Return to Transcripts main page

CNN NEWSROOM

Man Who Killed Black Teen Should Not Have Had Gun; First Lawsuit Filed in Deadly School Bus Crash; Report: ISIS Claims Truck Bomb at Gas Station Near Baghdad. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired November 24, 2016 - 14:30   ET

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


[14:30:10] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: With me now, Obi Henderson, the director of that organization, DREAMS Community Development Corporation. So, Obi, first and foremost, especially on a day where we feel blessed to have family and friends around, my sincerest condolences to you.

OBI HENDERSON, DIRECTOR, DREAMS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION (through phone): Thank you.

BALDWIN: Can you just tell me more about this young man?

HENDERSON: James Means was a really good young man. He attended the Dreamchasers' Sunday sit down for the second time this past Sunday, and so we've been working with his family for quite some time. And he has seen the impact that we've had on his siblings and his cousins, and so this past Sunday, when he attended, he really started to chime in and learn more about what we were doing and really got interested in the activities that were at hand. And so it's a terrible loss of opportunity that we missed with really pastoring this young man.

BALDWIN: How is his family doing?

HENDERSON: They're grieving. I just left his aunt's house and spoke with his mother. Last night, we held a dinner at Grace Bible Church where it was more so an opportunity for us to come together, meaning the family, the friends, Dreamchasers, and a time to reflect on the positive person that James Means was and give an opportunity for friends and family to laugh and just embrace the joy of who he was.

BALDWIN: To hear this suspect in this jailhouse interview -- I mean, surprising he's even talking, let alone some of the words he's using. And as Ryan pointed out, he's taken it back, but he called, you know, James Means "a piece of trash," he admitted to shooting him, also says it was -- that, you know, James Means had flashed a gun on him and that he was doing this in self-defense. What's your response to all of that?

HENDERSON: Well, James Means was not a gang member. He was not walking around in the streets trying to promote violence and wreak havoc on people. That wasn't the type of person that he was. He was an honest, humble, very respectable, respectful young man. And so I'm not -- I don't think those statements about arguing were accurate of him having to defend himself. He was a very mild mannered individual.

BALDWIN: Obi, thank you so much for jumping on the phone. I appreciate it. Again, we are so sorry.

Next, we'll talk about this jailhouse interview and what prosecutors will use against him during a trial.

Plus, it is the first time Donald Trump has ever had access to America's secrets, intelligence briefings, that kind of thing. So why is the President-elect opting to skip a number of these briefings, only taking two so far since being elected? We'll talk live with a former CIA agent ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:37:38] BALDWIN: There will be six separate empty seats at families' Thanksgivings on this Thursday. Six children whose young lives were lost far too early when their school bus crashed, Monday, on a winding narrow road in Chattanooga, Tennessee. They were just on their way home from school. And, I mean, you see their precious faces here. These are the five young victims, including eight-year-old Keonte Wilson. He died yesterday from his injuries.

We are now learning that the 24-year-old bus driver was not on his designated route when he ran off the road and then plowed into that tree with 37 kids on board. As far as why, we still don't know the answer to that.

Investigators do say that toxicology reports indicate this bus driver, Johnthony Walker, did not have drugs, did not have alcohol in his system at the time of the crush. This was his second accident involving a school bus in just two months' time. The principal of a neighboring school who also happens to be the cousin of this little girl, nine-year-old Cordayja Jones, says the driver's sister reached out to him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAFRED THIRKILL, BUS CRUSH VICTIM'S COUSIN: She called, very emotional and obviously grieving. And she was sharing with me that it was her brother. I shared with her that my cousin was on the bus as well. And she just reassured me that her brother was a good person, and she said that he was terribly heartbroken at the -- you know, by the accident. And she said that he was driving and he hit a curb or something, and he tried to overcorrect the bus and it caused it to flip over.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: The first lawsuit stemming from this crash has just been filed by the family of an eight-year-old boy. The suit claims he sustained significant injuries, and it names the driver as well as the company that runs the bus service. Today, as the memorial grows for these young victims, the CEO of the bus company says he is cooperating with both federal and local investigators. He released this statement online.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DAVID DUKE, CEO, DURHAM SCHOOL SERVICES: My responsibility now is to look for answers, answers about why this tragedy occurred and answers for how we can make sure that this never, ever happens again. I don't want to compromise that investigation. I want to know what happened.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[14:39:58] BALDWIN: Laura Coates, let me bring you in, our CNN legal analyst and former federal prosecutor. I mean, what a tragedy. And to think of, you know, potential suits here with regard to this bus crash, I mean, obviously, speed is a question, the driver. But the fact that he wasn't on the designated route when he was, you know, driving those 37 kids, what liability should the bus company have now that we know that?

LAURA COATES, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, you know, the liability can be extensive depending upon what the investigation actually results in. One of the things about this extreme tragedy, you know, I'm a mother of two small children myself, is the idea that this may have been accidental. However, when there is a detour and what your actual obligations are to the company and if the company knows you take detour to detours in the past or has not corrected your behavior, they may face liability themselves.

But remember, this driver himself is facing criminal charges for vehicular manslaughter and homicide as well. And so his issue will be far more than a civil lawsuit. It will actually be with respect to whether he can see jail time. And this accident, if it is an accident, is certainly one that is prosecutable.

BALDWIN: Yes.

COATES: And my heart just goes out to those families of those six young children.

BALDWIN: Yes, yes. And even like the cousin was saying with Alisyn this morning, you know, also prayers to this driver's family because they are obviously grieving as well.

The story from West Virginia that we just talked about before the break, with this 62-year-old White man who's now sitting in jail, he's charged with first degree murder in the death of this Black teenager here, James Means. First of all, just based on what you know -- and we don't know a lot -- could this constitute as a hate crime?

COATES: Yes, it could, if, in fact, this is a man who was using his bias, which apparently was his comment about being a piece of trash. If that was related to the race of this young man and it had a bias to it, it certainly could be considered a hate crime and it's prosecutable. But I think the real issue here, too, Brooke, is I was shocked to know this man was even talking in the jail, and it could be used against him, everything that he was actually saying.

BALDWIN: Why is he talking?

COATES: Well, you know, most people -- BALDWIN: Doesn't every lawyer say shush?

COATES: They do and they should. And everyone knows their Miranda rights. If you watch "Law and Order," you can read them off the top of your head. However, a lot of people still talk, and they feel emboldened by their actions. They believe this man also went on to dinner at some point after having done this shooting, et cetera.

BALDWIN: That's right. That's right.

COATES: So he may have been emboldened by his act and did not care and was nefariously dismissive about this man's life. But if he did say these things and he'd already had his rights read to him, and he said, "Huh, I'll talk anyway," well, this is almost an open-and-shut case for the prosecutors.

BALDWIN: He called this young man a piece of trash after admitting that yes, indeed, he shot him. Apparently, he's taking it back, but that is out there. We also found, Laura --

COATES: Too late.

BALDWIN: I know, I know. Our Charleston, West Virginia affiliate, WCHS, is reporting that this suspect should have actually never had a gun in the first place because of some sort of domestic violence case in which he pled no contest to in 2013. How might that impact all of these?

COATES: Well, it's a huge aggravating factor. One of the reasons every judge across the country will tell people who have a conviction of domestic violence abuse -- and I believe it was having punched his pregnant daughter at the time was the conviction was about, et cetera. And so this is somebody who we'd routinely say, if you have a D.V. case, they call them, then you cannot have a gun because there is potential for extreme escalation and impassioned and completely, you know, irrational behavior.

So having a weapon is kind of like if a felon had a weapon and committed another crime. It's aggravating in terms of the penalty that could be in place, and it's treated as a separate penalty for that person.

BALDWIN: Final thought --

COATES: It's a very, very big deal.

BALDWIN: On the notion of the gun, you know, this older gentleman who's sitting in jail says he did this in self-defense. He says that he saw a gun on this young man. You know, police apparently haven't fully said yet whether James Means was armed. They need to do that pretty quickly, don't they?

COATES: Absolutely, because, of course, you're talking about you can use even lethal force to defend against lethal force used against you. However, all reports so far talk about it being a verbal altercation with this young man and this man, and so far I have not seen anything or heard anything that would tell me this was actually a justified shooting by this man. However, the investigation is ongoing. I'm sure he'll have a lawyer who will tell him to stop talking at some point and tell him about what maybe his rights would be if it were self-defense.

BALDWIN: Laura Coates --

COATES: We'll see how the story changes.

BALDWIN: We will, indeed. Thank you so much for your time today. I truly, truly appreciate it.

COATES: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Thank you.

COATES: Thanks, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Next, what is it like to live inside Trump Tower there on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan now that its most famous resident has been elected president? We will take you inside.

[14:44:53] Plus, breaking news out of Baghdad, we are getting word a truck has exploded killing dozens of people. We will take you there live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Breaking news out of Baghdad, we are getting word a suicide truck bomb has detonated killing at least 57 people at a gas station. Details are still scarce, but it's believed the bomb exploded next to buses that were carrying Shi'a Muslim pilgrims, pilgrims who had recently attended a large annual event in a nearby town. ISIS, the Sunni militant group, considers all Shiites to be traitors to the faith and have reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack in an online statement.

Meantime, in Syria, a desperate plea from within a city that has been described as hell on earth. Aleppo, a city under siege with a near constant barrage of air strikes. Now, a group of civilians there have a message for the world. Jomana Karadsheh is reporting from neighboring Jordan. And I just have to warn you, what you're about to see maybe disturbing to some viewers. Jomana?

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: With no end in sight to the plight of the more than a quarter of a million residents of eastern Aleppo who have been living under constant bombardment who barely have any functioning hospitals left and who, according to the United Nations, are facing that real possibility of mass starvation because of the months-long siege.

[14:50:16] The people of eastern Aleppo have been trying to get the world's attention. They're desperate for any kind of help to end what so many people there describe as this living nightmare. On Wednesday, a group that includes civil society members, activists, and medical workers released a video statement with a message to the international community.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. HAMZA AL-KHATIB, SYRIAN DOCTOR: We wonder why do we have United Nations. Why do we have human rights laws? This has been a slow- motion train wreck, and this message is from the people who lasted in Aleppo to the world. Don't look back years from now and wish that you can do something. You can still do. We ask you to ground Assad air force that's killing, or at least have some diplomatic leverage to force the Syrian regime and Russia's bombardment of the city of Aleppo to be stopped. The international community holds responsibility for any future consequences of Aleppo besiegement hoping that our voices will be heard and Aleppo will be saved.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: The group also called for demilitarized humanitarian quarters that would be under the observation of the United Nations. And with eastern Aleppo running out of just about everything, including food, they also called for humanitarian aid drops. Over the past week of this renewed military assault on eastern Aleppo, more than 300 people have been killed according to activists in what they say has been some of the most intense unprecedented bombardment of this conflict.

The Syrian regime says that this is all part of its countrywide operation against what it describes as terrorist groups. Russia says it is not taking part in air strikes on eastern Aleppo at this time. The United Nations says it has a humanitarian plan for eastern Aleppo. It's trying to get the approval of the different parties in this conflict to the plan. But with this recent military escalation, that is looking unlikely to happen any time soon and the people of eastern Aleppo, the civilians, are terrified the worst is yet to come.

Jomana Karadsheh, CNN Oman.

BALDWIN: Jomana, thank you.

Coming up, one phenomenal woman, who I had the privilege to meet just a couple of days ago, she is working overtime this Thanksgiving holiday to bring delicious meals to some troubled youth. They have a lot to be thankful for. We'll show you why after this quick break.

And Donald Trump may be at Mar-a-Lago estate for the holiday, but he says he is still working hard. We'll tell you what he's up to on this Thanksgiving, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:56:58] BALDWIN: A CNN hero is doing her part to make sure at risk youth on Chicago's south side enjoy delicious home cooked meal this holiday. I was honored to present an award to Chicago mom and grand mom, Diane Latiker, who founded this incredible organization called KOB or Kids Off the Block.

What she does is, she brings in troubled youths -- she first started doing this in her own home -- and then helps them turn their lives around. So my colleague, Ryan Young, caught up with her this weekend as she was feeding hundreds, sparing no expense in making sure these young people have a happy Thanksgiving.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is a feast centered around giving thanks. Thanks for peace. Thanks for a moment without gunshots.

DIANE LATIKER, FOUNDER, KIDS OFF THE BLOCK: They get the real deal. This ain't no canned stuff. I refuse to give them a piece of old bread and a can of spinach and call it a Thanksgiving meal. This meal costs $6,000, so they can eat all they want, greens, the real mac -- ooh, they got some good macaroni and cheese, turkey, sweet potatoes. I mean, all the desserts.

YOUNG (voice-over): In 2003, Diane Latiker started a non-profit called Kids Off the Block. In 2011, she was recognized as a CNN Hero for her work helping provide support and sanctuary for at risk kids on Chicago's tough south side.

TIM CRAWFORD, KIDS OFF THE BLOCK: Oh, yes, she's awesome. Awesome. The things -- I've seen what she does for the children. I've seen the relationships that she builds with them. It's phenomenal.

YOUNG (voice-over): This year alone, there have been more than 600 homicides in Chicago. Many of the victims are younger than 18. Diane works to give the kids a break from the streets.

YOUNG (on camera): What's that like trying to avoid gangs in Chicago?

DANTE HARRIS, KIDS OFF THE BLOCK: You got to duck your head every day. Every day, somebody is getting shot or somebody getting murdered.

YOUNG (voice-over): Sixteen-year-old Dante Harris talks more like a war veteran than a kid looking forward to the rest of his life.

HARRIS: Because I've been losing a lot of friends.

YOUNG (on camera): What's that like?

HARRIS: Man, it's like you just took a bullet to yourself because them your friends that you grew up with.

YOUNG (voice-over): A worldwide view that touched Skyler Jett, once a member of the mega music group, The Commodores, who flew in from Scotland to experience this day and Diane's efforts firsthand.

SKYLER JETT, MEMBER, THE COMMODORES: She's my hero. We're putting together a thing right now for every mom who's lost a loved one due to guns.

YOUNG (voice-over): The work here is never over.

YOUNG (on camera): So you had a chance to meet Brooke. She was really impressed about --

LATIKER: Oh. Did she tell you I almost cried when I --

(LAUGHTER)

YOUNG (on camera): So what do you want her to know about the efforts and what do you want people out there who don't live in Chicago to know about what Chicago needs right now?

LATIKER: I think Brooke knows. But Brooke don't -- she's no park (ph).

(LAUGHTER)

YOUNG (on camera): You haven't given up?

LATIKER: I'm never giving up.

YOUNG (on camera): Why not?

LATIKER: Because them people always being born.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Oh. Ryan Young, my heart goes out to you and to Diane. Thank you so much. I just needed a little love and inspiration. She was sitting with me at dinner the other night and saying, Brooke, why is it that you all just cover the bad? The bad that's happening in Chicago? And I said, Diane, I'm sending my friend, Ryan, to you.