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Zimmerman Makes First Court Appearance; Mysterious Sheen Appears In Gulf; Suburban Chicago Police Brutality Claims; Kids Act Out Real-life Violence; Defending George Zimmerman; Surviving A Major Fall; "Sextortionist" Targeted Teen Boys Online; Titanic Sank 100 Years Ago Sunday
Aired April 12, 2012 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Suzanne. Thank you so much.
Yes, just minutes ago, in case you're just now tuning in, the image so many people have been waiting to see. We're going to play it for you now, George Zimmerman facing a judge for the killing of Trayvon Martin. Here he was in a courtroom not too long ago. Forty- seven days after he claimed he shot the unarmed teenager in self- defense, Zimmerman entering the courtroom there in Sanford, Florida, wearing a great jumpsuit, standing quietly there alongside his lawyer, who we just heard from, Mark O'Mara. He was in and out of this courtroom in just about two minutes. It was that quick. Sent back into custody. The judge set a formal arraignment date of May 29th.
Now, right now, Zimmerman is probably on his way back to his cell, if he's not there already. And we just learned on that quick news conference that he is in protective custody. That that was a procedure with the Seminole County Sheriff's Department. The special prosecutor here in this case, Angela Corey, she did charge Zimmerman with second degree murder. And he came out of hiding yesterday to turn himself in to police in Sanford, Florida. His attorney, Mark O'Mara, says that Zimmerman is afraid. He said he was frightened, glad the process is now in place. He said, given the opportunity by the media and the community, he's ready to have the system work. But they're saying he's not a flight risk. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK O'MARA, ATTORNEY FOR GEORGE ZIMMERMAN: It's been a very long period of time for him and he's gone through some tribulations of his own being, you know, the focus of the intensity of this event. He is, you know, he's facing second degree murder charges now. He's frightened. That would frighten any one of us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: O'Mara also went on to say that media outlets -- he's told media outlets, I should say, that George Zimmerman is sorry for shooting Trayvon Martin. As for Martin's parents, the arrest comes as a relief, but they say it was long overdue. Martin's mother is doing some backtracking after saying something to NBC, saying this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SYBRINA MARTIN, TRAYVON MARTIN'S MOTHER: I believe it was an accident. I believe that it just got out of control. And he couldn't turn the clock back. I would ask him, did he know that that was a minor, that that was a teenager and that he did not have a weapon?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Just a short time ago we did receive a statement from Sybrina Fulton. I want to read it to you here. She says, "earlier today I made a comment to the media that was later mischaracterized. When I referenced the word "accident" today with regard to Trayvon's death, in no way did I mean the shooting was an accident. We believe that George Zimmerman stalked my son and murdered him in cold blood. The accident I was referring to is the fact that George Zimmerman and my son ever crossed paths. It was an accidental encounter. If George Zimmerman hadn't gotten out of his vehicle, this entire incident would have been avoided. My son was profiled, followed, and murdered by George Zimmerman and there was nothing accidental about that."
Martin Savidge is standing by outside this jail in Sanford.
Martin, so what is the next step here? What happens next for Zimmerman? Arraignment?
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the arraignment, as you already said, yes, is scheduled for May 29th. But I think before that his attorney, Mark O'Mara, would like to get him out on bond. And that's sort of what was being discussed at the end when there was a press conference after he was inside the correctional facility for the hearing.
And it was interesting to listen to him talk because it appears that, number one, it's going to take him a couple of days, maybe longer, to put together his request. He's going to make a formal request for a bond hearing. And it seems that he almost wants that time. In other words, he beliefs that George Zimmerman is in a relatively, of course, safe place. And then on top of that, this will allow tempers to cool, it will allow emotions to subside somewhat. If, for instance, he was immediately released on bond, well, that could, once again, stoke up the attitudes that he's gotten some sort of preferential treatment. That he's quickly out on the treat. That this prosecution is not as serious as it initially seemed to be.
I also thought it was very interesting that Angela Corey was there for this particular proceeding. I mean it is, after all, fairly routine. Every prisoner will have to go through this within a 24-hour period. So, but she was there and she was on the spot.
And keep in mind, of course, she had to decide here who really was the victim in this particular case. You had both sides claiming they were victims. George Zimmerman claims that he was attacked by Trayvon Martin. And then, of course, the family of Trayvon Martin says that it was George Zimmerman who stalked their son and eventually killed him. She had to decide who really is the victim in this case. She clearly made that decision. George Zimmerman is behind bars. We also know by her past that she grows very attached to the victim's families and they, in turn, grow very attached to her. There are many that continue to stay in touch from previous cases she's handled.
BALDWIN: And so though, in the meantime, as we just heard Zimmerman's attorney talking about how he will formally request this bond hearing, in the meantime, he is in presumably this jail in protective custody. As one of the, you know, reporters was throwing out questions about being threatened, I don't know if he was referencing within this jail, but certainly probably from the outside.
SAVIDGE: Right. I mean there are a couple of things they we're worried about. And this evaluation is being handled by the jail and not so much by the attorney. The attorney may, of course, like to see that his client is being held in protective custody, but it's eventually up to the jail management here as to how he's going to be housed.
What they will do is they're assessing him medically, they're assessing him mentally. I'm talking about George Zimmerman. And then, of course, they will make a determination as to whether or not to put him into the general population, (INAUDIBLE) the language (ph). So if that's going to happen, it may not happen right away. Perhaps it could happen weeks down the road. And again, will bond, in the meantime, supersede all of that and he be allowed to get out? How is he handled when he gets out? Does he go into hiding? Is there some protection provided? That's going to be a great concern for his defense attorney.
BALDWIN: Martin Savidge, thank you, there for us in Sanford.
I want to talk more about the next step, legally speaking. I want to bring in CNN legal analyst Sunny Hostin.
And, Sunny, let's just, you know, sort of what Martin and I were going through, these next couple of steps for George Zimmerman, because we're talking potentially the next big step is formal bond hearing. In the meantime, to Martin's point, the fact that, you know, this attorney, Mark O'Mara, and George Zimmerman probably want to sit down and talk for a little bit. Let this calm down just a little bit.
SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: That's right. I mean he certainly wants to be able to meet with his client. We know that we have now the May 29th date set for an arraignment. Oftentimes, Brooke, a defendant will waive his or her appearance to that arraignment. Sometimes defendants don't go to sort of the formal reading of the charges and they allow their attorneys to plead guilty or not guilty. So I think really the next big day will be this bond hearing and we will likely see, I think, George Zimmerman there.
One thing that struck me as very interesting, Brooke, that did come out is that we now have a judge assigned to this case. And the arraignment judge is Jessica Recksiedler, I hope I'm pronouncing that correctly. She's a fairly new judge, Brooke. Apparently she's only been on the bench for about a year.
BALDWIN: Wow.
HOSTIN: She's about 40 years old. And my understanding is that once you are assigned as the arraignment judge, you keep that case in Florida. That's what I've been told. And so that gives us a real understanding, I think, or could give us some insight into how this case is going to be run.
Also, at the end of the press conference, Attorney O'Mara said that he had a meeting with the judge that will be assigned -- that had been assigned to this case. So I think that's sort of one of the big things that came out of this. We now know who is going to be running this case, running this trial, because anyone that's either been a lawyer or watches court cases, especially the Casey Anthony case, we know how important it is who the judge is for any case, but especially a high profile one.
BALDWIN: Of course. We will be learning much more about her and we will know by the end of all of this exactly how to pronounce her name.
Let me take you back, though, to this bond hearing because I heard one of the reporters throwing a question at this attorney saying, will this be an "Arthur" hearing? What does that mean? Why is that important?
HOSTIN: Right. That's another name for a bond hearing.
BALDWIN: OK.
HOSTIN: And it's important because George Zimmerman has been charged with second degree murder. That's what's classified as a non- bondable offense because the maximum penalty is life in prison. And so the attorneys would have to make a motion for this "Arthur" hearing, this bond hearing. And at that hearing, the prosecution can show that -- or will try to show perhaps that he is not entitled to bond and that he should be held pending trial. The defense will have to show that bond is appropriate. They'll have to show he isn't a flight risk, he isn't a danger to the community, that he has ties to the community. And so that's why it's so very important because Mark O'Mara has indicated he wants his client out. But there's also been some question about what George Zimmerman's safety would be if he were to be in the community and so certainly that's a concern of this defense attorney.
BALDWIN: But is it really even realistic that he could post bond? I mean his own attorney calling him indigent, doesn't have a lot of money. In a case like this, murder two, I imagine the bond would be pretty significant. How could he afford that or would just someone else pay?
HOSTIN: Sure. I mean someone else could pay. We know that his family is very supportive of him. His brother has spoken out about how close knit their family is. We know that his father is a retired magistrate judge. His mother is a clerk, a retired court clerk. And so these -- this may be a family of means. Oftentimes, Brooke, families put up their homes, their life savings.
BALDWIN: Wow.
HOSTIN: But I don't know that that's the only important piece in this type of case for bond. It would also be very important that he could be safe and that he could be monitored by the court.
BALDWIN: OK. I had more questions for you, but I'm going to talk to you next hour, Sunny Hostin. I want to talk about this charge, because you and I were talking manslaughter yesterday and now it's, you know, up from that, murder in the second degree.
HOSTIN: That's right.
BALDWIN: Sunny Hostin, thank you. We'll talk next hour.
Meantime, we have a lot to talk about in the next two hours. Watch this.
Women. They're a big focus right now of both presidential campaigns. But a comment about Ann Romney has just sparked a firestorm.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILARY ROSEN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: His wife has actually never worked a day in her life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: So if this debate is suddenly about moms, who's winning it?
I'm Brooke Baldwin. The news is now.
A man died after a severe beating by police. And new pictures surface that make the man's mother cry out and collapse to the floor.
Employee rips company. Employee goes public. Company fires employee. So, legally speaking, what happens now to the so-called Fox News mole?
Plus, a campus is on edge after dozens of bomb threats since February almost on a daily basis. But even now with the feds involved, the mystery heats up.
And, top NBA players get millions of dollars to play ball. And now some stars say they should be paid to represent their country in the Olympics. So, how about it? Let's discuss.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Just a short time ago, CNN received a statement from Democratic strategist Hilary Rosen expressing remorse for what she said last night right here on CNN about Ann Romney, wife of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. So here's what Rosen said last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILARY ROSEN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: What you have is Mitt Romney running around the country saying, well, you know, my wife tells me that what women really care about are economic issues. And when I listen to my wife, that's what I'm hearing. Guess what? His wife has actually never worked a day in her life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: That remark right there that we just replayed drew a wave of denunciations. And just within this past hour, our own chief White House correspondent, Jessica Yellin, she received this statement from Hilary Rosen. Let me read it for you.
Quote, "as a mom, I know that raising children is the hardest job there is. As a pundit, I know my words on CNN last night were poorly chosen. A apologize to Ann Romney and anyone else who was offended. Let's declare peace in this phony war and go back to focus on the substance." "Focus on the substance," she says. We're going to have a little bit more on that a little later. Stand by for that.
Also today, we've been working to try to determine the source of this mysterious sheen out in the Gulf of Mexico. I'm talking about oil.
Chad Myers, what is this? Where is this? How big is this?
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: A little bit strange. It's one mile by 10 miles. And I've heard reports in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico. Well, it's not in the middle, really, of the Gulf of Mexico. It's only a couple hundred miles from where the other oil spill all washed up.
BALDWIN: Oh.
MYERS: But it really is a very small sheen. It is not a spill. It is not a slick. You can see right through it. It looks like a rainbow. If you've ever put gas in a boat near the water and you drip two drips of gasoline in the water, you'll see this same rainbow.
BALDWIN: Sure.
MYERS: So they think it's probably only about 240 gallons of oil, not barrels or millions of barrels.
The irony is, Brooke, I was on a cruise ship three weeks ago. You know they get their water from the ocean. They put it in the pool. So the salt water is in the pool from the ocean. That was the Gulf of Mexico. The one pool got pumped in one night. It was full of oil from the water in the Gulf of Mexico. There was water in the oil. And we thought, well, just dump it out and get us new water so we can actually have some fun. They couldn't do it because that would be putting oil into the Gulf of Mexico. So once they pumped it in, they had to keep it and they had to take it all the way back to Tampa and then have the whole boat cleaned. So there's still oil like floating around in the Gulf of Mexico in places. BALDWIN: I know there is and it's been two years since that massive spill that we were all out there covering.
MYERS: Yes.
BALDWIN: So do we know yet, quickly, do we know yet where this sheen is from?
MYERS: We don't. We don't.
BALDWIN: OK.
MYERS: And if we think that there's 250 gallons in the water, let me tell you something, naturally, from the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, every day 65,000 gallons of oil seeps out, 65,000 gallons, not 250 gallons, but it's eaten by the microbes down below. That's what a lot of those microbes are doing.
BALDWIN: Yes.
MYERS: This is on top. They don't know where it's coming from. The helicopters are out there. Between two Shell oil platforms. But at this point in time, Shell's saying, not us. We just saw it. We were the first one to see it. It's not coming from Shell. It could have been a boat dumping oil. It could have been anything down there. There could even be -- there could be a boat sunk at the bottom of the ocean in the Gulf of Mexico for a very long time and now the oil is finally coming up.
BALDWIN: Oh, I'm' sure they're working to figure that one out. So let us know what they figure out and how this could affect the marine life.
MYERS: Phrase the story.
BALDWIN: Thank you, sir. We'll stay tuned for that.
Meantime, we do have some new audio of a man begging for his life during his altercation with north Chicago police. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Talk about high drama at this city council meeting. A man's screams are played, a grieving mother breaks down and the mayor pleads for more time to investigate a police beating that has opened this floodgate of police brutality claims. Want you to watch this report here from Ted Rowlands from suburban Chicago.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Gloria Carr, the woman on the floor, is at a city council meeting in the city of north Chicago. She's reacting to seeing photos that were passed around of her son, Darrin Hanna, following a beating by police. Officers had responded to a domestic violence call last November. Hanna died four days after the incident. In a police audio recording, Hanna can be heard seemingly pleading for them to stop.
DARRIN HANNA (voice-over): Put me down. Put me down, please. I'm about to die. I was down. I was down. Officer -- they killing me.
GLORIA CARR, MOTHER OF DARRIN HANNA: I heard my son telling the officers to put him down. Stop. He was crying out for his life.
ROWLANDS: North Chicago is a separate city from Chicago, with its own government and police force. Since Hanna's death, more than a dozen others have come forward alleging police brutality, including Paul Smith, the man in this video, who says he was choked by an officer after an arrest for public drunkenness.
PAUL SMITH, ALLEGED VICTIM: He never read me my rights or nothing. They ended up, I guess, choking me, grabbing me, and smashing my head into the wall.
ROWLANDS: Smith's case is still under investigation, along with several others. A special state police investigation into Darrin Hanna's death determined that the officers involved used "reasonable force." Beside the beating injuries, the coroner cited cocaine use as a partial cause of death. The officers say Hanna charged them yelling "shoot me" and they beat him and used a Taser in self-defense. But the audio, which only surfaced this week, has raised new questions.
CHIEF JAMES JACKSON, NORTH CHICAGO POLICE: When the tape was brought to our attention, naturally you want to go back and talk to the officers in regards to the contents of the tape. And we're in the process of doing that now.
ROWLANDS: Gloria Carr wants the officers involved to be fired.
CARR: What are you going to do? Now it's been over four months.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, ma'am.
CARR: Over four months. I can't take this any longer.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: Let me bring in Ted Rowlands, live for us in Chicago.
So, Ted, we heard from the officer in your piece saying, OK, they're going to go back after seeing the video, talk to some of these police officers. What more are they saying?
ROWLANDS: Well, you know, it's difficult. And you really have to separate the Hanna case, where there was a death, which the state of Illinois led that investigation, and all of these other allegations. First off, the police chief that was in charge for years, he resigned under a lot of pressure. He was put on administrative leave. He resigned. So now there's an interim police chief. He's vowing to go back and look at every one of these charges of police misconduct and reevaluate the way this department does business.
Now, the Hanna case, now that this audio has come forward, the police chief says he's going to look into it. The question is, will the state now reopen their investigation because they cleared these officers basically. So that's the question we're waiting word on that.
BALDWIN: OK. So then with the Darrin Hanna case, we heard the mother saying she absolutely wants something done. She wants the officers fired. How many officers are we talking about here? Are they still on the job?
ROWLANDS: They are on desk duty right now. And because the state investigation basically cleared them, it was -- we anticipated that they would be back on the streets. Now that this audio has come forward, their situation continues to be this desk duty scenario and we just don't know what's going to happen to them in the future.
BALDWIN: Let us know. Ted Rowlands in Chicago. Appreciate it.
Sadly, though, the words "Chicago" and "violence," they're used in the same sentence a lot. And a lot lately. But there is one man who's trying to do something about it by intervening early on in the lives of young men, young women in Chicago. The rapper, the actor, activist Common. He's going to join me tomorrow. We're going to talk about this tomorrow, 3:00 Eastern.
A viral video depicts children acting out violently. Violent crimes in Mexico. Coming up next, we're going to have the video for you and explain why it was made in the first place.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Young, young children act out violent scenes in this YouTube video that has absolutely exploded online. It's supposed to highlight real life problems, real life issues in Mexico. Take a look.
(VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Look at these little kids.
Rafael Romo, talk to me about this. I know this video came out, what, Monday? It has gotten 2 million views.
RAFAEL ROMO, SR. LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR: Exactly.
BALDWIN: Two million views. Who made it? Why did they make it?
ROMO: Well, it's widely popular because it's driving home the message of enough is enough. Too much violence. And if nothing changes, and that's the reason why they're using children, the children are going to face the same challenges, the same problem in the future.
There are hundreds of children, seven and eight years old, and they are basically reenacting what's happening in Mexico. The second scene that you saw with the supposed drug lord with the green polo shirt, that happened. This was the arrest of a drug lord known as "the Barbie." But again, the message here is to tell the Mexican government, and specifically the presidential candidate this is year -- this is an election year --
BALDWIN: July in Mexico.
ROMO: You have to commit to really bringing change to Mexico because enough is enough.
BALDWIN: Do we know if those potential presidential candidates in Mexico, has this message resonated with them? Have they responded?
ROMO: They have responded. Three out of four have said they agree with the basic premise of the video. However, there's already some controversy. Some legislators saying that children should not be used in this fashion. They should not be portrayed as thugs or criminals or drug lords. And they're asking for the video to be banned. But the organization says, hey, this is nothing that we're making up. This is reality. This is day-to-day life in Mexico.
BALDWIN: It's effective when you look at this and you see, you know, little boys, you said seven and eight, carrying guns, running around, tossing people in trunks of cars. It makes a statement.
ROMO: Exactly. And, you know, you have to see all the comments on Twitter and FaceBook. People are really reacting to this.
BALDWIN: Thank you, Rafael Romo.
ROMO: Sure.
BALDWIN: Meantime, George Zimmerman, people are certainly reacting to this one as well, now accused of second degree murder in the death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. We have seen all kinds of people working on this case. Ahead, we're going to dig deeper into who the major players will be at his trial. Stay here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: OK, so less than an hour ago, George Zimmerman made his first court appearance for the killing of Trayvon Martin and the judge set a formal arraignment date, we now know that's May 29th.
Zimmerman's lawyer, Mark O'Mara, said he decided not to ask for bail at least at this point in time. O'Mara says the Sanford, Florida authorities are taking extra precautions just to ensure his client's safety.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK O'MARA, ATTORNEY FOR GEORGE ZIMMERMAN: The sheriff on their own properly so have them in protective custody. It is a standard security measure that they put in place in cases --
(END VIDEO CLIP) BALDWIN: So you obviously know who this guy is, George Zimmerman here. I want to advance this because this is a face you're going to be seeing a whole lot right now.
You may have never heard of Mark O'Mara, but he could soon be a household name. Zimmerman hired O'Mara just yesterday before turning himself in to police in Sanford, Florida.
And O'Mara had little time to get acquainted with the case before he was now suddenly thrust in this national spotlight. He is probably best known here for his defense of Shomera Suber. This was a case back in 2004.
Suber was charged with second degree murder as is George Zimmerman here for plowing into the back of a car and killing the driver while running away from police.
O'Mara successfully argued the charge down to manslaughter from murder two. Just some bio information on Mark O'Mara, he passed the Florida bar 30 years ago and he served as assistant state attorney in Seminole County earlier in the year.
He also -- that's the same county where his newest client, George Zimmerman, is of course facing those charges. One more face I know you recognize her, you recognize her because O'Mara served as a TV legal analyst during the Casey Anthony trial.
So now that you have a little bit of background here, I want to bring in someone who's faced Mark O'Mara in a courtroom, CNN legal analyst Mark Nejame.
And first, Mark, we have a lot of questions for you here including your own potential involvement in this particular case, but first, you know, off the top how do you rate Mark O'Mara's legal skills? What kind of an attorney is he?
MARK NEJAME, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: If there is a number above a 10, I would give him above a 10. Mark is that good. I think he is one of the better lawyers, one of the best lawyers around. I know him quite well.
I have been against him. I worked cases with him. Actually, on the Casey Anthony case, we were co-commentators for about two months sitting next to each other and covering that for local stations. So I know Mark quite well and I know of his skills quite well.
BALDWIN: OK, so you're saying he is pretty excellent and give him a high grade. Is it true that you were approached to first represent George Zimmerman, but you then steered the case to O'Mara?
NEJAME: Well, what happened is and I have gotten permission. I've had this information for a month, but we have a written consent from Mr. Zimmerman, so I can now discuss it.
On March 13th, a month ago, Mr. Zimmerman contacted my office, attempting to reach me, and wanted to hire me to represent him on this case. I decided simply not to. He talked to one of my law partners.
I will let it be known we were going to pass on the case. I am an older father. I am a dedicated to my four and six-year-old daughters that are basically where I have chosen to spend my free time.
BALDWIN: So too time consuming. This would have been too time consuming.
NEJAME: I passed on it. We had a phone call again yesterday morning from a representative of Mr. Zimmerman wanting us to still take the case.
Now taking the position as a CNN analyst, I simply said now I got conflict of interest on top of all the other matters. I gave them five names. Mark was on top of the list. They reviewed the names. They looked on Google. They said Mark is the one we want. I put them together and they took it from there.
BALDWIN: You know, we heard a little bit from Mark O'Mara when he was giving that news conference after we saw his client inside that courtroom for all two minutes and somebody threw a question at him in terms of what kind of self-defense cases have you tried in the past.
He said he's done a number of self-defense cases, but not had one go to jury since the stand your ground statute. We mentioned a case that he is pretty well known for back in 2004, the Shomera Suber case.
And if we look at the past strategies used there, what does that tell us, Mark, about how he plans to defend now George Zimmerman?
NEJAME: Well, Mark is board certified in criminal and also board certified in marital. I think he is the only lawyer in the state of Florida with both certifications. He is really very, very smart when it comes to the law. He understands this.
We did not get the statute in Florida until 2005, so a lot of these cases are addressed early with the immunity hearing. So prosecutors knowing that, a lot of the cases don't go this far because the prosecutors knowing that that's what's going to come up the charges are never brought.
This is a challenging case for both sides. There are complex legal issues. It all depends on what the facts ultimately bear out to then put that into what the law, with the law applies to it.
So there is nobody going to know the law any better than Mark. I was alongside him for two months. We were back and forth constantly. I think both sides have excellent legal representation.
I know Natalie Jackson who has been representing Trayvon's family, one of the lawyers there. She is excellent also and it's incumbent for people to have excellent attorneys on both sides so that the truth can be gotten and our best chance to find justice.
BALDWIN: As you talk about both of these attorneys, you know, look, it can't be cheap to hire them and I know that as Mark O'Mara has said, George Zimmerman doesn't have a lot of money and referred to him as indigent.
And said to reporters not too long ago, he is not going to be charging him a fee. So then who does get charged for the defense? How does that work?
NEJAME: Well, really, it is Mark donating his services pro bono, and I suspect many people on the Trayvon team who are doing that as well. Lawyers who care, our passion, a lot of lawyers get a hit, a bad press and bad hit and some have well deserved, but there are many lawyers who are out there truly dedicating themselves to causes and cases.
Handling cases when in fact called upon. There is a personal gratification. There is a tension. It can help you down the line if you have handled the case well in the public thinks well of you.
But a lot of us are committed to doing that which is right. Part of the reason I bowed out of this case is I didn't think I could give it the time for this point in my life with my family that it needed.
Mark believes that he can do it and I give him a lot of credit and other lawyers' credit who do that.
BALDWIN: Sure and he was talking about his client a moment ago saying George Zimmerman now we know is in protective custody and in this jail and he said, I am just looking down and quoting saying George Zimmerman is glad the process is now in place and he is ready for the system to work. You talk about justice. Do you think there is any possibility that this thing will even go to trial?
NEJAME: It is way too early to tell. I think Mark answered the questions properly. Look, I have had clients sit in my office and say we are absolutely going to trial. There's no circumstance exist that we aren't going to trial and it gets worked out.
I've heard prosecutors say we're going to trial, your client is go to jail and the charges get dropped. Nobody knows what's really going to happen. All of the evidence is not in. There are a lot of questions that I have that I haven't gotten the answers to yet.
A couple of them, very briefly. You have a situation where you have got 42 calls that came in from Mr. Zimmerman. Were all of those calls for other people, were they Hispanic, were they African- American, were they white? Does that suggest racial profiling or does he called the police --
BALDWIN: We heard from Mark. He said he hadn't seen the first sheet of evidence. Final question to you, you know, let's just say if this does go to trial, Mark, is Mark O'Mara, is he the type of attorney that would allow George Zimmerman to get up and take the stand?
NEJAME: Well, he will make a proper decision. It is likely that George Zimmerman will take the stand in light of the anticipated defense, but Mark will evaluate the case. He's very measured. He is very smart.
He is very compassionate and he's very tough. He will do what's right for his client, but he's not going to misrepresent anything and he is very ethical. I think part of the reason he is a very good lawyer in this case is it will allow both sides if there is time for communication for that communication to take place. There will be a time where communication is taking place.
BALDWIN: Mark, thank you very much. Mark Nejame, thank you.
NEJAME: Thank you so much.
BALDWIN: Coming up next, how a woman survived a major fall and went on to be part of a major production involving horses and ballet. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: The equestrian ballet "Cavalle" integrates acrobatics, dance and aerial stunts all with live music and for rider, Fairland Ferguson, the opportunity to perform almost didn't happen.
Chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta shares her story in this week's "Human Factor."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Fairland Ferguson's high flying career came very close to not happening after a freak accident almost left her unable to walk. She and her friends were diving 70 feet off a cliff in Virginia.
FAIRLAND FERGUSON, SURVIVED FALL FROM CLIFF: I fell down the rocks. I just fell and fell and hit and hit and hit and hit all the way down until I fell into the water.
GUPTA: She lost consciousness and began to drown. Her friends rescued her from the water, but her bones were broken in 46 places and she had to undergo eight operations over six months.
FERGUSON: The doctors told me that because of the severity of how bad my left leg was they were like, you probably will not walk again and if you do walk, you are going to walk with such a severe limp. I respected their judgment, but I didn't believe it. This is super hard on my ankle.
GUPTA: Ferguson says she knew to overcome the injuries she had to work hard at rehab, to be patient and to stay positive.
FERGUSON: There is mornings I wake up and limp to the bathroom and my leg hurts. When it rains, it is terrible, you know, stuff like that, but it's almost like a reminder just like, remember where you were and so get up, get going, and live this life that you had a second chance at.
GUPTA: Despite the pain, she didn't give up. She got back on her feet. Working towards her dream of performing, she turned her love for horses into a career. Landing her at Cavalia performing tricks like this one.
FERGUSON: Put your feet in the straps and horses running full speed and you really thrust right up and legs are straight and ankles are holding you in and you smile.
GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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BALDWIN: The allegations here in this next story, they are just absolutely sickening. The sheer scope of the purported crime is mind boggling.
The FBI says this man, here's his picture, Richard Leon, threatened to post compromising pictures of teenage boys on gay porn web sites if the boys refused to perform sex acts during a video call.
The FBI says, this guy admits having at least 100 victims, most of them boys between the ages of 14 and 16. I want to bring in Steven Debrota. He is assistant U.S. attorney in Southern Indiana, good enough to join me today from Indianapolis.
Steven, nice to have you on. First off, how in the world did authorities even find this guy?
STEVEN DEBROTA, ASSISTANT U.S. ATTORNEY, SOUTHERN DISTRICT INDIANA: Well, this investigation started with information obtained in Michigan via County Sheriff's Department that led to an investigation involving federal, state and local officials in Indiana, Virginia and Michigan.
When it basically comes forth that a victim of this offense being sextorted we alleged came forward and told people what was going on and that led to the investigation.
BALDWIN: I understand he operated on the internet from this non- descript house and in a non-descript road, could have been anywhere and being held now without bond. How did this happen? How do you believe this guy set these kids up again to use your word for sex- exploitation?
DEBROTA: Well, what he did is tricked them. He represented himself to be someone else. What we allege he did is he acquired information that he could use to blackmail them.
He basically threatened to provide that to his friends or to other sites on the internet to get them to do what he wanted done. Because he was targeting people who were under age, they weren't equipped to deal with anything like this.
BALDWIN: You know, when I first read about this story and these young people referred to as camera slaves, I thought, well, they're sitting, you know, who knows where else in the country on the other end of this video chat. Why don't they just shut it off? They really believe they would be blackmailed, is that right?
DEBROTA: Well, and they had reason to believe that because he had information he could use and he could embarrass them with it. And he used online surveillance and looked at who they were in order to be in a position to send that material to his friends or other people.
Once he had that information, he was in a strong position to be able to blackmail them. What's important here is they broke the process by telling a responsible adult and that led to the investigation. But in many instances it doesn't, this happens all the time.
BALDWIN: I understand that in an e-mail that within this criminal complaint against this guy it reads, quote, "If you do what you're told, the vid will never be seen by anyone but me."
So that goes to your point about these victims had reason to worry. I know one of the victims here allegedly begged Finkbeiner to stop threatening, stop threatening to post his sexual videos.
Prosecutors I know have the e-mails. It sounds like Finkbeiner thought he was absolutely invincible, didn't he?
DEBROTA: Well, one of the things the internet has the capability to do is to empower people like this to get away with this kind of thing for quite a while.
At the same time, it also has the ability to have their actions come to light if we can trace them, if we can find out about things like this going on. That's the important lesson here.
This man's activities have been stopped because this boy came forward and stopped it, and that led to what we're now looking at, which involve as you can see, unfortunately, a great many more victims potentially.
BALDWIN: Yes, we're talking about possibly more than 100, 100 victims if someone is listening or even not a victim of this guy and you mention this could be happening elsewhere, what's your message to them, sir?
DEBROTA: Well, it is important that people understand things like this can happen to juveniles. What we need to do is we need make sure a responsible adult is prepared to listen to that, that the juvenile will say what's going on and that information will come forward and authorities can stop it.
The terrible thing about the internet is it make this is information available to anybody who would want it or collect it and gives them a vehicle to attack children in their own homes.
So the important lesson here is this got stopped because this boy came forward. That led to another victim being identified. That put us in a position we could search this man's house in Indiana and stop him.
So it's all about communicating with teens. That's how we can stop this problem. We have to know it is occurring first. We know it is out there. What we need are the victims to come forward. In this case, we have a whole lot more victims we want to find. So if someone has information about this case, we wanted them to contact us.
BALDWIN: Come forward, it was a brave young boy who decided amid possible risk here to come forward to authorities. Steven Debrota, we appreciate it there in Indianapolis. We'll follow that case.
DEBROTA: Thank you.
BALDWIN: This Sunday is the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the "Titanic" and after this quick break, we have a reporter live on one of the "Titanic" memorial cruise ships headed for the spot where the original "Titanic" just sank.
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BALDWIN: One hundred years ago, this Sunday arguably the most famous ship wreck of all time happened, the "Titanic" sank. We know the story. Who hasn't, of course, seen the movie?
But now James Cameron, the director of the blockbuster film goes in-depth showing what happened after the 883-foot ship just broke apart.
"Titanic, the Final Word," with James Cameron airs globally on the National Geographic Channel.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES CAMERON: She goes, yes, that's right, almost vertical just when she goes under and implodes and now accelerates and all the stuff starts to rip off and comes the bow, falling in stable position and hits and, boom.
It kind of breaks its back and see the hydraulic outburst and the down blast effect. We see the shell plating blown off, deck, everything settling around it. Looks like a big airplane crash site. That's exactly what we're looking for.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Wow. Cameron isn't the only one paying tribute to the 100-year anniversary. More than 400 people are traveling on a ship traveling to the exact spot where the "Titanic" sank including CNN's Chris Welch.
He is live in Nova Scotia where the "Titanic" memorial cruise is docked. Chris, in terms of the timing here, this is amazing they can pull it off. I understand the ship is trying to time its arrival to the second when the disaster happened 100 years ago, really?
CHRIS WELCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Brooke. They are -- there are 450 people on this ship as you mention and at the exact time, the exact day, this ship will be over the site where the "Titanic" sank.
"Titanic," the wreckage of "Titanic" will be some two miles below the surface of the sea. Now the folks on this ship are eagerly awaiting that 100th anniversary as you mention. A lot of people around the country sort of keeping an eye on these.
There are actually two ships that are going to be meeting out in the middle of the ocean. This one left from New York City. Another left from South Hampton. You remember that's where the "Titanic" left from.
But this one on its journey and left from New York City just the other day, today, this morning, we have docked in Halifax, Nova Scotia. You can see the picturesque harbor behind me.
Here in Halifax is actually a cemetery where about 120 people, many of them unidentified victims from "Titanic" are buried. Now, the ship stopped in Halifax, but this is its only stop before reaching that site in just a couple days -- Brooke.
BALDWIN: Chris Welch, call me crazy. You know, when I go on a vacation, I like to plop down at the beach and do adventure travel. I mean, why in the world do these passengers, 1,500 people died, why do they want to be on a cruise commemorating that moment?
WELCH: It is a really good question, Brooke. But you know, to put it simply, these people are obsessed with "Titanic." That's not -- I am not saying that in a bad way. It is not a bad thing because a lot of these people have very personal connections to this ship, the "Titanic."
There are a few descendents on board. A few people's great grandmothers, great grandfathers were on the ship. One woman I spoke to earlier today actually caught up with her at the cemetery.
This trip was so important to her to be at because her great grandfather actually had a ticket onto "Titanic," but he is a rancher. He wanted to bring cattle with him. They said he couldn't.
So they gave him a ticket on the "Carpathia," and you remember the "Carpathia" was the ship that helped save a lot of those remaining passengers of "Titanic."
But this is what this woman told me today about how special this experience is for her.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is a dream come true. I always wanted to be here, write about it, see it. I am actually here. It is very surreal to be here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WELCH: As she says she really has no idea how she will feel on the day, on the site, over that wreckage, but she knows, Brooke, it will be emotional.
BALDWIN: Chris Welch, thank you. Bon voyage to you. Now this.
