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Armored Car Heist Suspect Apprehended; Sexual Harassment in the Workplace
Aired October 06, 2007 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Right now in the NEWSROOM a suspect in a deadly armored car heist, caught on camera, now caught by the cops. We've got the latest on the arrest. And we'll go in depth to ask why in the city of brotherly love are guns so easy to get.
Also ahead this hour, what do Isiah Thomas and Anita Hill have in common? It's more than just he said/she said. We'll take a closer look at sexual harassment in the workplace.
An arraignment is expected today in Philadelphia where an ex- convict is charged with the brutal murder of two armored car guards. Police say 36-year-old Mustafa Ali followed the guards while they were making the rounds and shot them to death while they were servicing an ATM. Police say Ali served seven years in prison for bank robbery. Investigators say they traced the get away car to an apartment complex where they arrested Ali yesterday. The widow of one of the guards says she and her children are hoping the police have the right man.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONNA ALULLO, WIDOW OF SLAIN GUARD: We hope that it is the suspect that did do this to our husband and their father, so that he is off the street and doesn't do it to anyone else.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: The two victims were both retired police officers and long time friends.
Also in Philadelphia, police are investigating a gun attack outside a nightclub. Two people are dead, one of them a teenager. Some say Philadelphia needs tougher gun control laws. But as CNN's Randi Kaye reports, Pennsylvania state lawmakers disagree.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Philadelphia getting a gun is about as easy as ordering a pizza.
Are guns flooding the streets here in Philadelphia?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, they are.
KAYE: Each week Ray Jones along with other community volunteers works to convince those most at risk of being shot or shooting someone to make smarter choices.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's about survival. People are dying in the streets and we need to help.
KAYE: That help Jones says isn't coming from the state. More than 85 percent of the hundreds of murders in Philadelphia this year have been committed with a firearm. Jones blames state lawmakers for failing to pass tougher gun laws and preventing cities like Philadelphia from setting their own gun laws, even though they desperately want to.
RAY JONES, JR., MEN UNITED FOR A BETTER PHILADELPHIA: It really would be appropriate for the city to determine its own sort of destiny. Now, our hands are sort of handcuffed.
KAYE: Back in 1994 a power struggle started when the legislature overturned an assault weapons ban making AK-47s as easy to get as hunting rifles. The next years rules were eased on concealed weapons and Vincent Fumo, state senator and gun owner pushed through the uniform firearms act, making all gun laws uniform for the state of Pennsylvania. A lot of people say it's this act that took away the power from cities.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, they're misinformed on that.
KAYE: In 1995, there were fewer than 800 applications for concealed weapons here. Keeping them honest, we checked and today there are 29,000 permits to carry. And it's against the law for police to ask anyone why they want one. One law enforcement source told me permits to carry are being passed out like candy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's like the Wild West.
KAYE: Constitutional law professor David Kairys believes if Philadelphia had home rules, a lot would change. Guns would have to be registered and licensed and there would be a limit on gun purchases. The way the law stands now --
DAVID KAIRYS, TEMPLE UNIVERSITY: You can buy 50, 100, whatever your credit card would take. Then you can resell them.
KAYE: Kairys thinks they'll be stiffer penalties for so-called straw purchasers too, who legally buy guns only to sell them to those who can't.
(On camera): There's no way of telling just how many legal or illegal guns are on the street. Police have no way of knowing since state law doesn't require gun owners register their weapons. Each year Philadelphia police recover about 7,000 guns, so many guns they're running out of room.
(Voice-over): And so many shootings police have a backlog of weapons to examine, test fire and trace back to the triggerman.
VINCENT FUMO, (D) PENNSYLVANIA STATE SENATE: People want to think that this is the Wild West we don't have any laws. What we don't have is enforcement of those laws.
KAYE: Senator Fumo argues tougher gun laws alone won't stop shootings.
FUMO: Last time I checked we had a law against murder. It doesn't prevent people from killing people.
KAYE: The governor, the mayor, the D.A., they all want stricter gun laws here. They say that's the only way to reduce crime.
FUMO: It's a great way to get away from enforcement. It's a great way of avoiding the issue of hiring more police.
KAYE: So the tug of war over lawmaking continues and so does the killing. Randi Kaye, CNN, Philadelphia.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Well, talk about outrage. A mother accused of trying to sell her baby, the price, $25,000. Police say the 36-year-old woman was arrested after taking money from an undercover officer in front of a New York hospital. They say she told detectives her boyfriend had returned to China and she sold her newborn because she was destitute. The woman faces up to seven years in prison for child abandonment and other charges.
Marion Jones no longer the image of an Olympic hero. The three- time gold medalist has admitted to using performance enhancing drugs and lying about it to federal agents. That could lead to jail time now. CNN's Gary Tuchman reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): She won five medals in the 2000 Olympic Games but maybe Marion Jones should have won a sixth for best liar.
MAIRON JONES, OLYMPIC MEDALIST: I have never, ever used performance enhancing drugs and that I have accomplished what I have accomplished because my God-given abilities and hard work.
TUCHMAN: Pretty audacious comment if you're not telling the truth. And now Jones, one of the most famous female athletes in the world admits that, indeed, she was not.
JONES: So, it is with a great amount of shame that I stand before you and tell you that I have betrayed your trust.
TUCHMAN: In federal court Jones told the judge she lied when asked if she had used a performance enhancing drug, known as the clear.
JONES: Today I pled guilty to two counts of making false statements to federal agents.
TUCHMAN: Angie Dement is an attorney -- she represents C.J. Hunter, who used to be married to Jones. Hunter was a shot putter who tested positive for steroids in 2000 and then told a grand jury under subpoena that Marion Jones had used performance-enhancing drugs.
ANGIE DEMENT, ATTORNEY FOR JONES' EX-HUSBAN: Well obviously he was happy. It's been a long three years of everybody in the world calling him everything from a liar to a bottom feeder. And it's nice to be vindicated.
TUCHMAN: Jones, the fourth woman from the right at this Indianapolis track meet, had a goal of winning five gold medals at the 2000 games. It turns out three of her five medals were gold. Still, she captivated the world with her talent, poise and good looks. Olympic track star Carl Lewis says he was caught off guard by Marion Jones' admission. He finished second to Ben Johnson in a 1988 Olympic sprint but actually got the gold after Johnson was caught using steroids.
CARL LEWIS, OLYMPIC CHAMPION: I was surprised because it's very rare that people who get away with it, ultimately admit it.
TUCHMAN: Why she has now admitted to using the clear isn't yet clear. But Jones has now become the first athlete convicted in connection with the BALCO Laboratories steroid scandal which has left other athletes implicated, including homerun king Barry Bonds. Jones will now lose her medals and possibly her freedom. She faces up to 10 years in prison. She says her family didn't even know about her lies.
JONES: I have let them down, I have let my country down and I have let myself down.
TUCHMAN: And she will go down in athletic infamy. Gary Tuchman, CNN, Atlanta.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
WHITIFELD: And now a global day of protests against the military government of Myanmar. Pictures coming in from around the world now showing demonstrators turning out to protest last week's brutal crackdown on Buddhist monks. From London to Taiwan to Washington, protesters are wearing red head bands to show solidarity with the monks. In Taiwan, about 200 people braved a typhoon to support democracy in the country also known as Burma.
Well, election officials say Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's president, and a key U.S. ally won a third term today. His victory isn't official, though. The Pakistani Supreme Court must decide if Musharraf was eligible to run while still in charge of the military. Protestors burned Musharraf's effigy today, angry that he refused to quit as army chief before the vote. The final outcome of the election has huge implications not only for Pakistan but the Bush administration, as well. Here's CNN's Dan Rivers in Islamabad.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Pakistan's politics are passionate, fast changing and mistakes couldn't be had. There were chaotic scenes at the country's Supreme Court as President Pervez Musharraf's opponents tried unsuccessfully to stop Saturday's presidential election. It's the latest chapter in a power struggle the west is watching with increasing concern. Pakistan is a nuclear power struggling with Islamic extremism. Osama bin Laden is thought to be hiding along its remote border with Afghanistan. Musharraf is trying to cling to power by getting parliament to rubber stamp a third, five-year term as president. He's cut a deal with the exiled former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, she's coming back later this month. The corruption charges against her will be dropped and in return, support for Musharraf giving him much-needed legitimacy. Pakistan's legal community claims Musharraf undermined the judiciary and broke the rules by still heading the army while seeking re- election. The Supreme Court allowed the election to go on, but delayed ruling on whether it's lawful for Musharraf to run while still a general.
PERVEZ MUSHARRAF: Once my election takes place, before I take the oath, I will remove my uniform.
RIVERS: Former Supreme Justice (INAUDIBLE) opposes Musharraf and can't understand why the west thinks so highly of the general.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They seem to have been taken for a ride by him.
RIVERS: Ahmed says Musharraf has used America's war on terror for his own (INAUDIBLE).
WAJIHUDDIN AHMED, FORMER SUPREME COURT JUSTICE: They seem to have been persuaded by him to believe that it is their war he is fighting. In fact, he's fighting his own war. His own war of survival. He just wants to stick to the seat which he has come to occupy by force.
RIVERS: Musharraf seized power in a coup in 1999. After 9/11 he became a key ally of President Bush who thought he'd help catch Osama bin Laden.
HUSAIN HAQQANI, DIR., CENTER FOR INTL. RELATIONS: General Musharraf has presented himself to the world as somebody who is capable of stabilizing the country and fighting extremism and terrorism. And President Bush, in particular, has put a lot of faith in him for that.
RIVERS: But before 9/11 Musharraf supported the Taliban in Afghanistan, thinking they'd bring stability to Pakistan's war torn neighbor. His sudden change of heart fired up Taliban sympathizers inside Pakistan, who earlier this year occupied the red mosque in Islamabad. A violent siege that left the country bitterly divided.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Musharraf is a good man. He can serve, he can move the country very smoothly.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Musharraf is a dictator and as all of us and not only the Pakistanis but all of the world knows.
RIVERS: Dan Rivers, CNN, Islamabad.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: This just in to CNN that nationwide manhunt has ended for a man considered a high-risk sex offender. William Joe Mitchell, this is a picture of the man right here. He was arrested earlier today, as you recall a few days ago, an all-out search was on for him because he had allegedly lured a 15-year-old Florida girl from her home. He had met her online. The little girl, 15-year-old was eventually found at a Wal-Mart in Florida in the Florida panhandle after being abandoned there, but the search was on for this man. No details of his arrest, only that he was arrested far north, actually, in Winchester, Virginia, at a truck stop. We'll be talking with the Polk County Sheriff in Florida about the all-out manhunt for this the man and the kind of relief that they just might be experiencing now. We'll also be talking to the father of the 15-year-old girl, who is Alyssa Frank. We're going to talk to the father because he says that he's got some advice for parents out there whose kids are online, parents need to know a little bit more about their kids' activity on the internet. We'll be joined in the 4:00 eastern hour by both.
Also, caught on camera. Dramatic video of a Florida teen being arrested. Why the officer said he was forced to pull out the pepper spray.
And more bad beef to tell you about. What you need to know to protect your family, coming up.
And a winter wonderland in the fall? Kids and adults take advantage of an early snowfall. Find out where, straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: If you haven't already, you need to check your freezer. Another frozen beef patty recall is under way. Sam's Club is pulling American chef's selection Angus beef patties off the shelves nationwide. That's after four Minnesota children who ate them actually got sick with E. coli. The patties were produced by Cargill and have an expiration date of February 12th, 2008. Cargill is asking customers to return the patties or simply destroy them.
Topps Meat Company has now gone out of business a week after it recalled 20 million pounds of frozen hamburger patties. There have been 32 cases of E.Coli in eight states linked to Topps. Investigators are still trying to pinpoint the source of contamination at Topps' New Jersey plant.
And from Florida now, some pretty dramatic dash cam video. Police in Ft. Pierce were trying to arrest a 15-year-old girl said to be breaking curfew, but then take a look at how things played out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stop!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm not doing anything, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, sir. I'm not doing anything. I'm sorry.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't bite me.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Oh, boy. So the officer says the girl became violent and actually bit him as he tried to handcuff her. The police chief says the officer acted appropriately. The teen faces a felony charge of battery and misdemeanor charge of resisting a law enforcement officer. Still trying to find out exactly what precipitated that beyond just a curfew break.
Meantime, a Kentucky jury sides with a McDonald's worker who was strip searched at work. Louise Ogborne was awarded more than $6 million. It happened after a prank caller falsely accused Ogborne of stealing money from a customer. Other McDonald's restaurants had been duped by the same hoax. Ogborne says McDonald's knew about the ongoing prank but never warned its employees. McDonald's says it may appeal.
And stuck in a storm drain for hours, the suspect now pretty down and dirty. Details, coming up.
(WEATHER REPORT)
WHITFIELD: What do Isiah Thomas and Anita Hill have in common? Both made headlines this week in high-profile sexual harassment cases. Our legal team weighs in, straight ahead, in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Now more on the breaking story of a nationwide manhunt of a high-risk sex offender William Joe Mitchell who was wanted for meeting a 15-year-old Florida girl online, then luring her from her home and then abandoning her in a Wal-Mart days ago. Apparently, he has been arrested in Winchester, Virginia. We don't know the details of how he was arrested and the circumstances that followed, but he was arrested at a truck stop there in Winchester, Virginia. Susan Candiotti has been following this story from the very beginning. Susan, do we know anything about whether this involved some sort of public cooperation, someone actually recognizing this man knowing that there was this all-out search for him?
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (VOICE-OF): Not yet Fredricka, but we certainly hope to learn from those details later on this afternoon when the Polk County Sheriff's office will be holding a news conference to tell us details, about the arrest of William Joe Mitchell, Billy Mitchell, who as you indicated was picked up apparently without incident earlier today in Winchester, Virginia, at this truck stop. Evidently it happened with the help of the U.S. Marshals task force out of the Tampa Bay, Florida area. As you recap the story, remember it was earlier in the week that this 15-year-old girl who allegedly met this young man or this man, rather, on Myspace, he, according to police, lured her, picked her up and they spent about two days together. Evidently they took her, according to the police, up to Alabama and then back into Florida, where he dropped her off as you said at this Wal-Mart in Defurniak Springs, Florida. This man Bill Mitchell is from Jacksonville, Florida. You remember he told the 15-year-old that he was only 24 years old. In fact, he is much older than that. But as her father said, Roger Frank, who has been on the air and who you have spoken with and will be presumably later today. He said that this happened, even though they kept the home computer right in front of the entire family. She didn't have a computer in her room and he was telling parents the big lesson in all of this is to make sure you pay closer attention to how your children use the computer.
WHITFIELD: Yeah, it is an extraordinary story, really, a lesson for everyone. We're so glad that this young girl was released unharmed, as far as we know. We haven't heard much about her condition since she's been back with family, but the good news is she is back with family. Have you had a chance to speak with her or is she talking a little bit more about, you know, how she believed or entrusted this person she met online?
CANDIOTTI: No, we haven't been able to find out anything about that yet. I'm quite sure that she must be talking with her parents and certainly counselors about this. Of course, investigators, as well. Publicly we've had few details, perhaps we might get a few more when her father presumably addresses the news media along with the Polk County Sheriff's Office later today.
WHITFIELD: Right, and we look forward to talking with him, the father of Alyssa Frank later on in the 4 o'clock eastern hour, as well as the Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd. Susan Candiotti, thanks so much. The most pronounced message that came out of that press conference earlier in the week from the little girl's father is that just as Susan was saying, you know, he knew of his child's online activity, but they didn't know in great detail. He said he doesn't really even know how to use a computer like his daughter does. So we're going to talk to him about the kind of lessons that all parents can impart from this entire experience. Thanks so much Susan.
Meantime, new information on landslides appearing imminent now in the San Diego area. We've been reporting on at least one pretty significant sinkhole earlier in the week. Well, now, pavement is buckling and heaving in an ocean view neighborhood filled with multi- million dollar homes. It's just a quarter of a mile from this one in La Jolla where a hillside gave way there on Wednesday. Residents of 29 damaged homes are being kept away. And in both cases, homeowners claim that broken water mains eroded their property. The city is now disagreeing with that.
And get ready, it is already here, signs of winter. And it's still fall, people. In the mountains near Truckee, California, winter conditions are showing up and some people rather like it. They're having fun with it all. Up to eight inches of snow reported in some parts of the Sierras. A long-time Sierra resident says he's never seen snowfall in the area before his birthday and that's not for another week. So, get used tot it, I guess. I don't know, a nice little early birthday present for him.
(WEATHER REPORT) WHITFIELD: All right, so, what does this mean? Sexy pamphlets delivered in the mail?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just don't want to have to worry about it especially coming from a church.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: A church? If you received this in your mailbox, would you think it was from a church? Straight ahead in the NEWSROOM, a pastor trying to spark some curiosity causes controversy, as well.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: A new video just coming in to CNN of a gun battle in Iraq we wanted to show you. A convoy carrying an Iraqi governor comes under attack by insurgents in this Baghdad neighborhood. An Associated Press TV photographer was in the convoy and was rolling when the bullets started flying.
(VIDEO CLIP OF BAGHDAD GUN BATTLE)
WHITFIELD: So just it put this into a little bit of context, this Baghdad governor was actually leaving a meeting that was taking place with local officials and U.S. officials when the gunfire erupted here. Guards for the Iraqi governor exchanged the gunfire with these insurgents for several minutes, but amazingly, no one in the convoy was actually hurt in this attack, just a lot of close calls there.
Meantime, two high-profile sexual harassment cases in this country, 16 years apart, are both in the news this week. A book by Clarence Thomas, the U.S. Supreme Court justice, triggered a new round of he said/she said between the Supreme Court justice and Anita Hill.
And a jury says New York Knicks' President Isiah Thomas sexually harassed an employee. In a moment our legal experts will weigh in on both cases, but, first, Carol Costello reminds us of how Anita Hill almost kept Clarence Thomas from becoming a U.S. Supreme Court justice.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARENCE THOMAS, SUPREME COURT JUSTICE: I do.
ANITA HILL, BRANDEIS PROFESSOR: I do.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sixteen years have passed, but the anger remains, a he said/she said with no definitive answer about what actually happened.
On CBS's "60 MINUTES," he still says ...
THOMAS: Didn't happen.
COSTELLO: And she still says ...
HILL: I know what the truth is. I know what happened to me.
COSTELLO: Flash back to 1991, one of the most lurid Senate confirmation hearings in United States history. It had it all. Race, sex, and according to Thomas the worst kind of politics.
THOMAS: I think most well-meaning people understand that for what it was. It was a weapon to destroy me. Clear and simple.
COSTELLO: Thomas claims Anita Hill was a pawn. That her claim he'd sexually harassed her at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was a ploy. A ploy to derail his nomination because of his opposition to abortion.
She says that is nonsense.
HILL: The Senate contacted me and asked me a direct question about what happened to me in the workplace and I responded truthfully. And there was no intermediate group that put me up to anything.
COSTELLO: Hill is clearly still affected by those hearings 16 years ago. Millions watched on television as Hill calmly delivered her no-holds-barred descriptions of how Thomas had allegedly harassed her while both worked at the EEOC.
HILL: These conversations were very vivid. He spoke about acts that he had seen in pornographic films involving such matters as women having sex with animals, and films showing group sex or rape scenes.
COSTELLO: She testified such talk in other conversations made her uncomfortable.
HILL: He got up from the table, at which we were working, went over to his desk to get the Coke, looked at the can, and asked, who has put pubic hair on my Coke?
COSTELLO: Thomas writes he never listened to Hill's testimony. In his book, "My Grandfather's Son," he says it consisted of lies from a mediocre former employee who was angry at not being promoted over a light-complexioned woman.
HILL: This is a typical tactic that accused people take. When you're accused of bad behavior as opposed to wanting people to look at all of the evidence, look at all of the credible evidence, what you do is you attack your accuser. And you mischaracterize them. You slander them, you smear them and -- in effort to deflect the truth.
COSTELLO (on camera): She says, though, Thomas won. He sits on the United States Supreme Court. He says they both lost, that the hearing hurt both of them.
Carol Costello, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE) WHITFIELD: So, over the years she has been reluctant to speak at length about Justice Thomas. Well, this week after the launch of Justice Thomas' book, a CNN crew caught up with Anita Hill. You saw some of her comments in Carol's story. Now, we want you it hear all of them.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Judge Thomas says that you were a political pawn, has described you as such, a front for other issues, about the abortion issue.
HILL: Well, the amazing thing is that there have been several books written about the hearings since then by independent journalists. They have all investigated those charges that were raised in 1991 and he raises now, and they've all found them to be false. They haven't shown one connection between me and anyone who was politically motivated to keep him off the court.
What happened, and I will repeat this, was that I was contacted by the Senate and the Senate contacted me and asked me a direct question about what happened to me in the workplace and I responded truthfully. And there was no intermediate group that put me up to anything.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have maintained a very private life over the last 16 years. Is it difficult for you to relive this now that Judge Thomas has written a book and made these public comments?
HILL: You know, in many ways I have made peace with what has happened, what happened in 1991, even what happened in the years that I was working with Thomas. I think, at this point, one of the things that I will say that has helped me to do that is really the letters and calls and the prayers of a lot of different people and I've moved on.
But, when comments like those made by Judge Thomas are made again, completely unsubstantiated comments, then I have to speak out and that's why, you know, I wrote a piece today for publication in The New York Times and I'm doing very limited interviews, except for when you catch me on the street.
And, so, yes, I do live a private life. But I do speak about these issues and I've learned about them since.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He took a very personal tack, to calling you a mediocre employee, upset over passed over for a promotion, that you were not the conservative religious woman you appeared to be. What do you make of this?
HILL: Well, what I make of it, knowing what I know about sexual harassment claims and what I know generally about workplace abuse claims, discrimination claims, this is a typical tactic that accused people take. When you're accused of bad behavior, as opposed to wanting people to look at all of the evidence, look at all the credible evidence, what you do is you attack your accuser. And you mischaracterize them, you slander them, you smear them in effort to deflect the truth. And, in fact, I know what the truth is. I testified about it in 1991 and I maintain that testimony today is as truthful today as it was then and will always be. I know what happened to me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He has been a justice on the highest court in the land, I mean, do you have a feeling about that? He really did win.
HILL: In essence, he won. He got what he came for and I think -- I'm not sure what his expectations were. But that's for him to resolve. It's not for me to resolve. The only portion of this that I have to respond to is his characterization of me and what I feel is the real injury that it can do to other people who want to stand up for their rights.
That if they see a Supreme Court justice behaving in this way, they can see that that's going to be the model for other people who are accused of wrongdoing. And that's what they're going to have to face.
And it's hard enough to stand up for your rights anyway. But when you have this kind of behavior being played out by a Supreme Court justice, I think it is -- it has a chilling effect on claims.
Now, on the other hand, it could have just the opposite. And I hope that's what happens. And I hope that people are even more adamant about speaking out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is that hope? Could you express that and what your hope is to come out of this very painful incident?
HILL: Well, my hope is that people will look at all of the evidence. And they'll look at all of the things that have been written since I spoke out in 1991. That they will evaluate those carefully, including all of the witnesses that attempted to come forward during the time of the hearing that were kept from testimony, including the evidence of people who have come forward and talked to these authors since then and have talked about his behavior, either towards them or that they witnessed him behave in public places.
You know, that they saw this kind of behavior before. I hope that people will look at everything and evaluate it in that way and say, you know, you just can't always believe people just because they are in power and just because they seem to have authority.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think your experience, as painful as it was, changed the society and its approach to this particular issue?
HILL: You know, I can't be a judge about how much society was changed entirely. What I do know is that I hear from people regularly saying that this experience, my experience helped them to understand their own experience. And it helped them, and for those people who haven't had problems in the workplace, it also helped them to understand the experience of others. So, I think that it was a time of turmoil and it was a difficult time and painful for people to watch, but I do think that it was a moment in which we, a moment in history in which we became educated about the way the workplace works and how it fails in terms of trying to achieve fairness and equality.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you very much. Thank you.
HILL: Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Our crew catching up with Anita Hill earlier in the week. So it seem that it is water under the bridge, but Hill's latest comments and Thomas' new book have revived discussions over such he said/she said disputes. With our legal eagles and beyond, we'll explore why and how that case and a high-profile sexual harassment case involving Knicks' President Isiah Thomas are making an impact.
The CNN NEWSROOM continues right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Before the break we talked about the high-profile sexual allegations involving Justice Thomas and how it still makes an impact today. Now, fast forward to the latest high-profile case involving an NBA legend and an $11 million settlement. It has the Reverend Al Sharpton speaking out, demanding even more from Isiah Thomas.
Sharpton is threatening to picket New York Knicks games unless Thomas apologizes for saying it is OK for black men to degrade black women with vulgar language.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REV. AL SHARPTON, CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST: But this season can't open in this city where women of any color and women in the black community being discussed here feels that it matters who's calling you a B rather than it matters somebody is calling you a B. That's the point. And whether it is a hip-hopper, whether it's a rapper, rocker, coach, Imus, we will have one standard in this movement.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: So, Thomas' offending remarks were made on a deposition tape played at his sexual harassment trial. Sharpton says Thomas told him the tape had been doctored. So let's go in-depth on the Isiah Thomas case. A jury ruled this week that the New York Knicks' president and coach sexually harassed an employee. His employer has been ordered to pay millions in damages.
Here's Allan Chernoff.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A huge victory in court for former New York Knicks executive Anucha Browne Sanders, who claimed Knicks coach Isiah Thomas had verbally abused her and even came onto her, trying to kiss her.
She was fired after complaining to her employer of Thomas' behavior.
ANUCHA BROWNE SANDERS, PLAINTIFF: What I did here, I did for every working woman in America. And that includes everyone who gets up and goes to work in the morning, everyone that aspires to be in a corporate environment.
CHERNOFF: Jurors found Thomas liable of subjecting Browne Sanders to a hostile work environment, and found Madison Square Garden, owner of the Knicks, and James Dolan, chairman of the parent company, liable of the same, as well as retaliating against the plaintiff.
The jury awarded Browne Sanders damages of $8.6 million from MSG and $3 million from Dolan, amounts that the judge has the authority to change. Jurors were deadlocked on whether Thomas should have to pay damages.
The Knicks' coach, who denied Browne Sanders' accusations, is promising to appeal.
ISIAH THOMAS, HEAD COACH, NEW YORK KNICKS: I'm very innocent. And I did not do the things that she accused me in this courtroom of doing. I'm extremely disappointed that the jury could not see the facts in this case.
CHERNOFF: MSG said: "We believe the jury's decision was incorrect and plan to vigorously appeal the verdict."
The trial portrayed the Knicks' organization as a basketball animal house. Star player Stephon Marbury testified in court to having sex with a Knicks intern in his truck and cursing at Browne Sanders.
(on camera): The case has been a big distraction for the Knicks and is likely to continue hanging over the team. Training camp started on Tuesday without head coach Isiah Thomas.
Allan Chernoff, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: So, what do the Isiah Thomas case and the Anita Hill/Clarence Thomas dispute tell us about laws against sexual harassment in the workplace? Avery Friedman is a civil rights attorney and law professor. Good it see you.
And Richard Herman is a New York criminal defense attorney and law professor. Good it see you, as well.
RICHARD HERMAN, :LAW PROFESSOR: Hi, Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right, you guys, I know you were pretty riled up about these cases because cases will do that to anyone. So let's talk about the parallels in these cases even though you talk about one that actually went to court, there was a settlement. The other one didn't go to court but it was certainly played out on the public stage.
So, Avery, are there real parallels here?
AVERY FRIEDMAN, LAW PROFESSOR: Well, other than the last name, yes. As a matter of fact, the Clarence Thomas case gave rise as a result of what happened in August of 1991 to the passage of the law that was used to prosecute Isiah Thomas in 2007.
The difference between the laws back then and the laws today are profoundly different and the fact is now that it's much easier for women to stand up and fight back and, basically, Anucha is going to strike fear -- that name, in the hearts of every moron that does this to women in the workplace.
WHITFIELD: Richard, do you see it that way too? I mean, this is more than Thomas squared. We're dealing with more than just the common names of Thomas here.
HERMAN: Yes, we are. And Avery is right on the law there. And you know, Fred, I see Isiah Thomas say, these facts are not true and I'm going to take an appeal. Well, the facts are not the issue on appeal and the old Isiah has been a disgrace for the Knicks since he has come. The Knicks are a horrible basketball team.
(LAUGHTER)
WHITFIELD: Ow. Boy, that's harsh.
HERMAN: He has done nothing for them. Their record is atrocious, in New York City, the Mecca of basketball. And for this to happen like this, this unbelievable bad mark on the Knicks. And, I'll tell you, this Al Sharpton, though, with him blasting his head off here, it's amazing that he's demanding an apology from Isiah Thomas when he, himself, never apologized for the Tawana Brawley mess.
FRIEDMAN: Come on, you're getting it all mixed up, man.
(CROSSTALK)
FRIEDMAN: We're dealing with sexual harassment here. Isiah Thomas actually said after the verdict that the tape was doctored. Can you believe that? I mean...
HERMAN: Hey, listen, Fred, it was...
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: So how do you dispute that one?
HERMAN: It was a deposition. The question was, is it proper for a white person to call a black woman the B word? And he said, no. And then they said, what about if a black person did it to a black woman -- a black man to a black woman? And he said, it's not as bad. That's the entire testimony. That's it.
WHITFIELD: And even though the outcomes are very different in these two, you know, cases that we're drawing parallels, Anita Hill, Clarence Thomas, and now Isiah Thomas, et cetera, is there something that perhaps Anita Hill and Isiah Thomas actually have in common? I mean, for one, they're both calling themselves the folks that are on the losing end of these disputes.
FRIEDMAN: Well, the difference though is Anita Hill can take great pride in the fact that she brought this very poignant issue of what woman suffer in the workplace to the American public. And as a result of her testimony, Congress changed the law, the president signed the law. So, in a way, she really is a winner. Isiah Thomas is nothing other than a loser.
(CROSSTALK)
HERMAN: And Anita Hill should hang her head high. I mean, it took a lot of guts for her to stand up before Congress and testify like she did. She had no dog in that fight. She did not benefit from that. She just told the truth. And I find...
FRIEDMAN: Although the book said that she did, there was no evidence to support it.
HERMAN: Right. And I find Clarence Thomas on "60 MINUTES" just unbelievably a disgrace when it comes to this.
WHITFIELD: All right. Guys, we're out of time. But I think -- Anita Hill, I think when she said, you know, that she lost, she was like, well, this guy ended up getting a job for life. I mean, so in the end, I guess, in her view, he really did win even though she did help...
FRIEDMAN: Well, she's a winner. She's a winner, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: ... set it stage for everybody else, too. All right. Thanks so much, Richard and Avery, we're out of time. Sorry to cut you off, got to go, see you next weekend.
FRIEDMAN: All right, Fred, take care.
HERMAN: OK, Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right. And you can get more of the Isiah Thomas and Knicks' lawsuit on cnn.com. We've got pages and pages of court documents from the case. There is a lot to read, including the graphic language that Thomas is accused of using. You can read through it for yourself and then see what you think. Just log on to cnn.com/us. And we're back right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: All right. Folks, this will make you and me blush, red hot sex. Now that I have your attention, let me tell you about a Tennessee preacher in trouble over those three words. The good reverend mailed out 50,000 fliers for his marriage seminar hoping for a big turnout. He went for shock value and did he ever. He put those very words in big, red letters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PASTOR GENE WOLFENBARGER, THE GATHERING CHURH: The bottom line is, if I would have put "holiness" here or I had put "have a good marriage," no one would have showed up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: All right. So, maybe he has a point, but parents were a little hot and red-faced, kids you know sometimes pick up the mail at home. The preacher says he's sorry, he never meant to offend, he's just soldiering in the war against divorce.
Well, straight ahead, a massive manhunt is over this afternoon. A man police call a high-risk sex offender, William Joe Mitchell, is under arrest. The details on his capture right after a quick break.
Then, a Los Angeles neighborhood just 15 square miles and more than 30 different gangs. Anderson Cooper hosts "CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT: Homicide in Hollenbeck."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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