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Ariel Castro Back in Court; Snowden Seeking Asylum in Russia; Calls for Stand Your Ground Law Repeal; Controversial "Rolling Stone" Cover; Zimmerman Juror Speaks Out; Panama Seizes North Korean Ship

Aired July 17, 2013 - 11:00   ET

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


MICHAELA PEREIRA, ANCHOR, "CNN NEWSROOM": Hello, everyone. I'm Michaela Pereira, I'm in for Ashleigh Banfield this week.

We want to start you off this hour with some quick headlines. Ariel Castro back in court today. We want to show you a live picture out of Cleveland. The Cleveland man is being arraigned on an expanded 977 charges for kidnapping and raping three women in his home for more than a decade.

Six-hundred-forty-eight new charges were added on Friday to the existing 329 charges against him.

I was incorrect. That is a live shot there. We have not seen Ariel Castro brought into the courtroom yet.

A military jury has been selected for the Ft. Hood murder trail. Major Nidal Hasan is accused of killing 13 people during a 2009 shooting rampage. Opening statements begin August 6th.

Boy, the temperatures sure are soaring in parts of the Northeast today as a heat wave continues to force people to try to find ways to try and keep cool, Washington, New York, Philadelphia, some of the worst hit cities. The heat index in the 100-degree range.

Good news, though, it is expected it to cool off slightly and we are expecting some rain by the weekend.

NSA leaker Edward Snowden has applied for temporary asylum in Russia and his lawyer says he could leave the Moscow airport in the next few days after some paperwork is finalized. Then the question of granting him temporary asylum will be decided.

Granting asylum could further strain relations with the U.S. But President Putin said ties between the U.S. and Russia are, quote, "far more important than any intelligence scandal."

The calls are coming fast and loud to change Florida law after the George Zimmerman verdict. We're talking about the "stand your ground" law.

To be fair, the Zimmerman defense team did not use the law as part of its case, but as Juror B-37 said, it was part of the discussion in the jury room.

Here's what Attorney General Eric Holder had to say about it yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIC HOLDER, ATTORNEY GENERAL: By allowing and perhaps encouraging violent situations to escalate in public, such laws undermine public safety.

The list of resulting tragedies is long and unfortunately has victimized too many who are innocent.

It is our collective obligation. We must stand our ground to ensure ...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREIRA: Attorney General Holder was addressing the national NAACP convention.

Florida Governor Rick Scott set up a citizen task force in the wake of the Trayvon Martin shooting to review the law. This was a statement yesterday. "The task force recommend that the law should not be overturned. Governor Scott agrees."

All right, let's take a moment to talk about the law itself. The "Tampa Bay Times" newspaper actually did breakdown on more than 200 cases since the law went into effect in Florida some eight years ago. Let's take a look at it.

When "stand your ground" has been used as a defense, 68 percent of all defendants go free. Digging deeper, 66 percent of black defendants go free compared to 61 percent of white defendants.

And only 16 percent of all defendants citing "stand your ground" were found guilty by juries, 16 percent.

Now that is in Florida. You might actually find this surprising, but 32 other states also have some form of "stand your ground"-type of law, and nationally since 2005, justifiable homicides, the type that comes from these laws, have risen about 50 percent, five-zero.

So this is not just a Florida issue that we're talking about here. This is a national issue that's getting more and more attention now because of the Zimmerman case.

Let's discuss it with our legal panel this morning. We have two fine gentlemen joining us, attorneys Jeff Gold and Brian Kabateck.

We appreciate you both joining us this morning, and we're going to put you to work today. We're going to have you on a little later as well to talk Michael Jackson.

But let's talk about this "stand your ground." Brian, let's start with you. States obviously must think that they're -- or at least the lawmakers thee must think there must be a need for these laws or there wouldn't -- why would so many of them have this law?

BRIAN KABATECK, ATTORNEY: Well, good morning, Michaela.

You know, you have to go back and look at the defense of self-defense, which is as old as this country itself. In fact, it's older. It goes back to the commonwealth.

And that defense is what we call an imperfect defense, meaning that there isn't always an opportunity to use that defense if there was an opportunity to walk away from a situation.

What these 38 states have done is they've taken that important element away of the defense. They've remove that requirement that you should walk away if there's an opportunity to walk away.

So states have felt for some reason that we need that element in it, so we don't even question whether or not the defendant could have walked away from a dangerous situation.

So in "stand your ground," we look only at the moment of the event and that's what got into the jury instruction in the Zimmerman case, that's undoubtedly why he walked and that's what we see in all of these other states that have exactly this same kind of defense.

PEREIRA: So, essentially, for those that don't know the difference between "stand your ground" and self-defense is the notion of walking away or retreating, correct?

KABATECK: That's right. It's an important distinction to understand.

PEREIRA: So it really is.

OK, so let's talk about the fact that Eric Holder, very clear that he thought the law should be thrown out, but this is a state's issue.

Is there anything the federal attorney general can do about this, Brian?

HABATECK: No. It's states' rights. States have the right to set their own laws. They have the rights to set the grounds for their laws, and several people have indicated they're unhappy with the Zimmerman trial.

They're unhappy with result, but I understand that. Change the law in your state. That's what has to happen in order to resolve this particular problem.

PEREIRA: Jeff, let's get you in on the conversation. What's your thought?

JEFF GOLD, ATTORNEY: First of all, there are two philosophies. Those that support "stand your ground," they're not just saying that they want to stand their ground for honor, but they're saying that it discourages criminals. It discourages people attacking others because they may have a concealed weapon and be able to use it.

Personally, I do think it increases the amount of deaths overall. So overall the duty to retreat which is where most of states had been is a good thing because it honors life other mere machismo.

But there still is a public policy about "stand your ground" that says, listen we are trying to discourage crime.

PEREIRA: Is there any correlation between the states that have "stand your ground" laws and their status as pro-gun rights states?

GOLD: There's statistics on both sides, Michaela, and the NRA, which supported this very heavily will cite you statistics that violent crime is down in Florida.

So while you might cite statistics that people get off, well, they get off because they used the law as it was properly written.

But on the other hand, the NRA says, listen, violent crime is down. That's our object.

PEREIRA: Brian and Jeff, Jeff Gold, Brian Kabateck, we're going to have you back here in a few minutes at the bottom of the show to talk more -- some more legal matters with us.

Thank you for joining us. We'll talk to you in a moment.

The accused Boston bomber getting rock star-style treatment from a magazine, infuriating many readers, what some plan to do it about. We'll discuss that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: It is an iconic spot typically reserved for rock stars and other big celebrities, but this is the latest face on the cover of "Rolling Stone" magazine, Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

This isn't the first time that "Rolling Stone" has put an infamous character on its cover. Remember this? You might have been around. Charles Manson made the cover back in 1970.

This newest issue, though, is due out August 3rd, is what's triggering all sorts of heated buzz, far and wide, right now.

Let's show you what we've been seeing. J. Harper Philbin posted on the magazine's Facebook page that, quote, "Jeff Bauman, who lost both legs, should be on the cover."

Shawn Anthony slammed the magazine for making martyrs out of these people, in his words.

And Tom Guerra wrote, "Maybe a pic of the little eight-year-old boy that was killed by this piece of garbage would have made a better cover. Cancel my subscription." Strong words.

Amid this controversy, questions continue to be raised over a triple murder in the Boston area and whether deeper investigation could have prevented the Boston marathon bombings.

National correspondent Deborah Feyerick has the latest for us. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John Allan still remembers Tamerlan Tsarnaev's reaction when he learned their mutual friend, Brendan Mess, had been viciously murdered.

JOHN ALLAN, OWNER, WAL KRU MIXED MARTIAL ARTS CENTER: He kind of laughed it off, saying, you know, that Brendan probably got what he deserved, making bad choices, that those are the repercussions that he had to face.

FEYERICK: Tsarnaev was never interviewed by state troopers in connection with his friend's murder or the murder of the other two victims, Erik Weissman and Raphael Teken.

But Allan and others we spoke with questioned whether the drugs strewn over the dead bodies were an effective smoke screen, distracting investigators from interviewing people who could have put Tamerlan Tsarnaev squarely on the radar.

FEYERICK: Did Tamerlan ever tell you that police had come to speak to him about what he knew about ...

ALLAN: No.

FEYERICK: ... the friend, about the drugs, about anything?

ALLAN: No. You know, I mean, around here they call it -- we call it NHI.

FEYERICK: Which is?

ALLAN: No humans involved.

FEYERICK: OK. Which means?

ALLAN: There were three drug dealers that were murdered over drugs and money.

FEYERICK: That at least was the perception, even though only one of the three victims had drug-related charges.

But four months after those murders, Tsarnaev left Boston and traveled to Dagestan where it's believed he became radicalized.

Law enforcement sources question whether the outcome could have been different if investigators could have reached Tsarnaev in the first place.

JAMAL ABU-RUBIEH, OWNER, BROOKLINE LUNCH: He always like would bring a lot of people here.

FEYERICK: Right.

Jamal Abu-Rubieh saw victim Brendan Mess a few times a week. He owns the Brookline Lunch diner in Cambridge where Mess often ate with Weissman and Teken.

He says police never questioned him and so he never told them about a meeting weeks before the murders which made Mess and Weissman very, very nervous.

ABU-RUBIEH: He sound different. He acted different, the guy with him. And they all were like nervous. And that time he was really serious and he wasn't himself.

FEYERICK: Neither, he says, was Erik Weissman, co-owner of Hitman Glass, a high-end bong company.

Journalist Bobby Black who knew Weissman believes too many solid leads weren't followed.

BOBBY BLACK, SENIOR EDITOR, "HIGH TIMES": Anyone who knew Erik knew Erik would know that he was in no way some kind of dangerous drug dealer. He was a college-age kid who loved weed.

FEYERICK: They didn't take the money and they didn't take the drugs.

BLACK: And I think the police, writing it off as that early on, possibly may be the reason they didn't investigate further which could have possibly prevented the Boston bombings.

FEYERICK: The murders took place here in the house behind me on the second floor. This is still very much an active investigation.

A source intimately familiar with the killings defends how the case was handled, saying that state and local police acting professionally and according to protocol.

Deborah Feyerick, CNN, Waltham, Massachusetts.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PEREIRA: Still ahead, other jurors in the George Zimmerman case are asking for privacy, but coming out to say that they do not agree with the one juror who is exclusively speaking to CNN.

She talks about the struggle to reach the not guilty verdict.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUROR B-37: I wanted to find him guilty of not using his senses.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREIRA: More of the conversation you haven't heard between Juror B- 37 and Anderson Cooper, coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: Extraordinary revelations about what went on inside that jury room at the Trayvon Martin murder trial. One of the jurors spoke exclusively to our Anderson Cooper why she thinks George Zimmerman was justified in killing him. As for her fellow jurors they were quick to distance themselves. They released a statement saying her opinions are her own and that she does not speak for them.

Here's some of what Juror B-37 had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, ANCHOR, CNN'S AC 360: Do you have any doubt that George Zimmerman feared for his life.

JUROR B-37: I had no doubt George feared for his life in the situation he was in at the time.

COOPER: So when the -- when the prosecution in their closing argument is holding up the Skittles and holding up the can of iced tea and saying this is what Trayvon Martin was armed with, just a kid who had Skittles and iced tea. You felt George Zimmerman -- did you find that compelling at all or did you find Mark O'Mara with the concrete block compelling?

JUROR B-37: Mark O'Mara definitely. The Skittles and the Arizona can was -- were ridiculous to even put it up and compare the two. I mean, anybody can beat the (INAUDIBLE) with anything. You can keep bashing his head against the tree or a rock or this concrete.

COOPER: So you believe that Trayvon Martin was slamming George Zimmerman's head against the concrete without a doubt?

JUROR B-37: I believe he hit his head on the concrete. . I think he was probably trying to slam it. I don't know how hard George's his head hit on the concrete and hit enough to get damage, bruising, swelling. I think it -- you know, it's definitely enough to make you fear when you're in that situation.

COOPER: And the photos of George Zimmerman, the photos of his injuries -- so were those something you also looked at in the jury room again?

JUROR B-37: We did. We did. We did all -- that kind of Zimmerman. And then we listened to all the tapes afterwards.

COOPER: And that was important to you because that also made you believe George Zimmerman was legitimate and praying for his life.

JUROR B-37: I believe because of these injuries.

COOPER: Can you talk about the process of the other jurors changing their minds. I mean you talked about the first juror went from second-degree murder to manslaughter, then you put out the question to the judge for manslaughter kind? And then, it was basically because of the jury's reading of the law that everybody kind of decided manslaughter doesn't hold?

JUROR B-37: I believe it. That's exactly why.

COOPER: Was there any holdout? JUROR B-37: There was a holdout and probably -- well, we had another vote and then everybody voted, put it in a little tent. We had a little tent. Fold the little papers and put in a vote. And she was last one to vote.

And it took probably another 30 minutes for her to decide that she could not find anything else to hold George on because you want to find him guilty of something. She wanted to find him guilty of something but couldn't because of the law. The way the law is written. He wasn't responsible for negligible things that he and Don leading up to that point.

COOPER: Did you also want to find him guilty of something?

JUROR B-37: I wanted to find him guilty of not using his senses. But you can't fault everybody. I mean you can't charge anybody for being, I guess, I don't know. You can fault him -- you can fault -- you can't charge him with anything because he didn't do anything unlawful.

COOPER: You're saying he overreacted or maybe was too eager or made bad choices but it wasn't against the law.

JUROR B-37: Exactly. That's exactly what happened.

COOPER: You're saying maybe it wasn't right getting out of that car, but it wasn't against the law.

JUROR B-37: Exactly. He started the ball rolling. He could have avoided the whole situation by staying in the car but he wanted to do good. I think he had good in his heart. He just went overboard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREIRA: Juror b-37 talking with Anderson Cooper exclusively there.

All right. Ahead, more on the North Korean ship that was stopped in Panama. Authorities discovering missiles and jets, hidden under 10,000 pounds o sugar.

What else could be on board the ship. We'll be back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: Pretty interesting and I'm going to be honest. Startling new developments this morning in the seizure of a North Korean cargo ship in the Panama Canal. The ship came from Cuba. The Cuban government is now fessing up. As suspected whip weapons, including missile parts, were hidden under hundreds of thousands of Saxo brown sugar.

Patrick Oppmann joins us live from Havana with the latest.

I've got to ask you, what's the government is saying about just what weapons were found on board and why on earth they were going to North Korea? PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, it's so interesting Cuba has come clean, but there are still so many questions over this international incidents. In a statement last night Cuba's foreign ministry said that the weapons do belong to Cuba but that they are old, obsolete weapons and some are over 50 years old. But you know we're talking about MIG fighter jets, anti-aircraft missile systems, some nine missiles and sort of the pieces in parts, so it maybe be old equipment, Michaela, but it's pretty heavy weaponry.

PEREIRA: Well, and they're saying, they're downplaying it, saying this is all the equipment. Then, A, why all of the subject use -- why hiding it? Why did the crew and the captain go to such length to hide this? Didn't the caption tried to commit suicide?

OPPMANN: You know, that's what we're hearing from Panamanian authorities that this crew put up an incredible battle, did not want to be boarded, do not want to be a re-routed. And you know, Panamanian authorities reacting with some supplies last night. They received a statement from the Cuban government and they say they haven't been able to confirm it just because they haven't been able to get into this all this board. They've only gotten them about one cabins. There's about four more to go through.

And there's a real problem, Michaela, is that along with all these military hardware is a ton of sugar. I should say tons of sugar, 10,000 tons of sugar, and that's probably why we need to come off the boat first before they know exactly what kind of ordinance is aboard this sea ship.

PEREIRA: And I understand they have to do that all by hand because the crew also disabled some of the mechanisms to unload the ship, correct?

OPPMANN: That's right and there was about a three-day struggle to get aboard the ship. That's what Panamanian authorities are saying and they're claiming that the North Korean crew actually disabled some of the (INAUDIBLE) and crane that was used to unload this kind of heavy duty, you know, hundreds of tons worth of equipment and bags of sugar. So apparently what we're hearing is this has to be done by hand, and it could take a Panama person saying at least a week. So a lot more to be revealed here, Michaela, as Panamanian authorities begin the long and laborious process of unloading this ship.

PEREIRA: Fascinating story. Patrick Oppmann in Havana. Thanks so much for that report we appreciate that.

Now for some other top stories at this hour.

Fed chairman Ben Bernanke on Capitol Hill today. Day one of his semi- annual monetary report to Congress. Bernanke is telling lawmakers that he's planning to end the controversial federal bond buying program by the middle of next year, but only if the economy keeps progressing.

In Italy, a trial is underway for the captain accused of causing the deadly grounding of the Costa Concordia cruise ship. Thirty-two people killed in that disaster last year. The captain now facing three criminal charges including involuntary manslaughter is convicted. He could be sentenced to prison for 25 years.

The court is expected to rule soon on the captain's request for a plea bargain.

Acquittal of George Zimmerman in the death of Trayvon Martin is sparking outrage on the streets and online.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB THOMPSON, COMEDIAN: If one black teenager killed in Sanford, Florida, is a tragedy, 700 black teenagers in Chicago is a freaking epidemic. If we were so concerned about justice for one, why are we unconcerned about justice for all?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREIRA: That was Bob Thompson. His video is getting crazy amount of views online right now. And can you believe it? Bob has more to say. He's here with me. We're going to talk to him after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)