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Nancy Grace

Justice Delayed, Justice Denied?

Aired February 27, 2006 - 20:00   ET

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

NANCY GRACE, HOST: Tonight, the hitman made a house call. We are live on location. Breaking legal news out of an Atlanta courthouse. Jim Sullivan, millionaire businessman, on trial 19 years after the fact for the hitman execution murder of his socialite wife, Lita. And the hitman that made the house call. PS, he brought a dozen pink roses and a gun.
Good evening, everybody. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us tonight. Tonight, we are live on location covering the Lita Sullivan murder trial. Justice delayed, justice denied? Breaking news from Atlanta`s Fulton County courthouse. After nearly two long decades, Jim Sullivan on trial tonight 19 years -- that`s right, 19 years -- after allegedly hiring a hitman to kill his wife, Lita, beautiful on the inside and the out, a prominent Georgia lawmaker`s daughter.

Well, the hitman showed up with a box of pink roses and a .9. That`s a .9-millimeter. Today, finally, a jury was selected and the first witness was called to the stand. Who was it? Lita Sullivan`s mother.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The hitman (INAUDIBLE) quickly, left quickly, and the only thing he left behind was two shell casings, the flower box and the bullet in Lita`s head.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I had nothing to do with Lita`s death.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Once she was murdered on January 15 of 1987, the divorce terminated.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am innocent of all of these charges. It has been a very difficult ordeal.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All those expenses -- the alimony, the attorney`s fees -- terminate with her death. He is free to move on, and he doesn`t have to pay her anything.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Jim Sullivan will no longer be able to run. He will have to answer now questions about the murder of my daughter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Nineteen years they have waited for justice. Let me tell you, this is a squaring off in a legal battle like no other. On either side, legal veterans, courtroom lawyers. On both sides, a full house.

Let`s go straight to investigative reporter Pat Lalama. Pat, this is a 19-year-old murder case. I recall distinctly when it happened. Lita Sullivan, gorgeous, gunned down in her own home by a guy that delivers pink roses.

PAT LALAMA, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: You know, this guy -- it`s been a long time coming, just as you said. And now, finally, after -- and this is a globe-trotting defendant, by the way, too, a guy who ran off to Costa Rica and Southeast Asia, but he`s finally here and now justice does start moving.

And what happened? She got -- his wife wanted to divorce him in the `80s. He didn`t like that because this guy is so greedy, according to police, that he would take condiments from a restaurant, even though he was a multi-millionaire. So imagine what he felt like when his wife said, Bye- bye, honey, I don`t want you anymore, but I sure like that Atlanta townhouse. And the law says -- or the cops say that he hired somebody for $25,000 to put a gun to her head, with a box of roses that he threw down on the floor. And they finally got him, and now he goes to trial.

GRACE: You know, I recall, actually, seeing some of the crime scene photos, and as I remember it, Pat, there was a marble entrance hall. I want to say the black and white marble, but I remember a marble entrance hall. And the flowers were all over and blood was all over.

LALAMA: Right.

GRACE: And this was one of Atlanta`s nicest, most exclusive neighborhoods, and panic spread all over the city of Atlanta. And I recall distinctly, I went to our then district attorney, the elected DA, and said, I think I can win this case, I think we`ve got enough evidence. He said, No, wait. Enough evidence will come. Pat, what`s the evidence?

LALAMA: Well, the evidence, Nancy -- and I like these kind of cases because we`re not talking about a lot of DNA here, we`re talking about witnesses. We`re talking about an ex who wanted to leave him. We`re talking about a hitman who`ll say he was paid 25 grand to do it. We`ll talk about another guy who says he even said, I`ll do it for 50. We`ll talk about the girlfriend of the hitman, who can identify Mr. Sullivan. You`ve got a lot of strong characters. Now, the defense will say, Well, none of them are reliable, and you know, the hitman`s a known liar.

But I got to tell you, I love these kind of cases. You can call them circumstantial, but they`re winnable, and I think this one is, too. It`s going to be strong testimony from strong witnesses. Oh, and by the way...

(CROSSTALK)

LALAMA: Let me not forget the phone call. There was a phone call made right after the murder to Mr. Sullivan`s house in Miami with the words, Merry Christmas, and they traced that back to the hitman. That was the code.

GRACE: And a thing of interest, Pat Lalama -- what was that day, that specific day that she was murdered, as it related to their divorce settlement?

LALAMA: Well, just hours from that time, I understand that she was going to the hearing where property would be divided. And Nancy, this guy wore used underwear, OK? He was a multi-millionaire. He wore used underwear and made her run a 17,000-square-foot mansion on 50 bucks a week. So if he thought he had to give away a piece of marble, I think it probably drove him batty.

GRACE: Joining me here outside the courthouse two of the NANCY GRACE producers, Steph Watts, Phil Rosenbaum. Let`s go to Phil. Phil, speaking of that phone call, what phone call is she talking about? And you drove from Lita Sullivan`s condominium to the pay phone. Now, this is before there were cell phones and AT -- what do you call them?

PHIL ROSENBAUM, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: ATMs.

GRACE: ... ATMs and cards you could stick in a phone and make long- distance calls, didn`t exist. So our producer, Phil Rosenbaum, got in the car and drove from the Lita Sullivan`s home to the specific pay phone up the interstate. Tell me about it, Phil.

ROSENBAUM: We drove up I-85 for about half an hour, as did the hitman, say prosecutors, and we found a rest stop area there which has now closed down. It`s been closed since December, but it was there in 1987. And we believe that`s the rest stop that the hitman used to make the phone call.

GRACE: And how long did it take you to get there?

ROSENBAUM: About half an hour.

GRACE: Half an hour. And back to Pat Lalama. Pat, how long after the execution of Lita Sullivan was the phone call to Jim Sullivan? He was living in Palm Beach at that time, right?

LALAMA: Yes, he was. And I believe, Nancy, wasn`t it, like, just within, you know, just an hour or two after she was shot dead? Like, 45 minutes after she was shot dead, he was at that pay phone making the call?

GRACE: That`s right.

LALAMA: Forty-five minutes is my understanding.

(CROSSTALK)

LALAMA: I`m sorry. Go ahead.

GRACE: That`s OK, dear. Also joining us -- everybody, we are live here at the courthouse and dealing with our satellite, so bear with us. Let`s go to Al Dixon, a prosecutor at the time Lita Sullivan was executed. Al, I know you remember when this happened. Explain to me where-all Jim Sullivan has been. I mean, this guy has gone around the world, Al. He`s gone to Costa Rica, Ireland. He moved to West Palm. Where-all has this guy been?

I think I`ve got Al Dixon with me. Al? OK, no Al.

Let`s go to Pat Lalama. Pat, can you tell me where-all this guy has been?

LALAMA: You`re talking about Mr. Sullivan? You mean -- you mean since he...

GRACE: Yes.

LALAMA: ... allegedly hire hired the hitman. Well, he`s been to Costa Rica. I believe that was in 1998. Then he comes back, and then he goes to Southeast Asia, where he marries another woman. And by the way, Nancy, boy, a scorned woman -- I`ll tell you, number three, when they split up, she goes to the cops -- her name is Suki (ph) Sullivan -- and says, Oh, by the way, he confessed to me that he killed wife number two.

You know, I mean, I wonder where was your conscience when he told you that? (INAUDIBLE) she had to wait until she got divorced from the guy to come to the cops.

GRACE: Yes. Yes.

LALAMA: But that kind of helped, as well as, you know, "America`s Most Wanted" helping to crack the case.

GRACE: Well, speaking of "America`s Most Wanted," joining us tonight, Ed Miller from "America`s Most Wanted," a reporter with them. Ed, explain the role that "America`s Most Wanted" had in Jim Sullivan`s arrest.

ED MILLER, "AMERICA`S MOST WANTED": Well, as you say, Nancy, this has been an ongoing story for a long time. "America`s Most wanted" ran a half dozen stories over the years, profiling James Sullivan and the crime, because it sounds like something almost, like, out of a Hollywood movie. I mean, it was just -- the drama was incredible. You have money, power, an ugly divorce, again, and the whole idea of a hitman.

So we ran a half dozen stories, and we brought in the tips first in 1998 that, as Pat said, traced him to Costa Rica. And when we got there, when went there with the FBI and Interpol, and we found him living high off the hog. I mean, he just literally had moved away, but he was living in a house with tennis courts and swimming pool. He was living quite the grand lifestyle.

So he disappeared, and then "America`s Most Wanted" ran more stories. And sure enough, somebody in Thailand recognized him. They saw "America`s Most Wanted" way on the other side of the world in Thailand, and one of those viewers told Thai police to take a good look at the situation. So Thai police looked into their documents, and they found that a man by the name of Sullivan had come into Thailand on an Irish passport. So they began surveillance on the house. They got the documents, studied the man in question, who turned out to be Sullivan. And sure enough, they moved in and arrested him.

And just for the record, it is the custom in Thailand to parade somebody around after they get arrested, so Mr. Sullivan had quite the big parade in front of the cameras when he was arrested for this crime almost two decades ago.

GRACE: Joining us in our Atlanta studios is Penny Douglass Furr, a veteran defense attorney. Now, Penny, today, the defense attorney, Don Samuels (ph), who is a veteran, weaved quite a yarn for the jury, and he talked about how this guy had a lot of money, true, he just liked to vacation and visit other places. All right. Penny, explain to me why this guy would rather sit in a Thai prison instead of coming home to Georgia to face trial.

PENNY DOUGLASS FURR, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, Nancy, another reason he may have left is that he was avoiding a civil judgment. I believe Lita`s parents sued and got a $4 million civil judgment against Mr. Sullivan, so it is possible he was avoiding that when he took off and went to Costa Rica and to Thailand. So that`s another possibility.

GRACE: But Penny, to sit in a Thai jail, it wasn`t like he was in the Ritz, looking down at the beautiful Thai scenery. He was in a Thai jail with 50 other -- 5-0 -- other people.

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: And he would rather sit there than face justice in Georgia? OK, something`s wrong with that.

DOUGLASS: Well, you got me there. I don`t understand why he would prefer to be in jail in Thailand as opposed to here. I think the conditions in the jail here are much better than they are in Thailand. So that I really don`t understand.

But you know, why he did not want to go ahead and come back and deal with it -- because, you know, there was a federal trial, Nancy, some years ago, dealing with exactly these phone calls we`re referring to, and the federal judge in Atlanta threw the case out and said there was not enough evidence. And that was some years ago, also. So he has been tried on that particular issue.

GRACE: Well, Penny Douglass Furr is right about that. It is "Trial 101." It is double jeopardy. The defense has claimed over and over that this trial was inappropriate because Jim Sullivan was tried in federal court.

But Al Dixon, I think I`ve got you now. Do I have you, Al?

AL DIXON, FORMER FULTON COUNTY DEPUTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Yes, you`ve got me. OK, what...

GRACE: Al, the federal case was about the use of wires to order a hit on someone. And didn`t Judge Shue (ph) throw it out?

DIXON: Yes, the federal case dealt with using the telephone or an electronic device to instigate the murder. And what he`s charged with in Atlanta, in Fulton County, is the actual murder. It`s different elements of the crime, so that`s why it`s not double jeopardy in this case. And yes, Judge Shue did...

GRACE: Absolutely!

DIXON: He directed a verdict, I believe, in the case.

GRACE: About halfway through the case. And let me quickly ask you, Al, regarding the -- I guess it was the second wife, that many of us refer to as Suki.

DIXON: Suki.

GRACE: Now, apparently -- yes. At some point, she says Jim Sullivan said he had committed the crime and he killed Lita Sullivan, basically as a threat on her.

DIXON: Right. And that`s...

GRACE: Now, will that come into in evidence in this case?

DIXON: Well, I don`t know that the judge has ruled on that, Nancy, as far as the spousal immunity goes. But if it does come in, it`s going to be a huge piece of evidence for the state. And if the defense can keep it out, it`s going to be a victory for them because that is a great piece of evidence for the state. And Suki was so scared...

GRACE: Oh, yes. Yes. But of course...

DIXON: ... that she left him, I believe.

GRACE: That`s right. After that.

DIXON: That`s correct.

GRACE: And as Pat Lalama pointed out, that`s a great line of cross- examination, Why didn`t you bring it out at the time? But she actually has brought it out at a prior court hearing.

To Dr. Joseph Deltito, professor of psychiatry. Welcome back Dr. Deltito. We really missed you while you were gone.

JOSEPH DELTITO, PROFESSOR OF PSYCHIATRY: Thank you.

GRACE: Doctor, have you taken a look at these women they he would marry? They all -- I think there were four of them. They all look like sisters, OK? Freaky! But in addition to that, what do you think about the psyche of the guy that would prefer to sit in a Thai prison than come home and fight a murder trial?

DELTITO: Well, he may prefer to sit in a Thai prison if he thinks that`s temporizing until he can have another outcome. If he knew he was going to sit in a Thai prison for the rest of his life, he probably would have more voluntarily come back to Georgia. So that -- he was making that decision for a lifetime, but he probably had his lawyers working on some sort of deal, who knows what, to get out of there or to throw out this case based on double jeopardy or have some other pre-trial ruling go his way or something like that.

So my guess is that it wasn`t really that he was choosing a Thai jail forever, but he was temporizing, waiting for another outcome other than coming back to Georgia to face the music.

GRACE: And very quickly, Ed Miller, before we go to break -- everyone, Ed Miller with "America`s Most Wanted" -- they helped crack this case and find Jim Sullivan. Ed, how much money are we talking about? How much did Jim Sullivan stand to lose if Lita Sullivan got more than her contract said?

MILLER: Well, you know, that`s a very good question because, you know, there was plenty of money to go around. There were millions of dollars here. So you know, even if she took half of the money, to the best of my knowledge, I think he would still had more than a couple of million dollars left. I just think we`re talking about greed here, incredible greed.

GRACE: Yes, from a guy that wore used underwear, hand-me-down underwear, stole condiments from a restaurant -- he probably could have saved quite a bit of money, Ed Miller -- "America`s Most Wanted" helped bringing Jim Sullivan to this courthouse here in Atlanta. We are live on location, bringing you a case 19 years in the making.

Very quickly, to tonight`s "Case Alert." Relatives of a missing Georgia Tech student hand out flyers at the Buckhead bar where this young man last seen, 21-year-old Daniel J. Compton. Daniel disappeared at the Moon Dog (ph) bar around 1:00 AM Feb 17. Atlanta police don`t suspect foul play. Daniel could be driving a silver `98 Honda Civic. It`s got a Texas tag, C91-CKV. If you have info on Dan Compton, contact the Atlanta police, 404-853-4217. There`s a $10,000 reward.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, it was a shock. I mean, naturally, if you have a child that`s killed (INAUDIBLE) your children don`t predecease YOU.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Jim Sullivan killed his wife (INAUDIBLE) We ask that you find him guilty (INAUDIBLE) of all this evidence and end 19 years of waiting for her family. Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I`m extremely happy that we`re finally to a point that Jim Sullivan will no longer be able to run.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There will not be a shred of physical evidence, not one shred of physical evidence that links Jim Sullivan to this crime.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: We are live at the Atlanta courthouse, bringing you the latest in a case that is 19 years in the making, a beautiful young woman, Lita Sullivan, gunned down in the entrance hall of her very exclusive Atlanta condominium, shot with a .9-millimeter weapon. The hitman made a house call with a dozen pink roses.

Very quickly, I want to go to Don Clark. He`s the former head of the FBI Houston bureau. Nineteen years have passed. How hard is it to put together a case like that, Don?

DON CLARK, FORMER HEAD OF FBI HOUSTON BUREAU: Well, you know, Nancy, in this case, I don`t think it`s going to be that difficult because the first thing that happened here -- well, early on -- is that this Sullivan got on the top 10 Most Wanted list. And that is a very key factor when you get on that list because what happens there is that you open up the whole nation and abroad to start helping you with the investigation. And it means that the investigation doesn`t necessarily go stale and the evidence doesn`t go stale.

So what you`ve got now is that you`ve got evidence that`s been kept track of. You`ve got statements. You`ve got interviews. And what the investigators have to do for the prosecutors is that they have got to -- and I hate to use this term -- connect the dots here and make a very simple picture for the jury. It`s not going to be that complicated, in my estimation.

GRACE: Don, Don, Don!

CLARK: Yes?

GRACE: You know what? You and I have seen a lot of prosecutions. Why bring in a third party? And look, it`s not just the hitman who has a lot of problems with his testimony -- he`s given several stories -- but his girlfriend. He took along his girlfriend! And she saw Jim Sullivan, according to her, hand over a thick envelope of money to the hitman. That`s two people confirming a hitman.

CLARK: Well, Nancy...

GRACE: Why bother with a hitman?

CLARK: Well, Nancy, that makes my point, is that if the jury will get their mind -- and I think the prosecutor has to do this for the investigators -- get their mind off of DNA and show what you just said about the girlfriend and all the other things, I think it can make this case.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHEILA ROSS, FULTON COUNTY ASSISTANT DA: About 8:00 o`clock in the morning, 8:00 to 8:15, Lita was getting ready for the hearing. She was getting ready to come down here. She puts on a robe, goes on downstairs and opens the door. As she opens the door, she takes the flowers, and as I described to you, he chases her into her home, he shoots her, and he runs away.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: We are coming to you live outside the Atlanta courthouse, as a case literally about life and death goes on 19 years after the fact, Lita Sullivan, gunned down in her own condominium the very day she was to take care of divorce business in court. Her husband stood to lose millions of dollars.

To Steph Watts, who was in the courtroom all day long. What went down today, day 1?

STEPH WATTS, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Man, these people came out swinging, Nancy! We were packed shoulder to shoulder in court. The prosecution, they came out and they kept making points, tying Sullivan back in through Harwood (ph). But the focus of the case really became Harwood very, very quickly. And what the defense did, they took the focus off of Sullivan and it was all about Harwood. They discredited this guy. They said...

GRACE: The gunman.

WATTS: ... He`s changed his story, he`s changed his story. He said this. You can`t trust him. The jury was riveted. They listened and listened and they just focused on what the prosecutors and the defense were saying.

GRACE: Stay with us. We are taking your calls, and we`ll have an interview with the mother of Lita Sullivan.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When was the next time you spoke to Lita?

JOANN MCCLINTON, MOTHER OF LITA SULLIVAN: I never spoke to her again, no.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When you got to Piedmont Hospital, what happened?

MCCLINTON: We were met and we were told go to -- I think it was a doctor`s office, first of all. I don`t remember how long, but it was in a very short time. They came and said that Lita was dead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: That is just a few short hours ago. We are live at the Atlanta courthouse bringing you the latest on a 19-year-old execution-style murder case that went down here in one of the most exclusive areas in Atlanta.

Socialite Lita Sullivan gunned down on her marble floor. The hit man made a house call, delivering not only a dozen pink roses but a .9- millimeter hit.

That was her mother, Mrs. McClinton, on the stand today, being forced to relive 19 years later the day her oldest daughter was murdered. We are taking your calls tonight here in Atlanta.

Let`s go straight out to Lorie in North Carolina. Hi, Lorie.

CALLER: Hi, Nancy.

GRACE: What`s your question, dear?

CALLER: I just wanted to see -- can you tell me how much time the hit man got, if he`s been sentenced yet?

GRACE: Yes. I think he got about 25 years on voluntary. But you know what? Let me check that out with Pat Lalama. Is that correct?

LALAMA: Twenty years is my understanding, Nancy, 20.

GRACE: Twenty, thank you.

Steph, speaking of the hit man, Lorie`s bringing up a really good point, because the hit man is the sore spot, the Achilles` tendon for the state. The hit man has given -- the alleged hit man -- I hear you, Penny Douglass Furr -- has given a couple of different statements. His girlfriend says -- you tell them, Steph. You were in the courtroom.

WATTS: Well, his latest statement now is, Nancy, that the mafia made him do this. If this guy`s -- but I have to say something.

I got to say that the prosecution did a really, really good job of going -- they deflated the defense case by coming out and saying, "You know what? You`re going to hear a lot of stories out of this guy, but it doesn`t matter what he says, because we can connect him to the murder and we can connect him to Sullivan."

So I thought the prosecution did a great job of deflating the defense`s case, because they were going to come out and say, "This guy`s got all kinds of stories." They came out swinging and put it out there first.

GRACE: Yes, he`s...

WATTS: Good Job.

GRACE: He gave one story involving a mob hit, one involving strippers and a bartender. But long story short, I think those are obstacles the state may overcome.

WATTS: Yes, I hear now he also says he didn`t do it. That`s his latest thing. He said he drove the car, he bought the flowers, but he didn`t pull the trigger.

GRACE: OK. Question: Does he still say Jim Sullivan hired him to kill his wife?

WATTS: That we haven`t heard a comment from him on yet. That we don`t...

GRACE: Then why buy the flowers?

WATTS: No, no, no. He did say that. He did say that. But he said that there was two other people now so he`s just saying he didn`t pull the trigger.

GRACE: To Phil Rosenbaum, speaking of North Carolina where Lorie called from, the hit man allegedly went from Lita Sullivan`s condo up the interstate, stopped at a pay phone at a rest stop. Would that have been consistent with the pay phone (INAUDIBLE)

ROSENBAUM: That would have been consistent, Nancy. He made that call half an hour after the alleged murder.

GRACE: En route to North Carolina?

ROSENBAUM: That`s correct. That`s correct, en route to North Carolina, where he`s originally from.

GRACE: To Al Dixon, a former Fulton County prosecutor who was there in the office at the time Lita Sullivan was murdered, what took so long to bring it to trial, Al?

DIXON: Well, Nancy, the thing that took it so -- made it long is that the state didn`t get the break in the case until 1998 or 1997, when Anthony Harwood`s girlfriend came forward. Then they investigated, interviewed Anthony Harwood, checked out his story, corroborated much of what he said.

But I think the thing that`s going to lend credibility to Anthony Harwood is what he said when the police came to his house. The first thing he said when the investigators from the GBI got there is, "I`ve been waiting for you all these years. I`ve been waiting for you." And that was before they even asked him any questions.

GRACE: That was pretty much of a dead giveaway, Al. That`s a statement on a silver platter.

Let`s go to Jay calling from Atlanta. Hi, Jay.

CALLER: Hi, Nancy. How are you doing?

GRACE: What`s your question, dear?

CALLER: OK. In response to what you were just saying just now, why did it take -- why did it take so long with all the evidence from Florida to Atlanta? I followed this case, and I think it had a lot to do with race and money. I really do. I think money played a big part...

GRACE: You think it had a lot to do with what?

CALLER: Race and money.

GRACE: It had a lot to do with what?

CALLER: Race and money. Him being...

GRACE: What`s your response to that, Al?

DIXON: Nancy, you got to remember that, when this case was indicted, it was indicted in May of 1998. The day the case was indicted, Jim Sullivan fled the country. He was living in Costa Rica.

GRACE: Ah, yes.

DIXON: And the day he was indicted, he fled and ended up in Thailand. And nobody knew where he was until he was arrested. And then when he was arrested...

GRACE: You`re absolutely right.

DIXON: ... he fought extradition for two years...

GRACE: And that does explain a lot.

DIXON: ... before we could get him back here. So we would have been glad to have tried him back in 1998, had he made himself available. But he didn`t do that.

GRACE: Well-put, Al. And I appreciate you defending the decision to go forward now. A lot of people don`t know how long he was actually on the lam.

Well, I want you to take a listen to what Lita Sullivan`s mother had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCCLINTON: Maybe a month after their marriage we could see him for what he was. Unfortunately, Lita was -- well, Lita was very disappointed. And he`s the same Jim.

I`m very pleased that we are now in the courtroom. It`s unavoidable, but it`s necessary. I see him every day. And I can see -- and I don`t understand his heart, the cruelty, the meanness. But I think he will pay.

I`m extremely happy that we`re finally to a point that Jim Sullivan will no longer be able to run, get away, leave the country. He will have to answer now questions about the murder of my daughter. We`ve waited 19 years. Finally, it`s here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: To Dr. Joseph Deltito, Doctor, what does that do psychologically to parents who wait, and wait, and wait for justice?

DELTITO: Oh, it`s terrible. You never know if justice is going to come. It keeps the whole thing alive. There`s a lack of closure. There`s always some doubt that maybe it didn`t exactly go down the way you think it did, a little bit of doubt. So it adds to the torture, the insult that keeps the whole thing very much alive, in an unfortunate way.

GRACE: You know, it does, it really does, continued questioning about it, having to relive it. It keeps it alive. And very often, it feels as if it just happened the day before.

Here with me, Phil Rosenbaum, one of our producers, actually spoke with Lita`s mother today who was prepared to say mum until the end of trial. What was her frame of mind, Phil?

ROSENBAUM: She was very optimistic. I spoke to her before she testified today, and she expressed confidence that, finally, after 19 very long and difficult years, justice would prevail.

GRACE: And, you know, Pat Lalama is with us, investigative reporter. This guy was living the life of Riley. He went through four wives, allegedly threatened to kill one just like he killed Lita, were his -- paraphrasing of his words, according to her.

It must have killed them to see him living high on the hog while her murder case went unsolved.

LALAMA: And isn`t that the disgrace of a lack of justice? And it happens in so many cases, because he clearly doesn`t seem to have a conscience, doesn`t seem to care. And other people are suffering.

Look at this mother 19 years later. You know, the pain never, never dies.

And, you know, Nancy, maybe you can have some of the experts. I mean, we always know these hit man a lot of times are not the brightest bulb on the tree. Somebody ends up blabbing. Why not do it himself, if he has the means and the money to run off to different places? Why not do it himself, get lost, and never be heard from again?

GRACE: You know, that`s a really good point.

Response, Al Dixon?

DIXON: Oh, I think James Sullivan was so cheap, he went out and hired the cheapest person he could find to do the deed. And he should have hired a professional.

GRACE: You`re right, Al. You`re right. He did.

DIXON: And he was a cheap person.

GRACE: Went and got the cheapest hit man he could.

You know, Ed Miller, with that in mind, it`s actually surprising that he was on the lam as long as he was. For the viewers just joining us, Ed, tell me again how "America`s Most Wanted" managed to track Jim Sullivan down?

MILLER: Well, again, we ran his story over the years several times, simply because of the natural drama in the case. And the original tips took us to Costa Rica, where we found he was -- he actually owned a house in Costa Rica. We brought the FBI and Interpol there.

And by the time we got there, he had already left. But he was living, as you say, high off the hog in Costa Rica, a house with swimming pools and tennis courts. And then, of course, he moves on to Thailand.

And in Thailand, apparently a viewer saw an "America`s Most Wanted" episode. They called Thai authorities. And even on the other side of the world, they said to Thai authorities, "You might want to take a look at this guy, because I think this is, you know, the guy that shot his socialite wife."

So they reported it in. And sure enough, they traced his documents. And a guy with an Irish passport came in to Thailand.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK LUNSFORD, DAUGHTER JESSICA ABDUCTED AND MURDERED: Our children are the weakest of our group. And they depend on their parents to keep them safe. And we depend on lawmakers to (INAUDIBLE) their loss.

GRACE: I can show a different face every night. But what good does it matter to a little girl like Jessie Lunsford, nine years old, asleep in her bed? What good does that do? None, until politicians are willing to stand up and make a difference.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Tonight, my colleagues, crime victims, are joining me from Washington as they continue the fight for the Child Safety Act of 2005.

We are taking your calls tonight on a matter very, very dear to my heart.

Straight out to Erin Runnion. You all recall the story of Samantha Runnion, a beautiful little girl, taken from the front yard by a guy who had just been acquitted on two counts of child molestation. He told her he wanted her to help him find his puppy.

Look at this girl. She is gone, but her mother is fighting on.

Erin, tell me about the act. What do you want to achieve?

ERIN RUNNION, DAUGHTER MURDERED BY SEX OFFENDER: Well, the Children`s Safety Act of 2005 is really the most comprehensive, baseline legislation we`ve seen come out of the federal government for notifying the public of sex offenders, creating a national registry so that we can all have a standardized of looking up sex offenders and know what we`re going to find.

It has provisions on pornography, on sex trafficking. It`s really a great bill.

GRACE: I want to go to another friend and colleague, Mark Lunsford, joining Erin there. As you all know, Jessie, his daughter -- I always remember her as the girl in the pink hat -- was taken out of her home as she was murdered, according to prosecutors, by a repeat sex offender.

Mark is fighting the battle for his daughter even now. Mark, did you remember the moment you learned your daughter had been taken?

LUNSFORD: Well, I remember it quite too well, Nancy. You know, this time last year, we were searching for my daughter. And, you know, it took us three weeks to find her.

But, you know, Nancy, me and you was here last year in July for 3132. And we really thought we had a good piece of legislation. And it was a good piece. But then they made amendments to it, and they did certain things to it that made it not so tough no more.

Well, now they`ve got another bill, 4472. And what I really need people to do is to call up the senators in Washington, D.C., call the Senate side, really put pressure on them. We need a tough piece of legislation that`s going to protect our kids and give our states the minimum of guidelines of what to do.

This is crazy for us to have to go back and forth like this. What`s it going to take? I mean, why won`t these legislators trade places with me? You come sit in this chair, and you tell me what you would do to protect your child if you lived where I live.

GRACE: You know, to Marc Klaas, sometimes I believe that the politicians in Washington forget they`re working for us.

MARC KLAAS, FOUNDER OF BEYOND MISSING: Well, you know, Nancy, there are 72 million children in the United States under the age of 18. And they and their parents deserve attention, the kind of attention from the federal government that they pay the things like the NSA, the kinds of things they pay attention to, the judicial appointments.

And I mean, this is a huge, huge segment of our society that`s been overlooked for far too long. And Mark Lunsford is absolutely correct. This has been logjammed in the United States Senate, and we want people to contact their senators and demand, absolutely demand, that they get behind the Child Safety Act, because we don`t want to have to come back here in July. We don`t want to come back here next year with even more parents like ourselves.

Every day that this is not passed, another child`s life is lost to a predator. Remember that, Mr. and Mrs. America.

GRACE: To Stephen Daley, very quickly, the founder of radKIDS, Stephen, I`m going to come back to you. But tell us about your Web site and what you hope to achieve.

STEPHEN DALEY, FOUNDER OF RADKIDS: Well, we in radKIDS support the legislation, as well, but what we`re focused on is the children and giving them realistic choices to escape violence and recognize violence. So what we`re trying to do is empower children to not be victims and to give them realistic choices if they`re in the wrong place at the...

GRACE: To really fight back.

(CROSSTALK)

DALEY: ... predator gets there. Yes, basically to give them...

GRACE: To really fight back. It`s kid self-defense.

Stephen, I`m going to come right back to you. Everyone, Stephen Daley, the founder of radKIDS. We have him on our Web site at the Headline News Web site. And we`ll be back with Stephen, Marc Klaas, Mark Lunsford, and Erin Runnion in just a moment.

But to tonight`s "All-Points Bulletin." Law enforcement across the country on the lookout for Edward Eugene Harper, in connection with the sex abuse of a Mississippi girl in 1994.

Harper is 59, 5`10", 165 pounds, gray-brown hair, hazel eyes. If you have information, call the FBI, 601-948-5000.

Local news next for some of you, but we`ll all be right back. And remember, tomorrow live coverage of the Lita Sullivan murder trial on this program and 3:00 to 5:00 Eastern, Court TV.

Tonight, we stop to remember Sergeant Ricky E. Jones, Kokomo, Indiana, just 21 years old. One of our soldiers killed when a roadside bomb detonated near his Humvee, Iraq. He had recently been promoted to sergeant. Jones didn`t make it back home to Kokomo, but he has made it into our hearts as an American hero.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LUNSFORD: Couey is a pathological liar. He`s a piece of shit. Sorry, but it`s the truth. And if he was so willing to leave Jessie alone and free to go as she wanted to, then why did he tie her up and put her in a hole?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Welcome back. Friends and crusaders in Washington trying to get a houseful of politicians to do the right thing. Good luck.

Very quickly to Stephen Daley, founder of radKIDS, what does your program offer?

DALEY: Well, we try to provide options and choices for children to recognize and escape violence by enhancing their natural instincts with realistic skills so they`re able to have choices to hopefully escape and respond out of instinct and not fear.

GRACE: To Mark Lunsford, as you lead this battle there in Washington, do you think you`re making any headway with politicians? And how did you unite with Erin Runnion and Marc Klass.

LUNSFORD: Well, actually, me, and Marc, and Erin united in Pensacola, Florida. We was doing a seminar for law enforcement, which is something we want to get more involved in.

And as far as Washington, D.C., you know, Nancy, I mean, we were here last year. We made good progress with 3132. You know, a lot of things changed about it, so, you know, the House came up with another bill, 4472.

It`s still tough. It`s still going to work. But we really need people to put pressure on the Senate side. Call your U.S. senator in Washington, D.C., and really put pressure on them. We don`t want to lose 4472 like we lost 3132.

GRACE: Hey, Mark, how do you support yourself when you`re in Washington fighting for Child Safety Act?

LUNSFORD: The best I can, Nancy. You know, I`ve got the JMLFoundation.com. And, I mean, you know, we do legislation. We do public forums. I try to do a lot of things to bring money to the foundation so that I can make these trips, you know, because, I mean, I can`t work and lobby at the same time. You know, I`ve been traveling to other states, too. I`ve been to 12 states so far.

GRACE: OK. We`ll stay on it, Mark.

With me, Erin Runnion, Mark Lunsford, Marc Klass, crusaders. Thank you to you three.

And thank you to all of our guests. Our biggest thank you tonight and every night is to you for being with us and inviting and all of our legal stories into your home.

Coming up, headlines from around the world. I`m Nancy Grace signing off for this Monday night. See you right here tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern. Until then, good night, friend.

END