Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Hillary Clinton on the Campaign Trail; Genarlow Wilson's Story; War Protests in Washington; More Iraq Violence; State Farm Offers Settlement to Katrina Victims; Hate Crime in California
Aired January 27, 2007 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RICK SANCHEZ, HOST: Honor student, homecoming king, star athlete. Now a prisoner.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You never know that five minutes of fun can, you know, end up in a lifetime of trouble.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Teen sex, why has this young man's life been destroyed?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JANE FONDA, ACTRESS: I haven't spoken at anti-war rally in 34 years, but silence is no longer an option.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Jane Fonda protesting a war. Seen it before. But tonight, a different type of Iraq war protestor, one we haven't seen before.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We figured something was wrong. He didn't act the part, the bus didn't look the part.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Which country music superstar had her bus stolen by an escaped convict? Clue -- it's enough to make your brown eyes blue. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Well, hello again, everyone. I'm Rick Sanchez. From Iraq to Washington, to the inside of a Georgia prison, we've got a lot to show you tonight, so let's get started.
Oily black smoke stains the Baghdad skyline. Another explosion and the American death toll goes up again. Sadly enough, three U.S. soldiers killed Saturday when a hidden bomb went off on their security patrol. From Baghdad northeast to the Diyala Province, roadside bombs have killed seven U.S. troops since Thursday.
Look at this horror scene, police in Pakistan sifting through rubble and personal effects after a bomb ripped through a crowded Shi'ite mosque in Peshawar. At least 15 people were killed and 60 wounded. It happened at the start of a Muslim celebration. No claim of responsibility just yet.
Gaza City looking like a full-on war zone. Fatah fighters versus Hamas supporters all with weapons and clashing in the streets. Tension between the two Palestinian groups boiled over this week, but a bomb killed a Hamas operative. At least 18 people have been killed since then.
Alexander Litvinenko, his poisoning death is still unsolved but the British media is buzzing over the newest piece of mystery in this case. It's a teapot, like that one, that reportedly tested off the charts for radioactivity. It's the same teapot from which a KGB defector drank the day that he got sick. No comment, by the way, yet from Scotland Yard.
Full honors for one of New York's finest, Officer Caesar Borha died Tuesday awaiting a lung transplant. He became sick after working long shifts in the poisonous rubble of the World Trade Center site. Borha was 52-years old.
Picking it up with this story tonight, though. It's from Long Beach, California, with three words that began in an ugly chapter in a Los Angeles suburb, "I hate whites." Prosecutors say that's what someone shouted just before a group of African-American teens attacked these white women last year. Now the verdicts in the case are in, and police are on alert for possible trouble.
Here is CNN's Thelma Gutierrez.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Long Beach, California.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the name of Jesus.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let no racist, oh God, let it not be dealt that way.
GUTIERREZ: The tension was palpable as leaders in this multiethnic community prayed outside the juvenile courthouse.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Amen.
GUTIERREZ: While inside, 10 black teenagers, ages 12 to 18 (INAUDIBLE), accused of savagely beating three white women on Halloween night.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The verdict was nine guilty, one not guilty.
GUTIERREZ: The teenager found not guilty was a 12-year-old girl, who sobbed uncontrollably as she heard the verdict. It was the conclusion of an emotional racially charged trial that lasted nearly two months.
MOLLY VELL, COMMUNITY ACTIVIST: What kind of verdict is that? That's not fair. It's not right.
GUTIERREZ: And raised tough questions about the role race played in the crime that left three young women seriously injured on Halloween.
LAURA, VICTIM: They were attacking us with their lemons and pumpkins, as they screamed at us about how they wanted to get us and that we better run for being white.
GUTIERREZ: Michelle and Laura, who did not want their last names revealed, and a third friend say they were attacked by a mob while leaving a neighborhood haunted house.
LAURA: A group of 30 people who pursued us across the street and down the block...
GUTIERREZ: Michelle said the crowd were closing in on them, when one of the attackers, a male, began to hit her friend.
MICHELLE, VICTIM: I looked over and saw her on the ground getting her head kicked in by a guy. What would you think? A guy that's 6' tall, kicking in my friend's head? I ran over to her and she's unconscious. I thought she was dead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How did you get away?
MICHELLE: How did I get away? I didn't get away. I turned around and he punched me in the face. And I land on the ground. I didn't get away.
DOUG OTTO, VICTIM'S ATTORNEY: Another girl suffered 12 fractures in her face, a broken nose, and a fractured jaw. The third one had injuries so severe that her lung, the lining of her lung was actually bruised.
GUTIERREZ: The women and an eyewitness testified the attackers were yelling racial slurs during the melee.
MICHELLE: It's a hate crime and they also hit us. It's hitting and...
GUTIERREZ: But the defendant's family members say the wrong kids were convicted, but not one of the teenagers had criminal records or a history of violence. That some were even track stars. And one completed in the Junior Olympics.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You could hear the sobs. One by one, they grew louder and louder.
GUTIERREZ: As for the victims, all three silently walked out of court. One was still on crutches.
Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, Long Beach, California. (END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Now the families of the African-American teens say they play plan to appeal these convictions.
Now it does seem, doesn't it, like we're hearing more about teen on teen violence these days? And we can tell you that when it comes to girls, there really is more violence these days.
We've done some checking on this for you. And here's what we found. The FBI's latest crime reports shows that reported incidents of female on female assaults have rocketed up 24 percent over 10 years, while boy on boy assaults have actually gone down about 4 percent.
And when it comes to hate crimes, the FBI reports there were more than 7,000 incidents in 2005. More than half of those were racially motivated.
Speaking of the teen years, that's usually when experimentation with sex begins. But what if that results in a 10 year prison sentence? Now this Georgia man is serving 10 years behind bars. His crime? Having apparently consensual oral sex with a 15-year old girl when he himself was only 17. Two teenagers. Gernarlow Wilson was sentenced under a now outdated Georgia law. Newspaper editorials, websites, and state lawmakers are all clamoring for his release.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EMANUEL JONES, GEORGE STATE SENATE: As we debate, Gernarlow waits. As we debate, our community waits. As we debate, over 45,000 Americans have signed a petition on Gernarlow's behalf. As we sit in this collective body debating, justice is waiting.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: So what happens now? Well that was him there. This is him now. That man you see on the right, that's State Senator Emanuel Jones. He's in our studio. He's presenting a law that would actually free Gernarlow.
Next to him is there as you look at him on the left of your screen, that's Defense Attorney B.J. Bernstein. She joins us again. And then on the big screen as we move over, see her right there, that's Kimba Smith. And boy, does she have a story to tell you. That's our express yourself panel tonight. We're going to be talking to them during this newscast.
And we also want to talk to you. Teen sex, should it be a crime? Give us a call at 1-800-807-2620. 1-800-807-2620. And we're going to have a conversation about this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You never know that five minutes of fun can, you know, end up in a lifetime of trouble. (END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: We told you about Gernarlow. That's him there talking to me when I went behind bars to visit with him in jail, where he lives with rapists and murderers now. His story is coming up later.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right over here. You see the corner of a building, suddenly. OK? They're running between there and that blue door. See, there they go.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The insurgents are so close, the Americans can see them without binoculars.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There they go. That's a money maker right there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: You want more footage? We've got more footage. The actual thing, up close and very personal. CNN follows U.S. troops on the ground in one of the hottest battles in Baghdad. Arwa Damon takes you to the frontlines. That's in 10 minutes.
But first, this is in 90 seconds the most dangerous roads in the world. Where are they? The video you have just got to see.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TIME STAMP: 2211:04
SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez. This our new epic center. This is where we get video coming in from really all over the world. We've got a couple of them lined for you. We're going to start with this.
This is an example of the U.S.' defense shield - missile defense shield. And what they did is they put one missile on a platform in the Pacific Ocean. They put another one in Hawaii. And then they were seeing if they could shoot it down. Let's take a look together.
Here's the video now. There's the scud. There's the other interceptor. And bang, according to U.S. officials, it's working, but they're going to testing.
Let's take you over here now. This is in China, where they're having a problem with what they call incompetent drivers. Here's an interesting statistic. They have two percent of the cars in the world in China, but they got 15 percent of the fatalities.
You watch this video, it's like one accident after another. And these are released by their government. They say what they're going to do to try and stop this is create more driving schools for some of their citizens. Now you know who this is, of course. That's Crystal Gayle. And that's her music that you're listening to right now. She doesn't know who this is. This is a man, who according to police, stole her tour bus and then just took off with it. In fact, we're got some of the pictures. There's the tour itself, except for some reason he decided he was going to go to the Daytona Speedway, the old track. And he actually got in the infield. See him there at the top right there? That's the bus moving along. People who were there at the infield say something looked suspicious about this guy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He didn't act the part, the bus didn't look the part. Inside the bus was not well kept. And Tony, you know, is a real neat person. And it just, two and two didn't make four.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Didn't make four so police as you can see were able to go onto the bus. And they also were able to make the arrest. Back to me here. I'm going to tell you what we got coming up in just a little bit.
Iraq War protestors, but this time it's different. They're protestors with a twist. We're going to bring you that story right here as you follow us in our new epic center and the rest of the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: In Washington, D.C., a spirited call to get out of Iraq. People across the country rallied against the president's plan to spend more troops there.
In Washington, it was billed as one of the largest anti-war protests since the fighting began. Here's CNN's Gary Nuremberg.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (SINGING): Here's the way that George explains our mission in Iraq: They tried to kill my daddy, so I had to hit them back
NURENBERG (voice over): The singers call themselves the Raging Grannies. They were among tens of thousands of demonstrators who rallied on the National Mall demanded an end to the war and protesting President Bush's plan to send additional American troops to Iraq.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (SINGING): Hey, hey, Uncle Sam!
CROWD (SINGING): Hey, hey, Uncle Sam!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (SINGING): We remember Vietnam.
CROWD (SINGING): We remember Vietnam. NURENBERG: The comparison to peace rallies to end another war 40 years ago were a constant theme among demonstrators who want to end the war in Iraq.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We stopped the war in Vietnam, didn't we?
NURENBERG: One notable opponent of the Vietnam War said her appearance today was first at an anti-war rally in 34 years.
FONDA: I'm so sad that we still have to do this, that we did not learn the lessons from the Vietnam War.
NURENBERG: Fonda's presence brought a couple of dozen counter- demonstrators to an event at the Navy memorial.
Supporters of the president's policy see the demonstration as counterproductive.
CLIFFORD MAY, FDN. FOR DEFENSE OF DEMOCRACIES: There is something they don't understand. Ho Chi Minh at its worst never thought he was going to send suicide bombers to America to kill American children. The people we're fighting in Iraq, they intend to do that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What do we want?
CROWD: Democracy!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When do we want it?
CROWD: Now! NURENBERG: The march on the Capitol is just the first stop for many of the demonstrators who plan to stay in town to lobby congressional representatives Monday before what could be the first test vote on an anti-war resolution. The White House issued a statement saying of President Bush, "He understands that Americans want to see a conclusion to the war in Iraq and the new strategy is designed to do just that."
Gary Nuremberg, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: There was something else worthy of note about this protest, something that might surprise you. Active duty service members took part. That's right, members of our military who've returned from Iraq. One of them was Navy Petty Officer Third Class Jonathan Hutto. So we got a hold of him tonight, because we wanted him to tell us why he was there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PETTY OFFICER JONATHAN HUTTO, U.S. NAVY: We were out there today on behalf of the appeal for redress. This is an active duty initiative led and initiated by active duty members of the military reserve and National Guard to speak to the Congress to communicate to the Congress through the military what's Protection Act to say that they, too, want the occupation to end. They want their brothers and sisters to be brought home, and want them to be taken care of when they get here.
SANCHEZ: Do you think some of the guys serving over there would be disappointed with you, or would praise you for what you've done?
HUTTO: Well, as of today, as of this moment, 1,237 active duty members have filed appeals through this initiative. So I believe that we are adding to the morale, and giving the soldiers a chance to follow the reservations and misgivings, although they are following legal orders. So I believe we are contributing to the morale of our soldiers and men in arms.
SANCHEZ: Isn't it, though, the place of the soldiers to follow orders, and do what the commander in chief is asking them for or asking them to do and it's role of the citizens to perhaps criticize their government, if need be?
HUTTO: Well, you know, soldiers, sailors and Marines are part of this democracy as well. And so what I would say to that question is yes, it is our obligation to follow the orders of those appointed over us.
But at the same token, we have reservations and misgivings as well. I mean, we're not a monolithic military. This military comes from the same society that we all come from. So as "The Army Times" just recently came out with 72 percent of active duty members of the military mirror the rest of the society in questioning the handling of this war. So the appeal for redress gives us the opportunity to file that redress and those grievances.
SANCHEZ: OK, you've been over there. We haven't, what do you know that we don't know about this war?
HUTTO: Well, I know is men and women are being called on their second and third tours, being separated from their families for long periods of time, going through a lot of personal issues, whether that's post traumatic stress, a lot of divorces, a lot of breakups, but...
SANCHEZ: So it sounds like you're speaking more for the soldier than for the policy itself. Do you have any problems with the policy, the way things are going over there in Iraq?
HUTTO: Well, in terms of the policy itself, I mean I think all of us will have to come to the conclusion it's a failed policy. I mean, Iraq is in a further worse situation today than it was when America occupied the country. I don't believe that it's further stabilized Iraq, nor has it provide for the internal security of the United States of America and the citizens here.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Navy Petty Officer Third Class Jonathan Hutto, who attended today's anti-war rally in Washington.
Now to Haifa Street, the heart of Baghdad. It used to be a well to do area about two miles long, running through the center of the city. But these days, it's a combat zone, a stronghold for Sunni insurgents and Shi'ia battling Iraqi and U.S. forces.
CNN's Arwa Damon embedded with U.S. troops, give us a dramatic first-hand look at the struggle for control.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is where the battle for Baghdad was fought, out of apartments and high rise buildings that line this major Baghdad thoroughfare. Listen carefully as the U.S. troops spot an Iraqi insurgent in a nearby building.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right over here. You can see the corner of a building. OK? They're running between there and that blue door. See, there they go.
DAMON: The insurgents are so close, the Americans can see them without binoculars.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There you go, there you go. That's a moneymaker right there.
DAMON: That material was shot by a Pentagon camera crew. At another building nearby, we had a different vantage point.
We arrived on this rooftop near Baghdad's Haifa Street seven hours into the battle. The American troops side by side with their Iraqi counterparts are being fired at from one of those high rises in the foreground.
American Apache helicopters circle the building repeatedly to try to get a clear shot at the insurgents inside, but they can't. So the target building's coordinates are radioed to a site far from Haifa Street.
And that's when it happened. A precision guided U.S. missile fired from a site unseen levels the billing where the insurgents were holed up. As soon as the building falls, the insurgent guns go virtually silent.
Just the occasional shot here and there. It's a reminder that the Iraqi army still needs the United States military. Colonel Hassan Salah served in Saddam Hussein's army.
The terrorists are better armed than we are, the brigade commander says. So we want the Americans to support us, especially for the tougher targets.
On this day, Iraqi troops who had been fighting below bring in two insurgents wounded in a gun battle.
One of these men threw a grenade off a rooftop at us, this soldier says, the other was firing with a machine gun. The wounded insurgents are put into an Iraqi ambulance and driven away.
(on camera): Across the river from Haifa Street, another stryker battalion is fighting alongside Iraqi forces in yet another Sunni stronghold. The aim there, as it is here, to disrupt the insurgency so that eventually other troops can come in, to clear, hold and rebuild.
(voice-over): Some of the stryker armored vehicles leave. Some of them stay to help Iraqi troops hold the ground for another day.
Only moments after this day's gun battle ends, the civilians who remain in the area begin emerging, just before the sunsets. That is life on Haifa Street.
Arwa Damon, CNN, on Haifa Street in Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: What kind of weapon is that that he's using right there?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is a sniper weapon. It's exceptionally devastating. It's a .50 caliber weapon system. It's a very large bullet. It'll cut a man in half. It does a lot of damage on the business end.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: We really wanted to know about these unbelievable pictures that we've been getting in from Haifa Street. So that's just part of a small conversation or a small part of the conversation, I should say with Retired Brigadier General James Spider Marks. He gives us precise account of what the U.S. troops are doing there, what they're facing in Iraq in particular as those pictures come in.
Really, it's like a play by play by a renowned general. Part of our special, the battle for Haifa Street. Join us tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. Eastern. You'll see it only right here on CNN.
Next life on hold, no job, no home, no money to rebuild, yet another snag. This one having to do with insurance for Hurricane Katrina survivors along the Gulf Coast.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you had known that it was illegal for a 17-year-old to sex with a 15-year-old, would you have done it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: He's a former high school football star, great student, great son says his mother, sits in prison now though regardless of all that for 10 years, all because of a law that's no longer on the books. What's going on? We asked our express panel experts about this. That's coming up in about 15 minutes. And then, don't forget tonight's last call, teen sex. Should it be a crime? Give us a call at 1-800-807-2620. 1-800-807-2620. Some of your responses at the end of the newscast.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back total CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Rick Sanchez.
This is a settlement that thousands of Hurricane Katrina victims have been waiting for. Insurance money they fought hard for, to help them rebuild after the storm. But the deal has hit a snag, a major snag.
Here's CNN Gulf Coast correspondent, Susan Roesgen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN GULF COAST CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This was the beachfront home of Claire and John Tuepker in Long Beach, Mississippi until a 29-foot wall of water from hurricane Katrina swept the home away. But even worse for the Tuepker's, State Farm refused to pay the $350,000 policy.
JOHN TUEPKER, HOMEOWNER: We've been paying premiums for 17 years and to just say, no, we're not going to pay anything. Look at the house. It's gone.
ROESGEN: The Tuepkers argued that State Farm hadn't required them to carry flood insurance and they argued that wind, which was covered by their policy, is what pushed the water that destroyed their home. Thousands of other property owners said the same thing and now facing a class action lawsuit, State Farm has agreed to settle.
JEFF JACKSON, STATE FARM ATTORNEY: This gives us an opportunity to resolve pending litigation and to insure that we can resolve other issues in the state and move forward.
ROESGEN: State Farm has agreed to pay at least $50 million to 35,000 policy holders and the settlement could climb to hundreds of millions of dollars, depending on the amount of the claims. In return, the policy holders agree not to sue State Farm individually. Representing them is prominent trial lawyer Dickie Scruggs, who also lost his house to Katrina.
DICKIE SCRUGGS, POLICYHOLDER ATTORNEY: So many people were looking to us and our legal team to set it right and to give them a fighting chance and I'm so gratified because when you can have a chance to be a hometown hero, it means a lot more to you than almost anything.
ROESGEN: If a Federal judge approves it, policyholders could start getting some of the money in 60 days and the settlement gives hope to thousands of other property owners on the Gulf coast who've lost the fight with their insurance companies but might now have a second chance at getting something back.
Susan Roesgen, CNN, Gulfport, Mississippi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Some aid workers say that Hurricane Katrina is still killing people today. So many are still without health insurance in New Orleans, that hundreds of healthcare workers are volunteering for a week long medical blitz.
That's what it's called, and it starts Sunday. Doctors, dentists, nurses are going to work out of tents offering medical exams and treatment.
Time to get you caught up. So here are some of the headlines that we've following throughout the day. Under arrest in Arizona, registered sex offender George Richard Horner is being questioned in connection with the abduction of a six-year-old girl. Police say the girl was taken from her home early yesterday. She was later found safe, walking on a rural road.
Disturbing story from Pennsylvania. Police arrested John Warman when they allegedly found thousands of videotapes with him having sex with children. Now the D.A. wants to know if police actually let the abuse go on, even after a neighbor became suspicious three years ago and began keeping a record.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEN CHRISTIAN, NEIGHBOR: The noises the girls would make over there.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Screams.
CHRISTIAN: Screams and no, don't, you know, and stop, stuff like that, you know. And the crying. A lot of crying going on over there 2:00 and 3:00 in the morning.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Also this, he hasn't officially said he's running for president but, Rudy Guiliani sure sounds like a candidate. The Republican visited New Hampshire today, where he talked about the political vision and his track record as a New York mayor. Giuliani formed a presidential exploratory committee late last year and you know what that usually means.
Senator Hillary Clinton makes a strong showing as she explores a White House run. She spent the day in Iowa. That state, of course, home to the Iowa caucuses, now less than a year away.
More than 1,000 people packed the high school gym to see her right there in Des Moines.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROD POWELL, IOWA RESIDENT: I think her emphasis on healthcare, her emphasis on the future, her vision of where she wanted to take the country, I think it's been sorely lacking the last six years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Two high level Brits in the city where Americans declared independence from Britain. Prince Charles and his wife Camilla kicked off their weekend trip to the U.S. and Philadelphia. Long lines of fans came out to see them. The couple visits New York tomorrow.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When it's a sex offender who has a history of continually committing the crimes with kids, someone who is weak. They prey on the weak. I wasn't preying on the weak when that happened.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Seemingly like nice, smart young man. Right? Then why is he in prison for 10 years? A night filled with illicit fun, girls and sex landed this honor student in prison. Technically, he broke the law, but a lot of people are saying, even the prosecutors, wondering if the punishment really fits the crime in this case. We're going to examine the letter of the law, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Gernarlow Wilson was everything parents would want their teens to be. Honor student, star athlete. But then in just minutes, everything seemed to change and his dreamy life turned into a living nightmare.
I talked to Gernarlow Wilson. We're focusing on his story, his case, his future, but also how it affects other teens and other people, what it says really about all of us. First, let's get you caught up on his astonishing case.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Gernarlow Wilson is a convicted felon. He's a prisoner. Despite being a good son, a good athlete, a high school student with a 3.2 GPA with no criminal past. He was a track and football star, being recruited by several universities. He was a school's homecoming king. He was the boy who seemed to have it all.
GENARLOW WILSON: I was somewhat popular, you know, maybe too much in the spotlight, you know, for my own good.
SANCHEZ: Imagine now going from that to this, living behind bars for a minimum of 10 years for something he did that some may consider immoral, maybe stupid, maybe even criminal, but 10 years in prison?
"The New York Times" in an editorial is calling for his release. Websites are dedicated to freeing him, even conservative talk show hosts Neal Boortz has taken on Gernarlow's cause. NEAL BOORTZ, TALK RADIO HOST: The kid broke a ridiculous law passed by the general assembly that did not, can we use the phrase, grade on a curve.
SANCHEZ: You've lost your freedom. What's that like to lose your freedom?
WILSON: It's real hard because I started off with -- it was like I had everything one day. And the next day, I had nothing.
SANCHEZ (on camera): Where and when did this all begin? Right here at this Days Inn in suburban Atlanta. December 31, 2003. Genarlow and some of his friends decided they would come here, rent a room, and ring in the new year. It was a decision that has forever changed his life.
(voice-over): Here's why. During the night, several girls showed up. One of the boys whips out a video camera to record what's about to happen. CNN obtained the tape, but we blurred it out to protect the other teen's identity.
In that video, the teens are seen having sex right out in the open. In one scene, Genarlow receives oral sex from one of the girls. He's 17. She's 15. It appears to be a consensual act between two teens. At no time did you tell that young lady that she had to give you oral sex?
WILSON: No, sir.
SANCHEZ: Eddie Barker, who prosecuted Genarlow, shows us the tape that he used to prove his case.
He says he never used any force, that he didn't force the girl at all. Is he telling the truth?
EDDIE BARKER, DOUGLAS COUNTY PROSECUTOR: From what we've seen on the videotape and heard from the victim herself, we do not believe there was any physical force used.
SANCHEZ: So if there was no force, why then is Genarlow in prison for 10 years surrounded by real hard core criminal, even murderers, and rapists?
The answer to that question is found here in this now outdated Georgia criminal statute, which comes down hard on any act of sodomy and includes oral sex.
It states - "if a person give giving oral sex is under the age of 16, then the person receiving it is guilty of aggravated child molestation even if he's a teenager himself." Ten years mandatory, no way around it. Do you see this as a travesty of justice in Gernarlow's case?
B.J. BERNSTEIN, WILSON'S ATTORNEY: 100 percent. Because we have consensual teen sex, criminalized to the extent that this kid's got 10 years in prison. And everyone is just saying well, we can't help that, that's the law.
SANCHEZ: That law that ensnared Genarlow does seem illogical. For example, if he'd intercourse with a 15-year old instead of oral sex, he would only been charged with a misdemeanor.
If you had known that it was illegal for a 17-year old to have sex with a 15-year-old, would you have done it?
WILSON: No.
SANCHEZ: So draconian is the law that since Genarlow's case, the governor has signed a new law doing away with it. Now consensual teen sex is regarded as a misdemeanor. The change in the law, though, comes too late for Genarlow and too late for the jurors who say they felt horrible about having to find him guilty.
So you weren't allowed to look at the spirit of the law?
MARIE MANIGAULT, JURY FOREMAN: Correct.
WILSON: Any other meaning. You had to look at it concretely.
MANIGAULT: Absolutely. And that was our biggest argument in the deliberating room. With the spirit of the law, he was not guilty. You know, with the letter of the law, based on what we were told, he was guilty.
WILSON: When you lay with someone who's a sex offender. A sex offender is someone who has a history of continually commiting the same crimes with kids, someone who's weak. They prey on the weak. I wasn't preying on the weak when that happened.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Genarlow Wilson, his life seemingly ruined, has now used up all his appeals. However, because even prosecutors agree that his sentence is excessively long, they're offering to cut it in half. And in a rare unexpected statement, the assistant D.A. Eddie Barker told us exclusively that he'd consider offering Genarlow the deal, even though the case and all the appeals are complete. Not something he has to do in any stretch of the imagination.
But what it means is Genarlow could practically walk out or be on probation. But however, he'd still keep with him and carry possibly for the rest of his life that label that says he was a child sexual offender.
Now that label seems be to what bothers the former football star the most, but he may be down to one more play.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, the members of this body, I do not believe this body intended to keep this child in prison for 10 years. But we, we today have an opportunity to correct this wrong with my bill, Senate bill 37. (END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: That's right. There may an update on this story since we first started investigating it. And from the Georgia state capitol to the newsroom, there he, Senator Emanuel Jones. He's with us live. He's going to express himself along with the rest of our panel to take up this issue on how it affects all of us.
Stay with us. We are coming right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TIME STAMP: 2242:40
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARIE MANIGAULT, JURY FOREMAN: That was our biggest argument in the deliberating room. With the spirit of the law, he was not guilty. You know, with the letter of the law, based on what we were told, he was guilty.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Jurors tell me they cried after they came up with this finding. And due to this day, in the end, the jury though went with the letter of the law and found him guilty.
One time honor student, football star Genarlow Wilson sits behind bars in Georgia for statutory rape, but the law that put him there isn't even on the state books anymore. They've gotten rid of it. Is he really a sex offender or is he a victim in many ways in this case?
So far, Wilson has spent three years of his life, young life, we should add, in prison for having sex with a 15-year-old when he was only 17. Even though the sex was apparently consensual, the law says 10 years in prison, mandatory sentence. No way around it. Was this a travesty of justice?
Joining us in the studio now, B.J. Bernstein, Wilson's attorney, Georgia State Senator Emanuel Jones, and via satellite from Richmond, Virginia, Kimba Smith, founder of the Kimba Smith Foundation and someone who knows what Genarlow Wilson's really going through, because in many ways, she experienced it in her own right.
Let's start with you, though, B.J., you're his attorney. Where do we start right now? Explain to viewers why you think this is an injustice that's been done to your client, Genarlow.
B.J. BERNSTEIN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: It's an injustice in two ways, Rick. First of all, at the time the law that was existing had my client had intercourse with this girl, it would have been a misdemeanor and no sex offender registry.
And then second of all, the law has now changed. The Georgia legislature last year enacted what's called a Romeo and Juliet provision. So that this is just a misdemeanor that carries no sex offender registry.
SANCHEZ: But let's be clear about something. What he did was not smart?
BERNSTEIN: No, no, and he admits it.
SANCHEZ: I mean, he was taking drugs, he was drinking, he was doing something with a bunch - he let some guys who were probably a bad influence on him get the best of him that night.
BERNSTEIN: True. And it's Saturday right now. And I hate to tell some of your viewers if your kids are out tonight, the same thing may be happening.
SANCHEZ: What do you say to the people who say, you know, the prosecutor have given you deals and you've turned them down. Why have you turned them down?
BERNSTEIN: OK, because the deal was 15 years, serve five in prison, and be on a sex offender registry, which means you can't get a job, you can't live near a school bus stop, you can't be near a swimming pool. You can't go to a park.
SANCHEZ: So the argument you're making is this child may be guilty of a couple of things, but not 10 years in prison.
BERNSTEIN: Right.
SANCHEZ: And he's not a child sexual offender.
BERNSTEIN: Exactly. I mean, these laws were created to get adult sexual predators off the streets an identified so that we can protect our kids from them. Not for teens having sex.
Senator, now you're into this thing. I mean, you're in full barrel. I watched you yesterday right there in the senate making your pitch. Do you understand, do you buy everything that this counselor next to you is saying about her client?
EMANUEL JONES, STATE SENATOR: Well, absolutely. I've had a chance to meet this kid. And this is a great kid. And I look at the law. I see an injustice has been done. And we have an opportunity, particularly considering the fact that the Supreme Court Justice Carol Huntstein has given her opinion that this is a legislative issue, and not a judiciary issue.
SANCHEZ: But people at home are wondering, you already -- after Genarlow's case, you guys came in and changed the law.
JONES: That's right.
SANCHEZ: You said that law doesn't make any sense. How can you punish somebody for this and not punish them for that? We all understand that. Why did you change the law, but not help Genarlow who is probably the best case study in the law? JONES: And Rick, that's the best question tonight. We, in fact, changed this law because of kids like Genarlow and because of the impetus and the attention that we got in looking at the circumstances.
SANCHEZ: So why then is he still behind bars, senator?
JONES: That's why I have Senate bill 37.
SANCHEZ: So you're going to fix the fix?
JONES: That's corret. We're going to fix the fix. We have an opportunity to that this session.
SANCHEZ: Do you think that there's other kids in the country or other kids in Georgia who are going to be affected if you fix the fix? Because I've heard people say, yes the problem with this, Genarlow may be a good guy. You let him go, but there's a lot of other kids or a lot of other perpetrators out there, who are now going to use this as precedent to try and get themselves out.
JONES: Well, I'm a slate legislator. And when you look at Senate bill 37, Senate bill 37 focuses on those Romeo and Juliet provisions that were passed in the bill that the governor signed last year. But there are other kids in the state that this law will apply to. And I would certainly hope that their cases will be up for reconsideration as well.
SANCHEZ: Kimba, you stay right there. We're going to be talking to you in just a minute. Fascinating story. I've been reading the briefs on you. And it's an unbelievable story that you experienced
And we're going to get into the whole business. You know, it's not just about Genarlow. There's other people in prisons all over the United States who are affected by something like this. So that'sw what we're going to do.
We're going to be looking at this case. We're also going to be looking at another case, right here in Georgia as a matter of fact. It's called the Dixon case, that also brings to light this situation and Kimba's story, one you'll probably not forget once she tells it to you.
We'll be right back. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TIME STAMP: 2248:36
SANCHEZ: You've been hearing, we've been talking tonight about the case of Genarlow Wilson, but cases like his are really nothing new.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GENARLOW WILSON: I just want to say, how thankful I am to have all the supporters and all the letters of encouragement, the cause and everything. It's really helped me through the time I had in prison.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Interesting case. 15 months in prison for Marcus Dixon on a sex crime conviction as well that sent him away for 10 years supposedly. Mandatory again.
Why he got out before then? How he got out there before then is now the stuff of legal legend in the state of Georgia.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE0
RICK SANCHEZ, HOST (voice-over): Marcus Dixon walked out of jail in May, 2004. What sent him there happened the previous year at his high school. He and a female classmate had sex on school property.
Marcus was 18, black, she was 15, white. Prosecutors called it aggravated child molestation. Dixon was convicted and sentenced to the state's 10 year mandatory.
A year and three months later, tears of joy from Dixon's parents when the Georgia supreme court overturned the charge and sent Marcus Dixon home.
However, they didn't take the law off the books, setting the scene for Genarlow Wilson a few years later. As for Marcus, he's a junior now at Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia.
And as we look at these cases back here now with our panel, are there too many people in our prisons across the United States that really are borderline and perhaps shouldn't be there? Maybe should be dealt with in some disciplinary fashion, but not there with murderers and rapists like this young man and like Genarlow.
We'll start with you, senator?
JONES: I couldn't agree more. You're absolutely correct. And I know there are other cases in Georgia where there's kids that are in prison that we need to go back and take another look at their sentence. And I'm hopeful that with the passage of this bill, that we're going to do that.
SANCHEZ: Kimba, your turn. Let's go to you because you've got one heck of a story to tell. You got great kid from everything I've read about you. But then you got caught up running with some guy who wasn't so good. As a matter of fact, he wasn't good at all. And because he did something bad, you went to prison. Right?
KEMBA SMITH, KEMBA SMITH FOUNDATION: That's correct. But at the same token, I don't want to kind of get off track, because I understand how you prepped with Genarlow's situation. But you don't want to get into the judgmental aspect of it. And hopefully you'll get the public to realize even despite the poor choices that were made, because I never, you know, I do a lot of public speaking to young people about making healthy choices, but it's the fact that there needs to be sensible policy that, you know, I commend Senator Jones for what it is that he's doing. Because often times, when senators speak out, they're perceived as being soft on crime.
SANCHEZ: But let's understand your story, because I think it's incumbent upon us to be able to tell the viewer what's going on. You dated and married a drug dealer?
SMITH: No. Did not marry a drug dealer, but I did date a drug dealer while I was a student in college.
SANCHEZ: You never did the drugs? You never sold the drugs, right?
SMITH: The prosecutor said I never handled, sold, or, used the drugs that were involved, but because of the sentencing guidelines with drug conspiracy laws, I was sentenced to 24 1/2 years in prison as a first time nonviolent offender.
SANCHEZ: What do you say to those prosecutors? What do you say to the system that put you there?
SMITH: Well basically, I believe the prosecutors have too much power and that there should be more judicial discretion like in Genarlow's case, because the prosecutor -- could have made a choice not to prosecute Genarlow.
I've read from some of the articles that the victim's parents didn't even want to move forward, but the prosecutors pick and choose who it is that they want to prosecute.
And my thing is is that the government's willing to pay over $25,000 a year to keep Genarlow incarcerated. But why not put that money in the preventative front end, educating students about what's going on...
SANCHEZ: Great question.
SMITH: ...because Genarlow didn't even know that this was something that he could get in trouble for.
SANCHEZ: Great question. Why do we incarcerate so much in this country? Maybe with the possible exception of China, no country in the world has ever had more people behind prison. And we've got to be the greatest country on earth. How did this happen?
BERNSTEIN: You know, I think part of the problem right now, and what Kemba's touching on, are these mandatory minimums. We were so concerned years ago that we were treating people, you know, not equally when they were convicted. So we create these mandatory minimums.
But what we've done is we've taken the individual out of it, which we're a country built on individuals and believing that we should look at each situation individually.
SANCHEZ: So...
BERNSTEIN: And yet, we've taken away from a judge. SANCHEZ: So the system's got to be fixed. Kemba, 10 seconds. This your topic. I'll let you close this out.
SMITH: Well, when you introduced the program, you talked about the prison boom and the money making industry in it. And one of the things that I find disheartening is the fact that this an industry in the criminal justice system is at fault with that, where other people are suffering. Yes, people are making poor decisions, poor choices, but why should Genarlow be wasting away right now, which Genarlow, if you're listening, I know you're not wasting away, but...
SANCHEZ: We're got to cut you off because we're out of time.
SMITH: OK.
SANCHEZ: But we thank you so much for being with us, Kemba.
SMITH: You're welcome.
SANCHEZ: Thanks for sharing your story. We appreciate it as well as you, B.J. and senator. Thanks for being here as well.
Your comments as well. We'd like to know what you think. We've been asking you all night long. I'm told our phone banks are off the hook. People have been calling so much. So we'll get to those when we come back. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TIME STAMP: 2256:56
SANCHEZ: So many of your responses that we received tonight, I wish we could play them all. But here's what we could put up.
CALLER: On the question of should teens be arrested for sex, I vote yes.
CALLER: No, it shouldn't be a crime if it's consensual.
CALLER: I think it should be illegal. That could change some of the teenage pregnancies in this world.
CALLER: It's a crime that all of us should have spent at least 20 years in jail.
CALLER: And teen pregnancy are you going to put them both in jail or juvenile hall for that matter?
CALLER: Yes, it should be a crime because we have to do something to stop this tide of immorality.
CALLER: No, I really do not think that it should be a crime, but I do feel that something has to be done about this problem that we have.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxant.com
