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LEGAL VIEW WITH ASHLEIGH BANFIELD

Texas News Conference on Deadly Storms; Nun Testifies in Boston Bombing Trial; Hattiesburg Mourns Slain Officers. Aired 12-12:30p ET

Aired May 11, 2015 - 12:00   ET

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


[12:00:08] ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Ashleigh Banfield. Welcome to LEGAL VIEW.

We're following breaking news in Texas. We are awaiting word on where the missing are after a series of deadly storms ripped through an area called Van, Texas.

I want to take you to the Emergency Management Coordinator who's giving a live news conference. Let's listen in.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At this time, we can confirm we've had two fatalities as a result of this storm that has affected the city of Van and Van Zandt County. Power outages range anywhere from east of Highway 110 north of FM 1995, all the way up into the Sand Flat area. Oncor and Atmos Energy are working to restore the power, and restore gas to these areas that have been affected. Road and bridge crews from the city of Van and Van Zandt County are working diligently to get these roads opened up and allow access back for emergency responders to do another search to identify anybody that may not be accounted for.

Since our briefing this morning, eight people are still unaccounted for. We did locate two people who were fine and were residing in Lindell at the time.

Just bear with us. We do have multiple emergency responders from across the region, across the state of Texas coming in to assist with this disaster. The National Weather Service just arrived on scene and will be doing a damage assessment survey here just shortly and we'll have that information of what - how powerful the tornado that struck the city of Van at our 3:00 briefing.

Now I'll introduce Mayor Dean Stone, city of Van.

MAYOR DAN STONE, VAN, TEXAS: Thank you all very much. It's a - it's a terrible thing for a city to come out like we did, but it's a great thing the way the people have responded. We were here last night when it hit. We were here all night and we're still here and a bunch of them still are. We lost a lot of good properties, but it's a - it's just something that you never expect, but we'll be working on it diligently.

These gentlemen have already told you some of the things that's going to come to pass. But we just have to stick together and do what we've been doing so far. And there's no place else I'd rather be at this time than right here where everybody sticks together and does their job. And we do appreciate it. And so thank you very much for your time and now I'm going to turn it over to Mr. Dunn.

DON DUNN, SUPERINTENDENT, VAN ISD: Don Dunn, superintendent at Van ISD.

Last night's storms created some significant damage to our elementary campuses. Je Rhodes Elementary School and Van Intermediate School took on some significant damage, as well as the Van ISD administration building and our bus barn. As of right now, we have four weeks of school. We're in the process of making plans to reorganize our campuses and to consolidate those two campuses into the remaining three. We will obviously have to communicate through Facebook, Twitter and our website.

But the great thing is, the damages to Van ISD are all brick and mortar. Every bit of that can be replaced. We're just very blessed, we feel very blessed that this did not happen during a school day and that I'm not standing up here right now talking to you about any kids. And so just ask that you would continue to send your thoughts and your prayers to the community of Van and the great people of this little town.

Thank you.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE).

DUNN: The two schools that were affected are Je Rhodes Elementary School and Van Intermediate School.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE).

DUNN: Van ISD administration building and the Van ISD bus barn were damaged. There was no damage to Van Middle School, Van Junior High School or Van High School.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE) the intermediate is the 2nd and 3rd grade?

DUNN: Yes, sir.

Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Does anybody have any other questions for our officials?

Kenneth.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE), can you tell us where the fatalities occurred? What part of the city?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The fatalities were on South Bogart Street (ph) near the mobile home park.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE). UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was a male and a female.

[12:05:02] QUESTION: Can you tell us what path the storm took? Like how long it was on the ground and how wide the destruction was?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Until we can get some aerial recon up in the air where we can look down at the exact path of the storm, it does appear that it traveled from a southwest to northeast trajectory through the community. As for how long it was on the ground or exactly where it was on the ground at, we won't know that until we can - we can get up and see things from the air.

QUESTION: Did the sirens go off? And how did people react in town?

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE) storage damage (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One at a time.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE) estimate, was that with all the damage (INAUDIBLE)?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're easily looking at 50 to 100 homes here in the city that have been damaged or destroyed.

QUESTION: Did the sirens go off and how did people react when they heard (ph) them?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I do believe the sirens did go off once a warning was issued by the National Weather Service. However, this storm spun up real fast and the warning time was extremely limited.

QUESTION: Can you talk about the current search and rescue for the eight (ph) people who are unaccounted for right now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At this time we do have multiple fire departments, law enforcement agencies, Texas Parks and Wildlife, game wardens with search canines going door to door in the neighborhoods that have been affected to see if they can identify any of the missing people that we have names for.

QUESTION: Are the fatalities related to each other?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, they were.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE) husband and wife?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They were adults.

QUESTION: In the mobile home park?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They were in an area just south of the mobile home park.

QUESTION: Did you say husband and wife?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is correct. QUESTION: In a home?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

QUESTION: Was it a home that crushed - fell on them or (INAUDIBLE) -

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I do not know any details at this time of the extent of where they were at.

QUESTION: OK.

QUESTION: The people that are missing -

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It makes it extremely difficult for people to see. The main thing is, is to heed the warning of the National Weather Service, local news and radio. When a warning is issued, you have to seek shelter immediately.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, sir. I - I live on the other side of the county.

QUESTION: The people that are missing, are they all from the same area?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are people missing from the south side and there's also some people missing from the north side.

QUESTION: Sheriff, do you know how many people had actually gone into the shelter at this point? Do you have any number of (INAUDIBLE)?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As of - I do not have a total number of homeless. I do know 50 people sought (INAUDIBLE) at the shelter last night, early this morning.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I -- none of those stories have been brought to us.

QUESTION: Any truth that some of the residents say they believed that maybe two tornadoes hit this area? Is there any truth to that or (INAUDIBLE)?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Until the National Weather Service can get out and do their damage assessment we won't know if the damage was a result of one tornado or two. Keep in mind that we did, while we were beginning our emergency response, we did go under another tornado warning. At that time we did have to pull our emergency responders off the streets to seek shelter in the event that we were told that there was another tornado inbound, but we suffered no damage as a result of the second tornado warning.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE). UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do what, sir?

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's making it extremely difficult on emergency responders to get access. The guys that we're sending in are trained in search and rescue. It's not just some of your regular volunteer fire department personnel that don't have the expertise in search and rescue. We have paired them up with guys that know what they're doing and we feel effective and efficient that those guys will get in there and do the job and identify anybody that may be still be missing that we can't account for.

QUESTION: Are any - are any of them wearing cameras like GoPros and, if so, will you be sharing that with the media?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I do not know if anybody is wearing GoPro or not.

QUESTION: When is the last time a storm of this magnitude -

BANFIELD: And as reporters continue to ask questions, it is clear, when severe weather strikes in north Texas it shows no mercy. The city of Van, Texas, almost 30 percent of it destroyed. The good news might be that two missing people have been located, but that leaves eight still missing and unaccounted for. And the confirmation from those officials that two, two are dead, a male and female, I mean this is - this is awful. There was just so little warning time from the time that those sirens went off until the time that the tornado struck on Saturday night.

And another amazing fact there that emergency responders were out looking for the missing when another tornado warning brought them in and off the job. So now that enormous task of cleaning up, finding the missing, and then, of course, assessing what kind of tornado was that, an EF-3, an EF-4. That all remains to be seen. We'll continue to follow this breaking story throughout the program.

[12:09:56] And then there's this. Time is ticking. And the clock is too for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. That drawing on the left is Sister Helen Prejean testifying about what a contrite soul Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was in her five visits with him. Will that make an ounce of difference to a jury who's seen him week after week caring so little in that courtroom?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Breaking news, both sides in the sentencing trial for the Boston Marathon bomber have now rested their cases and that means it's all over but the closing arguments. That is set to begin on Wednesday now. The defense wrapped its case with a celebrity witness, the nun made famous by her book and subsequent movie, "Dead Man Walking."

Today we learned that Sister Helen Prejean met with Dzhokhar Tsarnaev five different times since March. And much to the surprise of many, she testified that the 21-year-old who has appeared untouched, uninterested and at times really just bored in that courtroom, showed the sister a much different side. Something she described as remorse. I'll repeat it: remorse.

Deb Feyerick joins me live outside of the courthouse in Boston. And with me in studio in New York, HLN legal analyst and defense attorney Joey Jackson.

First to you, Deb, get me up to speed. They've just rested. What did we learn?

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they rested, but the final witness for the defense was nothing short of explosive. It was the first time that anyone had any insight into what the marathon bomber, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, has been thinking over the course of these last months while this trial has been going on.

[12:15:06] Now, Sister Helen Prejean, made famous as you said by "Dead Man Walking," testified that she met with him five times, as recently as last week, that in one of those meetings Dzhokhar Tsarnaev lowered his eyes, his voice was filled with pain, she said, and he told her, quote, emphatically, "no one deserves to suffer like they did." The sister saying that he seemed genuinely remorseful saying, quote, "I had every reason to think he was genuinely sorry of what he did."

It was as if she was channeling his words and his feelings because we have seen those images of him in that jail cell taunting the marshals, sticking up his middle finger. That was in the days after the bombing, the weeks after the bombing. But this was the first time that we saw what he was allegedly thinking while this trial was going on because, as you say, he sat there and showed absolutely no reaction when the victims got up to testify about how horrible their injuries were and how long the road has been getting back to even some semblance of normalcy, Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: Joey Jackson, if you could weigh in on this. The jury misses nothing. They are so wrapped, especially when it becomes more and more clear their decision is coming. A life and death decision. You hear a nun talk about contrition, talk about remorse, over the course of, let's just say an hour, and you compare that to week after week after week of watching that young man stride into court with swagger, not drop a tear for any of those families, not drop a tear for anyone who's lost limbs and lost life. How is that going to be weighed by them?

JOEY JACKSON, HLN LEGAL ANALYST: Oh, I think you'll - they'll weigh it in a very significant way. Because understand with closing arguments coming up, exactly as you laid it out, make no mistake about it, the prosecution will make that point in addition to which we've seen the picture of the finger to the camera and that exactly is what the prosecution will do.

Now, this is a big moment, though, for the defense, make no mistake about it. The judge, of course, limited the testimony, did not allow the nun to get into the more underpinnings of the death penalty, why it's not appropriate, why it's not proper for society. But she, that is the nun, wrapped herself up in his testimony in as much as this was him testifying on the stand without the benefit of cross-examination because she's saying, in her discussions, that he appeared remorseful. In her discussions, no one should have to suffer like this. In her discussions that he was very approachable and easy to talk to. So the character impact certainly is impactful, but when you weigh that against what the jury sees, in addition to the lack of emotion -

BANFIELD: Right.

JACKSON: That certainly tells another story about who he is and how he is.

BANFIELD: What you call second - secondhand information.

JACKSON: Absolutely.

BANFIELD: And they've had weeks and weeks of firsthand visual affirmation. You know -

JACKSON: A process to evaluate, sure.

BANFIELD: And, Deb Feyerick, are you still with me? I want to -

FEYERICK: Yes.

BANFIELD: I'm not sure if you had a view to the faces of those jurors, how they were digesting it? It is hard to read tea leaves and it's hard to read jurors, but you will oftentimes get people shaking their heads or rolling their eyes if they feel a certain way. Did we - did we get a read on the jury when they heard these things?

FEYERICK: No. They were looking very intently at the Sister Helen Prejean when she was testifying, but, you know, there was one experience that I saw when one of his teachers was testifying, the testimony so emotional that this juror actually bent over and began crying because she saw Dzhokhar Tsarnaev really not as this killer, as this bomber, but as somebody who simply could not get out from the extraordinary dysfunction of his own family and the dominance of his own brother. And you really got the sense that the testimony of those in favor of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev did register with some of the jurors in that, you know, in that courtroom. And that's what's going to be so difficult.

The crimes. They have dispensed justice on the crimes. Now it's a question of whether, in fact, that's the whole of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, this very bad, evil man, and whether the crimes justify putting him to death, which is what prosecutors are arguing. In fact, they had witnesses testifying essentially that the super max prison is simply too lenient, is going to have too many privileges. So it's going to be an interesting deliberation once it gets going.

BANFIELD: Well -

JACKSON: And that, Ashleigh, it's very significant on the issue of, we talked about the super max prison and how terrible a prison it is, but now with the rebuttal, the prosecution reminds that jury that, you know what, as Deb said, there are privileges that you have in that prison and you're still alive, you can get educated in that prison and perhaps it's not the place that the defense would like you to believe he's alive after all to enjoy privileges that those who have died have not.

BANFIELD: Well, and you also get to chat with the Unabomber and Ted Kaczynski.

JACKSON: Oh, boy.

BANFIELD: You also get to chat with Richard Reid. These are your roommates. It's no picnic at the super max. But I'm just fascinated by this dichotomy of the careless, soulless man in the courtroom and Sister Prejean's five meetings with him, again, second hand.

JACKSON: (INAUDIBLE) that jury.

BANFIELD: Thank you, Deb, and thank you, Joey. I appreciate it.

[12:19:57] Coming up, a tragic reminder to all about the dangers of being a police officer. Four suspects are now due in court this afternoon as a Mississippi town mourns two officers killed in the line of duty.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Of all the calamities that could befall a police officer, the scariest may be the seemingly routine traffic stop that ends with the officer's death, or in the case we're following in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, two officers' deaths. This afternoon, four different suspects all due in the Forest County Justice Court to hear an array of charges that could send two of them at least to death row. Marvin Banks and Joanie Calloway each are facing two counts of capital murder. Marvin's brother Curtis is charged with being an accessory after the fact. Cornelius Clark is charged with obstructing justice.

Before this weekend, it had been 30 years since Hattiesburg had experienced a police officer being killed in the line of duty. About three hours from now, that city, instead, is going to be holding a vigil for two, Officer Benjamin Deen, named officer of the year in 2012, and Officer Liquori Tate, a rookie on the force for less than a year.

I want to bring in my CNN colleague, Alina Machado.

Alina, Loretta Lynch, the head of the DOJ, now weighing in. And before we get to what she had to say, I'm still waiting on details of what happened in this calamity where two officers are dead, four people in custody, a police cruiser stolen. What transpired at the actual scene?

ALINA MACHADO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ashleigh, the short answer is, we really don't know because authorities have not released those kinds of details just yet. I mean there's nothing routine if you talk to a police officer about a traffic stop, right? They always say, we always have to be careful because these kinds of things could quickly happen and escalate.

What we know is that one of the officers initiated the stop. He called for backup and that's when the other officers arrived. What happened between that moment and the moments that gunshots started flying, we have not been told yet by authorities.

[12:25:02] And as you mentioned, the attorney general, Loretta Lynch, did release a statement just a little while ago. I'm going to read to you part of the statement. And in it she says, "the Department of Justice stands ready to offer any possible aid to the Hattiesburg community as they investigate this appalling incident. And we will continue to do all that we can to protect our officers across the country and support all those who wear the badge. Officer Benjamin Deen and Officer Liquori Tate were committed and courageous public safety officials dedicated to their community and devoted to their mission. They exemplify the very best that our country has to offer."

Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: Alina Machado reporting live for us. We'll continue to follow that. And when you get some details on why and how this all unfolded, please, let us know. Alina reporting live for us.

You know, Officer Liquori Tate's dream came true on June 11th just last year, 2014, because on that date he proudly announced on Facebook and I'm going to quote him, "I graduated the Police Academy today. I am now a police officer. I would like to thank God, the Police Academy, the Police Department, my family, friends and loved ones." Today those loved ones are instead shattered but thankful for the man they knew as Cocoa. They called him the rock star. Tate's mother, sister and stepfather spoke this morning on "New Day."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YOULANDER ROSS, SISTER OF DEAD HATTIESBURG OFFICER: He always wanted to be a police officer since he was young. Playing with police cars and -

BERNELL LONNIE ROSS, STEPFATHER OF DEAD HATTIESBURG OFFICER: His Xbox.

Y. ROSS: And Xbox games and just having that protective spirit that has always been one of his dreams.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, ANCHOR, CNN'S "NEW DAY": Lonnie, tell us what you want us all to know about Liquori?

B. ROSS: Well, he was - we called him Cocoa. His mother nicknamed him that. And most people who know him, know him as Cocoa. He was - will always be remembered as a very respectful young man, very balanced. You know, he loved life. He was fun. He was a fun guy. He was a jokester. He knew how to enjoy life. He loved his mama's cooking. Loved to eat. And the thing I'll remember the most, of course, is every time he came here to Jackson with us, he has three younger siblings here, and it's like a rock star walks in the house. They just go crazy, Cocoa, Cocoa, and I'm going to forget - I mean I'm going to remember that and miss that tremendously how much he was loved and how much he loved and what a balanced young man that he was, a great example and a very humane police officer. He knew how to treat people with dignity and with great humanity.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BANFIELD: And coming up next, I'm going to speak with a local reporter who once called one of those slain officers his friend, and who is now instead covering his friend's murder.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)