Return to Transcripts main page
Jane Velez-Mitchell
Serial Rapist Targeting Detroit Women; Videos Released of Arizona Shooting Suspect
Aired January 17, 2011 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HOST (voice-over): Tonight the war of women rages on as a sick serial rapist has already targeted eight women in just two weeks. Cops are practically searching for him and say they won`t let this monster cripple the city of Detroit. But after the first three rapes, why wasn`t more protection poured into this neighborhood where this rapist is roaming? If cops can`t protect us, what can we as women do to band together and fight back?
And a psychic says she met the alleged Arizona mass shooter when he was only 16. Already she saw terror and hate in his eyes as he talked about hearing voices.
Meantime, we`ll show you about the jaw-droppingly creepy video Jared Loughner made in his school. You`ll hear his chilling voice as he talks about genocide school. Why didn`t someone see these warning signs?
Also, dangerously drunk dads risking their kids` lives. One father plows into a house with his traumatized five-year-old son in the passenger seat. Another crosses the yellow line with five kids in the car, none wearing seat belts. Cops says his blood alcohol level was three times the legal limit. Are you as outraged as we are?
Plus, mean girls strike again? Two girls allegedly created a Facebook page just so they can harass another student, posting nude PhotoShopped pictures of their victim to make it look like she was in sexual positions. Why are kids turning so cruel? And what will it take for teens to finally stop cyber bullying?
ISSUES starts now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF RALPH GODBEE, DETROIT POLICE DEPARTMENT: Monday, January 17. There has been one attempt and seven sexual attacks of females on the northeast side of Detroit that match a specific modus operandi that we`ve identified.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight, the war on women paralyzes a major U.S. city. A night stalker terrorizes the women of Detroit. The serial bus- stop rapist has viciously attacked a slew of young African-American women, one girl just 17. And tonight, police say this predator has struck again, cops now confirming eight women have been attacked near bus stops over the past three weeks. Since the start of the year, January 1 is when it all began.
Seven of those women were raped. Police vow, "We will not let this monster cripple us," but guess what? It`s already too late. Eight women have been attacked already. So my question, and we`re going to talk to the chief in a minute. Why weren`t police flooding this particular area after rapes No. 1 and 2, which according to some reports here, occurred within a short time of each other?
Tonight, cops say they have critical DNA evidence that could finally connect a suspect to these heinous crimes. They`ve also released two brand-new sketches of this predator. Here is the suspect. He`s in his 30s. He`s about 5`9," and he has severe acne. You are looking at satellite images -- in just a moment, you`ll see them -- of areas -- there they are -- where women have been attacked. Cops are now warning women to stay away from bus stops at night. They`re urging them to wait for their bus at local police precincts. What?
I`m going to ask the chief, because it`s my job as a journalist. Why do women have to go to the police station to get protected? It`s the 21st century. Are we still living in a world where women can`t even wait for a bus without fearing for their lives?
How about instead of telling women wait for the bus at the police station, how about if we all take back our streets? Is this a retreat in the war on women? Give me a call: 1-877-JVM-SAYS, 1-877-586-7297.
Straight out to my fantastic expert panel. But I want to begin with Detroit police chief Ralph Godbee.
Sir, first of all, what`s the latest on the hunt for this predator?
GODBEE (via phone): Hello. Are you there?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes, I am, sir.
GODBEE: How are you this evening?
First of all, we want to strongly indicate that we started working the pattern before it was made public. We were aware of the pattern. The pattern was brought to our attention by our crime analysis unit, but we felt it was very necessary to notify our public of what our pattern had discerned. So to that extent, we had no lapse in our response nor the seriousness of the offenses of the women of Detroit.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let me jump in there for one second, sir. And I say this respectfully.
GODBEE: Yes, ma`am.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I have a lot of respect for law enforcement and for the job you do. But it`s also my responsibility as a journalist to ask some tough questions.
GODBEE: Absolutely.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And I want to ask you, police are urging women who ride the bus at night to wait for the bus at the police precinct instead of a bus stop near their home or have a man walk with them. And I want to play this sound bite first and get your reaction, sir. Let`s play the sound bite.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GODBEE: We`re also seeking men in the community to step up similar to the members of Detroit 300. If you have a female family member or friend, if you`re a neighbor, it`s very important for us to watch out for each other. We are kind of focusing on the type of victim that this perpetrator targets, so to that extent, I think we need to be extra vigilant.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: So respectfully, Chief, I think a lot of women would ask, why should women have to alter our work schedule and wait for the bus at a police station? Why do women in the United States have to wear a psychological burka, as I put it? Could you see why some women might chafe at that and say, let me finish my proposition here. That`s not the solution. That`s turning women into second-class citizens and depriving us of our rights as taxpayers to have the same exact freedom of movement and the same exact independence as men.
GODBEE: I respectfully disagree with your point, because I have a 17- year-old daughter, and I would do the same thing for her. And the men of the city of Detroit, we are very vigilant about being protectors, not only of our communities but of the women in our communities. That does not make you second-class citizens.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: So you`re saying if I live at my home and I do not have access to a man to escort me that, therefore, I have, de facto, put myself in more danger? Because I don`t live with a man.
GODBEE: Unequivocally not. First of all, that has no bearing on our deployment strategy. That has no bearing on the fact that we have a great relationship with a group called Detroit 300, which are citizens in the city of Detroit who work with the Detroit Police Department to ensure that, where there is a gap anywhere, that we`re watching out for each other as a community. It`s community policing at the highest level.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let me ask you this -- let me ask you this question, because someone proposed, and I would even propose, and I know you`re underfunded and I know you`re doing the best you can to find this guy. But I would propose after rape No. 1 and 2 that every available officer would have gone to this small location where this predator is attacking women and flood the area with cops, because then there proceeded to be a tax on women, not just January 1, but January 4, January 5, January 6, January 8, January 10, January 14.
And I`d just like to know why any cop in the city of Detroit was handing out a speeding ticket when, in my personal humble opinion, every single cop should have been redeployed to that area. And I understand you`re understaffed, but I think this has to be priority No. 1 when a predator is pulling women away and violating them and ruining their lives and the lives of everyone around them, this has got to be priority No. 1.
GODBEE: But you`re making a presumption that we did not do that. We have redeployed our resources to the extent that we shared with our public what our redeployment strategy is. Both are two different entities (ph), Jane.
But I take issue with the fact that we were not aware of the pattern. Every CFC in the city of Detroit, when it was confirmed to be a legitimate crime, is -- is investigated with equal veracity. Whether it`s a pattern or whether it`s an individual. It is not a resource allocation issue; it`s a prioritization.
But to the extent that our crime analysis people identified a pattern that went beyond the scope of single incidents, we felt it very necessary to go public. And we didn`t wait for the media to ask us about it, but we brought it to their immediate attention.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, just a quick question.
GODBEE: Because in Detroit we trust our public enough to give them the pertinent information...
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, let me just ask you this.
GODBEE: ... to be a part of the crime problem, a solution, and that`s the type of -- pardon...
VELEZ-MITCHELL: This is all happening in a small area, in a relatively small -- it`s one section. So if the police were flooding that area, how were these crimes -- how was this man able to get these women and whisk them away and rape them if the area had been flooded with police?
GODBEE: Jane, in any major city, when you`re policing -- the city of Detroit is 140 square miles. We have other crime issues that are prevalent also that the calls for service we have other resources that we have to deploy. So to the extent that we`ve deployed resources, and we have continued to deploy resources to deploy in that area, and we have gathered a significant amount of evidence.
We gathered over 80 tips in that community. We made nine arrests, and we`re waiting for forensic evidence to verify if we have the right person in custody or to pinpoint the person and to exclude possible suspects. So I`m very proud of the work our policemen have done. I`m very proud of the work that our community advocates have done in conjunction with us, not in spite of us or in lieu of us.
(CROSSTALK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, Chief, I...
GODBEE: ... dynamic that we hope that you talk to the people of the city of Detroit and find out how they feel about our response.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: We are going to. We have Rafael Johnson, who is cofounder of the Detroit 300, with us right now.
Rafael, your reaction to our -- and I want to compliment you, chief, for being very willing to engage in this dialogue, and I respect you for that, absolutely, sir.
(CROSSTALK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Rafael, your response -- let`s get Rafael in here, and your response to our dialogue, sir.
RAFAEL JOHNSON, COFOUNDER, THE DETROIT 300: Response to a dialogue?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: The dialogue that we`re having about whether...
JOHNSON: OK. I thought you -- I`m a man of action. And when you said -- when you said dialogue, I`m thinking you`re talking about dialogue concerning the rape case.
The chief is right. There`s a different dynamic in the city of Detroit. A criminal like this can fool the community almost all the time if the community is working by itself. And a criminal like this, this type of individual, can also fool the Detroit Police Department or any police department if the police department is working by themselves.
But when the two come together, the community and the Detroit Police Department or a law enforcement, then this individual don`t stand a chance. That`s the only way that you can curb any crime in any urban city. There has to be a collaboration of the two. The community have to get rid of the no-snitch clause. If you know who`s doing it and you don`t want to say anything about it, we have to get rid of that.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right.
JOHNSON: Because in our community, there is no such thing as a no- snitch policy.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Lisa Bloom...
JOHNSON: If he`s doing it to his daughter, that`s my daughter, as well.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Do you get the idea that I find it very upsetting that a police chief of a major American city is saying that women have to ask men to escort them to the bus stop so that they`re not attacked?
LISA BLOOM, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes. This is almost blaming the victim. Not quite, because I know this is coming from a good place, because he wants to protect women.
But the message should be instead, empower women. Women and girls should all take a strong self-defense class at least once a year. Because it could be somebody beside this rapist. It could be somebody else tomorrow. It`s not just about him; it`s about knowing how to protect yourself.
Any woman who lives alone should have at least one big, barking dog at home. I can guarantee the criminal is going to go on to the next house if you have at least one. I personally have two, and the dog can`t be turned against you like a gun or a knife. I mean, there are a lot of simply steps that you can take. They can live alone. They can walk in groups, male or female, to protect themselves without having to cower in fear because of this or any other rapist.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I think it`s about taking back our streets. And on the other side, we`re going to talk about that. Thank you, everyone, for hanging in there.
We`re excited about a very special night here on HLN tonight. Nancy Grace is on a mission to find America`s missing. Help find 50 people over the next 50 days. That`s in the second hour of Nancy Grace at 9 p.m. Eastern.
All right. More on the stalker terrorizing Detroit women. In a moment, we`re taking your calls on this. They`re lining up. 1-877-JVM- SAYS.
Plus, cyber bullying hits a new low. Two teen girls allegedly torture a fellow female classmate on Facebook. You won`t believe some of the really vicious, nasty, nasty things these girls allegedly did.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GODBEE: All three composites are similar, however, each composite places emphasis on a particular facial characteristic or item of clothing which may hopefully assist someone in better identifying the suspect. For example, one composite added that the suspect had severe acne or blemishes, while the other composite added that the suspect had on a black skull cap.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight, a serial rapist terrorizes the women of Detroit. Seven women have been raped in the past three weeks. One woman was attacked but escaped. Tonight, police say they have critical DNA evidence that could lead them to this monster, plus they`re releasing two brand-new sketches we`re going to show you now of the bus stop rapist who was targeting young, African-American women riding the bus at night.
Seamus in Colorado, your question or thought.
CALLER: Hi. I think this is a much bigger picture than some are actually making out. I mean, I`ve listened to some of the callers already. I think I got the tail end of it, the gentleman from the Detroit Police Department said they`ve put people from different sections to help out with these crimes in this area?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes.
CALLER: I think I agree with some of the other callers as well that to in a certain degree this is a three-pronged attack. I mean, the women have got to be more aware of how to protect themselves. The police department have got to be more willing to stalk (ph) into areas where things likely happened, and I think the government should be more involved in looking at places or areas or parts that attract them and hire more resources.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Thank you. Seamus, you`re absolutely right.
Curtis Sliwa, we live in an age of declining resources when everybody is strapped, but my personal opinion is -- and I`ve said it before and I`ll say it again -- I don`t think one speeding ticket should be written in the city of Detroit while this rapist is on the loose and the police chief is saying to women, "Have a man escort you around." To me that`s going back to the 19th century.
And I`m not saying anything personal against the chief. I think he`s a great guy. But I`m just saying as a woman, I`m offended by that. I`m offended that our government -- when I pay taxes and these women who are being attacked are paying taxes are basically abdicating. And they`re saying to women, "Have a guy escort you because it`s too dangerous, and we`ve lost control of our streets," Curtis.
CURTIS SLIWA, FOUNDER, GUARDIAN ANGELS: No question, Jane, this is America, land of the free, home of the brave.
Clearly, the police, you need to know, Jane, because I`ve had experiences in Detroit, as you know, most major cities. The police have been reformed there. Great man now, Dave Bing (ph), former NBA all-star, runs a clean administration, good chief, good cops, bussing issues. Detroit 300, good volunteers, they`re doing a lot of outreach.
They just don`t have a lot of cops. They don`t have cameras to put at these bus stations. And the state itself, $3 billion in debt. The federal government is saying no more money. Jane, we`re sending all this money into Afghanistan and Iraq...
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes.
SLIWA: ... to protect people who don`t even know, who don`t appreciate it, and we`re incapable of protecting our own. So I understand.
But at this point we may have to turn our women into Rambolina. They may have to walk around capable of defending themselves the same way a man might in a situation. And we`ve got to start training them at younger and younger ages, not in Swedish volleyball or field hockey, but in basic self- defense so that they can not only protect themselves but cripple the predator who tries to hurt them or rape them.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: John Lucich, you just heard what Curtis Sliwa is saying. We send this money all around the world. It costs $1 million a year to have a soldier in Afghanistan. But women are being pulled off the street and raped, and we can`t do a thing about it.
JOHN LUCICH: I think they are...
VELEZ-MITCHELL: ... and the policeman is saying, have a man escort you?
LUCICH: That`s not what he`s saying. What he`s saying right there -- no, wait. This is what he`s saying. Until we catch this monster, take precautions. And anybody who says not to follow those precautions I think is doing a disservice to women.
I think this cop is right on board what he should be doing. He`s been moving resources into the area, and I think that -- that -- in order to help women. And remember, this is not TV Land. We`re not going to find a little-framed woman throwing a 300-pound guy over the shoulder like we do on TV.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: No, I`m saying that...
LUCICH: Ju Jitsu is not going to solve the problem.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I don`t believe in the whole self-defense thing. I think police need to make our streets safe.
Suzanne in Virginia, your question or thought?
CALLER: Thank you, Jane.
My comment would be that, while it would be temporarily protecting the women to have them wait at police stations, that can`t go on forever, and it won`t catch this rapist. So I would suggest maybe undercover policewomen in plainclothes at the bus stops, and, of course, very close by other undercover police officers ready to spring if there is an incident.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Absolutely.
Lisa Bloom, last ten seconds. Your thoughts, big picture.
BLOOM: Yes. This guy is only 5`9". I disagree. A trained woman can take him. It`s not that hard if you know self-defense. So we have to empower women. It`s not just about this rapist; it`s about the rapist coming up tomorrow.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. And that`s why I say we all need to take our streets back!
Up next, you won`t believe it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My radar went off immediately, as soon as he walked in the room. But I asked him if he had a knife or a gun and was there to hurt me, because he didn`t like what I do and what I stood for.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight, absolutely chilling new revelations about Arizona shooting suspect Jared Loughner. You just heard from a psychic Loughner visited back in 2005. She says she got the creeps, totally creeped out the moment he walked in the door. But what scared her the most was Loughner`s talk about hearing voices: "Yes, they`re talking to me right now." That was five years ago. Now he is charged with a horrific crime: murdering six people and injuring 13 others outside a Tucson grocery store.
Hours before the shooting, Loughner dropped off a role of film at a drug store. The pictures of him in a G-string posing with a handgun.
We also got the home video that Loughner shot last fall at his community college. It was released to the "Los Angeles Times." This video is one of the reasons the school suspended him. Look and listen to him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JARED LOUGHNER, ARIZONA SHOOTING SUSPECT: This is the school that I go to. This is my genocide school, where I`m going to be homeless because of the school. I haven`t forgotten the teacher that gave me the "B" for freedom of speech.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Talk about warning signs.
Straight out to clinical psychiatrist Dr. Dale Archer. If Loughner had undergone a mental evaluation, which the school recommended, let`s hope he could have at least been denied a gun license.
DR. DALE ARCHER, CLINICAL PSYCHIATRIST: Well, I think that certainly in this place, the red flags were everywhere for violence, on -- for him. I mean, with what he posted on the Internet, what he said, what the teachers felt about him, what the other students were saying, this guy was clearly, clearly a guy that could snap at any minute.
And I will tell you that I`ve been involved with a handful of cases like this. I`ve evaluated thousands of psychotic individuals. But there has been less than five where you walk in that room to see them, and there`s a feeling of evil and violence that just permeates everything around them, and I think this was a guy exactly like that.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Sometimes our bodies tell us. The hair goes up on our arms, where we meet somebody who is really seriously disturbed. That`s happened to me.
Here is from Loughner`s creepy home video. Listen to more of his -- his voice.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LOUGHNER: This is Pima Community College, one of the biggest scams in America. The students are so illiterate that it affects their daily lives.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Can you hear, Dr. Archer, a kind of perverse attitude of superiority in his voice? And is that typical of this kind of mental illness?
ARCHER: Yes, very typical, Jane. Basically, these guys are -- they`re psychotic, but they`re also paranoid. So they`re going to take offense to virtually anything that anyone does that they don`t like. They take it as a sleight and a personal affront.
And after hearing some of his videos, I think that it was really a coin flip, 50-50, whether he went off in a political bent or at the school. Because I think he hated the school every bit as much as he hated the politicians that he was going after that he actually shot.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: A quick diagnosis, ten seconds. What would you call him?
ARCHER: Paranoid schizophrenic, really just no doubt in my mind about that.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Just paranoid schizophrenic?
ARCHER: Paranoid schizophrenic. All paranoid schizophrenics are not violent, but in the subset that are, they`re the ones you have to watch out.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Thank you, Doctor.
Next, two dads.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My life stopped when I had children, because that`s -- that`s them. And if I wanted to go out and party and drink...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My life stopped when I had children because that`s them. And if I wanted to go out and party and drink, then I wouldn`t have had kids. If you have kids when you`re an adult, you need to act like an adult.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight, disbelief and outrage after not one, but two, dads are busted for allegedly driving drunk with their kids in the car. Ohio cops say 26-year-old Darrell Campbell had three times the legal limit of booze in his body when he was pulled over doing 80 miles an hour going the wrong way on the highway. But that`s not all. Cops were shocked to find five kids in the backseat, all of them under ten years old, the youngest less than a year old. None of the kids wearing a seat belt.
Meantime in Massachusetts, cops say this prize package, Shawn Cuzak, was plowing when he managed to tear apart a house with his truck snowplow after last week`s big storm.
Check out this video. Cops say this 44-year-old dude`s five-year-old son was in the vehicle. And guess what else? They found an empty vodka bottle in there as well. What a plowing job. The house practically fell apart. Cops also say this was his third drunk driving offense.
Grow up, guys. You have no business getting behind the wheel blasted on booze to begin with, but then you put the lives of your precious kids in danger?
We`re taking your calls, but first, a straight out to Laura Dean Mooney, president of MADD, Mothers against Drunk Driving. Your husband was killed by a drunk driver. What do you make of this -- I don`t want to call it a trend.
LAURA DEAN MOONEY, PRESIDENT, MOTHERS AGAINST DRUNK DRIVING: Well, I hope it`s not a trend either, Jane. It`s just tragic. The most important thing is every child deserves a designated driver.
Kids don`t have a voice or a choice when it comes to getting in the car with an impaired driver, usually, so we need to make sure that child endangerment laws are strong and that they`re enforced as well.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I`m honored tonight to be joined by a very, very special guest; one of my heroes, Lenny Rosado. His precious 11-year-old daughter, Leandra, was tragically killed last October in a very grisly drunk-driving crash here in New York. Leandra was violently being thrown from the car which was being driven by a bombed 32-year-old woman who was bombarding up the freeway after partying with friends. There were six other young girls in the car at the time.
Lenny, you really are one of my heroes because you`ve gotten some amazing things passed into law in your daughter`s name. And one of them is that -- well, why don`t you tell us what your law does in a nutshell?
LENNY ROSADO, DAUGHTER KILLED BY DRUNK DRIVER: Well, the law named after my daughter, Leandra`s law actually is now -- it becomes a felony, you know, before it was a misdemeanor. It becomes a felony now if you`re an adult and you`re driving with a child or minor under the age 16.
If you get caught driving with a child in the vehicle, you`ll be serving anywhere from one to four years. If you`re in a vehicle and you have an accident and the child gets injured, you can serve up to 15 years. And in the case of my daughter, if you take a child`s life and you kill a child, you face anywhere from 15 to 25 years.
And also with that, which I think is a great asset, everyone convicted of this felony will be thrown into an ignition interlock system where you have to breathe -- it`s like a breathalyzer -- you have to breathe into the vehicle in order for the car to start. And I think this is also a very important piece of legislature that we were able to get passed.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. And I know you`re trying to get -- meet with President Obama to get it passed coast to coast. I absolutely think you should. Please -- way to go -- let`s get this across the country.
Listen to what cops said about the allegedly blasted 44-year-old Massachusetts dad who has his five-year-old son along for the ride while he`s plowing and turns into -- plowing into a house.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OFFICER MIKE LECLOST, MIDDLETON POLICE DEPT: Strong odor of alcohol, glassy eyes. There was an empty vodka bottle that was taken from the car. I was completely surprised when I opened the door and saw the five-year-old there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Police say it was this guy`s third drunk driving arrest, Lisa Bloom. This guy is locked up pending a court appearance this week.
But here`s my big issue. Shouldn`t they just yank his license, period? How could this happen for a third time with this guy?
LISA BLOOM, BLOOMFIRM.COM: Well, absolutely. And there should be an ignition interlock device on his car permanently if he is allowed to drive.
You know, Jane, this is a personal story for me because I had a foster son in my home for the last six months because his mom got a DUI with him in the car. And here in California, she was charged with child endangerment. That child was taken from her custody immediately and she lost him for six months.
Now, this is a real wake-up call to parents. If you think you can just have one drink or two drinks and drive with your kids, if you get pulled over and get a DUI, that child could be taken away from you. And I can tell you something, the silver lining to this is, this little boy who I had the pleasure of living with for six months will never, ever get behind the wheel of a car drunk because of the lesson he learned.
So, hurrah for law enforcement for carrying this out in the right way.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: One of the most notoriously horrific cases of drunk driving which we covered here on ISSUES is one with kids in the car, 36- year-old Diane Schuler. Cops say she was drunk and high when she smashed into a guardrail on a New Jersey freeway, killing herself, four kids in her car and three people in an SUV.
You probably remember this story. It was just a national story for weeks. Listen to what her sister-in-law told Larry King.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY SCHULER, DIANE SCHULER`S SISTER-IN-LAW: Danny doesn`t want the other families to think that a drunk driver killed their families. That`s why we are out to prove that -- try to prove that she wasn`t drunk.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: One of the most disturbing themes that comes up over and over and over again is denial. And I want to go back to Laura Dean Mooney. How are we ever going to eradicate the epic of drunk driving if people around them, if the drivers themselves and the people around them continue to deny, deny, deny that they have a problem?
MOONEY: Yes, it`s going to take a whole community to get this problem solved. It`s going to take technology as well. As Lenny mentioned, ignition interlock is the current technology. There is advanced technology that`s being looked at and developed by the National Highway Traffic Administration that someday hopefully will be in cars -- not an interlock - - but in a car undetectable, unless you`re drunk, then your car will not start.
But the important thing about these stories that you`ve highlighted is, you know, drunk driving with children in the car is a form of child abuse. But instead of a fist or something like that, the weapon is a car.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Absolutely. And they were charged in both of these cases that we`re talking about tonight with child endangerment. But again, Lisa Bloom, how tough are these penalties for child endangerment? How would it stop these people from coming back on the road, drinking again and driving again?
BLOOM: That`s the problem because you`re trying to deter an addict. As you know, Jane, that`s very difficult to do. You can tell them, we`ll take away your license and throw you in jail for the rest of your life, but if somebody is really an addict, they`re going to keep drinking. We have to take the wheels of a car away from them in that kind of situation.
One of these guys, this is his third DUI. There is no way he should be driving under in those conditions.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: One of the most horrific aspects of this kind of accident or this kind of driving is the wrong-way driver. Now, it`s a very common, horrific scenario, especially with the deadly drunk-driving incidents. They get on a highway, they`re completely in a black out, and they`re driving the wrong way. And that`s exactly what happened in the case actually of your -- Laura Dean Mooney, your husband back in 1991.
So tell us what happened to your husband, Mike.
MOONEY: My husband Mike was doing nothing wrong, driving on a highway in Texas, four-lane divided highway on a Thursday night at 7:00 p.m., going to see his mom and his grandparents when a drunk driver topped an overpass at the same time that Mike did, but this drunk driver was a wrong-way driver headed southbound in Mike`s northbound lane going 83 miles an hour with a .34 blood alcohol concentration.
He not only destroyed my husband and my family`s life, he also killed himself, so his family lost their father as well; 100 percent preventable crime that does not have to happen.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Lynn in New Jersey, your question or thought, ma`am? Lynn?
LYNN, NEW JERSEY (via telephone): Yes, I`m here.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Your question or thought, ma`am?
LYNN: I`ve been listening to the program and I just wanted to say that I`m sober for 23 years. And I used to tend bars for a long time, and the problem is, is that when people decide to stop drinking, there are no alcohol-free social venues for people to go to.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, ma`am, I appreciate you calling, but I have to respectfully disagree as a recovering alcoholic with almost 16 years of sobriety, knock on wood. If I get to April, it will be 16 years. I go out all the time. And there are places you can go where there is no alcohol in the sense of having fun, whatever you`re going to do, dance classes or sports or any number of things that don`t involve alcohol. But also, I could go out and I go dancing and go to places where alcohol is served and I don`t drink.
BLOOM: Hear, hear.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. That`s what we have to do. Lenny Rosado, your 11-year-old daughter was killed in a horrific, horrific accident. What happened to her that inspired you to take this incredible action of getting these laws passed that you hope will go from coast to coast?
ROSADO: Well, you know it was this special bond that I had with my daughter, me and her were like Bonnie and Clyde. She had a long life to live. She had a lot of dreams, a lot of plans for life.
And one of the things that inspired me was, you know, my daughter never liked the bullies in school, and especially in the neighborhood. And I -- I -- I took this person who, you know, was driving a vehicle intoxicated that took my daughter`s life, I looked at her as a bully, a bully to my daughter and a bully to all those other girls in the car.
And I thought, you know what, well, I`m -- I`m going to put a stop to these bullies that -- that like to drink and drive with the children in the car intoxicated. So that`s what more or less pushed me to put a stop to these bullies.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And once again, the law named after your daughter that you helped get enacted in New York that you want to go across the country makes it a felony to drive drunk while under the influence with a child in the car. That`s what we need across the country, right, panel?
ROSADO: Yes, yes.
MOONEY: Yes definitely. Exactly right.
BLOOM: Yes absolutely.
ROSADO: By the way --
VELEZ-MITCHELL: That`s what we need. All right, let`s make it happen.
Coming up -- thank you fantastic panel -- coming up the horrors of human sex trafficking. You won`t believe what they are doing to young girls, forcing them into sex with men, sometimes 40 times a day.
I was at a conference. I`ll tell you all about my experience at this conference where I learned so much -- unbelievable.
And then, a Facebook horror story.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Coming up, two teen girls take cyber bullying to the extreme, allegedly torturing and terrorizing a fellow student online.
But first, "Top of the Block" tonight.
This weekend I spoke out against the war on women at the Northwest Sex Trafficking Conference in Portland, Oregon. It was a very moving convention. It`s headed by hundreds and hundreds of women who banded together to fight the war on women and girls lured into sexual slavery.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: These problems boil down to addiction. We are addicted to violence. We use it for entertainment, we use it for education, we use it for all sorts of things. But we`re not solving it. It`s not going away.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I signed advanced copies of my upcoming book "Addict Nation" which hits the stands February 1st. In that I examine our nation`s addiction to violence and search for solutions. "Addict Nation" is coming out in two weeks.
Hollywood actress turned activist Daryl Hannah was also at the event. She talked about going undercover to expose the unbelievable horrors inflicted on young girls on sex trafficking, girls forced at the age of 12 or 11 to have sex with 40 men on a single day.
It`s absolutely unbelievable, it`s happening not just overseas but right here in America. If you want to get involved and fight the war on women, you can join a wonderful international women`s organization that I`m a member of called the Soroptimist. Every woman watching I urge you to join the Soroptimist.
I was so honored to be a part of this Northwest Sex Trafficking Convention and do my part in the fight in the war on women.
That is tonight`s "Top of the Block".
Turning to a sick, outrageous scheme allegedly concocted by two high school girls, we know cyber bullying is on the rise. Well, this case is a new low. Florida police say a 15-year-old girl and a 16-year-old girl made a fake Facebook profile just to torment and humiliate a female classmate.
Now, we`re blurring the suspects` faces because they`re minors and the D.A. hasn`t decided whether to charge them as adults. The girls are accused of felony stalking. Police say they made a phony Facebook page with the 16-year-old victim`s face pasted to a naked body of a young, underdeveloped girl.
Most of the content is way too XXX-rated for television, but here is an edited sampling. "As you may know, I am a whore. I love blank so much. I have (EXPLETIVE DELETED) so many guys and am still preying on more. I am a tad loose, but who cares. All I got to do is look for bigger (EXPLETIVE DELETED). Peace out. Off to find more (EXPLETIVE DELETED)."
Wow. That makes Hollywood`s version of "Mean Girls" seem downright tame.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LINDSAY LOHAN, ACTRESS: I knew how this would be settled in the animal world. But this was girl world. All the fighting had to be sneaky.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want to lose three pounds.
LOHAN: (INAUDIBLE) my mom uses to lose weight.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because I feel --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why are you eating a protein bar? They make you gain weight like crazy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now that`s a tea party compared to this case. The fact is, people feel free to be cruel on the Internet. But what on earth could motivate girls to be this vicious? Allegedly.
Straight out to Jodee Blanco, anti-bullying expert and author of "Please Stop Laughing at Me"; Jodee, the details here are just so twisted and we can`t even mention half of them, they are just so x-rated.
Does anything surprise you when it comes to kids in the Internet anymore?
JODEE BLANCO, anti-bullying expert: No, and I`m a school bullying survivor turned activist, to travel the nation`s schools and talks to kids. And my primary message is that it`s not just joking around, you are damaging each other for life.
And I think the problem, Jane, once again, it`s the parents. They are not teaching kids compassion, they`re not being morally vigilant with their children, and also they need to be technologically vigilant. There are services like SocialShield.com and other protective devices out there where parents can keep their kids safer on the Internet, but parents need to be vigilant. They need to teach their kids empathy and compassion and they need to be firm and to have consequences --
(CROSS TALK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well --
BLANCO: -- when they exhibit cruel behavior.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: -- I think in this case, the parents appeared to not know what was going on. Police traced this Facebook page to one of the suspect`s homes. They say, the girl admitted to everything, her mother then turned around, apparently shocked, and said, what made you do something. What made you hate this sick and so much that you would do something so mean?
Now, she allegedly --
(CROSS TALK)
BLANCO: And the victim --
VELEZ-MITCHELL: -- replied, because nobody liked her. And she thought that this would be a funny joke.
(CROSS TALK)
BLANCO: But she also replied it was a joke.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. She thought it would be a funny joke.
BLANCO: That`s the point, Jane. That`s the point, what -- what kind of a kid thinks that that`s going to be a joke?
And Jane, I see it all over America. What you`re talking about today, I have parents and kids coming up to me in dozens and dozens of schools every month with these kinds of issues, and parents have to be vigilant. Every parent thinks, not my kid.
(CROSS TALK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right, I -- I get your point. But -- but we can`t always put it on the parents in the sense that -- excuse me -- in the sense that sometimes they can`t keep up with what their kids are doing. I -- I know that sometimes they jump from social networking site to social networking site to keep ahead of their parents.
Now here`s my big issue. Cyber-sadism -- people consider the Internet a no consequence zone. Teens routinely text, e-mail and post nasty things they wouldn`t have the guts to say to somebody face. Teens are texting 50 to 100 times a day, spending huge amounts of time on social networking sites.
To me that`s called being addicted. And I think that`s conducive to bullying because to me the hit is when you send that cool, cold putdown and you don`t really care about the consequences.
Jennifer Tapiero, you`re a celebrity correspondent and you spend a lot of time with kids texting. Tell us.
JENNIFER TAPIERO, CELEBRITY CORRESPONDENT: Hey Jane. Thanks for having me on tonight. Well working for Starcam is a celebrity social network. What`s great about our company is that our members have nicknames. So like Facebook, you have your phone number, your name, your e-mail; we can track you down.
But our members have nicknames. So celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio would have a nickname like Leo D --
VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. We`re going to get to more on the other side.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Kids hooked on technology out of control. Police say two teenage girls set up a phony, x-rated Facebook page that made a classmate look like a slut, triple x-rated. Did these girls get off on the victim`s humiliation?
Lynn in Tennessee, your question or thought?
LYNN, TENNESSEE (via telephone): Justice needs to be done Jane and charges need to be made against these girls, because bullying has been going on for years. I`m 51 and I was bullied in junior high school. These girls tried to strangle me in the parking lot while I was with my little sister trying to protect her. This has haunted me all my life. Yes justice needs to be done.
(CROSSTALK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I agree with you.
LYNN: We should bring an awareness to bullying.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Dr. Wendy Walsh, has it always been there? Or is the Internet and specifically social networking sites making it easier for kids to be very cruel?
DR. WENDY WALSH, PSYCHOLOGIST: It makes it easier for kids to be traumatically injured, Jane and here`s why. In the old days when a few kids teased you at school, you could always go to your girl scout troop at night and be reminded that you were a cool person and you had friends. You could go to your church, youth group, your soccer team, whatever.
But now when they post something nasty about you on the Internet, they flood it to your entire peer groups, all those various groups. There`s nowhere to hide.
(AUDIO GAP) related to bullying. And at the same time, parents are not the digital natives that kids are. So they`re afraid of it. And some parents think that their children deserve privacy on the Internet. There`s not privacy if 800,000 people are also watching their posts.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Jennifer Tapiero, you`re young. That`s one of the reasons we have you on tonight because you are -- if not a teenager, you`re close to. It`s as close as we`re going to get on this show.
Some of the things they did were so x-rated we can only hint at them. They had a photo of the girls face and right next to it was a male body part allegedly. So you do the math on that.
When I was your age I wouldn`t even know where to get a photo of a male body part. Has the Internet made kids, teenagers more cruel?
TAPIERO: I think so. I mean there`s a lot of positives and negatives to social networking. Nowadays you have no idea who that friend is you`re aiding on the other side of the computer. You don`t know who he is, if he`s a man from where, how old he is? He might have a fake picture.
Nowadays, mutual friends they can track you down, your phone numbers. Everything you do is on display for the whole world. So it`s very scary.
But I feel like, you know, in education, I feel like it should be distilled (ph) in education for, you know, Internet etiquette, what to do because children are fascinated with the Internet. You can Google yourself; lots of things come up.
So you have to be very careful.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I think you raise a good point.
Jodee Blanco, Internet etiquette, I`ve never heard that phrase before, and I think that`s something we have to focus on as a culture. Is telling people just like you wouldn`t eat like this, you won`t do certain things on the Internet. It`s rude. Who`s going to educate these kids?
TAPIERO: Exactly.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let me go to Jodee.
(CROSSTALK)
JODEE BLANCO: Exactly. In addition to Internet etiquette, I think the fundamental strength beyond Internet etiquette is compassion. Kids have to be taught compassion in the home. They have to be set an example. And that compassion and that etiquette has to be reinforced in the schools. They have to be getting from everyone.
(CROSSTALK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: We have to learn the difference between right and wrong. Hang on.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Thanks for being part of our debate on issues.
Breaking now. Cadaver dogs reportedly hit on a possible scent at a landfill, now closed off by cops during the search for missing 13-year-old Hailey Dunn. Have investigators found the remains? Nancy Grace with the very latest -- she starts now.
END
