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CNN CONNIE CHUNG TONIGHT
Clara Harris Sentenced to 20 Years, Defense to Appeal; U.N. Debates Action on Iraq After Ambiguous Report from Blix
Aired February 14, 2003 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CONNIE CHUNG, HOST: Good evening. I'm Connie Chung.
Tonight, Clara Harris is looking at 20 years in prison.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: Clara Harris, found guilty of murder for running down her husband, is sentenced for her crime.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For 20 years.
ANNOUNCER: Tonight, Harris' lawyer, George Parnham, tells Connie what's next for Clara.
Showdown: Iraq.
HANS BLIX, U.N. CHIEF WEAPONS INSPECTOR: How much, if any, is left of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and related proscribed items and programs? So far UNMOVIC has not found any such weapons.
ANNOUNCER: No smoking gun. But no clean slate, either.
BLIX: Many proscribed weapons and items are not accounted for.
ANNOUNCER: A sharply divided U.N. considers the next move against Iraq.
While the U.S. plans for war, anti-war protests are plans around the world.
The so-called preppie killer is freed after 15 years in prison for strangling a young woman to death. Tonight, is there a place for the convicted killer in the outside world?
And our people of the day. A love for the ages.
This is CONNIE CHUNG TONIGHT. Live from the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, Connie Chung.
CHUNG: Good evening.
Shock in a Texas courtroom tonight in the case of the woman who murdered her cheating husband by running him down with her car.
Clara Harris, the dentist and former beauty queen, appeared stunned when she was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The institutional division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, for 20 years, and assess a fine in the amount of $10,000.
The verdict is signed by the presiding juror. It appears to be in proper form.
Does either side wish to have the jury polled?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, your honor.
CHUNG: Today would have been Clara and David Harris' 11th wedding anniversary. CNN investigative correspondent Art Harris was in the courtroom as the sentence was announced.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ART HARRIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): She walked back into the courtroom with no makeup, no jewelry, after spending her first night in jail.
The defense told the jury she was a good, loving person who deserved probation, even though convicted of murdering her cheating husband.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's poetic irony that today is Valentine's Day. Today would have been their 11th wedding anniversary.
HARRIS: When the defense said Clara was needed at home to care for her sons, this come-back.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, she ought not get credit for making herself a single parent.
HARRIS: With her stepdaughter in the car, the former beauty queen ran down orthodontist David Harris the night she caught him leaving a hotel with his receptionist, his mistress.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Suffering and laying on the asphalt, like some type of wounded animal, drowning in your own blood while your teenage daughter watches.
HARRIS: The jury's sentence...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We, the jury, having found the defendant guilty of murder, assess her punishment at confinement in the institutional division of the Texas department of criminal justice for 20 years.
HARRIS: Clara Harris collapsed in tears.
Even though the jury decided the murder was an act of sudden passion, 20 years is the maximum under that finding. She will not be eligible for parole for at least a decade. None of the jurors would talk publicly about their decision before they left the courthouse. Clara's lawyer said he will appeal.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
Lindsay Harris, the victim's daughter, and Clara Harris' stepdaughter, cried as the verdict was read -- the sentence was read. And then issued a statement, thanking the jury, and said justice had been served. She said, "There was no joy in it, no winners, only losers, especially the children of Clara and David Harris."
Art Harris, CNN, reporting live from Houston -- Connie.
CHUNG: Thank you, Art.
Joining us exclusively now from Houston is attorney George Parnham, who defended Clara Harris.
George, thank you so much for being with us.
GEORGE PARNHAM, HARRIS DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Thank you.
CHUNG: Did you talk to Clara Harris after the sentencing? What did she say to you?
PARNHAM: Connie, Clara was basically receptive of my words. I don't know if she understood what I was saying or not.
I tried to encourage her. I tried to comfort her. I tried to utilize whatever words available in my vocabulary to let her know that no one will give up in this case, that this is going to be a continued fight through the system on appeal.
She is much loved by her friends, neighbors, relatives, to include the parents of David. And I just want to let her know that every aspect of emotional and legal support will be utilized to perfect this appeal for her.
CHUNG: George, she clearly seemed stunned. What was she expecting?
PARNHAM: Well, I don't know. She knew, obviously, what the allegations were. She was aware, obviously, of yesterday's verdict.
And obviously, we were and had every hope that this jury would consider her exemplary life in making a determination as to whether or not to permit her to continue to live with her children and raise her fatherless twins.
CHUNG: Who will raise the children?
PARNHAM: At this time, I understand, Connie, that there has been a proceeding initiated by the grandparents of the boys, by David's parents, and this is with the knowledge and input of Clara.
Hopefully over the next year and a half, we will have garnished enough support legally to get this case reversed and come back in front of another jury on another day.
CHUNG: George, have the boys been told?
PARNHAM: I don't know. I don't know that. I would assume that somewhere in the not too distant future, questions will be asked about where Mom is.
CHUNG: Yes. Do you know if she had a chance to say goodbye to them, either yesterday or the day before?
PARNHAM: I don't know that, Connie.
CHUNG: All right. The prosecutor in this case, Mia Magness, spoke to reporters, and she acknowledged that she had been emotional during the trial.
Let's listen to what she had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIA MAGNESS, PROSECUTOR: I was overwhelmed with just how tragic the whole thing was. And that it seemed to me that the victim was getting lost in the process.
CHUNG: George Parnham, was that your strategy, to make Clara the victim instead of David Harris?
PARNHAM: Well, I don't understand the context in which those statements were made or actually that question is asked. All we did was tell the story.
And our story included the entire relationship between David and Clara up to the point in time when the mistress got involved and, basically, got in competition, even though Clara didn't know it, for the affections of Clara's husband.
With that said, I believe that that last week of Clara's life with David was just a blueprint of a spiraling down into an absolute emotional wreck on the part of Clara. Whether she is a victim or not, she certainly did suffer the emotional consequences that were laid at her feet by David, who was engaged in this affair, and by Gail Bridges.
CHUNG: What will be the basis of your appeal?
PARNHAM: We have a number of points, Connie. I'm glad you asked me.
And I think we have a number of very credible and very powerful areas that we need to address.
The videotape, actually the audiotape of her confession to the police. We insisted that that tape be played in the entirety, so that we could put the -- into context some of the isolated statements that were attributed to her during that interview by the police officer. That request was denied. I think that is going to be a foundation of the appellate process. We believed and still do believe that the jury should have been able to hear the entirety of that conversation. Not just sound bites, but the entire two-hour conversation that portrayed a woman who was absolutely emotionally distraught and in many instances incoherent.
We think that's going to be a very strong point on appeal.
CHUNG: All right. George Parnham, I thank you so much for...
PARNHAM: Thank you, Connie.
CHUNG: ... coming on and talking to us. We appreciate it.
PARNHAM: You bet.
CHUNG: And joining us now, our legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin.
Jeffrey, let's see. She will serve at least ten years, is that correct?
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: To put it another way, her 4- year-old twins won't see her at home until they're 14, right?
CHUNG: She's only eligible for parole after that?
TOOBIN: And only eligible. Texas is a tough prison system. It doesn't mean she's going to get out in ten years, it means she's first eligible in ten years.
CHUNG: You know, when I heard the jury first come to the conclusion that she did murder him in sudden passion, that was, I mean, positive for her.
TOOBIN: Absolutely. We were -- we've been talking about that for the duration of this trial. Well, maybe she'll get sudden passion, maybe she'll persuade the jury that it was sudden passion.
She did. And got virtually no benefit out of it. She got the maximum sentence you can get with a sudden passion murder, which is 20 years.
CHUNG: She could have gotten as little as two?
TOOBIN: As little as two, which would have made her eligible for probation.
CHUNG: Now, you know, George Parnham was just talking about an appeal. Any prospects, do you think?
TOOBIN: Texas is a very tough state for any sort of criminal appeals.
The Texas court of criminal appeals is an elected court. They're very conservative, very pro-prosecution. Unlikely to win on appeal. This case is almost for certain over today.
CHUNG: Well, Jeffrey, do you think that the defense was flawed?
TOOBIN: You know, I don't really think George Parnham had many options.
The big issue for him is he put his client on the witness stand. That's always the toughest decision. But she didn't have a criminal record, she was a sympathetic person. I don't see how you could try this case without putting her on the witness stand.
The -- they had an expert testify that David Harris was only run over once. His biggest problem was that his client was guilty. And I think that's really what held up the defense here.
CHUNG: Jeffrey. All right. And finally, that key witness was his stepdaughter.
TOOBIN: The stepdaughter. An eyewitness to the crime, a very credible, very likeable young woman. And she I think sealed her stepmother's fate. She was the one who said she looked like she was going to -- trying to kill him, and the jury believed her.
CHUNG: All right. Jeffrey Toobin, thank you so much.
And we'll be back with more in just a moment.
ANNOUNCER: Next, antiwar protesters take to the streets. How will this chorus of dissent play against the drumbeat of war? CONNIE CHUNG TONIGHT will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHUNG: Now the showdown with Iraq.
Tonight, the Bush Administration says nothing has changed. There is no evidence Iraq has destroyed its chemical weapons. There is no evidence it will.
In fact, the White House said today's weapons reports at the United Nations gave the world no comfort.
CNN's senior U.N. correspondent Richard Roth was watching a long day of what the diplomats euphemistically called frank and open discussions.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From the top U.N. inspectors, a report of Iraqi weapons not seen.
HANS BLIX, U.N. CHIEF WEAPONS INSPECTOR: How much, if any, is left of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and related proscribed items and programs? So far, UNMOVIC has not found any such weapons.
ROTH: But also, says chief inspector Hans Blix, there are problems.
BLIX: A document which Iraq provided suggested to us that some 1,000 tons of chemical agent were unaccounted for.
ROTH: Also not accounted for, says Blix, stores of anthrax, deadly VX nerve agent, and long range missiles that Iraq was known to have.
On Saddam Hussein's alleged nuclear program, Mohamed ElBaradei.
MOHAMED ELBARADEI, IAEA DIRECTOR: We have to date found no evidence of ongoing prohibited nuclear or nuclear related activities in Iraq.
However, as I have just indicated, a number of issues are still under investigation. And we are not yet in a position to reach a conclusion about them.
ROTH: Blix threw a jab across the room to Secretary of State Colin Powell, referring to satellite images Powell displayed last week showing Iraqis removing items from a site reputedly just before inspectors arrived.
BLIX: The reported movement of munitions at the site could just as easily have been a routine activity.
ROTH: What is working? Private interviews with Iraqi scientists. But Blix and ElBaradei say they need more time with the scientists, away from the eyes of Iraqi officials.
It also seemed to widen the gulf between Security Council members who want to disarm by force, and those who seek more time for inspections.
FAROUK AL-SHARA, SYRIAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): The war would lead to total anarchy, benefiting solely those who take it upon themselves to spread fear and destruction everywhere.
ROTH: From the lead British and American diplomats, a firm rebuke. Iraq has not done enough and has only responded with its back to the wall.
COLIN POWELL, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: They did it because of pressure. They did it because this council stood firm. They did it because the international community said, enough, we will not tolerate Iraq continuing to have weapons of mass destruction to be used against its own people, to be used against its neighbors, or worse.
ROTH: The final word before the council came from Iraq's representative, Mohammed Alduori.
MOHAMMED ALDOURI, IRAQI AMBASSADOR TO U.N. (through translator): An empty hand has nothing to give. You cannot give what you don't have. If we do not possess such weapons, how can we disarm ourselves of such weapons? ROTH (on camera): The weapons inspectors believe they are getting enough cooperation from Iraq to press on. The top nuclear inspector requests six months to finish the job.
But a highly skeptical Bush Administration may not give them that long.
Richard Roth, CNN, United Nations.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHUNG: After the public sparring at the U.N. today, Secretary Powell and the other delegates had a private session, where presumably the exchanges were frank, beyond the gaze of the TV cameras.
Following that session, CNN's State Department correspondent Andrea Koppel spoke exclusively with Secretary of State Colin Powell. And she joins us now from the U.N.
Andrea, this of course, was a very difficult day for Secretary Powell and the United States. It appears that very few members of the Security Council are agreeing with the U.S.
What is your sense, bottom line? What does Secretary Powell say the U.S. is going to do?
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I asked him that. And obviously the question that everybody wants to know right now is, will the U.S. and the U.K. try to get a second resolution which would either very explicitly or implicitly authorize the use of military force?
Secretary Powell, as he does so well, dodged the question. Said that he preferred to give his advice to President Bush privately before he announced it on television.
But I think the fact of the matter is, Connie, that the U.S. did not have a good day here today at the United Nations.
The plan that the U.S. had initially had to introduce a resolution, perhaps as soon as next week, may slip a bit. But at this point, we just don't know.
CHUNG: All right. Now Secretary Powell said the Security Council must consider the use of force, quote, "in the very near future."
Do you know what he meant by the very near future? Days? Weeks?
KOPPEL: He said weeks. And as far as just how much longer the inspections would go on, again, I asked him that. And he said the U.S. is not looking for those inspections and not asking for those inspections to end right now.
POWELL: We need a lot more work done with the inspectors doing their work. We didn't say stop the inspections. What we said is no matter what you do with the inspections, in the absence of compliance, we need a lot more work to be done with respect to compliance.
Iraq needs to do a lot more work to convince us that it is complying. It has not provided any real evidence that it is complying with the demand of the United Nations.
CHUNG: Now, Andrea, do you believe, in your discussion with Secretary Powell, that he will be able to accomplish more in private meetings? Or can you give us a look behind the scenes?
KOPPEL: I spoke to one Powell aide earlier in the day. And he had said to me, just a word of advice, he said, "Don't take everything you hear in the open session as being the gospel."
He said, "It's often a Kabuki dance," you know, the Japanese theater where it appears that the characters are one thing when in private they're actually another.
So we don't know. But it's very likely, Connie, that behind closed doors, the ministers were not quite as strident as they seemed in open council.
CHUNG: Andrea, I know this is, of course, the question that is on everyone's mind. I mean, it's impossible to answer.
Do you have any sense if the United States will go to war, regardless of what is going on at the U.N.?
KOPPEL: At the moment, it appears that the U.S. is still leaving the door open to the possibility that this could be resolved peacefully.
Secretary Powell told me that he believed that there was still a chance that it might be resolved peacefully. That is certainly what the Bush Administration and other countries around the world obviously are hoping for.
CHUNG: All right. Andrea Koppel at the U.N., thank you.
Of course, President Bush has maintained all along that U.N. approval is not needed for an invasion of Iraq, that the U.S. will go it alone if necessary.
But the question now is, what will President Bush do? Will he take the country to war?
Today, he reiterated his position that disarming Iraq should be part of the war on terror.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Saddam Hussein has got weapons of mass destruction and he's used them. Saddam Hussein is used to deceiving the world and continues to do so. Saddam Hussein has got ties to terrorist networks.
Saddam Hussein is a danger. And that's why he will be disarmed one way or the other.
CHUNG: So which way will it be? And how will the president decide?
David Frum examines the Bush Administration for the American Enterprise Institute and he's got a pretty good edge, because he served the president as a speech writer, that axis of evil phrase, and also wrote the book, "The Right Man: The Transformation of George W. Bush."
Leon Pineta knows first-hand how the previous White House dealt with such matters. He served President Clinton as his chief of staff and joins us tonight from Monterey, Calif.
Thank you for both being with us.
DAVID FRUM, AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INST. RESIDENT FELLOW: Thank you.
LEON PINETA, FORMER CLINTON WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: Good to be with you, Connie.
CHUNG: Leon Pineta, what will the president do? Has he painted the U.S. into a corner and make the answer inevitable, that we will go to war, and soon?
PINETA: I think the president and the United States are facing the most important few weeks in the history of this crisis, if not in the history of the twenty-first century.
Because the real test now for the president is whether or not, having established power in that part of the world, whether or not he can truly bring together a world coalition to be able to support this effort.
I think that's going to be the great challenge. And I think that the president shouldn't give up hope on that. I don't think he should just immediately charge in.
I think there is, as the result of today's briefing, some hope that you can put Germany and France and the other nations of the world together so that we confront this crisis as a world alliance, not as just the United States operating alone.
CHUNG: David Frum, do you see that possibility? I mean, there are probably about two countries in the Security Council that supported the position of the United States.
What do you think the president will do?
FRUM: I think this is not just a possibility, I think it's a fact. That the paradox of this whole situation...
CHUNG: What is a fact?
FRUM: It is a fact that the United States is going to be well supported by the international community, and by international law.
CHUNG: But it's not happening now.
FRUM: It is absolutely happening now. Of the nations of NATO, for example, of the 19 nations, 16 support the United States, three oppose.
The United States has a U.N. resolution authorizing the use of force that passed 15-0, Resolution 1441.
The president has allies -- the United States has allies and good friends in Britain and Australia and many of the countries of Europe, including the very largest countries.
And it's got friends, also, in the Arab world on this.
CHUNG: Is David Frum, Leon Pineta, forgetting about France and Germany, and anti-war protests that will be coming up this weekend?
PINETA: Well, there's no question right now that there are divisions with Germany and France and Russia. There are obviously divisions in NATO right now.
And if we were to proceed tomorrow, for example, I don't think there's any question but that the United States would be perceived as going it alone. And it would also put tremendous pressure on Britain, as a matter of fact, because the prime minister himself has said that we ought to go through the United Nations.
So I think the responsibility here for George Bush, if he truly wants to exercise world leadership -- and that's really the test right now, is whether or not the United States can be a world leader for the future -- that test will be determined by whether or not we can bring these other countries together, hopefully develop a U.N. resolution that will support action in Iraq, together.
If we just do this alone in Iraq then are we going to go into North Korea alone? Go into other countries alone and defeat and replace regimes and have an occupying force?
CHUNG: David Frum...
PINETA: Let that not be the future for the United States.
CHUNG: That is a question to be asked. I mean, we're looking -- You're staring down the barrel of North Korea.
FRUM: Look, you can't ask the question, should the United States go it alone, when it's an accomplished fact that the United States is not alone.
Now the question is, should the United States have even more friends than it already does? Well, that would be nice. Should it have a second U.N. resolution to back the resolution it already has? That probably wouldn't anything hurt either.
Should there be more votes of support in Congress than there already are, the two votes in both houses of Congress? Couldn't hurt, but not necessary.
The United States is coming to this as the head of a large alliance. So let's begin with that.
CHUNG: David Frum, I thank you so much for being with us. Leon Pineta, I wish we had more time.
And still ahead, the so-called preppie murderer walks out of prison. We'll have that story when we continue.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHUNG: If organizers have their way, millions of people will show up to protest in hundreds of cities around the world tomorrow. Their message: War is not necessary.
Some opponents of war are concerned that their message hasn't been getting out, that it is overwhelmed by the attention automatically given to the president, and marginalized by what they see as media bias. So, they're getting their message across on their own with ads like this one debuting today from the founders of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AD)
BEN COHEN, CO-FOUNDER, BEN & JERRY'S: Hi, I'm Ben.
JERRY GREENFIELD, CO-FOUNDER, BEN & JERRY'S: I'm Jerry.
It's time to talk about Iraq and money. There are two ways to disarm Saddam.
COHEN: We could have a war and a military occupation. That would cost $200 billion, according to Lawrence Lindsey, former chief White House economic adviser.
GREENFIELD: Or we could have tougher inspections. That costs $10 billion and would ensure that war is really used as a last resort.
COHEN: With the money saved, we could...
GREENFIELD: Rebuild our schools.
COHEN: Hire more teachers.
GREENFIELD: Provide health care for all uninsured kids.
COHEN: Reduce our dependence on oil.
GREENFIELD: And balance the budget of every state in the Union. COHEN: Plus, we'd still have over $100 billion left.
GREENFIELD: Take it from a couple of old ice cream guys. Demonstrate. Act.
COHEN: Send a free fax to Congress at TrueMajority.org.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHUNG: Ben Cohen is president of True Majority and he co-founded Ben & Jerry's with Jerry Greenfield, who is also a support of True Majority.
They both join us tonight from White River Junction, New Hampshire.
Thank you both for being with us.
COHEN: Good to be with you, Connie.
GREENFIELD: Hi, Connie.
CHUNG: Ben, would you support a war with Iraq if the United States went back to the United Nations and went for a second resolution?
COHEN: I think that, if the U.N. approved of a war on Iraq, and if the rest of the countries in the world felt like war in Iraq was the only answer, yes, I would go along with it.
CHUNG: I think some people might find it very difficult to understand. If you think that Saddam Hussein should be replaced, why don't you support war with Iraq now?
COHEN: This doesn't have to do with Saddam Hussein. This has to do with disarming Iraq. And it has to do with the families who live in Iraq. War is failure. War is a last resort.
And we can disarm Iraq through tough inspections. That's been proposed by President Jimmy Carter, the Nobel peace laureate. And that's what's been proposed by the major countries in Europe. I mean, if we beef up the inspections, if we have more U.N. inspectors, backed up by U.N. troops, backed up by surveillance flights, there's no way that Saddam can do anything.
CHUNG: All right, Jerry, I'll have a question for you in a moment, but I want us to take a look at other celebrities who have also made ads similar to yours.
Let's take a look at this one.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AD)
SUSAN SARANDON, ACTRESS: Before our kids start coming home from Iraq in body bags, women and children start dying in Baghdad, I need to know, what did Iraq do to us? EDWARD PECK, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR: The answer is nothing. Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11, nothing to do with al Qaeda. Its neighbors don't think it's a threat. Invading Iraq will increase terrorism, not reduce it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHUNG: Jerry, do you honestly believe that invading Iraq will increase terrorism?
GREENFIELD: I do.
I should first say that Ben and I are here speaking for True Majority and not representing Ben & Jerry's, the company. So, I think it's good for people to understand that and that Ben & Jerry's is not affiliated with True Majority in any way.
And, yes, I do believe that attacking Iraq would cause more terrorism. And not only do I believe it, but the head of our CIA, George Tenet, said it.
CHUNG: Do you think that this will have any impact on what the president decides, Jerry?
GREENFIELD: I hope so.
The reason we live in a democracy, the reason where we have free speech, is so that the citizens can speak out. And we're going to have hundreds of thousands of people in New York tomorrow. There are going to millions of people around the world tomorrow. This is not a small minority view. If you look at people around the world, it's not just a movement. It is the majority of the people in all walks of life.
CHUNG: There are so many people who were offended, if you will, with Sean Penn's visit to Iraq. Why do you think that got under so many people's skin?
GREENFIELD: I'm not really sure.
I think what Sean Penn was doing was trying to find out for himself what was going on there. And I think that the more Americans that go over there to find out for themselves what's going on there, the better it is. I mean, the amazing thing is that we've produced a bunch of television ads. And several of them, television stations have refused to run, because what we showed was war casualties.
What we showed was going -- we showed what was going to be the result of this proposed war. And, for some reason, that's being censored, so the American people can't see what is going to be the reality to the people of Iraq of what we're talking about doing.
CHUNG: I thank you so much for being with us, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield. We appreciate it.
COHEN: Thanks, Connie. GREENFIELD: Thanks a lot.
CHUNG: And, not surprisingly, more diplomatic wrangling over Iraq tops tonight's look at "The World in: 60."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHUNG (voice-over): Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said Americans don't need to panic over the prospect of terrorist attacks. He said some preparations make sense, but people do not need to seal their windows and doors.
Sources tell CNN the FBI is monitoring two dozen men living in New York, New Jersey, and the West believed to have trained with al Qaeda in Afghanistan. They have allegedly discussed suicide bombings.
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat agreed to appoint a prime minister, bowing to international pressure for progress toward a political settlement with Israel. Arafat has long resisted the move, concerned it would weaken him politically.
NASA says a hole developed in Columbia's left wheel well, allowing super hot gas to enter the wing minutes before the shuttle broke up at reentry.
In Britain, Dolly the sheep, the world's first mammal cloned from an adult, was put to sleep. Dolly had lung disease. Her birth in 1996 was considered a major scientific breakthrough.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: Next: the so-called preppie killer, free after 15 years behind bars. Where will he go now and what will he do with the rest of his life?
CONNIE CHUNG TONIGHT continues in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHUNG: The young man who was called the preppie murderer, Robert Chambers, walked out of prison today a free man. We don't know where he is or what he's doing. He had served time for killing an 18-year- old girl and leaving her body in the park outside a New York museum. In prison, he seemed to show no sign of remorse and continued to get into trouble.
CNN's Jason Carroll reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Robert Chambers left an Upstate New York prison Friday surrounded by reporters, but with nothing to say.
QUESTION: I'm sure they would like to hear from you. CARROLL: Chambers was convicted in 1988 of killing Jennifer Levin in what became known as the preppie murder. He was 19. She was 18. He served his 15-year sentence, but the woman who prosecuted the case asks if justice was really served.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think there's any amount of time that anybody spends in jail that makes up for taking the life of another human being.
CARROLL: Chambers said he accidentally strangled Levin during rough sex, her body found August 26, 1986, in New York's Central Park. The night before, Levin and Chambers met here at Dorrian's bar on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Longtime residents like Anna Nellow (ph) say now it's time to move on.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I myself think that he was a young man and we all make mistakes. And I'm sure that he's paid, in some way, his debt to society. And I also believe, what goes around comes around.
CARROLL: Residents like Matt Williamson (ph) worry about Chambers' record while in prison, 27 infractions for drugs and violence.
(on camera): So, there's been a question about, is this man rehabilitated?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I doubt it.
CARROLL (voice-over): You doubt that he's rehabilitated?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
CARROLL: Criminal justice expert Michael Jacobson (ph) agrees. Chambers' prison record doesn't bode well for the future.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't see any great reason for confidence that he's a changed man.
CARROLL: Chambers he wants to go to college and begin paying the $25 million awarded to the Levins in a wrongful death settlement. It's unclear where he's going next or where he plans to settle.
Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHUNG: Joining us now is Monsignor Thomas Leonard, who taught Chambers as a boy, also took custody of him when he was out on bail, and has remained friends with him throughout his sentence.
Monsignor, thank you so much for being with us.
MONSIGNOR THOMAS LEONARD, FRIEND OF ROBERT CHAMBERS: You're welcome, Connie. Nice to be here.
CHUNG: Well, I know you talked with Robert Chambers on the telephone earlier this week.
LEONARD: That's right.
CHUNG: Was he nervous about coming out of jail?
LEONARD: Somewhat apprehensive.
He did feel that, having spent 15 years in jail and a number of years in solitary, that he was somewhat prepared. But I just think, coming out of the front gate and what was going to be in a whole new world, probably gave him a little bit of apprehension, a little sense of nervousness, I suppose.
CHUNG: Sure.
Did he share with you what he thought he might want to do? Does he have plans?
LEONARD: Not necessarily.
We suggested to him that -- actually, plans is that he needs to finish his education. He needs to get a job. He needs to support himself, like everybody else in the country, suggesting to him that he shouldn't stay in the city of New York, that he would be a marked person here. And he ought to get somewhere away where he can settle down quietly and make use of the time he has left to prove or to show, in some sense, that he's learned from this situation and that he's willing to make a contribution as he can, as he should, in the future, as a peaceful citizen.
CHUNG: Well, you visited him several times during those 15 years. Do you think he's learned his lesson?
LEONARD: I think he's changed, yes.
I should -- I suppose I should have visited him more often than I did, but I've seen a change in him. I saw him a little more than a month ago. He was a little calmer than he'd been.
CHUNG: What do you mean?
LEONARD: I think he's come to a realization that this has come to an end. He's got to do something. He's got to prove something. He has got to say to those people who have encouraged him and supported him over the years that they were -- that their encouragement was worthwhile and that he's not going to fall back into recidivism in some form or other.
CHUNG: Well, he released a statement saying: "I know that the Levin family continues to suffer loss. And I am deeply sorry for the grief I have caused them."
Is he remorseful?
LEONARD: I think he is. I think you can't have spent years in prison and each day you think about it, why you're there and what caused -- the actions that caused you to be there. I think he's remorseful.
CHUNG: But did he express remorse to you?
LEONARD: He's respect -- in varying ways, yes.
The point is that the prison has its own culture and its own society. And for him to openly say that while he is in prison would have looked as though like he's looking for sort of sympathy from this crowd or that crowd. And that's not done in the system.
CHUNG: Right, but he can confide in you. What perfect person would there be, other than you?
LEONARD: Well, I'm not perfect.
CHUNG: No, to confide, to talk to you about how horrible...
LEONARD: Obviously, he is remorseful. But how does he learn to express that? How can he express that? And how will it be accepted when he says it? Those are the future problems that one must face.
CHUNG: He wasn't exactly a model prisoner. There were some 27 violations. He spent a few years in solitary confinement. And there were drug accusations, weapons charges.
Will he lead a straight and worthwhile life or will he go the wrong path again?
LEONARD: Our hope and our encouragement is that he will lead that type of life, that the past is behind him.
CHUNG: Monsignor, I know you're close to his mother, Phyllis Chambers. And I spoke with her. She said that this is not a celebration in any way. She feels enormous empathy for the Levins. And she feels that her son is coming home. And she knows full well that their daughter is never coming home.
How do you think she's holding up?
LEONARD: Well, as well as she can. The point is, the son coming out, she's fearful for him. Is he going to be a target for someone? Are there people who are going to try to make trouble for him? It's not a celebration. There's no rejoicing. There's certainly no rejoicing over the incident that happened. And we sympathize. The world sympathizes with the Levin family.
Robert has done the 15 years that the prosecutor sought, the plea bargain, denying...
CHUNG: Yes, but the Levin family doesn't think it was long enough at all.
LEONARD: That's true. But, after nine days, the jury was not able to convict. And, therefore, it's the prosecutor, with the acceptance of the Levin family at the time, that accepted the plea bargain, the 15 years. He's done the full 15 years. So does he -- in our sense of jurisprudence, does he not have now the opportunity to start again? It doesn't mean that we can wipe out the past. It's always there. But can he live his life in such a way that he proves that was not Robert Chambers, that -- the mid-'80s was a difficult time. The crack epidemic was just beginning. The AIDS epidemic just came into fore. There was a lot of money. There was a lot of things around.
One of the papers called it go-go era recently. I remember it, but I don't remember it by those terms.
CHUNG: Monsignor, I thank you so much for being with us.
LEONARD: Thank you, Connie, very much.
CHUNG: Still ahead: our "Persons of the Day," love for the ages.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHUNG: Our "Persons of the Day" have something to teach us about love this Valentine's Day.
But first, tonight's "Snapshot" starts with an update on a notorious incident involving a child.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHUNG (voice-over): Remember that mother in Indiana caught on a security camera beating her child? Well, Madelyne Toogood pleaded guilty to avoid jail time. She got probation and a $500 fine.
A "New York Times" story says the auto industry might take a new turn to curb the accident damage from SUVs by creating voluntary standards that will make cars more safe when hit by SUVs.
Could the popular herbal supplement ginseng be a brain tonic? A new study shows that a ginseng compound improved memory spores of stroke patients suffering from dementia.
Love is in the air, so why not tie the knot on the most romantic day of all? Several couples did atop the Empire State Building at this Valentine's Day wedding ceremony.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHUNG: Today, Valentine's Day played an undeniable role in our choice for "Persons of the Day."
Mildred Bobe and Hubert Spurr went on their honeymoon, a Broadway show, and then back home to the suburban New York nursing home where they live and where they got married Thursday. It was Millie's (ph) first wedding. The 73-year-old had turned down other proposals and never regretted her life as a single woman.
But when her health took a downturn, she became depressed, just like Hugh (ph) did after he lost his wife of 20 years. Then the two met at physical therapy last year. He liked her eyes. And a few weeks later, the 85-year-old widower bought the gift shop's most expensive ring, $18, slipped it on her finger, and proposed.
They've both been happier and even healthier ever since, demonstrating that love does not care how old you are and that it always has the power to add life to your life, a lesson that more than justifies making Millie Bobe and Hugh Spurr, newlyweds, our "Persons of the Day."
And Monday: The hype over Michael Jackson reaches critical mass. Why is everybody going nuts over this guy, who hasn't had a successful recording in a decade?
And coming up next on "LARRY KING LIVE": Senator Orrin Hatch and others with more on the reaction to the U.N. weapons report.
Thank you so much for joining us. And for all of us at CNN, good night and have great weekend.
Happy Valentine's Day.
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