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CNN NEWSROOM

Prison Guard Released After Posting Bond; First Funerals Held for Victims of Charleston Church Shooting; Obama Scolds Heckler: "You're in My House!"; Jindal Kicks Off Campaign with Hidden Video. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired June 25, 2015 - 09:00   ET

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


[09:00:15] MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN: All right. Time for "NEWSROOM" and Carol Costello on this Thursday.

Good morning, Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: That was very cute. Have a great day.

PEREIRA: You too.

COSTELLO: NEWSROOM starts now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Happening now on the NEWSROOM, potentially armed, definitely dangerous.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If they have the capability or if they have the potential to arm themselves, obviously they would.

COSTELLO: The cabin hideaway of two convicted killers may have had guns inside. How the hunt is shifting on day 20. Plus --

ERIK JENSEN, FORMER INMATE AT CLINTON CORRECTION FACILITY: I believe they were getting it on in that backroom.

COSTELLO: Cozying up to prison workers. Two now facing charges. Was it all part of the escapees' plan?

JENSEN: It was too comfortable. You know what I mean? Too comfortable. You know, and I believe that his whole plan was to get out of there.

COSTELLO: Also.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unfortunately it's like a swastika.

COSTELLO: Alabama's governor brings down the flag. But should Confederate symbols have a place at the U.S. capitol?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hopefully we can remove some of the symbols that encourage people to do bad things.

COSTELLO: I'll talk to the congressman behind a push to remove it. And Jindal jumps in, making 13 GOP candidates so far.

GOV. BOBBY JINDAL (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Mommy and daddy have been talking a lot about this. We have decided we are running for president.

COSTELLO: But what's up with this candid camera announcement video?

Let's talk. Live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.

Just 60 minutes from now we could get an answer from the U.S. Supreme Court on two huge issues. First, is there a constitutional right to same-sex marriage? The other big decision on Obamacare. If the justices decide that the federal government broke the law by offering tax breaks to families and states without exchanges, more than six million Americans could see their subsidies disappear. The court is expected to decide these two huge cases today, tomorrow or Monday. So we could have answers in the next hour.

Also major developments unfold in the manhunt for two escaped killers. And the second prison employee charged in their escape. This morning prison guard Gene Palmer is out of jail. He posted bond overnight on charges that he helped them escape maybe without even knowing it. According to prosecutors Palmer gave the inmates a screwdriver and pliers to fix electrical breakers in the catwalk behind their cells. Those killers would later use that catwalk to escape.

Palmer is accused of providing the contraband and then trying to cover it up. An official familiar with the investigation says police found those tools at Palmer's home, along with paintings he allegedly accepted from the men as payment. After the escape Palmer allegedly burned or buried those paintings to destroy the evidence.

And are these two killers now armed? Searchers are operating under the assumption that the men may have stolen weapons from the abandoned cabins that docked the landscape.

So let's get more on the latest. CNN's Boris Sanchez live in Owls Head, New York.

Good morning, Boris.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Officials have been operating under that assumption that these escapees are armed, especially considering the number of seasonal hunting cabins in this area. Yesterday at a press briefing officials told us that most of these cabins have weapons inside. However, it's impossible to tell if these men actually took weapons because there's no inventory of all the weapons in all the cabins in this area.

As the investigation in Owls Head continues, the investigation at Clinton Correctional Facility is heating up.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ (voice-over): Breaking overnight. That second corrections officer arrested in connection to a brazen New York jailbreak now out on bail. 57-year-old veteran prison guard Gene Palmer expected to plead not guilty to charges of promoting dangerous prison contraband, tampering with evidence and official misconduct. The guard allegedly carried frozen hamburger meat embedded with smuggled tools to the escapees, Richard Matt and David Sweat. Officials saying Palmer who worked in the cell block that housed the two convicts was acting at the request of fellow prison employee Joyce Mitchell who hid the tools in the meat and brought it into the jail.

Palmer's lawyer telling CNN his client was unaware there were hacksaw blades and drill bits inside that meat, though the prosecutor says he failed to screen the meat through a metal detector violating prison policy.

ANDREW BROCKWAY, ATTORNEY FOR GENE PALMER: He was conned by Joyce Mitchell. She duped him. He knows that he made a mistake and that he shouldn't have done what he did.

SANCHEZ: Police searching Palmer's home, finding tools, officials say the guard gave to at least one of the prisoners including a screwdriver and needle nosed pliers.

[09:05:05] ANDREW WYLIE, CLINTON COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: There is some information that he allowed them to go into the back of the -- of the cells and in the catwalk area and fix the breakers that were there. It was to fix the breakers so they could use their hot plates to cook their food.

SANCHEZ: That catwalk area, Matt and Sweat's escape path. Palmer telling investigates he supervised the prisoners doing the work and took the tools back before the end of his shift.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Court documents also show that after the escape, Palmer burned several paintings given to him by the inmates. He also tried burying some of them in the woods near his home. Palmer of course out on $25,000 bail. He is due in court later today -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Boris Sanchez, reporting live for me this morning, thanks so much.

In the meantime, Joyce Mitchell's attorney denies she was having a sexual relationship with inmate David Sweat. Listen to what he told CNN's Jason Carroll.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE JOHNSTON, JOYCE MITCHELL'S ATTORNEY: She has indicated to me and to my knowledge to the police that she never had sexual relations with David Sweat. And that's all I'm going to comment on because she has indicated that I believe on multiple occasions or denied that on multiple occasions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: He did, however, refuse to comment on whether Mitchell was involved with Richard Matt. An ex inmate who served with both inmates in 2012 tells CNN there is no doubt in his mind Mitchell and Sweat were involved.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENSEN: Giggling like a schoolgirl. And not only that, it's actually like when -- when like, you know, the superstar football player he asked the girl out on a date or for the prom or something like that. I believe they were getting it on. I believe they were getting it on in that backroom. I believe the way they were reacting with each other and interacting with each other, that it was going on for a while because you know what? They were -- it was too comfortable. You know what I mean? Too comfortable. You know, and I believe that his whole plan was to get out of there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Joining me now to discuss all of this, James Conway. He is the retired superintendent at Attica Correctional Facility.

Thank you, sir, for being with me this morning.

JAMES CONWAY, FORMER SUPERINTENDENT, ATTICA CORRECTIONAL FACILITY: Thank you for having me.

COSTELLO: Hi. Is there any doubt in your mind that something was going on between Sweat and Joyce Mitchell?

CONWAY: No. It was obviously too close of a relationship.

COSTELLO: Are you surprised no one noticed this relationship, you know, as in her supervisors? Because supposedly she was bringing in baked goods and she's giving them special favors and everybody on that cell block knew she was having some sort of relationship with Sweat.

CONWAY: I am. And I'm also, based on what I've read there was an investigation quite some time ago that there may have been an inappropriate relationship between them and no action was taken subsequent to that.

COSTELLO: And you wonder why no action was taken when this had to be going on for a very long time. Was it just a faulty investigation?

CONWAY: Well, I don't have all the facts. I do know that the vast majority of the staff that work for the Department of Corrections Services in New York are professional and upstanding and dedicated. We have a few that fall prey to the manipulation that these two inmates appear to have done.

COSTELLO: I'd like to take -- I'd like for you to take a look at this picture. It shows the manhole where the inmates escaped from in relation to the prison -- in relation to the prison, rather. An ex inmate says you can actually see the manhole from the tailor shop windows. Should that be a concern? Should the windows be covered?

CONWAY: No, I don't think so. The way these old prisons were constructed, there are high-rise cell blocks. (INAUDIBLE). You never expect in a situation like Clinton or Attica or Albert, the large max prisons, to have the inmates typically tunnel under them.

COSTELLO: We're now showing pictures of these tools that the prison guard Gene Palmer not only allowed prisoners to use, but he said he supervised them. But police say they later found these tools in his home. He also supposedly accepted paintings from these inmates and he burned some of the paintings and buried some of the paintings in his backyard in order to I suppose to hide evidence. Do guards often take gifts from prisoners and bring them home like that?

CONWAY: No. Something is not being reported. Obviously the tools are not appropriate to be in the inmates' hands. But this frozen hamburger that was supposedly (INAUDIBLE) again is also not allowed. Inmates are not allowed to have raw meat. So that's another serious breach that we've had that he even brought them in this meat.

COSTELLO: All right. James Conway, thank you so much for joining me this morning. I appreciate it.

Just two hours from now Mother Emanuel will later rest the first of her nine parishioners, gunned down just a week ago by Dylann Roof. At 11:00 a.m. Eastern this morning the funeral for 70-year-old Ethel Lance will be held in Charleston. She'll be buried at the Emanuel AME cemetery. And last night for the first time since the shooting the faithful gather for the traditional Wednesday night bible study. A meeting that usually draws less than 20 people, well, it saw nearly 150 people joined its ranks.

Victor Blackwell live in South Carolina's capital, Columbia, to tell us more.

Good morning, Victor.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, good morning. In addition to the funeral of Ethel Lance, there will also be the funeral today for Reverend Sharonda Coleman Singleton. She was a 45-year-old speech therapist, also beloved track coach, and there will be continued observances today for the state senator and reverend, the pastor there of Emanuel AME, Clementa Pinckney.

After yesterday's viewing here at the state capital, there will be starting at 11:00 a.m. this morning a viewing from 11:00 to 4:00 at a church just outside of Charleston at St. John's AME which is in Ridgeland, and then tonight a wake from 6:00 to 8:00. And we've seen so many people trying to show their respect and this reverence for this pastor and state senator. And there have been a lot of people have been impacted not only by the horrific nature of the killing of the nine people, but also the response and the spirit of forgiveness from their relatives including South Carolina Senator Tim Scott. I want you to watch as he fought back tears while speaking from the

Senate chamber about a conversation with a relative of one of those killed. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TIM SCOTT (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: God cares for his people. God still lives. I was amazed. And then he said with great enthusiasm and energy, a sense of excitement that this evil attack would lead to reconciliation, restoration and unity in our nation. Those were powerful words.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: A very emotional scene there from the Senate chamber. Now that's one angle of what's happening here. But there's also the treatment and what to do next with the confessed killer, Dylann Roof. We're learning from a source, a law enforcement source that the Department of Justice will likely pursue hate crime charges on the federal level. And some might ask he is charged now with nine counts of murder on the state level. Will at the very least spend the rest of his life in prison if he's convicted, possibly face the death penalty.

Why add on the federal hate crime charge? Well, we're learning that the Department of Justice, because this was such a horrific crime, nine people killed inside a church, and the discovery of that rant, that racist manifesto, they believe that it's important for the federal government to speak to that, to go on the record in this case, and the proponents of the hate crime legislation believe that if at any time it is just to add hate crime, charges to a defendant's docket there, that this is the case in which to do it -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Victor Blackwell, reporting live from Columbia, South Carolina, this morning, thank you.

Add Alabama to the list of states reviewing and in some cases removing Confederate symbols in the wake of the Charleston church shooting. Governor Robert Bentley directing that four flags be taken down permanently from a Confederate memorial at the state capitol. Here's what Bentley told reporters about his decision.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)