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American Morning
Prosecution Winding Down in Jackson Trial; Accused BTK Killer Pleads Not Guilty
Aired May 03, 2005 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Michael Jackson could get the chance to defend himself today. After two months, has the prosecution made its case?
The accused BTK serial killer pleads his guilt or innocence today. Thirty years of secrets may finally be revealed.
And remorse, but no apology from the runaway bride. Now she could face criminal charges, on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN broadcast center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody.
8:01 here in New York City.
Threatening signs from North Korea. One report now saying that country is getting ready to test a nuclear weapon. What does the secretary of state say about that, Condoleezza Rice? We'll get to that story in a matter of moments here.
O'BRIEN: She's coming out very strongly on that.
Also this morning, part two of our special series. It's called "Battle Fatigue." Reservists getting fired from their civilian jobs when they return from Iraq and Afghanistan. This morning, we have the story of an Army reservist who battled IBM. Both sides say in this story their integrity is what's at stake.
HEMMER: A big story, too.
Back to Jack -- what's on your mind?
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I thought they had to keep your job open when you went -- if you were called up on active duty.
HEMMER: You would think.
CAFFERTY: That's the way it used to be. I don't know, maybe they've changed the law.
Coming up in "The Cafferty File," the rich get richer, goes the old saying. And these days, they're also getting a lot fatter.
Where else? Pet cloning, the issue du jour in the legislature out there in California.
And a family photo album of one of the truly magnificent animals in all the world.
O'BRIEN: I wonder what it is.
HEMMER: What did you call it?
CAFFERTY: It ain't a chicken.
O'BRIEN: The magnificent chicken.
Thank you, Jack.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
HEMMER: To the headlines.
Here's Carol Costello -- good morning.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
Good morning to all of you.
Now in the news, the U.S. military confirms the body of a missing American pilot has been found after a mission over Iraq. Navy officials say two Marine jets collided in bad weather during a routine mission. The status of the second crew member not yet known. The search has been temporarily suspended because of a sandstorm.
The future of Army Private Lynndie England is now up to a military jury set to be chosen today. England pleaded guilty Monday to seven counts of mistreating prisoners in the Abu Ghraib scandal. The 22-year-old Reservist faces up to 11 years in prison, but she is not expected to get 11 years. She is expected to get more like two.
Federal officials are checking out more than a million General Motors pickup trucks and sports utility vehicles over a possible anti- lock brake problem. They say corrosion could affect braking distance. The investigation applies to vehicles in 21 states where salt and other chemicals are applied to the roads during the wintertime.
And they say April showers bring May flowers. Well, they were wrong. In Amarillo, Texas, they brought snowballs. Nearly five inches fell in the Panhandle area Monday, a record for May 2. The snow causing a wet and slippery commute, but temperatures are expected to be back up to spring time levels by tomorrow. We can only hope so.
HEMMER: It is May, right?
COSTELLO: It is. It's cold in a lot of the country, here, in the Midwest.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
HEMMER: That was Texas, right? COSTELLO: That was Texas.
HEMMER: May in Texas, snow.
O'BRIEN: They don't get a lot of snow in Amarillo, I don't think.
COSTELLO: No.
O'BRIEN: And, you know, when they get even like this much snow in Texas, those people can't drive at all. It's all over the place. So maybe it'll clear up and turn to spring and summer soon.
COSTELLO: Oh, hopefully.
O'BRIEN: We can only hope.
Thanks, Carol.
COSTELLO: Sure.
O'BRIEN: Well, from defense to offense, Michael Jackson's attorneys are preparing for the courtroom transition at his molestation trial. The prosecution might rest today.
Attorney Anne Bremner joins us this morning.
We're going to talk a little about the hits and misses in the state's case and what we can expect to see from the defense.
Anne, as always, nice to see you.
Good morning to you.
ANNE BREMNER, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Nice to see you.
Good morning.
O'BRIEN: Let's talk about what happened in court yesterday. The prosecutors were talking about these telephone records, trying to make a link between Michael Jackson and these conspiracy charges.
Does a volume of calls, an overwhelming number of calls at certain critical times, prove anything to anybody?
BREMNER: Well, there was a frenzy of calls. It proved that. But the one question of the day from the defense was did any of these calls link Michael Jackson to any conspiracy or was he involved in any call? The answer was no.
O'BRIEN: All right. So that's kind of a weak element in the case that's just about to wrap up.
Let's take a look back, shall we?
Debbie Rowe seems to me like a gigantic miss for the prosecution. What went wrong here?
BREMNER: She -- it was a gigantic miss, a misfire. And, you know, like I said before, it's like she gave Michael Jackson a ticket to ride. She wanted to get in and talk to him. She wanted to help him. She wants visitation. She wants to be reunited with him. And I think she may have met her goals, because he should be sending her bouquets of flowers for everything she did, at a minimum.
She said nothing that helped the prosecution.
O'BRIEN: Yes. You've got to be asking what was the prosecution thinking about having her on for two days in a row?
How about those books that were recovered from Michael Jackson's home, those books that showed nude pictures of boys? Is that a hit or a miss for the prosecution?
BREMNER: That was a hit that became a miss because they got -- these books were very compelling, showing young boys. One was called "The Boy," another "Boys Will Be Boys." The miss, though, Soledad, is the prosecutors didn't show the pictures to the jurors.
O'BRIEN: Well, another kind of dropping of the ball.
Let's go back to the opening statements from the prosecutors. This is where they set up for the jurors here's what we're going to show you.
Do you think the opening statements were a hit or a miss?
BREMNER: A miss. As a prosecutor, you're supposed to hit the ball out of the ball park in your opening statement. And your excellent legal expert, Jeff Toobin, said it was the worst opening statement he'd ever seen. So that was a miss.
O'BRIEN: OK. You know what? I'm looking here. You're giving a lot of misses on this, Anne.
Let's talk about the pattern of evidence.
Was that a hit for the prosecution or a miss for the prosecution? And what exactly does pattern of evidence mean?
BREMNER: That was a huge hit for the prosecution. That and the accuser's testimony. And that's what's going to carry the day for the prosecution. And pattern of evidence basically means once a pedophile, always a pedophile. Where there's smoke, there's fire. And there was very compelling evidence of other bad acts by Michael Jackson, other boys, other acts of molestation dating back 15 years.
O'BRIEN: So when you say that the accuser's testimony was a hit, let's extend that a little bit to the accuser's family.
Was that a hit or was it a miss? BREMNER: Well, the accuser, I think, was a hit. But what the family that slid into the miss area because of his mother. And his mother was such a difficult witness for the prosecution. Remember we talked before, there's a circus outside the court, you know, a circus in the court and some said a circus in her head. But the bottom line is a lot of what she said was corroborated.
So the accuser was very appropriate and a strong witness. His mother took away from that. But, again, you have to capture the hearts and minds of these jurors. And their hearts may say Michael Jackson did it. Their minds may say there's been a lot of misses here. It's going to be a tough case for them to find him guilty in.
O'BRIEN: A final question for you, though.
The expert witnesses, it seemed like you were pretty impressed by who the prosecution put on the stand.
BREMNER: I was. They put on an excellent child abuse, child sex abuse expert that talked about how everything this accuser did after the fact and the way he felt loyalty to Michael Jackson is indicative of having been abused by Michael Jackson. And here was a really important witness, Dr. Katz, the psychologist the family went to first. The boy didn't talk to a lawyer. The boy didn't try to get money. The family didn't try to get money. He talked to a psychologist. That psychologist had to disclose, under the law, to law enforcement, and that's why we're here.
O'BRIEN: Well, the defense has its chance coming up soon.
BREMNER: They do.
O'BRIEN: Anne Bremner, as always, nice to see you, Anne.
Thanks.
BREMNER: Nice to see you.
Thank you.
O'BRIEN: Bill.
HEMMER: Eight minutes now past the hour.
It's been 30 years since the first BTK killings began a reign of terror in Wichita, Kansas. Today, the accused killer, 60-year-old Dennis Rader, is expected to plead not guilty at this arraignment. The charge? Ten counts of first degree murder.
Jonathan Freed is live this morning at the courthouse, outside the courthouse in Wichita -- good morning, Jonathan.
JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.
I can tell you that it's been exactly two weeks since Dennis Rader was last seen here at the Sedgwick County Courthouse. That was at his preliminary hearing, which he waived, and then his defense team asked for a continuance for the arraignment. Normally they would have proceeded directly to the arraignment at that time.
Two weeks has gone by. The big question today, how is he going to plead?
We are told that most people expect him to plead not guilty, but he could also go with a plea of guilty or even no contest.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
FREED (voice-over): Little is known about the case against Dennis Rader, accused of being Wichita's infamous BTK serial killer, because the court filings since his arrest in late February had been sealed, mostly at the request of the district attorney.
NOLA FOULSTON, SEDGWICK COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: I had to put this into perspective of how I can try this in the best way possible. And that doesn't include the slice of the pie that I'm going to give out to the media before I have to try the case.
FREED: Late last week, though, after news organizations challenged the need for secrecy in court, the judge unsealed some of the documents, including a list of more than 200 potential prosecution witnesses. But the probable cause affidavit outlining why authorities believe Dennis Rader is BTK, remains sealed by law.
Rader, a 60-year-old former city compliance officer and dog catcher in the Wichita suburb of Park City, is charged with 10 counts of first degree murder. From 1974 to 1991, the BTK strangler struck fear in Wichita with a series of killings, most of the victims women. Back in the '70s...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: BTK stands for bind, torture and kill.
FREED: The killer coined his own nickname. BTK was notorious for toying with police by sending cryptic notes through the news media seeking publicity for the crimes. The notes stopped coming about 20 years ago and most people thought the killer was long gone. But the messages suddenly started up again in March of 2004, providing a fresh trail for investigators.
Then, on February 26, this from the chief of police.
NORMAN WILLIAMS, WICHITA POLICE CHIEF: The bottom line, BTK is arrested.
FREED: And a community that had lived with fear for so long finally allowed itself to exhale.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
FREED: Now, Bill, Mr. Rader's attorneys have said previously that they expect their client to plead not guilty today, but that does not preclude him from changing his mind about that down the road -- Bill. HEMMER: Jonathan, will there be courtrooms in the courtroom today? And, also, families of the victims, will they be there today, do you know?
FREED: There will be and we are expecting some of the families of the victims to be there. They were there last time, as well. They were there when the arrest announcement was made, as well. Prosecutors and police have been working very delicately with the families. They're, of course, very interested and they say that they need to be front and center to try to get some sense of closure after 30 years.
HEMMER: Jonathan Freed this morning in Wichita, Kansas.
Twelve minutes past the hour.
Back to Chad Myers watching the weather outside.
Snow in Amarillo, Texas.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes.
HEMMER: On May 2. Go figure -- good morning.
MYERS: Well, I know. It was cold there. You know, Amarillo has a little bit of an elevation up there, about 3,000 or 4,000 feet. You can get snow in Denver this time of year, too.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: In just a moment, a Reservist says he was fired because of his military obligations. But his old bosses at IBM tell a very different story. In fact, they're claiming inappropriate behavior. We'll explain their debate coming up in our special series, "Battle Fatigue."
HEMMER: Also, one of the nation's most respected nutritionists telling some patients that McDonald's is good for them. Dr. Dean Ornish, our guest a bit later on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Now to our special series this week. It's called "Battle Fatigue." All week long, we're taking a look at how extended military tours are taking a toll on America's citizen soldiers when they come home. It affects hundreds of thousands of men and women in this country.
Kelly Wallace back with us here today talking about some Reservists getting pink slips while overseas and then returning to what they thought was a job -- good morning.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Exactly, Bill.
A follow-up a bit to our story yesterday. Today we wanted to go in depth, the story of one man, one company. An Army Reservist versus a corporate giant, IBM. Two different views about exactly what happened here, who's in the right, who's in the wrong. You can listen to our story and try and make a judgment for yourself.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
WALLACE (voice-over): It is the case of a 19-year Army Reservist in a war of a very different sort. Master Sergeant Michael Warren is suing his former employer, IBM. He was fired in September 2002.
(on camera): Deep in your heart, why do you believe IBM let you go?
MICHAEL WARREN, ARMY RESERVIST FIRED BY IBM: A hundred percent because they couldn't deal with the fact that I had to keep going away.
WALLACE (voice-over): Warren says he had a perfect record during his eight years as an Internet security specialist for IBM, but says that his Reserve duty, especially a call-up near the end of a multi- billion dollar bank deal he had been working on, frustrated his managers.
WARREN: What I started noticing is suddenly management, after September 11, had a biweekly, sometimes less frequent, question -- do you know what's going on with the Reserves? Are you going away? Have you heard anything?
WALLACE: He asked the Army Reserve to cut his mission from 45 days to a little over two weeks because of the pressure he says he was feeling at work. According to court records, shortly after Warren wrapped up that mission and IBM submitted a bid on the deal he was working on, he was fired.
IBM chose not to provide anyone on camera for an interview, but a spokesman talked at length on the phone. The spokesman, Mike Azzi, told us, "There is absolutely no connection whatsoever between the employee's service in the Reserves and his ex-status as an IBM employee."
Azzi said Warren was fired for issuing a "death threat" against a female coworker in London when leaving a voice-mail message. IBM provided the tape to CNN.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
WARREN: Liz, this is Michael Warren. I'm going to try you on your mobile. Pretty soon I'm going to hunt you down and kill you. I'm going to get on a plane and I'm going to come to AMIA and I'm going to track you down. I'll talk to you in a minute. Bye-bye."
(END AUDIO CLIP)
WALLACE: Warren says this was common language among the people on the front line of sales at IBM.
WARREN: Oh, absolutely, I was joking. That is how we talked to and from each other. We had joked once about both of us replacing our bosses. And it was basically out of a "Sopranos" episode -- you take out your boss, I'll take out my boss, we'll replace them.
WALLACE: Court records show the coworker thought the message was inappropriate, but did not feel physically intimidated by it. In a ruling allowing the case to go to trial, a federal judge said: "A reasonable jury could find that Warren was joking when he left that voice-mail and could surely find that Warren's status in the Reserves was a substantial or a motivating factor in IBM's decision to discharge him."
Warren's attorney says IBM violated federal and state laws, which protect Reservists from being fired for military service.
BRENDAN CHAO, MICHAEL WARREN'S ATTORNEY: And if IBM can be held responsible for this, I think it does send a message to every single employer that you can't do this. We're at war.
WALLACE: The IBM spokesman says over the past 50 years, the company has never been accused of firing someone because of their military service.
Warren, who's 37, says the past two-and-a-half years have not been easy for him and his wife, but says he won't give up until he's vindicated.
WARREN: It's a personal attack on who I am. It's against my integrity. It's against what I stand for. I don't believe it. I won't allow it to continue forward. And until it's fixed, I won't stop.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
WALLACE: And since we did our interviews, the two sides tell us they have agreed to settle the case. Terms of the settlement are still being negotiated and will remain confidential. IBM isn't commenting and Bill Warren's attorney would only say that the issues, including the reason for the termination, have been addressed to Michael Warren's satisfaction.
HEMMER: All right, so this case has been settled then?
WALLACE: It has been settled, yes.
HEMMER: Kelly, a good story.
WALLACE: Well, it's in the process of being settled, we should say.
HEMMER: Thanks for that.
WALLACE: Sure. HEMMER: Another note on this story, related to this story. The U.S. Army says it has fallen short in its recruiting for the third straight month. Pentagon officials say the Army failed to reach a goal of 6,600 recruits in the month of April. Research showing that parents are persuading their kids not to sign up. Army officials say re-enlistment numbers are healthier running ahead of target levels.
This is our topic tomorrow. In part three of our series, "Battle Fatigue," hard times for military recruiters. We'll have that for you tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m. Eastern time here on AMERICAN MORNING.
Kelly, thanks again.
WALLACE: Sure.
HEMMER: Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Also this morning, the Jessica Lunsford Act becomes law in Florida. But are the state's children really safer because of it? We're going to talk to victims' advocate Marc Klaas, just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Back to Jack, the Question of the Day.
CAFFERTY: The Question of the Day has to do with Congress getting ready to approve legislation that would, for the first time, set national standards for driver's licenses. It's called the Real I.D. Measure. It's being included in a supplemental on funds for the Iraq war, which means it'll get right through, in all likelihood. The main provision requires states to verify that every applicant for a driver's license is a legal resident of the United States.
Eleven states now issue driver's licenses to non-citizens, both legal and illegal. This bill would put a stop to that.
The question is this, will standardizing driver's licenses improve our security?
Angela writes from Virginia: "I don't think this bill is a good one because it's going to make all the illegal aliens break the law in order to get to work. I think we need the people here that are hardworking people and I think there should be a backup to help them get to work if this passes."
The very next letter from Curtis in Alabama: "An international driver's license is available for those who are not citizens of this country. This document could also included passport and visa expiration dates."
Paul in Florida writes: "No. A national I.D. card will not improve our security. Until they get serious and use a passport with fingerprint and iris scan as an I.D., we will not be any more secure. But I reckon the real question is how far will Congress go to make us think that they're working for us?" And Vicki in Michigan writes: "I believe it's a very good move for this country and it's about time. Now we need to go a bit farther and say that if you're in this country illegally, you're not entitled to any benefits at all -- hospital care, food banks, welfare, etc. Why should we, the taxpaying legal citizens, have to pay for people who are here illegally?"
HEMMER: Tough love.
CAFFERTY: The other question we're getting is when are we going to get off the runaway bride story?
O'BRIEN: Well, here, here.
CAFFERTY: People are tired of it.
O'BRIEN: Me, too.
HEMMER: As soon as they get married, we'll get off of it, right?
O'BRIEN: We might not want to wait that long.
HEMMER: I would love to be at that ceremony.
O'BRIEN: Oh, no.
CAFFERTY: We're getting a lot of mail.
HEMMER: People would beg, borrow and steal to be a date with a bridesmaid to see that thing going down.
CAFFERTY: Lots of mail from people who are fed up with the story.
HEMMER: I bet.
O'BRIEN: I'm with them.
CAFFERTY: They're tired of the coverage and think we ought to be doing something else.
O'BRIEN: I'm with them. I'm with them.
CAFFERTY: And I'm inclined to agree with them.
O'BRIEN: Yes. I hear you, sister.
Thank you, Jack.
Well, it is an unlikely alliance with the world's most famous fast food chain. Diet expert Dr. Dean Ornish is going to tell us why he's joining forces with McDonald's.
That story is ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) O'BRIEN: Good morning.
Welcome back, everybody.
Just about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING.
HEMMER: Straight away to the news headlines.
Here's Carol Costello with some breaking news now -- Carol, hello.
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Aired May 3, 2005 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Michael Jackson could get the chance to defend himself today. After two months, has the prosecution made its case?
The accused BTK serial killer pleads his guilt or innocence today. Thirty years of secrets may finally be revealed.
And remorse, but no apology from the runaway bride. Now she could face criminal charges, on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN broadcast center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody.
8:01 here in New York City.
Threatening signs from North Korea. One report now saying that country is getting ready to test a nuclear weapon. What does the secretary of state say about that, Condoleezza Rice? We'll get to that story in a matter of moments here.
O'BRIEN: She's coming out very strongly on that.
Also this morning, part two of our special series. It's called "Battle Fatigue." Reservists getting fired from their civilian jobs when they return from Iraq and Afghanistan. This morning, we have the story of an Army reservist who battled IBM. Both sides say in this story their integrity is what's at stake.
HEMMER: A big story, too.
Back to Jack -- what's on your mind?
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I thought they had to keep your job open when you went -- if you were called up on active duty.
HEMMER: You would think.
CAFFERTY: That's the way it used to be. I don't know, maybe they've changed the law.
Coming up in "The Cafferty File," the rich get richer, goes the old saying. And these days, they're also getting a lot fatter.
Where else? Pet cloning, the issue du jour in the legislature out there in California.
And a family photo album of one of the truly magnificent animals in all the world.
O'BRIEN: I wonder what it is.
HEMMER: What did you call it?
CAFFERTY: It ain't a chicken.
O'BRIEN: The magnificent chicken.
Thank you, Jack.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
HEMMER: To the headlines.
Here's Carol Costello -- good morning.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
Good morning to all of you.
Now in the news, the U.S. military confirms the body of a missing American pilot has been found after a mission over Iraq. Navy officials say two Marine jets collided in bad weather during a routine mission. The status of the second crew member not yet known. The search has been temporarily suspended because of a sandstorm.
The future of Army Private Lynndie England is now up to a military jury set to be chosen today. England pleaded guilty Monday to seven counts of mistreating prisoners in the Abu Ghraib scandal. The 22-year-old Reservist faces up to 11 years in prison, but she is not expected to get 11 years. She is expected to get more like two.
Federal officials are checking out more than a million General Motors pickup trucks and sports utility vehicles over a possible anti- lock brake problem. They say corrosion could affect braking distance. The investigation applies to vehicles in 21 states where salt and other chemicals are applied to the roads during the wintertime.
And they say April showers bring May flowers. Well, they were wrong. In Amarillo, Texas, they brought snowballs. Nearly five inches fell in the Panhandle area Monday, a record for May 2. The snow causing a wet and slippery commute, but temperatures are expected to be back up to spring time levels by tomorrow. We can only hope so.
HEMMER: It is May, right?
COSTELLO: It is. It's cold in a lot of the country, here, in the Midwest.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
HEMMER: That was Texas, right? COSTELLO: That was Texas.
HEMMER: May in Texas, snow.
O'BRIEN: They don't get a lot of snow in Amarillo, I don't think.
COSTELLO: No.
O'BRIEN: And, you know, when they get even like this much snow in Texas, those people can't drive at all. It's all over the place. So maybe it'll clear up and turn to spring and summer soon.
COSTELLO: Oh, hopefully.
O'BRIEN: We can only hope.
Thanks, Carol.
COSTELLO: Sure.
O'BRIEN: Well, from defense to offense, Michael Jackson's attorneys are preparing for the courtroom transition at his molestation trial. The prosecution might rest today.
Attorney Anne Bremner joins us this morning.
We're going to talk a little about the hits and misses in the state's case and what we can expect to see from the defense.
Anne, as always, nice to see you.
Good morning to you.
ANNE BREMNER, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Nice to see you.
Good morning.
O'BRIEN: Let's talk about what happened in court yesterday. The prosecutors were talking about these telephone records, trying to make a link between Michael Jackson and these conspiracy charges.
Does a volume of calls, an overwhelming number of calls at certain critical times, prove anything to anybody?
BREMNER: Well, there was a frenzy of calls. It proved that. But the one question of the day from the defense was did any of these calls link Michael Jackson to any conspiracy or was he involved in any call? The answer was no.
O'BRIEN: All right. So that's kind of a weak element in the case that's just about to wrap up.
Let's take a look back, shall we?
Debbie Rowe seems to me like a gigantic miss for the prosecution. What went wrong here?
BREMNER: She -- it was a gigantic miss, a misfire. And, you know, like I said before, it's like she gave Michael Jackson a ticket to ride. She wanted to get in and talk to him. She wanted to help him. She wants visitation. She wants to be reunited with him. And I think she may have met her goals, because he should be sending her bouquets of flowers for everything she did, at a minimum.
She said nothing that helped the prosecution.
O'BRIEN: Yes. You've got to be asking what was the prosecution thinking about having her on for two days in a row?
How about those books that were recovered from Michael Jackson's home, those books that showed nude pictures of boys? Is that a hit or a miss for the prosecution?
BREMNER: That was a hit that became a miss because they got -- these books were very compelling, showing young boys. One was called "The Boy," another "Boys Will Be Boys." The miss, though, Soledad, is the prosecutors didn't show the pictures to the jurors.
O'BRIEN: Well, another kind of dropping of the ball.
Let's go back to the opening statements from the prosecutors. This is where they set up for the jurors here's what we're going to show you.
Do you think the opening statements were a hit or a miss?
BREMNER: A miss. As a prosecutor, you're supposed to hit the ball out of the ball park in your opening statement. And your excellent legal expert, Jeff Toobin, said it was the worst opening statement he'd ever seen. So that was a miss.
O'BRIEN: OK. You know what? I'm looking here. You're giving a lot of misses on this, Anne.
Let's talk about the pattern of evidence.
Was that a hit for the prosecution or a miss for the prosecution? And what exactly does pattern of evidence mean?
BREMNER: That was a huge hit for the prosecution. That and the accuser's testimony. And that's what's going to carry the day for the prosecution. And pattern of evidence basically means once a pedophile, always a pedophile. Where there's smoke, there's fire. And there was very compelling evidence of other bad acts by Michael Jackson, other boys, other acts of molestation dating back 15 years.
O'BRIEN: So when you say that the accuser's testimony was a hit, let's extend that a little bit to the accuser's family.
Was that a hit or was it a miss? BREMNER: Well, the accuser, I think, was a hit. But what the family that slid into the miss area because of his mother. And his mother was such a difficult witness for the prosecution. Remember we talked before, there's a circus outside the court, you know, a circus in the court and some said a circus in her head. But the bottom line is a lot of what she said was corroborated.
So the accuser was very appropriate and a strong witness. His mother took away from that. But, again, you have to capture the hearts and minds of these jurors. And their hearts may say Michael Jackson did it. Their minds may say there's been a lot of misses here. It's going to be a tough case for them to find him guilty in.
O'BRIEN: A final question for you, though.
The expert witnesses, it seemed like you were pretty impressed by who the prosecution put on the stand.
BREMNER: I was. They put on an excellent child abuse, child sex abuse expert that talked about how everything this accuser did after the fact and the way he felt loyalty to Michael Jackson is indicative of having been abused by Michael Jackson. And here was a really important witness, Dr. Katz, the psychologist the family went to first. The boy didn't talk to a lawyer. The boy didn't try to get money. The family didn't try to get money. He talked to a psychologist. That psychologist had to disclose, under the law, to law enforcement, and that's why we're here.
O'BRIEN: Well, the defense has its chance coming up soon.
BREMNER: They do.
O'BRIEN: Anne Bremner, as always, nice to see you, Anne.
Thanks.
BREMNER: Nice to see you.
Thank you.
O'BRIEN: Bill.
HEMMER: Eight minutes now past the hour.
It's been 30 years since the first BTK killings began a reign of terror in Wichita, Kansas. Today, the accused killer, 60-year-old Dennis Rader, is expected to plead not guilty at this arraignment. The charge? Ten counts of first degree murder.
Jonathan Freed is live this morning at the courthouse, outside the courthouse in Wichita -- good morning, Jonathan.
JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.
I can tell you that it's been exactly two weeks since Dennis Rader was last seen here at the Sedgwick County Courthouse. That was at his preliminary hearing, which he waived, and then his defense team asked for a continuance for the arraignment. Normally they would have proceeded directly to the arraignment at that time.
Two weeks has gone by. The big question today, how is he going to plead?
We are told that most people expect him to plead not guilty, but he could also go with a plea of guilty or even no contest.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
FREED (voice-over): Little is known about the case against Dennis Rader, accused of being Wichita's infamous BTK serial killer, because the court filings since his arrest in late February had been sealed, mostly at the request of the district attorney.
NOLA FOULSTON, SEDGWICK COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: I had to put this into perspective of how I can try this in the best way possible. And that doesn't include the slice of the pie that I'm going to give out to the media before I have to try the case.
FREED: Late last week, though, after news organizations challenged the need for secrecy in court, the judge unsealed some of the documents, including a list of more than 200 potential prosecution witnesses. But the probable cause affidavit outlining why authorities believe Dennis Rader is BTK, remains sealed by law.
Rader, a 60-year-old former city compliance officer and dog catcher in the Wichita suburb of Park City, is charged with 10 counts of first degree murder. From 1974 to 1991, the BTK strangler struck fear in Wichita with a series of killings, most of the victims women. Back in the '70s...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: BTK stands for bind, torture and kill.
FREED: The killer coined his own nickname. BTK was notorious for toying with police by sending cryptic notes through the news media seeking publicity for the crimes. The notes stopped coming about 20 years ago and most people thought the killer was long gone. But the messages suddenly started up again in March of 2004, providing a fresh trail for investigators.
Then, on February 26, this from the chief of police.
NORMAN WILLIAMS, WICHITA POLICE CHIEF: The bottom line, BTK is arrested.
FREED: And a community that had lived with fear for so long finally allowed itself to exhale.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
FREED: Now, Bill, Mr. Rader's attorneys have said previously that they expect their client to plead not guilty today, but that does not preclude him from changing his mind about that down the road -- Bill. HEMMER: Jonathan, will there be courtrooms in the courtroom today? And, also, families of the victims, will they be there today, do you know?
FREED: There will be and we are expecting some of the families of the victims to be there. They were there last time, as well. They were there when the arrest announcement was made, as well. Prosecutors and police have been working very delicately with the families. They're, of course, very interested and they say that they need to be front and center to try to get some sense of closure after 30 years.
HEMMER: Jonathan Freed this morning in Wichita, Kansas.
Twelve minutes past the hour.
Back to Chad Myers watching the weather outside.
Snow in Amarillo, Texas.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes.
HEMMER: On May 2. Go figure -- good morning.
MYERS: Well, I know. It was cold there. You know, Amarillo has a little bit of an elevation up there, about 3,000 or 4,000 feet. You can get snow in Denver this time of year, too.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: In just a moment, a Reservist says he was fired because of his military obligations. But his old bosses at IBM tell a very different story. In fact, they're claiming inappropriate behavior. We'll explain their debate coming up in our special series, "Battle Fatigue."
HEMMER: Also, one of the nation's most respected nutritionists telling some patients that McDonald's is good for them. Dr. Dean Ornish, our guest a bit later on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Now to our special series this week. It's called "Battle Fatigue." All week long, we're taking a look at how extended military tours are taking a toll on America's citizen soldiers when they come home. It affects hundreds of thousands of men and women in this country.
Kelly Wallace back with us here today talking about some Reservists getting pink slips while overseas and then returning to what they thought was a job -- good morning.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Exactly, Bill.
A follow-up a bit to our story yesterday. Today we wanted to go in depth, the story of one man, one company. An Army Reservist versus a corporate giant, IBM. Two different views about exactly what happened here, who's in the right, who's in the wrong. You can listen to our story and try and make a judgment for yourself.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
WALLACE (voice-over): It is the case of a 19-year Army Reservist in a war of a very different sort. Master Sergeant Michael Warren is suing his former employer, IBM. He was fired in September 2002.
(on camera): Deep in your heart, why do you believe IBM let you go?
MICHAEL WARREN, ARMY RESERVIST FIRED BY IBM: A hundred percent because they couldn't deal with the fact that I had to keep going away.
WALLACE (voice-over): Warren says he had a perfect record during his eight years as an Internet security specialist for IBM, but says that his Reserve duty, especially a call-up near the end of a multi- billion dollar bank deal he had been working on, frustrated his managers.
WARREN: What I started noticing is suddenly management, after September 11, had a biweekly, sometimes less frequent, question -- do you know what's going on with the Reserves? Are you going away? Have you heard anything?
WALLACE: He asked the Army Reserve to cut his mission from 45 days to a little over two weeks because of the pressure he says he was feeling at work. According to court records, shortly after Warren wrapped up that mission and IBM submitted a bid on the deal he was working on, he was fired.
IBM chose not to provide anyone on camera for an interview, but a spokesman talked at length on the phone. The spokesman, Mike Azzi, told us, "There is absolutely no connection whatsoever between the employee's service in the Reserves and his ex-status as an IBM employee."
Azzi said Warren was fired for issuing a "death threat" against a female coworker in London when leaving a voice-mail message. IBM provided the tape to CNN.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
WARREN: Liz, this is Michael Warren. I'm going to try you on your mobile. Pretty soon I'm going to hunt you down and kill you. I'm going to get on a plane and I'm going to come to AMIA and I'm going to track you down. I'll talk to you in a minute. Bye-bye."
(END AUDIO CLIP)
WALLACE: Warren says this was common language among the people on the front line of sales at IBM.
WARREN: Oh, absolutely, I was joking. That is how we talked to and from each other. We had joked once about both of us replacing our bosses. And it was basically out of a "Sopranos" episode -- you take out your boss, I'll take out my boss, we'll replace them.
WALLACE: Court records show the coworker thought the message was inappropriate, but did not feel physically intimidated by it. In a ruling allowing the case to go to trial, a federal judge said: "A reasonable jury could find that Warren was joking when he left that voice-mail and could surely find that Warren's status in the Reserves was a substantial or a motivating factor in IBM's decision to discharge him."
Warren's attorney says IBM violated federal and state laws, which protect Reservists from being fired for military service.
BRENDAN CHAO, MICHAEL WARREN'S ATTORNEY: And if IBM can be held responsible for this, I think it does send a message to every single employer that you can't do this. We're at war.
WALLACE: The IBM spokesman says over the past 50 years, the company has never been accused of firing someone because of their military service.
Warren, who's 37, says the past two-and-a-half years have not been easy for him and his wife, but says he won't give up until he's vindicated.
WARREN: It's a personal attack on who I am. It's against my integrity. It's against what I stand for. I don't believe it. I won't allow it to continue forward. And until it's fixed, I won't stop.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
WALLACE: And since we did our interviews, the two sides tell us they have agreed to settle the case. Terms of the settlement are still being negotiated and will remain confidential. IBM isn't commenting and Bill Warren's attorney would only say that the issues, including the reason for the termination, have been addressed to Michael Warren's satisfaction.
HEMMER: All right, so this case has been settled then?
WALLACE: It has been settled, yes.
HEMMER: Kelly, a good story.
WALLACE: Well, it's in the process of being settled, we should say.
HEMMER: Thanks for that.
WALLACE: Sure. HEMMER: Another note on this story, related to this story. The U.S. Army says it has fallen short in its recruiting for the third straight month. Pentagon officials say the Army failed to reach a goal of 6,600 recruits in the month of April. Research showing that parents are persuading their kids not to sign up. Army officials say re-enlistment numbers are healthier running ahead of target levels.
This is our topic tomorrow. In part three of our series, "Battle Fatigue," hard times for military recruiters. We'll have that for you tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m. Eastern time here on AMERICAN MORNING.
Kelly, thanks again.
WALLACE: Sure.
HEMMER: Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Also this morning, the Jessica Lunsford Act becomes law in Florida. But are the state's children really safer because of it? We're going to talk to victims' advocate Marc Klaas, just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Back to Jack, the Question of the Day.
CAFFERTY: The Question of the Day has to do with Congress getting ready to approve legislation that would, for the first time, set national standards for driver's licenses. It's called the Real I.D. Measure. It's being included in a supplemental on funds for the Iraq war, which means it'll get right through, in all likelihood. The main provision requires states to verify that every applicant for a driver's license is a legal resident of the United States.
Eleven states now issue driver's licenses to non-citizens, both legal and illegal. This bill would put a stop to that.
The question is this, will standardizing driver's licenses improve our security?
Angela writes from Virginia: "I don't think this bill is a good one because it's going to make all the illegal aliens break the law in order to get to work. I think we need the people here that are hardworking people and I think there should be a backup to help them get to work if this passes."
The very next letter from Curtis in Alabama: "An international driver's license is available for those who are not citizens of this country. This document could also included passport and visa expiration dates."
Paul in Florida writes: "No. A national I.D. card will not improve our security. Until they get serious and use a passport with fingerprint and iris scan as an I.D., we will not be any more secure. But I reckon the real question is how far will Congress go to make us think that they're working for us?" And Vicki in Michigan writes: "I believe it's a very good move for this country and it's about time. Now we need to go a bit farther and say that if you're in this country illegally, you're not entitled to any benefits at all -- hospital care, food banks, welfare, etc. Why should we, the taxpaying legal citizens, have to pay for people who are here illegally?"
HEMMER: Tough love.
CAFFERTY: The other question we're getting is when are we going to get off the runaway bride story?
O'BRIEN: Well, here, here.
CAFFERTY: People are tired of it.
O'BRIEN: Me, too.
HEMMER: As soon as they get married, we'll get off of it, right?
O'BRIEN: We might not want to wait that long.
HEMMER: I would love to be at that ceremony.
O'BRIEN: Oh, no.
CAFFERTY: We're getting a lot of mail.
HEMMER: People would beg, borrow and steal to be a date with a bridesmaid to see that thing going down.
CAFFERTY: Lots of mail from people who are fed up with the story.
HEMMER: I bet.
O'BRIEN: I'm with them.
CAFFERTY: They're tired of the coverage and think we ought to be doing something else.
O'BRIEN: I'm with them. I'm with them.
CAFFERTY: And I'm inclined to agree with them.
O'BRIEN: Yes. I hear you, sister.
Thank you, Jack.
Well, it is an unlikely alliance with the world's most famous fast food chain. Diet expert Dr. Dean Ornish is going to tell us why he's joining forces with McDonald's.
That story is ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) O'BRIEN: Good morning.
Welcome back, everybody.
Just about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING.
HEMMER: Straight away to the news headlines.
Here's Carol Costello with some breaking news now -- Carol, hello.
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