witnessed come into this world now has a baby of her own. She is a mature, responsible, dedicated mother. She is also engaged to a wonderful man. And his daughter, this gorgeous girl on the left, is my niece's new big sister.

I've met these girls only through a thick pane of glass. They get along, but they've always known each other. I won't be at my sister's wedding when she ties the knot next year. And I won't be at - I won't be her wedding photographer like we had always talked about.

The same is true for my brother, Carl. The boy I grew up with became a family man. He and his wife married in 2010. I wasn't there to celebrate with them and I wasn't there to take their pictures and I have no one to blame but myself.

A few weeks before trial, they welcomed this precious little baby into the world. I haven't met her yet. Until a few weeks ago, I had huge hopes of becoming a part of these girls' lives some day. My nieces are the closest I'll ever come to motherhood because I'm not going to have children of my own. I'm not going to become a mother. Because of my own terrible choices, I've had to lay that dream to rest.

You've heard before that I'm an artist. As it now stands, I'll never create another oil painting. But these are some of my drawings. I'm pretty good with hands and nature, but I like to do portraits. There's Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Elizabeth Taylor. This picture is a little distorted. This is my niece when she was a bit younger playing the piano. Well, attempting to play the piano.

My family and I have a lot of memories, especially ones like this at Christmas. We won't be creating anymore of these kinds of memories together. This is how I used to spend the holidays, with my family.

It was Carl's idea to hold my portrait in this Christmas family portrait taken a few years ago. My parents were there. My siblings were there. My brother's wife was there. From now on, this is how my family's going to spend the holidays with me.

Following my arrest, I wanted so much to avoid trial, not necessarily the outcome, although that's naturally not something I was looking forward to, but trial. All of the graphic, mortifying, horrific details paraded out into a public arena. Instead, I was hoping to go quietly into the night, whether off to prison or the next life. But with the amount of attention my case received early on, I felt in my ignorance that it was necessary to speak out. I got on TV and I lied. I lied about what I did and I lied about the nature of my relationship with Travis.

It's never been my attention to malign his name or character. In fact, it was a goal of mine to preserve his reputation. I didn't want to drag out Travis' skeletons or mine and explain my experiences with him. I didn't want to unveil all those ugly text messages and e-mails and that awful tape. All these things which now stand as a public and permanent testimony of the darker aspects of our relationship to 18 strangers, in front of Travis' family, in front of my family, in front of what feels like the whole world.

It's never been my intention to throw mud on Travis' name. When I took the stand, I was obligated to answer the questions posed to me. And if you'll remember, many times I was quick to defend him in the same breath. I loved Travis and I looked up to him. At one point, he was the world to me.

This is the worst mistake of my life. It's the worst thing I've ever done. It's the worst thing I ever could have seen myself doing. In fact, I couldn't have seen myself doing it. Before that day, I wouldn't even want to harm a spider. I'd gather them up in cups and put them outside.

To this day, I can hardly believe I was capable of such violence, but I know that I was. And for that, I'm going to be sorry for the rest of my life, probably longer. I was horrified by what I had done and I'm horrified still.

In many ways, my family has also suffered a great loss. Their pain is fresh because they only learned about it two weeks ago, the moment the verdict was read. The moment their hopes of ever welcoming me home someday were dashed. My dad, who's here today, was in California waiting anxiously in front of the TV.

My mom came to visit me after court that dark day. She had spoken to my dad on the way over and she told me that in the 34 years that they'd been together, she's never heard him cry the way he did that day. I caused that pain. I caused them to hurt that way. And I will concede that with Travis' family, theirs is a much greater loss and I can never make up for it. It's my hope that with the verdict you've rendered thus far, that they will finally gain a sense of closure. Steven (ph) said he doesn't want to look at his brother's murderer anymore. If I get life, he won't have to.

I've made many public statements that I would prefer the death penalty to life in prison. Each time I said that, though I meant it, I lacked perspective. Until very recently, I could not have imagined standing before you all and asking you to give me life. To me, life in prison was the most unappealing outcome I could possibly think of. I thought I'd rather die.

But as I stand here now, I can't in good conscious ask you to sentence me to death because of them. Asking for death is tantamount to suicide. Either way, I'm going to spend the rest of my life in prison. It will either be shortened or not. If it's shortened, the people who will hurt the most are my family. I am asking you, please, please don't do that to them. I have already hurt them so badly, along with so many other people. I want everyone's healing to begin and I want everyone's pain to stop.

Thank you.

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well, that is one of the more remarkable allocutions that you will ever hear in a death penalty case. In this particular case, it was a mystery whether Jodi Arias would ask this jury to sentence her to death or to sentence her to life. Her choice has been yet again she lied to a local news reporter and asked for the death penalty on TV and then came before this court and asked for a life sentence from this jury. So, once again, Jodi Arias with a very public lie and yet somehow she has turned it around and made this request.

Another thing that I think is very critical to point out, that she has put to this jury that it is about the pain now that her family, Jodi Arias' family, would suffer if she was sentenced to death. She said that she's hoping everyone's pain can finally end even If she's locked away for the rest of her life.

Paul Callan standing by live.

Paul, I mean, your first thoughts hearing this allocution, which as an allocution goes unchallenged by this court.

PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, I thought it was bizarre in a number of ways. I mean, three of the things she said, she can grow hair was one, the second is she supports recycling programs, and the third, she was a cute baby, are kind of surprising arguments to make to a jury pleading for your life.

On the other hand, it was an attempt by Jodi Arias to present her humanity to this jury, to say, you know, really, I'm a good person and you shouldn't put me to death and to try to explain away some of the bizarre things that she's done in the case, including lying on numerous occasions, on television and to law enforcement authorities. The other thought that I have, Ashleigh --

BANFIELD: So much to think about -

CALLAN: Yes.

BANFIELD: Go ahead.

CALLAN: There was one other thing I wanted to raise, and that is, what I found to be really bizarre is, everything that she talked about normally you would call independent witnesses to establish. You would call a friend to the witness stand to say, you know, she's a great friend. She was always there for me. You would call somebody - you would call her art teacher to say, you know, she's got talent. She can bring something to the world. Everything that she raised would be an issue that you could prove independently. Why wasn't she able to bring witnesses into court to support her as opposed to her making this speech? That's the question I think the jury may be asking ultimately.

BANFIELD: Remarkable allocution made by Jodi Arias here live in Phoenix, Arizona, at the Maricopa County Courthouse. The courtroom silent now. Perhaps most poignantly, her family in the front row not crying, not weeping at this point, and maybe, most importantly, not standing up to make a mitigation appeal to this jury to save their daughter, their sister's life. A remarkable moment. She has asked for life. She has not asked for death, just one week after asking a television reporter that she'd prefer for this jury to give her the death sentence instead.

One critical note. She said this is the worst mistake of my life. I can't believe how violent I was. She never once said, I am sorry for this murder, I did it and it wasn't self-defense. She did not admit to that.

As this jury continues to contemplate and this courtroom continues its process, it is time for a quick break. We're back right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Good afternoon, everyone. I'm Anderson Cooper, live in Moore, Oklahoma, for CNN's special coverage of the rescue efforts underway.

Just behind me, what is left of the local bowling alley. It's one of the buildings that stood in the way of this tornado as it carved its way through this community of Moore, just south of Oklahoma City. A driving rain, thunder and lightning hampering -- making rescue efforts all the more difficult right now. At least 24 people, including nine children, are dead. That's the death toll we know of now.

This is the tornado that caused all the devastation. Two miles wide at one point with winds up to 200 miles an hour. People here just 15 minutes to decide whether they would stay and ride it out or try to outrun it. One i-Reporter found himself in the path of this tornado as he was driving to get his son, pulling over, he shot this incredible video. Watch.

And this is the terror from the ground. Once it hit, the sheer size of this monster tornado ripped up everything in its path, buildings, homes. You can see the debris whipping around his vehicle. If it was fixed to the ground, it was flattened. If it wasn't, it flew thrown the air. Cars, signs blew, becoming airborne missiles.

Right now, crews are digging through the remains of malls and a school, Plaza Towers Elementary, where the search continues for children and school staff who sheltered there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I had to hold on to the wall to keep myself safe because I didn't want to fly away in the tornado.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We had to pull a car out of the front hallway off a teacher. And she -- I don't know what that lady's name is, but she had three little kids underneath her. Good job, teach.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Good job, teach. Now, there are no walls, only rubble. The building, gone. The playground, left behind.

Earlier, President Obama spoke about the destruction to this school.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In an instant, neighborhoods were destroyed, dozens of people lost their lives, many more were injured, and among the victims were young children trying to take shelter in the safest place they knew, their school. So our prayers are with the people of Oklahoma today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Well, we're getting more and more images from different angles of this deadly tornado. Take a look at this one.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOUGLAS SHERMAN, SHOT VIDEO OF TORNADO: Oh, man!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: And Douglas Sherman is the man who shot this cell phone video as he was rushing to get home ahead of the storm. He joins me now.

You were literally driving down the street and kind of ran right into it. DOUGLAS SHERMAN, SHOT VIDEO OF TORNADO: Yes, it was - like I said, I was heading home and I was listening to the local news and they said - they said, you know, if you're pretty much above ground, you won't make it. And I was like, oh, you know, I kind of - I was like, oh, man, this is not good because I'm sitting here watching it and I was filming it and I just saw so much debris. And then, like I said, I tried - I thought I was more ahead of it than I was. So I made that turn and I just saw it coming right at me and I had to stop. And I was like, oh, man. So --

COOPER: And then you backed up.

SHERMAN: Yes. I - I hit it in reverse and I spun around right there in the intersection. I know that's probably not the smartest thing to do, but I was thinking safety first. So --

COOPER: How is your home? How is your family?

SHERMAN: My house is fine. My family's fine.

COOPER: Your sister -

SHERMAN: I've got to say cross my fingers.

COOPER: Your sister lost a house?

SHERMAN: No, my sister - it was her best friend, her mom.

COOPER: Her best friend.

SHERMAN: And it's kind of sad deal because, I mean, I hate to see people that you know lose everything, you know?

COOPER: Yes.

SHERMAN: And I saw a friend of mine, you know, he lost his house. So we're trying to figure out how to help him.

COOPER: And you used to -- you used to bowl at this bowling alley.

SHERMAN: Oh, yes, I used to bowl. Actually I used to work here when I was 17.

COOPER: You actually worked here?

SHERMAN: Yes, I worked here.

COOPER: So the lanes were here and this was, what, the pro shop, you were saying?

SHERMAN: This was the pro shop, yes. The lanes.

COOPER: And there's bowling balls all around here.

SHERMAN: Yes, there's bowling balls. It's -- it's sad. It's just sad, you know, I - it's a lot of memories there.

COOPER: You've been helping out with trying to help with search and rescue operations, do whatever you can.

SHERMAN: Yes. I know as soon like -- as soon as I was heading there, I didn't even make it to the house. I shot all the way over from where I was at. I shot all the way over to eastern. And I came up eastern and I could just -- I saw lights. But I went up and I saw - I mean there was nobody had just gotten to the scene, but there was a lot of people still running around. You know, there was people saying my family's trapped and so I -- I pulled over to try and help and there was only a couple of cops there at the time. And, you know, I was just trying to do the best that I could (INAUDIBLE).

COOPER: Do whatever you can do.

SHERMAN: Yes.

COOPER: How difficult is it with these conditions now? I mean you've got this rain, you've got the thunder, the lightning.

SHERMAN: Well, see, that's the thing. I mean I - you know, I really ain't got a whole lot out here. I'm just trying to help out, you know, as much as I can. But, you know, the big help really kind of goes out to the military, law enforcement. They - you know, and everybody else that joined in to help. I mean everybody - everybody came.

COOPER: There's a lot of people here.

SHERMAN: I was talking to a couple of people came down from Joplin. People came up from Dallas. All - everywhere.

COOPER: It's great to see people really pouring in.

SHERMAN: It mean it's - it's awesome. And I mean I can - I've got to say, you know, those guys are - those guys are great. And they've got the - they've got the gear to work through this. I mean I hope, you know, I ain't got - I ain't got much, like I said, but I got to give it to the guys that are (INAUDIBLE). So that's --

COOPER: But you're doing what you can, and a lot of people appreciate it here.

SHERMAN: Yes, sir.

COOPER: Doug, thank you so much. I wish you the best. I'm glad your family's doing all right.

SHERMAN: Thank you. Yes. Oh, yes, sir. You have a good one.

COOPER: All right. All right, you stay strong now.

What the people here in Oklahoma are facing is daunting to say the least. The tornado left a 17 mile trail of destruction, as the aerial pictures show you. When you're on the ground here in Moore, I mean it's - it's a new horizon. Instead of buildings and trees, you just see piles and piles of debris covering the landscape. Where there used to be two or even three story buildings, it's just - it's flattened. And there's cars mangled and fused together. It takes time almost for your eyes to adjust to see what you're actually looking at.

CNN's Stephanie Elam has been walking among the debris of what used to be neighborhoods. Stephanie joins me now.

People have lived here all their lives. They don't recognize their street in some cases.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I actually was walking with a woman earlier, Anderson, who was trying to decide if this was her street or not. She couldn't even tell. She was asking the officers for the name of the streets to get there.

Homes are not recognizable out here. And then to add insult to injury, for a day that's already raw, it is raining and it is really cold out here now.

And you can see just how strong this storm was. Take a look at this tree just shorn off here. And it looks like maybe a child's play area has just sort of smashed through on top of this tree. This kind of sight, which sounds crazy, we're seeing a lot of today. And we did see residents coming back to look at their homes. But the problem is, it started to rain, so a lot of them left. But they wanted to kind of pick through what they have.

And one gentleman who lives here, he was telling me that he lived through Missouri, his family did, Joplin. And I asked him how this compares. This is what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZACK WOODCOCK, HOMEOWNER: It's terrible. Little kids. Families with their homes gone. A lot of people around here don't have insurance in this neighborhood. A lot of people do, but there's a lot of people that don't, you know. Where do they go from here? Just got to get up and figure out a way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ELAM: And we are seeing a lot of what you're seeing right here with this piece of wood, how it's just smashed into the earth. I've seen that so many times here with the force of the winds here just smashing the wood right into the earth, and a lot of wires here, and so that's another thing to watch out for, Anderson.

COOPER: Yes, it's obviously very - a very dangerous area, this entire area. And that's why authorities are telling people, if you don't need to be here, to stay away. If you don't have a home here, if you don't have a loved one here that you're looking for, stay away. There's not much you can do right now. If you'd like to help Moore, Oklahoma, there are a lot of ways. Visit our "Impact Your World" website. You can find out information there. It's at cnn.com/impact. Coming up next, some remarkable stories of resilience. Some residents who are dealing, really, with total loss. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)