Return to Transcripts main page

LEGAL VIEW WITH ASHLEIGH BANFIELD

Thai Police Hunt For Suspect After Second Blast; Video Of Clinton's #BlackLivesMatter Meeting; Closing Arguments In Death Of Black Man; Officer Faces Manslaughter Charge In Shooting; "Face of Evil" Premieres Tonight. Aired 12:30-1p

Aired August 18, 2015 - 12:00   ET

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


[12:30:00] ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN HOST: Authorities believe the bombing was about deliberate act of terror. At least 22 people were killed in that explosion.

In China today thousands of fire fighters, police officers, and local residents pause for a moment of silence at the site of that huge explosion. It was a blast that killed at least 114 people, 57 people are still missing. State media reports authorities have detained 10 executives from the company that owned the chemical warehouse that exploded.

Football players at North Western University will not be allowed to form the first union ever for college athlete. The National Labor Relations Board denied their request. The players have been fighting to unionize since January of last year.

The public is seeing for the first time a closed door meeting between Hillary Clinton and Black Lives Matter representative that happened last week. Good Magazine obtained and published the 15-minute video shot by Black Lives Matter representative. At times during the 15- minute conversation, the exchange does become tensed, the three activists from the Black Lives Matter movement press Mrs. Clinton on issues of mass incarceration involving African-Americans here in the United States.

It's a 15-minute tape but we're going to show you the essence of the conversation, but I do encourage you to go to Good Magazine online and watch the full exchange as they have it there. Here is the clip of the first question that was post to Senator Clinton.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JULIUS JONES, ACTIVIST, BLACK LIVES MATTER: It's a pleasure and honor to be in this dialogue with you, but I think that a huge part of what you haven't said is that have you offer a recognition that mass incarceration has now emerged. And that is unfortunate consequence of government practices that just didn't work, but the truth is that there is extremely long history of unfortunate government practices that don't work that particularly affect black people and black families. And until we as a country and then the person who is in the seat that you seek actually addresses the anti-blackness current that is America's first drug we're going to be needing about drugs. America's first drug is free black labor and turning black parties and get your profit and the mass incarceration system emerged off of that like a prison communication system. It's a similar threat, right? And until someone take that message and speaks that truth, two white people in this country so that we can actually take on anti-blackness as a founding problem in this country.

I don't believe that there is going to be a solution because what the conversations that I have right now and while there's so much, but we will cross the divine of the red (inaudible) is because of money. I've been spending a lot of money on prison cell. There's more money in prison than we are for schools, right?

But if we look at it from a lens of let's solve this financial problem and we don't look at the greater bottom line that African-Americans who are Americans are suffering at greater rates than most other people, every other people for those (inaudible) in this country, then it's not that at all way. It's just going to be more for something new and involved.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: For the next clip I'm going to play for you is part of the response that Clinton had to that question.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, obviously it's a very proper question that deserves a proper answer. And I can only tell you that I feel very committed to and responsible for doing whatever I can. I've spent most of my adult life focused on kids, feed the children, events funds and other efforts to try to give kids particularly poor kids, particularly, you know, black kids and Hispanic kids have the same chance to live up to their own God-given potential as anyone.

That's were I've been focused and I think that there has to be a reckoning I agree with that, but I also think there has to be some positive vision and plan between people for, I mean what you say, you know, this country has so not recovered from it's original sin which is true.

When she say that and then the next question by people who were on the sidelines which is the vast majority of Americans. The next question is well, so what do you want me to do about it, what am I supposed to do about it?

[12:35:01] That's what I'm trying to put together in a way that I can explain it and I can sell it, because in politics you can't explain and you can't sell it which they can show and this is now a time -- a moment in time just like the civil rights movement or the women's movement or the gay rights movement or a lot of other movements reached a point in time, the people behind that consciousness raising and advocacy, they had a plan ready to go.

So that when you turn to, you know, the women's movement we want to pass this and we want to pass that and we want to do this (inaudible) are now all taken care of, we know that. I was there no more about the civil rights movement in the old days, because I had a lot of involvement in working with people. So they had a plan this piece of legislation this court case were going to make it et cetera, et cetera. Same with the gay rights movement, you know, we're sick of homophobia, we're sick of being discriminated against, we want marriage equality, we're starting the stage and we're going to keep going until we get it in the highest court in the land.

So all I'm saying is your analysis is totally fair, it's historically fair, it's psychologically fair, it's economically fair, but you're going to have to come together as a movement and say here is what we want done about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: OK, so there is clearly more I want to show you now the end of the conversation between Secretary Clinton and the Black Lives Matter representatives.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: (inaudible) like if you don't tell black people what we need to do, then we won't tell you all what you need to do.

CLINTON: I'm not telling. I'll be telling you to tell me.

JONES: What I mean to say is that this is and it has always been a white problem of violence. It's not -- there's not much that we can do to stop the violence against us.

CLINTON: Well, if that is the --

JONES: And if the conversation there puts back.

CLINTON: OK, I understand. I understand what you're saying --

JONES: We are also respectfully.

CLINTON: Well, respectfully if that is your position then I will talk only to white people about how we are going to deal with the very real problem.

JONES: That's not what I mean, but like what I'm saying is you what you just said was a form of victim blaming and you were saying that what the Black Lives Matter movement it has to do to change white parts --

CLINTON: No, I'm telling about, look I don't believe you change hearts. I believe you change laws, you change allocation of resources, you change the way systems operate. You're not going to change every part. You're not.

But at the end of the day we can do a whole lot to change some hearts and change some systems and create more opportunities for people who deserve to have them to live up to their own God-given potentials and live safely without fear of violence in their own communities. To have a decent school, to have a decent house, to have a decent future, so we can do it one of many ways, you know, you can keep the movement going which you have started and through it you may actually change some hearts.

But if that's all that happens will be back here in 10 years having the same conversation, because we will not have all of the changes that you deserve to see happen in your lifetime, because of your willingness to get out there and talk about this.

JONES: Thanks. We got to go with this white issue.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Find a way to do that. Appreciate it.

CLINTON: Well, I'm ready, yeah, I'm ready to do my part in any way that I can

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: And like we said at the beginning it's a very long conversation 15 minutes worth of tape, so make sure that you go on and check the full unedited version of that conversation.

Also stay with CNN because next hour Wolf Blitzer is going to speak with two of the activists, you just saw in that video tapes meeting with Secretary Clinton and going to hear what they have to say. Straight from the (inaudible) at 1 p.m. I encourage you to check that out.

Activists have been outraged when police officers involved in shootings have escaped justice. In a court room a white officer facing manslaughter charges for killing an unarmed black man, the closing arguments in that case are coming today. I'm going to tell you about it next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:42:54] BANFIELD: Closing arguments happening this morning in the trial of a white police officer who is charged with manslaughter after killing an unarmed black man who was looking for help after wrecking his car. The shooting happened in a matter of seconds. Take a look at the dash cam video showing a man walking and then suddenly rushing towards police officers, this is what they saw. There was an order to get on the ground several times, but seconds afterwards everyone's off camera range at this point, you could here the burst of gun fire.

Officer Randall Kerrick says he fired that gun in self defense. The incident nearly two years ago is another entry in a pattern of violent runnings between white cops and black victims across the country. Jonathan Ferrell was 24 years old. His attorney said he was the victim of unnecessary force.

CNN's Alina Machado is covering the trial and we're going to get the perspective of former judge Alex Ferrer as well. First to you Alina, just sort of wrap up for me since were in the closing arguments were this case stands right now? ALINA MACHADO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Ashleigh the jury actually sent a warning listening to closing arguments and it started with the prosecutors telling the jury that Officer Randall Kerrick made bad choices that night. Choices that led to the use of excessive force and that ended Jonathan Ferrel's life. They also focused on the importance of the dash cam video you just showed us and reminded the jury that Kerrick actually shut down his camera before his encounter with Ferrel and that the only video they have came from one of the other responding officers and listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADREN HARRIS, PROSECUTOR: Thankfully officer Niel had his VAVR because if he hadn't have that VAVR on, ladies and gentleman, we wouldn't know the truth. We wouldn't know and the boy in that September 14th, 2013 that Jonathan Ferrel was unarmed.

[12:45:03] that Jonathan Ferrel hold no to threats, no harm to the officers on the scene, we wouldn't have known these things ladies and gentlemen if it wasn't for that VAVR. Jonathan Ferrel could've been another young man who die at the hands of police. (END VIDEO CLIP)

MACHADO: Now the defense meanwhile argued that their client was in a fight for his life, they reminded the jury that he was just doing his job that night, that he had actually requested to add himself to the call because it was a priority one call. And that even though Kerrick made several statements right after the shooting, he still chose to take the stand to explain his actions to jurors and here is part of Kerrick's testimony from last week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OFC.RANDALL KERRICK, DEFENDANT: I though I was going to die.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why?

KERRICK: There's nothing I would do to stop him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What was the reason that you continued to fire your weapon.

KERRICK: Because he wouldn't stop. He kept trying to get to my gun.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACHADO: Now the defense also have try to inject reasonable doubt in closing arguments reminding the jury that Kerrick's DNA was found under Ferrel's fingernails, they also suggested that Ferrel didn't go to the house looking for help and they claim that it is possible that the accident happened after Ferrel tried to break in to the house. The state called that theory a distraction and its rebuttal. Kerrick again is on trial for voluntary manslaughter the jury is expected to start deliberating at some point this afternoon, Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: All right, Alina keep an eye on it for us if you would. Thank you for that.

And Judge Alex I need you to weigh in on something. You know, at first flash you look at that, you see the video it's all very uncomfortable. No other remiges after that critical moment, but there is this from the medical examiner that Jonathan Ferrel was on top of officer Kerrick during a majority of the shooting. What does that speak to?

ALEX FERRER, FORMER FLORIDA 11TH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT JUDGE: Well, it's certainly boost his self defense claim that he, you know, that he is not standing over him shooting him, the perpetuator in his eyes in this case Ferrel is on top of him while he is shooting in self- defense.

I mean this is -- we see a lot of shootings in the news involving white officers and black individuals. It is I think unrepresentative of what's really happening out there if you just take those type of shootings and play them over and over and over again its look like a huge pattern. But so many more shootings occur involving white individuals that aren't shown of the ones that we do see a lot of the white officer and black individual shootings are completely justified from a reasonable -- in a standpoint you have -- that what the courts look at is the perspective of the officer who has a guy charging at him and according to the medical examiner straddling him at that time.

BANFIELD: So this is what doesn't make sense and I'm only thinking to this case not the larger issue that you just pointed out, which I think a lot of our viewers would argue there have been so many of these cases that the Black Lives Matter movement was born at that.

FERRE: Of course, but it's a perception issue.

BANFIELD: So, and again just of this particular case while you've got this circumstance where the M.E.s report which is the science on this says that this, you know, Mr. Ferrel was on top of the officer during the shooting, you've also got the police department saying that they do not back the actions of this officer. So while the M.E. needs to back the actions of the officer, you know, his own department said things like the evidence revealed Mr. Ferrel did advance on officer Kerrick and the investigation show the subsequent shooting was excessive.

FERRER: Right.

BANFIELD: Our investigation shown officer Kerrick did not have a lawful right to discharge his weapon during the encounter how is that?

FERRER: I don't know which policy they're referring to, but there's a difference between police department policy and self-defense under the law. A police department can tell you, you know, don't shoot except under these particular circumstances.

BANFIELD: But surely self defense is got to be part of the policy.

FERRER: Well, you that you would think so, but a lot of police departments have gone very protective recently, so you could -- what could happen is if you violate the police department policy as a police officer, you can be fired. But that doesn't mean that you will no be found that have acted in self defense.

I'll tell you this, there are certainly some unjustifiable shootings out there that we see on the news, the guy on South Carolina was shot on the back by the cop, that clearly to me speaks of murder, but the police officers working from a perspective he doesn't know what this guy's intention is when he's charging at him.

BANFIELD: Yeah.

FERRER: And if you have a medical examiner says he's on top of him, that really strengthens his self defense.

BANFIELD: Well, we are at the closings now, so I think we'll probably have a jury decision, you know, if not soon within days. Thank you Judge Alex, nice to see you, appreciate it as always.

Coming up next few criminals in American history are as notorious as Charles Manson. His evil family committed seven murders including actress Sharon Tate one of the most famous. A bloody crime really that just really just had Hollywood terrorized and he is the subject of the brand new CNN special report tonight at 9 Eastern we're going to have a preview after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:53:31] BANFIELD: Tonight at 9:00 Eastern, CNN is going to look at the infamous Charles Manson murders back in 1969.

Specials called Face of the Evil and it is a gripping look at how Manson was able to convince his followers to murder Actress Sharon Tate and her friends.

Here's a quick clip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They found no evidence of robbery, no suggestion of motive.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It sent us wave of panic through Los Angeles and through the Hollywood community.

If they can get to a movie star, they could get to a coffee hours and they could get to anybody.

BARBARA HOYT, FORMER HANSON FAMILY MEMBER: I was just sitting there watching T.V.

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Then 17-years-old Barbara Hoyt remembers the news reports about the murders.

She was living on a ranch outside of L.A. with the group of friends.

HOYT: They all came in and watch the news and the first story was all about the Sharon Tate murders.

And somebody said something at the time and they all laugh.

I didn't see anything funny at it all.

SIDNER: They lived here on this abandoned movie set where a charismatic self-styled guru named Charles Manson, let a group untraceable (ph) young followers.

HOYT: You know, they worship Charlie like a god.

SIDNER: But in the days after the murders Charlie seemed dangerous and unhinged.

HOYT: He was almost in a frantic stage I would say. He was very worried.

SIDNER: And so was Hoyt. She knew something was very wrong. But she didn't know what. And neither did police. It would be months of false leaves and missed opportunities for them to unravel the mystery of the seven savage murders.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[12:55:13] BANFIELD: It's just amazing Sara Sidner, is here live now.

That 45 years later and the most inspective case are deeply as all time, that we're still learning new information.

SIDNER: It's true, you know, after talking to some different people I didn't realize that there was a reporter who was regularly visiting Manson in prison during the trial.

And he was sending her letters and he was talking to her. And she said she was trying to manipulate her -- the way he manipulated some of these young women. But she said something about him that really struck me. And that was that when you're in the room with Charles Manson it's like no one else is in the room with you.

He never stops starring into your eyes. And that gave is what a lot of people talked about in the trial. He picked out jurors and he would stare at them and then he would stare at reporters and it was almost like a power play.

A lot of people very scooped by him and I think that's why this trial went on and on and on because there was so much evidence but so many murders.

BANFIELD: Well and here's the weird thing that, you know, that these letters that he wrote to her were now just sort of learning about it.

SIDNER: That's right.

BANFIELD: -- and the content they're in. I cannot wait for this. I don't know why, 45 years later and I'm still -- it's still one of my favorite cases. Sara Sidner, thank you. Appreciate it.

Tune in tonight CNN Special Report Faces of Evil Charles Manson murders 9:00 P.M. Eastern time, right here on CNN.

Thanks for watching everyone. Wolf starts after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)