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Nancy Grace
Hulk`s Son Sues Over Public Release of Phone Conversations
Aired June 03, 2008 - 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, former "Wrestlemania" and reality TV superstar Hulk Hogan on the ropes, and it`s all caught on tape. After a disastrous drag-racing crash fueled by alcohol, leaving a 23-year-old Iraqi war veteran with irreversible brain damage, in court, Hulk Hogan`s family begs for mercy. But tonight, Hogan and family caught on tape, blaming the comatose victim, whining about the justice system and trying to land a reality TV show, raking in the money off the crash! Angry his jail cell doesn`t have amenities like playing cards, unlimited phone use, windows, window views, then demands the judge let him go home, let him go home on house arrest. Well, that request just denied hours ago.
Headlines tonight: Hogan is now suing the sheriff. That`s right, they`re suing the sheriff for releasing the jailhouse tapes. So now it`s all the sheriff`s fault. All the while, the victim semi-comatose on a ventilator.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Attorneys representing Nick Hogan are suing the Pinellas County sheriff for releasing the jail tapes. In the lawsuit, Hogan`s attorneys contend that Sheriff Jim Coats violated Florida statutes by releasing conversations that do not fall under the definition of public records.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In his first phone call home from jail, it was obvious to the family that their calls were being recorded.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
NICK BOLLEA: I get to get out to take a shower and make a 20...
VOICE RECORDING: This call may be recorded or monitored.
LINDA BOLLEA: Whatever. Well, hopefully, they won`t put the conversation that they tape on Bay News 9, like they do everything else around here.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The suit also alleges that the sheriff should not have allowed local media to release video of the Hogan family visiting Nick Hogan in jail, including a shot of Nick Hogan flipping off the camera. Meanwhile, the judge presiding over Hogan`s case has rejected the motion recently filed asking for the 17-year-old`s sentence to be changed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And tonight: Real life "Mean Girls" takes on a new meaning after a brutal all-girl gang attack on a teenager honor student cheerleader, all on video, the so-called popular girls accused of luring a classmate into a vicious beating there in an upscale Florida home, leaving the girl unrecognizable even to her own father and with loss of hearing and sight, the girls gone wild videotaping to star themselves on YouTube and MySpace. Well, tonight, a stunning request by the alleged ringleader demanding off house arrest. And she wants access to the media. Possible translation? Payday!
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
911 OPERATOR: OK. There was more than one?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. There was six. Six girls.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If not more.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If not more, she said.
911 OPERATOR: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So she`s got blood in her mouth and she`s got a big old knot on her left eye and -- and we think that she`s got a tooth broke.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She`ll never be herself. I mean, how can (INAUDIBLE) something like this happen to you and say, I am the same person?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The important thing with this, not only does she lose her dignity, her pride, she was ripped, in a sense raped, in a different manner.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A shocking teen beating, and it was all caught on tape. Now the alleged ringleader, Mercades Nichols, asking the judge to ease house arrest so she can give interviews to the media, even asking the judge to travel out of state to speak with reporters. Nichols`s house arrest still calls for her to be home by 7:00 PM and stay off the Internet. Nichols`s attorney wants the suspect to tell her side of the story, complaining the sheriff`s office has demonized his client, Nichols in court saying her main priority is attending church.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. Tonight, former "Wrestlemania" and reality TV superstar Hulk Hogan on the ropes, and it`s all on tape, Hogan and family caught on tape blaming the comatose victim, whining about the justice system. Headlines tonight: Rather than take responsibility, after being caught on tape, Hogan suing the sheriff for releasing the jailhouse tapes!
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nick Hogan is suing the sheriff`s office for releasing the now infamous Nick Hogan jail tapes. Attorneys for the 17- year-old claim the audiotapes does not fall under public records and should have never been given to the media.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right now, he`s in solitary confinement at a Florida jail because he`s too young to be with other inmates. His lawyer said that situation is creating what they call "unbearable anxiety" for Bollea.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
NICK BOLLEA: I`m really freaking out, Dad, because you know how they said they were going to move me?
HULK HOGAN: Yes.
NICK BOLLEA: OK. Well, the captain came in and said he could move me, you know? So he said that he was going to put me in this area, you know, where (INAUDIBLE) He said he can move me, but he can`t put me with other people because of my age, you know?
HULK HOGAN: Yes.
NICK BOLLEA: So he said -- oh (DELETED) So he moved me to security. So I`m in maximum security. And they put me in this room that`s, like -- it`s, like, the other room at least had, like, one window where I could see out to the yard, you know, and I could wave at him and I could, like, you know, at least get his attention.
HULK HOGAN: Yes.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
NICK BOLLEA: I miss going to the Sandpearl (ph) with you.
LINDA BOLLEA: I know! I`m at the beach all by myself! It`s not the same!
NICK BOLLEA: I miss sitting out on the water on the boat with you. I miss just getting into the Escalade and going to Orlando.
LINDA BOLLEA: I know, baby! We`re going to do all of that, OK? We`re going to do everything, but...
NICK BOLLEA: I wrote down...
LINDA BOLLEA: ... we`re not going to do it here in (DELETED) Florida!
(END AUDIO CLIP)
GRACE: This is just the tip of the iceberg. It`s only getting worse. Now Hogan actually suing the sheriff, no public statement such as, I take responsibility for my actions, I`m going to donate money from my new reality show that I`ve been concocting behind bars to the victim. No, no, no, no! Tonight we learn they are actually suing the sheriff`s office for releasing the tapes.
Out to Rory O`Neil with Metro Networks. Tell me the latest.
RORY O`NEIL, METRO NETWORKS: Well, good evening, Nancy. They are suing the sheriff`s office claiming that because Nick is just 17, they are not allowed to release these tapes, which would be standard procedure. The sheriff`s office counters by saying, Look, he was sentenced with an adult crime in an adult court and is now sitting in an adult jail, and therefore, these tapes can be released.
GRACE: Joining us tonight is a very special guest. This is the attorney for Nick Hogan, Nick Bollea, David Houston. He is a veteran trial lawyer, knows his way around the courtroom, joining us from Reno, Nevada. David, thank you for being with us.
DAVID HOUSTON, ATTORNEY FOR NICK BOLLEA: Nancy, thank you very much for having me.
GRACE: You know, David, I want you to listen to some sound we`re about to pull up, where you can actually hear in the background -- you can hear on the recording this conversation is being taped. I mean, I`ve gotten collect calls from inmates a million times. I can hear it. This conversation is coming from a correctional institute. I mean, they know they`re being taped. I don`t understand the confusion, David.
HOUSTON: Nancy, simply stated, everybody knows when you`re in a jail, you make a call or you have a visit, it`s being taped, but it`s being monitored for the institutional security. And that`s one of the aspects we raise in this supposed lawsuit. Actually, it`s not a lawsuit seeking money damages. We`re not trying to penalize anyone. We`ve asked that the sheriff`s office be brought into court so there can be a determination made as to whether or not these conversations of a juvenile -- and you have to remember that -- are appropriately released to the media under Florida state law. If you read Florida state statute...
GRACE: Which I have.
HOUSTON: ... anything to do with a juvenile prosecution -- then you obviously realize is a matter of confidentiality, is not...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: ... not a juvenile prosecution. This was an adult nolo contendere plea.
HOUSTON: It`s correct he was certified up as an adult. But I also want you to consider that the sheriff, for the purpose of his incarceration, has classified him as a juvenile. And simply because we certify him as an adult doesn`t mean that he loses any and all protections of a juvenile because he was sentenced as an adult. The sheriff so far is trying to have it both ways. They`re treating him as a juvenile for custodial purposes, which has resulted in this child being placed in solitary confinement normally reserved for hardened criminals who violate the jail policy...
GRACE: OK, hold on right there, Mr. Houston. With me, David Houston, the attorney for Nick Hogan, joining us from Reno, Nevada. Speaking of wanting your cake and wanting to eat it, too, I have two documents from the Hogan camp in my hands. One of them, you ask -- you state that he should be treated as a minor. And in this, this is the complaint against the sheriff.
HOUSTON: That`s correct.
GRACE: Now, in my other hand, I have a statement where you want him treated as an adult so he can have other amenities behind bars, dated May 22, 2008. So your side wants him treated as an adult and as a juvenile whenever it benefits you.
HOUSTON: Well, Nancy, that`s not absolutely correct. What we did was we worked with the sheriff. And when the sheriff made a decision that the sheriff felt he should be treated as an adult, we asked the sheriff then to give the exact same privileges that any adult non-violent first-time offender would have received. At that point, the sheriff advised us for the purposes of classification, he was going to consider Nick as a juvenile. So as a consequence of the sheriff`s classification of Nick, not ours, we then reacted and responded on the basis of, Why are you releasing...
GRACE: David...
HOUSTON: ... the confidential records of a juvenile?
GRACE: I understand. I understand what you`re saying. But the reality is, it`s not the sheriff`s classification. There is a proceeding in Florida, as there are in every other state in this union, called "bind over" classification where certain juvenile crimes are treated in adult courts. So it was, in fact, a judge that determined this case would be handled in adult court. The sheriff didn`t ask for this. He got Nick Hogan dumped in his lap after this fatal car crash. And hold on, I want you to take a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In his first phone call home from jail, it was obvious to the family that their calls were being recorded.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
NICK BOLLEA: I get to get out to take a shower and make a 20...
VOICE RECORDING: This call may be recorded or monitored.
LINDA BOLLEA: Whatever. Well, hopefully, they won`t put the conversation that they tape on Bay News 9, like they do everything else around here.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
NICK BOLLEA: You and Mom are coming in at 11:00.
HULK HOGAN: Tomorrow?
NICK BOLLEA: Well, you got to call Mom because she`s got a gimmick deal.
HULK HOGAN: A what?
NICK BOLLEA: A double bluejay.
HULK HOGAN: A double blow cee jay (ph).
NICK BOLLEA: Yes. I can`t say anything.
HULK HOGAN: At the jizz?
NICK BOLLEA: Yes.
HULK HOGAN: Tomorrow?
NICK BOLLEA: Yes.
HULK HOGAN: What`s tomorrow? What day is tomorrow?
NICK BOLLEA: Thursday.
HULK HOGAN: Thursday? This is a tizzation dizzay?
NICK BOLLEA: I don`t know. You guys can try. If not...
HULK HOGAN: Oh, I know, the wizz in.
NICK BOLLEA: Yes, yes, yes.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
HULK HOGAN: The lizz.
NICK BOLLEA: Yes.
HULK HOGAN: The lizz on gizz.
NICK BOLLEA: Yes, at 11:00.
HULK HOGAN: Oh, OK. Cool. Cool. Can I kizz?
NICK BOLLEA: Yes.
HULK HOGAN: Really? It`s not too high prizz for me?
NICK BOLLEA: I don`t know.
HULK HOGAN: I got it. I know what to do. I`ll call your mom and tell her to make sure the lawyers, you know, call Kevin. I`ll make sure to call her to get all the windows cleaned tomorrow.
NICK BOLLEA: Yes. No doubt.
HULK HOGAN: Yes because I got to go to the beach house and the older (ph) house, and then we got to make sure everybody`s house is clean.
NICK BOLLEA: Yes. Absolutely.
HULK HOGAN: I got you, Dawg!
(END AUDIO CLIP)
GRACE: Too bad they were speaking in their super-secret Snoop Dogg language, adding "fo shizzle" along the end of everything because then maybe we wouldn`t have had to find out they`re planning a reality TV show called "The New Nick" to make money off this disastrous crash. You remember, the victim, an Iraqi war veteran just 23 years old, is lying semi-comatose right now on a ventilator.
Back to the attorney for Nick Hogan, David Houston, joining us tonight from Reno, Nevada. Obviously, they knew that they were being recorded because they come up with a super-secret Snoop Dogg fo shizzle language to try to fake me out. And they even talk about the conversation ending up on the Bay 9 news. They know darn well it is a possibility because these are public conversations.
HOUSTON: Well, Nancy, first of all, I don`t think it`s that surprising that when this family became aware that these conversations were being released to the news media, that they might speak in a manner somewhat differently because it`s obvious what was going to happen with the conversations.
But more importantly, and I think really to the issue, what`s happened is there were 26 hours of conversations released. And of those 26 hours, the media is pulling out five-second sound bites to try to make this family sound as horrible as they possibly can, which was not inappropriate under Florida law, but I would be willing to venture that I could take 26 hours of your conversation, or someone could do the same to me, and pull out enough to demonize either one of us. It is out of context. It is not fair. And it is contrary to public policy in both Florida and across the country to release records of a juvenile. So you`re surprised when the family doesn`t want to share their most intimate communications with the media in this country?
GRACE: You know what, Mr. Houston?
HOUSTON: Is that a surprise?
GRACE: You may say that their most intimate communications are planning a reality show based off this crash that, quote, "makes me the most money." A lot of people would expect that their most intimate conversations would be -- take a look at the victim here -- about the pain and suffering this former friend is suffering and what they can do to him, or possibly remorse, remorse about what happened, feeling bad about it.
And speaking of the jail conditions, about how awful they are, let`s take a look at the inside of this jail cell. We have received these from the sheriff. This is an exact replica of Nick Hogan`s jail cell. There you go. There`s a shot from the outside going in. Let`s keep going with the photos. There you see there are two windows, a private bathroom, a bunk, a desk. Not only that, they have library books delivered to their rooms, chaplain services, inmate mail, law library materials available, commissary, visitation from family and attorneys.
Out to the lines. Kerry in Ohio. Hi, Kerry.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello. Hi. I was just wondering, if he were not famous, how much the jail general practice views (ph) on air everybody`s phone conversations. It`s a little ridiculous, don`t you think?
GRACE: Kerry, here`s the way it works. Every conversation is taped. It`s not just the Hogans` conversations. A request was filed by some media outlet, asking for the phone conversations. They are public records. So it`s not the sheriff taping him because it`s Hogan. A media outlet requested them under Freedom of Information Act. That is how they became public. Isn`t that correct, Rory O`Neil?
O`NEIL: That`s right. And it`s 26 hours of conversations. And that was recorded just in the first two weeks that Nick was behind bars. So it`s a lot of talking, a lot of time on the phone in those two weeks.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
NICK BOLLEA: It`s all you do. You just sit there and think, and there`s nothing to think about.
LINDA BOLLEA: You know, we`ll get through it. You got to do it, prove to everyone that you have learned your lesson.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
NICK BOLLEA: They put me in a room, like, all the way down at the end of this long hall with no guard at the end. And the room, when it closes, it`s really, really dark inside, and like, there`s no lights in it.
HULK HOGAN: Yes.
NICK BOLLEA: When the door closes, there`s no windows at all. And like, I can`t see out or anything. So like, if I knock on the door or anything, I don`t know if anyone can hear me or anything. I`m, like -- I`m really freaking out.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
GRACE: You are hearing conversations recorded at the local jail. This is Hulk Hogan`s son, Nick Hogan, and his family talking, including the conversations about how they can launch a new reality show called "The New Nick" about him turning over a new leaf. He then goes on to say he wants a show that will make him the most money.
Out to the lines. Cindy in Florida. Hi, Cindy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. Thanks so much for taking my call.
GRACE: Yes, ma`am.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My love to Joe and your kids and everything.
GRACE: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My son is a Marine, and it`s my understanding when this accident occurred that Mr. Graziano was home on leave, correct?
GRACE: Right.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So he`s still active-duty Marine Corps then. They have the armed services, this nice little cause, destruction of government property. And they consider the person to be government property, because they give them the big speech before they go out and do anything, saying if you get stupid, if you hurt yourself, we`re going to charge you with destruction of government property.
Now, is there any way that perhaps the Marine Corps could sue the Hogans over this? Or you know, the Grazianos use this? Because you know, obviously, not only did they destroy him as a person, but this is a young man that was trained by the.
GRACE: A young Marine. Cindy in Florida`s question regarding the Marine aspect - let`s unleash the other lawyers in addition to the attorney for Nick Hogan. David Houston, joining us out of Reno, Nevada. From Tampa, Florida, Jeff Brown. Joining us from New York, Doug Burns.
Weigh in, Jeff Brown.
JEFF BROWN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I am not aware that they can do that. What we`re talking about here is recklessness. We`re not talking about negligent. We`re not talking about a first-degree murder. I`ve never heard of the Marine Corps or any other branch of the armed services.
GRACE: Neither have I. Doug?
DOUG BURNS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Agree with Jeff and you, Nancy. I`ve never heard of it. I`m not a military law expert, but I`ve never.
GRACE: OK, so no precedent.
To Sergeant Scott Haines, sheriff`s officer in Santa Rosa County, Florida. Sergeant Haines, thank you for being with us. Isn`t it true that recording inmate conversations takes place in every correctional facility in this country?
SGT. SCOTT HAINES, SHERIFF`S OFFICER, SANTA ROSE COUNTY, FL: Absolutely. It`s a daily occurrence, and they`re all kept, and sometimes they`re used for investigative purposes, and sometimes they are used for other things.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
HULK HOGAN: I`m very proud of you, brother, very, very proud of you. You`ve been thrown in a tough spot and you`ve handled it better than I could have probably handled it, or any man I know. You`ve really been -- you`ve really been somebody to look up to.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
GRACE: Straight out to Noah Levy, senior editor with "In Touch Weekly." The judge just denied a motion by the Hogan family asking to get out of jail. Did the judge explain the ruling?
NOAH LEVY, "IN TOUCH WEEKLY": Well, yes. I mean, he did. He said, You know, this is not going to work. Now is not the time for you. And I think what`s behind this is the fact that public perception can definitely affect a judge`s ruling. You know, what Nick Hogan said made him really sound like someone who`s ungrateful, unremorseful and someone who didn`t really understand the judge`s ruling in the first place.
GRACE: Out to the lines. Sarah in Pennsylvania. Hi, Sarah.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. Love to you and your babies. They`re beautiful.
GRACE: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My question is, since Nick is under the age to drink, and what I understood that, supposedly, Hulk Hogan supplied him with the liquor, will he be -- could he be charged -- will he be charged with anything?
GRACE: Excellent question. What about it, Doug Burns?
DOUG BURNS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: No, I think that`s a very good observation. He could be charged with aiding and abetting. Yes. Good point.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
VOICE OF NICK HOGAN, SON OF WRESTLER HULK HOGAN: ... Had I known this, I would have rather gone to trial or I would rather, you know, appeal the case or something. I can`t deal with this for eight months. It`s like half the size of my bathroom.
VOICE OF LINDA HOGAN, NICK HOGAN`S MOTHER: Oh!
N. HOGAN: No windows or nothing. Just one little top bed thing.
L. HOGAN: Oh my God.
N. HOGAN: Will you work on that reality deal for me and get that thing lined up so that the minute I walk out of wherever I walk out of it`s there. Boom.
HULK HOGAN, WRESTLER, NICK HOGAN`S FATHER: Can you do it while you`re on probation?
N. HOGAN: Yes, of course.
H. HOGAN: Yes, OK. You want to do it with Pink Sneakers (ph) or did you want to do it with someone else.
N. HOGAN: I want to do it where I`ll make the most money.
H. HOGAN: Well then you need to do with me, Jason and Eric.
N. HOGAN: OK.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
NANCY GRACE, HOST: If the jail cell is half the size of his bathroom, that must be some bathroom.
We are taking your calls live.
And joining us tonight is a special guest, the attorney for Nick Hogan. Nick Bollea, this is Hulk Hogan`s son. Hogan, along with his entire family, now caught on tape.
With us, David Houston joining us from Reno, Nevada.
David, from reading the Hogan response to the Graziano lawsuit, I understand that you actually counter-claimed that Graziano is responsible for not properly supervising Nick Hogan?
DAVID HOUSTON, ATTORNEY FOR HULK HOGAN`S SON, NICK BOELLA: Nancy, that`s the civil litigation. I`m not involved in the civil litigation.
But what I would like to say is in reference to all of these the sound bites, that I`ve been sitting here listening to --
NANCY GRACE, HOST: Yes?
HOUSTON: -- it`s amazing, because it`s impossible to ask someone to try to defend or explain five seconds sound bites out of 26 hours of conversation. You mentioned the fact that there should be a showing of remorse. That`s also in the tapes. The acceptance of responsibility. That`s also is in the tapes.
What we`re being presented by the media is a distorted campaign for whatever reason, a launch for the purpose of trying to present not only Nick, but the entire family in the most negative light as possible. And it would be the equivalent of cherry picking five second sound bites, and then asking the family, through council or otherwise, do somehow defend the thought process that went into them.
They are completely out of context. They lack no truth in the way they are being presented. And I think it`s significantly unfortunate and unfair. And that`s why we brought the motion, or the action, requesting declaratory relief, where we`re asking a judge to become involved and agree that a juvenile`s records, including these calls, are not subject to public consumption and ridicule. And number two, that they`re not public records at all, because they are maintained for the security of the institution.
Where are the Ted Bundy calls? Where are the Ilene Wormis (ph) calls? Where are the Rush Limbaugh calls? Why has this never happened before?
I don`t think it`s because of the genius of the media people in this particular locale. And quite frankly, I`m uncertain as to why this would happen at all. I haven`t seen it in 29 years, but it causes me great concern that the American public is willing to judge this family and this boy based upon what the media has hand picked as five second sound bites to flood the airways as a definition of who they have.
It`s inappropriate and against Florida law. So I would ask at least for the fairness of consideration, that -- know what`s in the 26 hours before you`re going to form an opinion as to someone not being remorseful, or someone not accepting responsibility, because it`s absolutely not true.
GRACE: Mr. Houston?
HOUSTON: Yes.
GRACE: Your client is trying to make a reality deal to make money --
HOUSTON: So --
GRACE: -- I`d like to finish -- as the same opportunity that I just gave you.
HOUSTON: I`m sorry.
GRACE: That is totally reprehensible that he would try to make money off this kid, lying, semi-comatose, on a ventilator. Now, you know, sir, just the same way that there is a Freedom of Information Act, under which a media outlet got these tapes and released them, you could very well do the same thing, if you wanted. So, why not?
Fire it back at me. Bring it on.
HOUSTON: Nancy --
GRACE: But to blame the media is just like you blaming the sheriff for releasing it.
What about responsibility? Responsibility that he did say these things and saying you know what, I said these things, it`s reprehensible and this is how I`m going to fix it because this is not the kind of person I am.
What about that? Isn`t that a great idea?
HOUSTON: Nancy, first of all, it is not the kind of person he is. And that was my point. It`s been taken completely out of context.
Secondly, this idea that he somehow wishes to create a reality show and make money of the young man who is in the hospital -- is an absolute falsehood --
GRACE: Really.
HOUSTON: That was -- it was a father and --
GRACE: Liz, get the sound.
HOUSTON: Excuse me. Hold on one second. It was a father and a son talking about anything to provide a distraction and try to keep Nick`s hopes up. Now any parent in this country would do exactly the same thing. I would, and I know you would if you thought your child was in jeopardy and felt that he was deteriorating, because he had been locked in isolation.
You showed some pictures of his cell. But what you didn`t show is that cell door closing, and a 17-year-old being left alone for 17 to 18 hours at a stretch.
GRACE: He is alone in that particular cell for his own protection. Do you want him out in general population?
HOUSTON: Yes, we requested that. For first time, non-violent --
GRACE: Then the first moment he got beat up, then you would sue because a juvenile was in general population.
I`m going to ask you a question, if you can answer it.
HOUSTON: Absolutely. Sure.
GRACE: If he wants solace, how many times has he visited the chaplain? How many times has he gotten books --
HOUSTON: Repeatedly.
GRACE: -- from the library. How many times has he gone to the library and worked on something other than a reality show for himself?
HOUSTON: Nancy, he can`t go to the library because that would be involving other inmates. He`s not allowed to be around other inmates because of his classification.
Yes he has visited with the chaplain. And more importantly, what no one has mentioned is, prior to the time of his incarceration, he spent his time raising money for John and creating foundations so money would be available for John. That`s something the media is also --
GRACE: OK. What`s happening? Tell me about it. I`m happy to hear about it.
HOUSTON: The fact is, money was raised in order to assist --
GRACE: What foundations? Tell me?
HOUSTON: -- to assist John.
I don`t know the name, Nancy, but I would be more than happy to give it to you because quite frankly, I`m amazed that the media hasn`t taken the time to determine if there`s two sides to this story.
GRACE: Well, if you don`t know about it, how are we going to know?
HOUSTON: Well -- Nancy, the fact of the matter remains, if you`re going to base an opinion on five seconds of sound bites --
GRACE: You`re his lawyer.
HOUSTON: -- it`s ridiculous.
GRACE: If you don`t know about it, how do we know about it? How much money was raised, and has it gone to the victim`s family?
HOUSTON: Approximately $60,000 to date --
GRACE: Has it gone to the victim`s family?
HOUSTON: Not to date; it has not. We`re still in the process, Nancy.
How come the American public chooses to vilify and demonize a 17-year- old? Have we got nothing better to do? I mean -- really?
To base that opinion on five second --
GRACE: Dr. Mark Hillman, psychotherapist, now, there`s somebody new to blame; now it`s the media -- Dr. Hillman.
MARK HILLMAN, CLINICAL PSYCHOTHERAPIST, AUTHOR OF "MY THERAPIST IS MAKING ME NUTS": And you`re talking about he`s not the kind of person. Well, let`s review his past. He`s underage drinking.
GRACE: Whoa, whoa, whoa. He`s 17. He can`t have that much of a past.
HILLMAN: Well.
GRACE: With that, I agree with Houston.
HILLMAN: How about two speeding tickets down alligator alley in excess of 100 miles an hour? Underage drinking, drag racing with Danny Jacobs on a residential street. Even his own father in one of the conversations says, "Son, man up, do your time."
And now all of a sudden in the first day he`s whining? We`re not to judge him? This is all about misdirection. The judge made this determination to eight months in jail. The first day, he`s calling and he says he can`t do it.
How about John Graziano? What quality of life does this man have? When does Lady Justice get white-washed and we stop holding people accountable for their behavior?
Let`s look at that, would you please?
GRACE: Everybody, when we come back, a stunning request by the alleged ring leader of a brutal all girls attack on a teenage cheerleader. She`s demanding off house arrest and access to the media.
And tonight, as always, we salute our troops.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHERRY THOMAS, SALUTING THE TROOPS: My name is Sherry Thomas from Amarillo, Texas. And I just want to send a salute to four of my sons currently serving in the military, especially want to tell you how much I love you, Josh, who is currently serving on the USS (INAUDIBLE), shipped out to the Persian Gulf and is on his way to Iraq for seven months.
So thank you for serving, Josh, and I love you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: A shocking teen beating. It was all caught on tape. Now, the alleged ring leader Mercades Nichols asking a judge to ease house arrest so she can give interviews to the media, even asking the judge to travel out of state to speak with reporters.
Nichols is also seeking permission to attend church and get a job. Nichols`s house arrest still calls for her to be home by 7:00 p.m. and stay off the Internet.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GRACE: Have you seen the video in this case? A brutal all-girl gang attack on an honor student cheerleader? She loses partial sight and hearing. Her own father couldn`t even recognize her when he went to go get her in the hospital.
And now the alleged ring leader -- take a look at what happened to the victim -- wants off house arrest and the ability to travel from state-to- state to speak about the issue.
To Rory O`Neill of Metro Networks, I understand the mom of the alleged ring leader says she just wants to make a public apology in the media. Why can`t she write a letter?
RORY O`NEILL, REPORTER, METRO NETWORKS: Well, the mother says that she wants to let her daughter speak out, that she`s frustrated by the microphone given to the lawyers on the other side and that she wants an opportunity for her daughter to say her piece that she said she`s been denied that until now.
GRACE: To Gloria Allred -- Gloria, as you know, victims right advocate and she is representing the alleged victim, Victoria Lindsay.
Gloria, as always, it`s wonderful to see you.
GLORIA ALLRED, ATTORNEY FOR GIRL BEATEN ON TAPE: Thank you. You, too.
GRACE: You know, if you are able to speak out, in a sense, on behalf of the victims, can`t the lawyers on the other side speak on behalf of their clients?
ALLRED: Good point, Nancy. And why don`t they just do that? And also, of course, this defendant, Mercades, will have her opportunity to have a voice and speak out, and that will be when she`s in the court of law at the trial, which may take place this summer.
Then, she can testify under oath and everybody can hear what she has to say, unless, of course, she wishes to exercise her Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination, which she may do. Many defendants do. And of course, she also can speak out after the trial.
GRACE: Also joining us tonight from Tampa, Florida, Melodie Lopez. She, like Gloria, is a veteran trial lawyer. She is representing Cara Murphy.
Melodie, typically, defense attorneys tell their clients to shut their pie hole. Don`t speak, don`t talk to the media, because anything you say, even if you don`t admit to anything, there could be some small inconsistency in something you said earlier and that can be pounced upon by prosecutors in court.
MELODIE LOPEZ, ATTORNEY FOR CARA MURPHY, SUSPECT IN BEATING: I agree. I have certainly been approached by media to have my client speak out, but I agree with what Gloria said. I think the better thing to do is to wait until all this is over. I don`t think it`s appropriate to have any of these defendants speaking. I think it`s a bad idea on her lawyers` part to do that.
GRACE: And Melodie Lopez, wouldn`t you agree it`s not only a bad idea as you put it, PR wise, but it can be irreversible in court.
LOPEZ: Absolutely, because, as Gloria had said, anything that she does say, anything that she does answer, if she says the wrong thing, absolutely, it can be used against her later. So I think it`s bad advice on the part of her attorney to let her speak at this time.
GRACE: Joining us out of New York is Dr. Kimberly Deore. She is an internist and she is also on faculty at NYU School of Medicine.
Doctor, thank you for being with us. You have reviewed the photos of the victim that we have access to anyway. You know that there is partial loss of hearing and sight. Why is that? Why do you lose partial hearing or all hearing and sight?
DR. KIMBERLY DEORE, NYU SCHOOL OF MEDICINE, HOST OF "DR. RADIO" SIRIUS SATELLITE RADIO: Well, that can happen in many different ways. In terms of the sight, if you`re hit hard enough, you can get many complications in the eye. And the most common is a retinal tear, which is a little tear in this tiny tissue paper which is behind the eye which controls part of our vision.
So if that is torn, you`re going to have problems with vision. This can be permanent. A lot of times it is corrected by surgery so I haven`t reviewed specifically to know what her eyesight is like now and whether she had the surgery. But we`ll have to see what happens in the coming months.
Her hearing can go if she is hit hard enough on the side where she has some swelling inside the inner canal or in the inner membrane, the inner ear, which controls our hearing as well as our balance and equilibrium. It does not take that many blows for that to happen. It can take repeated blows or one really bad blow.
GRACE: Back to Gloria Allred, representing the alleged victim in this case, Victoria Lindsay. Let`s just put it out there, Gloria. You don`t need to have 20 microphones at a podium for you to say to the victim, I`m sorry, I got caught up in a silly idea. There was a pact mentality, I`m sorry for what happened, and I`m going to do my best, I`m going to get a job and help you pay your medical bills. I`m sorry and I want to make up for it.
Why do you need access to the media? And why do you need to travel from state to state to basically give speeches, I`m guessing, for money?
I felt -- I think that this is audacious to ask to basically have your own PR campaign after this is leaked on video.
ALLRED: Well yes, and I think that either it`s a public relations stunt to try to soften up, what, the potential jury pool, to suggest that somehow she`s sorry, or -- I think perhaps it`s, you know, not a good idea on the part of her attorney as Melodie has said, because after all, anyway, even if she did issue an apology, exactly what would she be apologizing for, Nancy?
GRACE: Exactly.
ALLRED: What role -- what would she admit to having said? What admission is she willing to make? And again, what is the remedy that she would then follow through with? Would she be compensating for medical bills, for counseling, for anything else?
My sense of it is that her attorney said it`s a possible apology and it would probably be very vague and squishy and really not very satisfying.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MERCADES NICHOLS, ALLEGED TEEN BEATING SUSPECT: I`d like to go to church on Sunday, and I have to get a job in order to get my diploma.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: The alleged ring leader in the mean girls beating -- you saw it on video -- now wants off of house arrest.
To Dr. Mark Hillman, clinical psychotherapist and author, what do you make of it?
HILLMAN: Well, when girls are fighting, the biggest issue for them is humiliation. It`s not actually the fist fighting. So the idea of going on YouTube and MySpace to completely humiliate this girl was definitely their intent.
GRACE: Isn`t this the same girl that was going to get bailed out by Dr. Phil?
HILLMAN: That`s -- you know what? And not too mean, Nancy, I have a real concern about that. That a staff member posted bail for it and then they wanted him -- her to come on the show.
GRACE: To fly to L.A. all-expense paid trip, get put up on a fancy hotel, and now she wants the ability for speaking engagements and access to the media. You know what, it never ends.
Let`s just stop and remember Army Staff Sergeant Gary Jeffries, 37, Roscoe, Texas, killed, Iraq, on a fourth tour. Awarded several medals including the Army Commendation medal. Quiet, hard working, loved sports and military. Leaves behind son, Zachary, daughter, Sierra.
Gary Jeffries, American hero.
Thanks to our guests, but especially to you for being with us. And congratulations to super shrink Lauren Howard on her wedding day.
Everyone, I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern. And until then, good night friend.
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