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Legal View with Ashleigh Banfield

Hernandez Sentence Discussed; Gang-Rape of a Passed-Out Woman Detailed; Dr. Sanjay Gupta Talks about Marijuana. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired April 16, 2015 - 12:30   ET

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

[12:30:06] SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hernandez grim-face as he heard the verdict with his mother and fiance in tears and just feet away from the family of victim Odin Lloyd no less emotional.

Hernandez piercing his lips and appearing to mull the words "You're wrong." And then telling his family "Be strong and I'm OK," watching them whip.

A jury finding Hernandez guilty of the 2013 execution style murder of Odin Lloyd shot six times. Central to the case, surveillance videos that show the victim on the night of his death getting into a rented ultima with Hernandez and two other men, other videos showing the same car at the industrial park where Lloyd's body was found and minutes later that car back in Hernandez's driveway.

Hernandez's own surveillance cameras capture him holding what prosecutor say is the murder weapon that 45 caliber glock was never found. Surprising to the jury, the defense team during closing arguments admitting Hernandez was at the crime scene saw Lloyd killed but did not shoot him.

After sentencing jurors tell reporters they found out from the judge that Hernandez is now faces trial for double murder in Boston.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pardon.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That we did the right thing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely.

CANDIOTTI: After the verdict Lloyd's mother addressed her son's killer.

URSULA LLOYD, ODIN LLOYD'S MOTHER: I forgive the hands of the people who had a hand in my son's murder. And I pray and hope that someday everyone out there will forgive them also.

CANDIOTTI: Susan Candiotti CNN, Fall River Massachusetts.

(END VIDEO CLIP) RANDI KAYE, CNN HOST: The jury of seven women and five men deliberated over 7 days and 35.5 hours before reaching this verdict actually they gave their first national interview to our Anderson Cooper which airs tonight at 8 P.M. Eastern and here's a preview for you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALIE OLIVER, HERNANDEZ JUROR: As soon as we need the verdict to the people who are calling me congratulating me, congratulate me, I felt like, you know, who won? Odin Lloyd mother didn't win, she didn't bring back her son. Did Mr. Hernandez win? No, because he's going to serve the rest of his life in jail and his 25 years old.

And the worst part for me too is how about that little girl that's not going to never going to see her father again. It was very emotional.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: And don't miss the rest of Anderson's exclusive interview with the entire jury that's 8 P.M. Eastern tonight right here on CNN.

All right up next, even if Aaron Hernandez had been acquitted of killing Odin Lloyd, he still faces another trial, a double murder trial in Boston. He pled not guilty in this one too.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:36:36] KAYE: Two more families will have to endure a murder trial, just like the family Odin Lloyd. Aaron Hernandez is also charged in the 2012 murder of Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado. The victims were so close. Their families had buried them next to each other.

Jean Casarez looks at the long legal battles ahead for Hernandez.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Guilty of murder in the first degree.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For most convicted murderers this is it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're committed for the term of your natural life without the possibility of parole.

CASAREZ: But the trouble is not over for Aaron Hernandez. He now faces separate double murder charges in a different case with a trial date that will be set within days.

July 2012, prosecutors say Daniel de Abreu accidentally bumps into Hernandez in a Boston Bar, spilling the NFL star's drink.

DANIEL CONLEY, SUFFOLK COUNTRY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: That caused Aaron Hernandez to be quite upset.

CASAREZ: After leaving the night club, Hernandez is accused of tailing De Abreu and his friends.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The defendant leaned out of the driver side window of the SUV with a load and revolver in his hand, extended out, and stated, "Yo, what's up now?" And then a racial slur.

The defendant immediately fired at least five rounds from 38 Caliber Revolver into the victim's car.

CASAREZ: Abreu and Safiro Furtado were killed. Three of their friends survived. The shooter got away.

Prosecutors had no idea who could have done this. But while executing a search warrant at the Connecticut home of Aaron Hernandez's uncle, they unexpectedly found the car matching the description of the SUV seen after the shooting. Investigators say a dealership had loaned that car to Aaron Hernandez for a promotion.

Hernandez was indicted on May 15th, 2014 for the two murders and charged with three counts of armed assault with attempt to murder.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How do you plea this indictment are you guilty or not guilty?

AARON HERNANDEZ: Not guilty.

CASAREZ: Hernandez also was still facing wrongful-death suits from the families of the three men prosecutor say, "Aaron Hernandez murdered."

In July of last year, a judge in one of the civil cases freezes $5 million in assets of the former football player, which includes $3.3 million. He says, he is owed by the New England Patriots as a signing bonus.

Another legal battle for Hernandez, Alexander Bradley says he lost his eye after his friend Hernandez shot him in the face following an argument at a Florida strip club in February 2013.

He is suing Hernandez in federal court. Bradley, it turns out is allegedly also an eye-witness who prosecutors say was with Hernandez the night of the double murders.

Jean Casarez, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: For the legal view now, I want to bring in CNN Legal Analyst Paul Callan and HLN Legal Analyst Joey Jackson, nice to see both of you guys. I know you have a lot to say about this one.

So, first of all, my first question is, how is -- how were the verdict in this case, the Odin Lloyd case, impact the next murder trials, Joey?

JOEY JACKSON, HLN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, ultimately, what happens, Randi, is that every case has to live and die on its own merits. And so technically speaking, when you have one case, the double murder itself, you know, prosecutors certainly may try it again in the murder by saying it goes to motif, it goes to intent, it goes to a common plan scheme. And that double murder case that is the other conviction.

[12:40:01] Likely, the judge will not allow it, Randi, because it's very prejudicial. And so, you know, how it plays in that other case, it needs to be determined and the juries are going to be asked to weigh the case based upon the evidence there.

Then the other question is how it would affect the wrongful-death action. And that, of course, is another story, and here is why briefly. What happens is, is that the criminal case will play its course. And after the criminal case really has concluded, you'll know whether this is liability.

Remember that in a civil case, the standard proof is by preponderance of the evidence, is it more likely than not, because you're dealing with money. In a criminal case, it's a very high standard beyond the reasonable doubt because you're dealing with someone's liberty.

So when the event he is convicted, the civil case becomes very easy to establish. You move right to the question of the monetary damage.

KAYE: Got it. So, Paul, I mean in terms of the next jury, how do they determine what they can and can't hear about the Odin Lloyd case?

PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: I think it's going to play out in a very similar way to this trial. Remember, in this trial, the prosecutors wanted to introduce evidence of the double homicide charge. And the judge said, "You know, I think, it would be so prejudicial to the jury to hear about that, that it wouldn't be fair and I'm not going to let it in." And I think this judge thought in her own mind, "There was enough evidence anyway for the jury to see in this case."

The judge in case number two is going to be confronted with very much the same thing saying, "You know, it would be so unfair. He'd be convicted immediately on the other charge." And, you know, jury is supposed to convict on the evidence in the case in front of them.

So, I think I agree with Joey. There's a very good chance that it's probably not going to come in because it's not fair for it to come in for a criminal defendant.

KAYE: But as we said, we're looking at three wrongful-death suits. I mean Hernandez does he have the access even to handle this cases?

JACKSON: You know, Randi, interestingly enough, what the attorneys did was they made application to the court to freeze the assets, why? Because they felt that there was enough for compelling case. And in the event that the attorneys were able to establishes wrongfulness in his negligence that there should be something that will compensate the families. And so, what the attorneys have done is freeze about $5 million of his assets, in addition to $3 million signing bonus that he may or may not be owed that subject to a dispute of the NFL. CALLAN: A good comparison, I think, would be the O.J. Simpson case. So I was involved in the civil case against O.J. Simpson. I represented the state of Nicole Brown Simpson in that case. We, of course, proved that Simpson committed the murder, even though he had been acquitted in front of a criminal jury. But the problem at the end was, he had no assets left. He had paid his first group of lawyers, most of his money to be defendant. And the rest of it was protected by an NFL pension, which was protected under Federal law. And I suspect that the victims, many of the victims here may suffer from the same problem.

KAYE: But won't they be helping to -- I mean -- that there certainly re-pushing , I mean he says he owe $3 million in the signing bonus from the Patriots, right?

CALLAN: But you're talking a minimum here if his convicted in the second case of three debts. Each of those debts could be $5 million to $10 million awards in the jury. $3 million wouldn't be enough. Plus, how much money does he owe his lawyers, what the, you know, who's going to head first dibs on the money that he has. I think it's going to be an empty bank account at the end of this road.

KAYE: Fascinating discussion. All right, guys nice to see you both.

JACKSON: Oh, thank you, Randi. Thanks so much.

KAYE: Thank you.

Up next, the passed out victim didn't even know the she had been raped until she recognized herself on a video, another arrest today in a spring break gang rape.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:47:00] KAYE: Breaking news here on CNN details of another American charged of trying to help ISIS. This from the justice department and naturalize the U.S. citizen Abdirahman Sheikh Mohammed from Columbus Ohio was arrested in February reportedly traveled to Syria, went through terror training and was ordered to return here to the United States and carry out an act of terrorism. Federal official are now the indictment a short time ago.

Repulsive disgusting and sickening that's how one Florida sheriff described the violent crime caught on tape. A third person is now under arrest for a gang rape in Panama City beach during spring break. The two others arrested earlier were students of Troy University in Alabama.

It all happened last month in broad daylight. This is a blurred version of that shaky cellphone video. Alabama cops found it while investigating an unrelated crime.

Police say hundreds of bystanders stood nearby but did nothing. The victim is not even remembered the attack.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SHERIFF FRANK MCKEITHEN, BAY COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: I mean she was totally incapacitated. She was not even moving at some points, and then one time in the video she was able to get a hand up and grab a hand and try and move it.

They looked like wild animals feeding on a corpse in the middle of the woods on a carcass. I mean, it was just a frenzy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: That's a pretty strong statement right there. Alexandra Field was live in Panama City beach following this. Alexandra what's the latest there?

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Randi the beach has cleared up, its spring break season is over and just now authorities are understanding the gravity of what happened here. It's a big crowed that comes in year there are big bunch of business this year a crime spike along with them.

Three men have been taking into arrest Delonte' Martistee, George Kennedy, Ryan Calhoun all suspected in that brutal gang rape describe by sheriff with people standing nearby on the beach.

But the sheriff's office in Bay County is also have taking through the numbers and showing just how much crime went up over this very short spring break season. They say they made more than thousand arrests that's three times the number of arrest they made during spring break last year.

They confiscated some 49 guns compared to 9 last year. Drug offenses were up 5 times, sexual offenses doubled all of it Randi has this community coming together and saying this is not the spring break of years and decades past. And this is a new element it's a criminal element and it's something they simply don't want on their beaches here Randi.

KAYE: And police say they have found Alexandra a number of videos. So is this going to change the way that that spring break is going to be policed possibly in the next year and the years beyond that?

FIELD: There's a lot to talk about that right now Randi a lot of people in this community who are simply outrage by what they have seen, what they have heard reported, about what was going here, the flip side is that this is in some respect a sensitive subject because spring break is such a boon to the local economy.

[12:49:54] However the gravity of these crimes have led a lot of people to say it really is time to change things. Police, the sheriff's office they see that they weren't even aware of some of the crimes that were happening. So they are going back they're reviewing other social media pictures and videos that have been posted. They say that they've identified another case which could represent a possible sexual assault, they've talked to the woman involved in that case they are still looking for the man. But a lot of people asking what can be done, they don't want to drive away the crowd entirely but there is a lot to talk about trying to reduce the size of the crowd to make it manageable by police. How do you do that? They say they hope some local law makers say they hope to pass more ordinances that would detour some people from coming if they heard about a crackdown on partying those crowds gathering Randi.

KAYE: Yes, spring break is one thing. But those stories certainly something else.

Alexandra Field for us there, thank you very much from Panama City beach.

Up next it's a revolution that will definitely be televised. Dr. Sanjay Gupta makes a house called illegal view to tell us why its time to legalize medical marijuana across the nation.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: A quick look now it's some other stories that we are keeping our eyes on. Should Suge Knight back in court just a four time ago the judge decided that former rap music procedure and legal executive will stand trial on attempted murder charges.

Knight has accused of intentionally running over two men that is vehicle in January. One of those men died. The judge also lowered Knight's bale from 25 to $10 million.

The State of Texas executes a death row inmate last night. Manuel Garza was convicted of killing a police officer in 2001. It's the second lethal injection execution carried out in Texas in less than a week and the six execution in Texas this year.

And a Long Island New York doctor is under arrest today. Police say they uncovered a cache of weapons, illegal drug sales and a plan to murder yet another doctor, Dr. Anthony Moschetto is a cardiologist, he was a subject of an under cover pill trafficking investigation what police say he revealed the plan to burn out and kill a rival physician.

[12:55:08] Moschetto was due in court tomorrow.

Medical marijuana is legal in nearly half of the country. Thousands use it to treat everything from pain to glaucoma to cancer.

Our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is back with his latest investigation into pot. He is making a recommendation too this time in his op-ed on CNN where you can read it. He says, "Journalists shouldn't take a position. It makes sense. Objectivity is king. But, at some point, open questions do get answered. At some point, contentious issues do get resolved. At some point, common sense prevails. So, here it is: We should legalize medical marijuana.

Sanjay joins me now.

All right Sanjay, so here is your platform. Explain your position. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, when something is a schedule one substance in this country where marijuana is right now essentially deeming it illegal saying it is the drug of highest abuse in our country and has no accepted medical benefit. That just is not the way marijuana should be treated.

By rescheduling it, making it legal, making it scheduled two substance, you're essentially acknowledging what I think everyone already knows, that it does have some accepted medicinal use. How far widespread? How much impact those medicinal uses will be? That's why some of the studies are being done. But to basically say it should be scheduled higher than cocaine which is where it is right now, it's a lack of common sense.

So that's the position. This is a substance that has some medicinal use, should be studied and treated like any other medication.

KAYE: Let's talk about what's happening in Georgia because the Governor Nathan Deal just signed a bill this morning that legalizes the use of cannabis oil to treat certain medical conditions. What's your take on that?

GUPTA: Well, I think it's an important first step. I mean I think that this is -- first of all no one two years ago thought this would ever happen in Georgia. So that is a little bit of the context of what's happening here, the people's attitude, the revolution that we're describing.

I think one of the concerns is does CBD oil which is specific component of marijuana, is that going to have the same effect as looking at the plant itself, you know, having all the components of the plant. You can create medicines that are still non-psychoactive but have these other components of the plants.

So I think that's going to be something that the scientific research is still going to -- to bear out. But I think this is, again, getting this medicine available to people who need it most is such an important first step.

KAYE: I know myself and a whole lot of other people are looking forward to your documentary tonight. Let's take a quick look at a clip from Weed 3: The Marijuana Revolution.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GUPTA: Oxford, Mississippi, the middle of the campus of Ole Miss. This was our fist visit here two years ago, spring 2013.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't remember the last time we actually more than an acre.

GUPTA: Since the 1970s, this field has been the only place in the United States where scientist can get marijuana to dispense and research. The reason, to control the quality and distribution all the way from the soil to the study.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the place where the marijuana has gone for federal research and there's nothing in the fields.

GUPTA: And there hasn't been for six years you say.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's correct. The last time we grew was 2007

GUPTA: Mahmoud Elsohly is the farm's director.

MAHMOUD ELSOHLY, FARMS' DIRECTOR: We are not growing because there is not much demand for the material that we already have.

GUPTA: Why do you think there's more demand? I mean this is something a lot of people...

ELSOHLY: No research protocols. No research proposals. No requirement for the material.

GUPTA: But that was then. This is now. Nearly two years later, there is acre upon acre of marijuana. Ever wonder what a revolution looks like?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Wow. I think you showed to us right there why are they growing so much more weed?

GUPTA: 30 times as much and the reason is that that's because the scientific protocols, the scientific research is now in very much high demand. You know, you heard Dr. Elsohly who runs the farm there saying in the past they just weren't getting in that research approved at all. Now they anticipate getting all sorts of research protocols on cancer, epilepsy, Alzheimer's, pain, MS. They expect all these research studies to start getting done, something we've been waiting for decades in this country.

KAYE: It's such a fascinating story, and Sanjay we're happy that we have you to cover it for us.

Thanks so much to our Dr. Sanjay Gupta. And you can read his opinion piece by the way on cnn.com and remember to watch Weed 3: The Marijuana Revolution. It airs this Sunday night, Sunday night at 9 P.M. Eastern right here on CNN.

[13:00:01] Thank you so much for watching today. I'm Randi Kaye. Wolf starts right now.