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Juror: Zimmerman Murdered Teen; Soon: Ohio Suspect Expected To Plead Guilty; Pope Meets With Prisoners This Hour; Train Crash Survivor Recalls Grisly Scene; Lincoln Memorial Vandalized; Jane Fonda Plays Nancy Reagan; San Diego Dems Call On Mayor To Resign; Pepper Spraying Cop Seeks Workers Compensation; Watching Two Tropical Storms; NTSB: Plane Landed On Front Wheel First

Aired July 26, 2013 - 10:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now in the NEWSROOM, we take you live to a Cleveland courtroom where at any moment Ariel Castro could plead guilty. What does a plea deal mean for his three victims, though?

Plus --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUROR B29: George Zimmerman got away with murder, but you can't get away from God.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Anguished and apologetic, Zimmerman Juror B29 speaking out about the case that is still dividing the country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUROR B29: For myself, he's guilty.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Straight ahead the interview everyone is talking about and --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think that whatever differences there may be in our politics really matters.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Jane Fonda may not have a problem playing Nancy Reagan, but a lot of other people sure have a problem with it. We will tell you about it. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Good morning. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Carol Costello. We begin this morning with new details on what went on in the jury room in the George Zimmerman trial. Two weeks after Zimmerman walked free in the killing of Trayvon Martin, one of the jurors says she's trapped in her own personal hell.

Juror B29 is Puerto Rican and the only minority member of the panel. She says Zimmerman got away with murder in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. Identified only by the first name, Maddy, she says a lack of evidence forced the acquittal even though she had no doubts about Zimmerman's guilt.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JUROR B29: George Zimmerman got away with murder, but you can't get away from God. And at the end of the day, he's going to have a lot of questions and answers he has to deal with. The law couldn't prove it, but, you know, you know the world goes in circle.

ROBIN ROBERTS, ABC NEWS: What was your first vote?

JUROR B29: My first vote was second-degree murder. In between nine hours, it was hard. A lot of us wanted to find something bad, something that we could connect to the law for myself he is guilty because the evidence shows he's guilty.

ROBERTS: He's guilty of?

JUROR B29: Of killing Trayvon Martin, but as the law was read to me, if you have no proof that he killed him intentionally, you can't find -- you can't say he's guilty. I fought until the end. I mean, it is hard for me to sleep. It is hard for me to eat because I feel that I was forcefully included in Trayvon Martin's death. And as I carry him on my back, I'm hurting as much as Trayvon Martin's mom is because there's no way that any mother should feel that pain.

ROBERTS: But you feel in your heart of hearts that you and the jury approached it and came with a decision and you stand by that decision to this day?

JUROR B29: I stand by the decision because of the law. If I stand by the decision because of my heart, he would have been guilty.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: All right, so let's take a closer look at this. Joining me now, Criminal Defense Attorney Page Pate, and Jason Johnson, an HLN contributor and political columnist for the "Chicago Defender." Thanks for coming back. I appreciate it. You were with me through that long Zimmerman trial and I found it interesting, but this juror chose to show her face although she didn't make her name public.

JASON JOHNSON, HLN CONTRIBUTOR: And people are going to find her. I mean, she put herself out there, but I think what's interest is some of the people who felt that this was a miscarriage of justice, they are going to say, well, then why didn't you hold out? Why didn't you stay longer? I mean, you guys made your decision in 16 hours. So I think in some ways this provide solace and some people are sure going to angry. COSTELLO: And Page, you could see how difficult it is to serve on a jury. The emotional pain that it causes and you can also see how jurors didn't quite understand the law. I mean, I guess, she could have held out, right? She felt she did the right thing.

PAGE PATE, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, it is difficult back in that jury room. This is why the selection of the jury is so critical in a case like this especially self-defense case. I think it is clear that this juror was able to relate to Trayvon Martin more than the other five jurors were. She could not hold out. She was simply outnumbered in the jury room and did not have any good legal arguments to respond to it.

COSTELLO: You were going to say?

JOHNSON: Yes, basically you are held hostage at some point because think about it. If you are the one hold-out, I don't care what happens, I think this guy is guilty. If the other five women say well, we are not going to have a hung jury, you are stuck there. So I don't see how she really had a choice.

COSTELLO: OK, so Page, I am going to ask you from lawyerly perspective, did the prosecution lose this case?

PATE: They could have done a better job. I think that's the simple answer. You still have difficulty with the law. I think having to disprove self-defense was very difficult burden for the state to meet, but I think they could have done things differently. They could have given jurors like this juror some better arguments to go through the law, don't just use emotion. Give them something to fight with back in the jury room. They didn't do that.

COSTELLO: OK, I want to switch gears now and take our viewers back live to Cleveland. That's where Ariel Castro will soon enter this courtroom. We are expecting this man to plead guilty. A plea deal offered by prosecutors would spare Castro the death penalty and avoid a trial. Ariel Castro is the man accused of kidnapping and raping three women over a period of almost ten years.

Attorneys for those women, Amanda Berry, Michelle Knight, and Gina Dejesus say, you know, they don't want their clients to testify at trial. It will just be too painful. We can see by the courtroom that court is about to begin. I don't think the judge has entered the courtroom. I was distracted by your interesting conversation, but Page, take us through what will happen in this hearing in Cleveland.

PATE: Well, if it is a change of plea hearing then the judge is going to make sure that Mr. Castro knows exactly what he is charged with, knows that he has a right to go to trial, and knows that he does not have to enter a guilty plea. He's going to have to make sure that it is knowing, it is voluntary, and he understands the potential punishment that goes along with it.

COSTELLO: I would suspect and you are from Ohio, from the Cleveland area, Jason, right, I would suspect all of Cleveland just wants him to plead guilty and let's be done with this awful case. JOHNSON: Exactly. Nobody, nobody, wants to see these women have to get on the stand. I don't think they want to go through it. I don't think the city of Cleveland. I mean, you just found three other women a week and a half ago. The city itself is so disturbed by this kind of violence, they just want this over. I think everyone will appreciate it.

COSTELLO: Page, couldn't they testify via videotape or something like that though?

PATE: Not in a criminal trial. You have a right to confront any witnesses against you there in court. Think about the expense of the death penalty trial and the time, the endless appeals. There would never be any closure unless they tried to end it soon.

COSTELLO: OK, so while we await the judge to come into the courtroom and also Ariel Castro, do we have the Gary Tuchman piece ready to go? I'm talking to my producers. We do. Because you mentioned it, Jason Johnson, that there are many more disturbing things going on in Cleveland, in the poorest neighborhoods of Cleveland, than just what Ariel Castro had done.

I'm sorry. We don't have that? I don't think we have the story. All right, we don't have the story. Do we have the story or not? We have it. OK, so as I was saying, there are many more problems in Cleveland than just Ariel Castro. Here is Gary Tuchman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's time to take a stand.

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On the same block where three women's bodies were found days ago in the city of East Cleveland, Ohio, angry and frightened residents gather.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We will protect our family.

TUCHMAN: A disturbing number of women are missing in the Cleveland area and many others have been found brutally murdered. It has gotten so bad that residents are calling for --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The president of the United States of America to bring in the National Guard to find these women.

TUCHMAN: Posters of the missing like these can be seen all over the Cleveland metropolitan area. The Cleveland police web site lists 54 women as currently missing from within the city limits, compares to three women on the Cincinnati police web site, a similarly sized Ohio City. In Baltimore a larger city than Cleveland, there are six missing women on the list, but police acknowledge such lists are incomplete and hard to keep accurate and many community leaders in Cleveland say the numbers are higher, much higher. Minerva Tripp is one of those missing, vanishing without a trace last August, one of three sisters.

MARCELLETT LOVE, SISTER OF MINERVA TRIPP: She was a baby. TUCHMAN: Marcellette Love is the oldest of the three sisters.

LOVE: I just want her back. I just want to see her.

TUCHMAN: Cleveland resident, Ashley Summers, has been missing since 2007. Debbie summers is her aunt.

DEBBIE SUMMERS, AUNT OF ASHLEY SUMMERS: I want you to come home. I want you to know that I love you and miss so you much and I'll never give up on you, never.

TUCHMAN: In many these cases family members believe the police haven't done nearly enough, that their relatives fall off the grid, case in point, Charlene Price. This is her nephew and niece.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She went missing on July 2nd, 1997.

TUCHMAN (on camera): That's over 16 years ago.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, it is.

TUCHMAN: Do you feel everything that could be done to find her has been done?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I don't.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Police defend their work over the years, but acknowledge the problem is very serious. The mayors of Cleveland and East Cleveland do, too.

MAYOR GARY NORTON, EAST CLEVELAND, OHIO: In the cities combined, there are far too many people missing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: That was Gary Tuchman reporting. By the way, Gary Tuchman is inside that Cleveland courtroom. He is going to listen firsthand to the proceedings today and, of course, we are keeping an eye on exactly whether Ariel Castro enters the courtroom and we are waiting to see if he accepts a plea deal, if he decides to plead guilty to all of these 977 charges against him.

Let's move on and take you to Brazil though, to the poorest people. Today Pope Francis turns to the pilgrims and the prisoners. The pope started the day hearing confessions from five pilgrims in a public park. He was greeted once again by flocks of Catholics. This hour he is meeting with young people now in prison in Rio De Janeiro.

Miguel Marquez is live in Rio with more. Good morning, Miguel.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning there, Carol. Those meetings with the prisoners are happening right now in the archbishop's palace here in Rio. There is a throng of people outside waiting. I think it is fair to say. Thousands and thousands of people came out. He took the pope mobile from the last location to this location and all the way along. I'm going to dub this one the processions of babies tour because he must have kissed 12, 15, 20 babies along the way.

It seems the crowds are preparing for him along the way. Literally babies appear out of nowhere. He has two and three lined up on either side of the popemobile. He kisses them all. He also had a very sweet moment where there was an elderly woman who he went to and chatted with her for a few minutes. He put his hand on her head and looked like she almost broke into tears.

Another unbelievable moment where a little kid about 6, 7 years old came up and pope gave him a big hug. The kid -- when he got down on the ground literally his hand in his face looked like he broke into tears and was very, very sweet -- Carol.

COSTELLO: I bet so. Miguel Marquez, thanks so much.

To Spain now where we are learning much, much more about what it was like inside that speeding train in the deadly crash in Spain. A young man from Utah spoke exclusively with CNN about what it was like to walkway from the wreckage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN WARD, SPAIN TRAIN CRASH SURVIVOR: I thought it was a dream for a couple of minutes. I vaguely remember someone helping me out car. I don't remember what it looked like inside at all. Then they -- helped me out. The train fell into a ditch where I was and they helped me up and off to the side. I looked around and was one of the first people they helped out. They were helping other people out. They were screaming and there were bodies and smoke.

It was after 30 seconds or a minute I thought to myself, you know, I don't think I'm asleep. I think this is a real. That was a scary realization. I mean -- people were helping, people were trying to get people out as fast as they could. I sat there dumfounded for a while.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: We also have new video of the train conductor as authorities led him away from the wreckage. He is now under formal investigation. We just learned that this conductor has been under police guard at the hospital since yesterday afternoon. We are told they can keep this conductor under detention for 48 hours before involving the justice system. Among the 80 people killed, a mother from Arlington, Virginia, she has been confirmed dead in the crash.

Officials say the Lincoln Memorial may reopen later today after parts of Lincoln statue were splattered with green paint. The vandalism was discovered overnight. The memorial is off limits to visitors while it's cleaned up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAROL JOHNSON, U.S. PARK SERVICE: Of course, the National Park Service is really disappointed that this national icon was damaged. It has paint splattered on it. It is not permanent damage. It can be cleaned. We have very good historic preservation crews right up there now. They are cleaning it as we speak and it will be back in the shape that it was.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Police are looking through surveillance videos to figure out what the rest of us are wondering. Who does this kind of thing? We will keep you posted.

Energy company, Halliburton, admits to destroying evidence relating to the worst oil spill in U.S. history and has agreed to plead guilty. The Justice Department says Halliburton destroyed computer simulations showing the number of devices needed to cap the broken oil well with different from what BP had installed. The deep water horizon explosion in April of 2010 killed 11 workers and spilled an estimated 200 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.

A Southwest plane's front landing gear collapsed on landing and now we know why. It could be pilot error caused the crash landing. We will tell you about it next in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: She is one of the most beloved figures in the history of the Republican Party. Nancy Reagan and she will be on the big screen next month, actually she won't be, but the actress playing her will be. The movie is called "The Butler." Here is the catch. Nancy Reagan is being played by Jane Fonda or as many Americans like to call her Hanoi Jane. Nischelle Turner is in New York with the story. Nischelle, this is making a lot of people kind of angry.

NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: It is. We are showing that clip right there, Carol. You saw there's definitely a likeness between the two when Jane gets into character. But critics have been complaining about her playing -- being cast to play Nancy Reagan since this movie was announced. The movie scheduled to release August 16. Now we are seeing our first clips of Jane Fonda in the role. The studio has released this clip and sound bite from Fonda talking about playing Nancy Reagan. Take a look.

BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'd like to invite you to the state dinner next week. No. Not as -- not as a butler, Cecil. I'm inviting you as a guest.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But the president refers to me to serve him personal.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Don't you worry about Ronnie. I will take care of that.

JANE FONDA, ACTRESS, "THE BUTLER": The idea that I could play Nancy Reagan was just too much to resist. I thought it would be fun to play her. I know people say Jane Fonda is playing Nancy Reagan? But I don't think that whatever differences there might be in our politics really matters, you know, as an actor, I'm a human being and happen to know she's not unhappy that I'm playing her. (END VIDEO CLIP)

TURNER: There you go. There are plenty of people who have never forgiven her for her activities during the Vietnam War. One of them has been running a Facebook page calling for a boycott of the film. There is a recent statement on that page saying that I knew we could never stop the movie or would stop her from portraying Nancy, but I knew it was way to get the word out again to people that didn't know especially the younger generation of what this treasonous woman did during Vietnam.

In April, the page had about eight thousand likes. Now are than 20,000 as we get closer to the release of the movie. So there are a lot of people who agree with that, yes. Carol, you know, Jane has called this role pretty much a cameo in the past. She said people upset with her involvement need to just get a life. And any controversy will probably help sell more tickets though the movie.

You couldn't see because we had the banner up when we were playing the sound from her, but what she was wearing in that interview, which was a mug shot of herself on it from that era. She is not backing down from all of this controversy. By the way, that t-shirt of hers, it is for sale on her online store.

COSTELLO: I'm curious as to why she would wear this t-shirt knowing people are --

TURNER: You know why, Carol. You know why because she never shies away from controversy.

COSTELLO: She is a gutsy lady that way.

TURNER: That's true.

COSTELLO: But still, why inflame things. Nischelle Turner, I'm sure this story will not end here. Thank you so much, Nischelle.

TURNER: Generating a lot of talk for the movie.

COSTELLO: You got that right. Checking our other top stories at 21 minutes past the hour, Democratic leaders in San Diego are calling on Mayor Bob Filner to resign. They voted last night after four more women that makes a total of seven accused Filner of inappropriate sexual conduct.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PATTI ROSCOE, BUSINESSWOMAN: He would come in and try to kiss me on the lips and I would have to squirm to get away. Just as recently as a few months ago this happened. I turned and he just slobbered down my chin. I was so violated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Filner showed up at a trolley station groundbreaking and he refused to answer CNN's Casey Wian's questions. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bad message to the city of San Diego that you are not addressing these allegations directly right now? Mr. Mayor, what do you have to say to these women that came forward and publicly accused you of inappropriate behavior?

MAYOR BOB FILNER (D), SAN DIEGO: There is a legal process by which all of this will decide this and that's what will dealing with. There will be no other statements except for the legal process.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: One accuser has already filed a lawsuit, but the mayor, after that scenario, tried making light of the controversy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FILNER: I see you found a wonderful way to attract media attention for our efforts on the trolley.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Filner has admitted to treating women badly, but he denies he sexually harassed anyone.

Remember the cop who casually pepper sprayed a group of "Occupy Wall Street" protesters in California, looked like he was doing it from a fire hose. His name is John Pike. He was fired after this incident, but now he's seeking workers compensation claiming he has a psychiatric injury following this confrontation. A hearing on his claim is set for August 13.

Two tropical storms on the horizon to watch over, Dorian in the Atlantic and Flossy in the Pacific. Indra Petersons is in New York tracking both storms. Good morning.

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good news, Carol, with Dorian is we have a lot of weakening going on. There's a lot of dry air ahead of the system. There's really been kind of tearing the structure of the sky apart and there's still more dry air ahead of it. That's the good news. It could continue to weaken. The bad news is the latest track has moved farther down to the south.

So if it holds together once it pushes past that dry air, we are going to be talking about a potential that it could hit (inaudible) at 50 miles per hour. It's a weak tropical storm. That would be Wednesday at 2:00 in the morning. That's Dorian and that's in Atlantic Ocean. In the Pacific Ocean here, we have Flossie to be dealing with.

Now Flossie is strengthening currently 50 miles per hour. It will strengthen about 60 miles per hour winds. The thinking here though is once again it gets some cooler waters. It will weaken to a very weak tropical storm that before making landfall we're still talking about tropical storm strength there in Hawaii at 40 miles per hour. Again that looks like it's Monday night at 8:00 p.m. We'll be right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: All right, let's head back to that Cleveland courtroom. We are still awaiting the appearance of the judge and also the defendant, Ariel Castro. He is the man accused of kidnapping and raping those three women from Cleveland over the period -- over a period of ten years almost. We expect him to plead guilty today. We expect that the prosecutors will come up with a plea deal for him. They took the death penalty off the table.

The proceedings were to begin at 10:00 this morning. It is now 10:27 Eastern Time. We are wondering why this could be taking so long. Luckily we have the defense attorney here Page Pate to kind of take us through what might be happening behind the scenes.

PATE: Well, a number of different things could be going on. Number one, logistically, you have to get someone who is in custody in handcuffs, in shackles, up into the courtroom and get him ready to actually stand in front of the judge. The other thing that could be going on is last-minute discussions between the defendant and his lawyers. Do I really want to do this? Do I understand all the factors that are going to go into it? So it's a complicated process.

COSTELLO: And Ariel Castro, I mean, in past court appearances he's appeared almost catatonic. So it is quite possible that they are having some trouble with him getting him to understand what he is signing?

PAGE: It could be. If he really has problems understanding what's going on and the judge is going to want to make an inquiry into that because if he is not competent then he cannot enter a plea, guilty or not guilty.

COSTELLO: Jason, again, you are from Cleveland and you -- spent a lot of time there, talked to your friends and family. If that happens and he can't understand it and can't understand enough to sign the plea deal, what are people going to think about that in Cleveland?

JOHNSON: Politically it would be the worst thing possible. The police department, the mayor's office, everyone is taking so much heat for this. If somehow Ariel Castro was delayed somehow got off on a technicality because he was found to be incompetent or insane, I can't even imagine what the political consequences will be. It will be terrible.

COSTELLO: All right, so we are going to keep our eye on this. Hopefully Ariel Castro will enter the courtroom soon. Gary Tuchman is sitting inside the courtroom. He will have what transpires. We'll keep an eye on it.

We now know why a Southwest Airlines plane's front landing gear collapsed on landing at LaGuardia Airport this week. It is raising some serious questions about possible pilot error. Here's CNN's Rene Marsh with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Federal investigators revealing dramatic new details about the hard landing of Southwest Flight 345 at New York's LaGuardia Airport. When it comes to landing, the 737's rear landing wheels touched ground first. The front wheels, second. Investigators say that's not how it happened here. The front wheels came down first and it couldn't withstand the weight of the plane ending with a 19-second skid.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Normal approach would be an aircraft coming in like this and then touching down and then going like that straight across your runway.

MARSH (on camera): So I just saw you tip that nose up a bit. Is it -- always remains upwards?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It should be up and that nose gear would be the last to touch down.

MARSH (voice-over): What's troubling, in the final 4 seconds before touchdown, the NTSB says the plane shifted from 2 degrees nose up to 2 degree nose down.

(on camera): Does this open the door at all to the possibility of human error?

KEVIN HIATT, PRESIDENT, FLIGHT SAFETY FOUNDATION: Well, there could be some things that we will take a look at in terms of why that nose gear touched down like that. Human error could be a possibility or could be something else that is unknown at this time.

MARSH (voice-over): Southwest tells CNN, the landing scenario the NTSB --