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Legal View with Ashleigh Banfield

Young Man Fights "Sex Offender" Stigma; Emergency Disciplinary Hearing In Texas About "Roughing The Referee"; Players Say Ref Made Bad Calls And Racist Slurs; New Details Emerge In Walter Scott Shooting; Man Accused Of Pushing Wife To Her Death. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired September 09, 2015 - 12:30   ET

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

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[12:30:48] ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: The teenager whose life was turned upside down when he was put on the sex offender registry might now have a chance to get off that registry. Zach Anderson was labeled a sex offender when he was 19. Kyra Phillips first reported on how this story unfolded last month.

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KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Zach went on a racy dating app called "hot or not" hoping to meet a girl. He did. They had sex and that's when the problems began. How old did she say she was?

ZACH ANDERSON, MAN ON SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY: She had told me she was 17.

PHILLIPS: But she lied. She was actually 14. By law, he had committed a sex crime. He was arrested and convicted. Now, Zach is on the same list of sex offenders as child molesters and pedophiles and his parents say that's a colossal mistake. When you heard those words, that your son was a sex offender, what was your reaction?

AMANDA ANDERSON, MOTHER OF MAN ON SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY: It's a blatant lie. It's not true. It doesn't even fit our lifestyle. It doesn't fit how we raised our kids.

PHILLIPS: Even the girl's mother appeared in court testifying she didn't want Zach labeled as a sex offender because, "He's really not." We also obtained this letter that the girl in question gave Zach's family. "I'm sorry, I didn't tell you my age," she writes. "It kills me everyday knowing you are going through hell and I'm not. I want to be in trouble and not you."

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BANFIELD: So being on the sex offender registry means that Anderson couldn't go to malls. He couldn't go to parks. He could not even live at his own home because he has a 15-year-old brother at the time of that ruling. But now, there could be a new ruling. It could change everything because last week, a judge threw out Anderson's original sentence. Apparently, the prosecutor had breached the plea agreement so there'll be resentencing. I'm joined by Zach Anderson who just turned 20 last month and he sits alongside of his father, Lester. Thanks so much to the two of you for joining me. Zach, what are you hoping happens when you go through a new sentencing?

ANDERSON: I'm hoping that it will get overturned and that I can go back to living a regular life and doing the things that I enjoyed before, and going back to college and just living life as a young adult.

BANFIELD: Is it just the issue of the sex offender registry? That aspect you're hoping gets overturned?

ANDERSON: That's like the main thing but also the terms as well because they're very strict and there's a lot of things that I can't do that someone of my age will do on a regular basis.

BANFIELD: Do you have any idea if the mom and the daughter are going to come to the new sentencing and pitch their case as well saying "We never intended for this." And the daughter even wrote you that letter saying, "I'm so sorry, I lied to you."

ANDERSON: I haven't heard from them because I'm not allowed to have contact with them so I don't know if they're going to come or not. It's kind of unknown.

BANFIELD: Lester, let me ask you something. In the grown-up's version of the law, the judge in this case was really tough when he spoke about your son. I mean, the words he used was almost as though it didn't matter that, you know, everything that Zach did was -- couldn't be excused and I'm paraphrasing what the judge said. But there's going to be a new judge, this judge is not going to be the same judge. I guess, what makes you think a new judge might see things differently?

LESTER ANDERSON, FATHER OF MAN ON SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY: I think, just the fairness of -- this judge is known for being harsh in sentencing. Obviously looking at the facts, looking at the testimony of the mother and the daughter begging for leniency for our son as well. HYTA which is in Michigan is in place for cases like our son and that's what should have been granted.

We do have a new attorney, you know, and there are some things that he's going to deal with, you know, possibly that our other attorney didn't. So, you know, all in all, we're hoping that the new judge will see differently. And there were some errors, you know, through the process of the first one. Maybe they'll get it right and do things right as opposed to last.

[12:35:20] BANFIELD: Well, Lester and Zach, I appreciate you taking the time to share this story with CNN. There are a lot of parents who are very concerned about what could happen to their teenage kids in a similar circumstance. So, thanks so much for your time and we'll look forward to updating your story when that happens.

ANDERSON: Thank you. BANFIELD: Coming up next. An emergency hearing today in Texas. Right now, you've probably seen the video of high school football players taking out a referee so violently. And I doubt that you have heard the alleged reason behind this hit and who may have been the person encouraging them to do it.

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BANFIELD: An emergency hearing wrapped up in Austin, Texas and it was all about this video that we're about to show you. You may have seen it and it's rough. During Friday night's game between John Jay and Marble Falls high school, two players rammed into a referee with a lot of force and it looked, certainly, like it was on purpose. Watch closely. Right for him. Look at that. The ref just hits the field with such force. The second kid comes in, straight up ramming him with his head.

[12:40:03] Today, school officials are now giving us some clues as to why this may have happened in the first place. Ed Lavandera is live with us right now from Dallas. So, the school is actually saying that the kids had a reason for doing what they did?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I don't think they would go as far as saying they had a reason. Nobody is condoning even if they were upset with what was going on, on the field. School officials are definitely saying that what these two students -- student athletes did was completely inappropriate.

But, the allegations are -- a couple of different layers that they're looking into. One, several players on the John Jay football team saying that this particular umpire was making racial slurs throughout the course of the game on several different occasions. That is being investigated. And also, and if you have watched about 30 minutes worth of highlights from this game, not the entire game, but according to the people who have watched much longer portions of this game that it was very intense, a lot of -- in the words of one committee member that from the team that was watching and conducting this hearing this morning, a lot of trash talking, a lot of back talking to the refs throughout the course of the game, that it was a "time bomb waiting to go off." And it did late in the game there.

So, there's also the accusation against an assisting coach on the John Jay high school team that "the ref should pay for cheating us." And now, school officials are also looking into whether or not that either inspired the players to do what they did or if they were directed to do it. That assisting coach has been put on administrative leave and he's being investigated as well. So, it is quite a mess, Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: I'm not so sure that those reasons would go over well in a criminal court. And Ed, you and I could be talking about criminal proceedings in the future. Isn't the prosecutor doing a deep dive into this for assault charges?

LAVANDERA: Well, we know that the Marble Falls Police Department, this is a separate town where from where San Antonio is, but is under -- the game was played in Marble Falls, Texas, that the police department there is looking into this case and putting together its case to pass along to the prosecutor there in Marble Falls. And they say that they are open to looking into that.

The police chief there in Marble Falls scheduled a press conference for tomorrow morning with an update on the situation. We've tried going back to get a sense of whether or not this means that they believe charges should or should not be filed so, all of that still pending.

As well as the future of these two students, the superintendent of the school district in San Antonio there says there will be a disciplinary hearing for these two students, "sooner rather than later." And then, it's up to the UIL, the University Interscholastic League, which is the governing body here in Texas that oversees athletics and extracurricular activities in the state, they could come back and impose further sanctions as well at a later date if they don't like the way the school district has handled this particular investigation.

So, all of that very much up in the air. But so far, school district officials are saying that despite what has happened here on the field that the football season will not be canceled for the school. Ashleigh?

BANFIELD: I don't know that those boys are going to get on the field, though, for the season. We will watch. Eddie, thank you very much. Ed Lavandera, live for us in, yeah, Dallas, Texas.

Coming up, some newly revealed details about that case of a South Carolina man who was shot in the back while running away from a police officer. Will this new information make any difference as to that officer's right to get out on bail while he's awaiting a murder trial?

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[12:47:14] BANFIELD: Some pretty intriguing new details in the case of a former South Carolina police officer who is charged with a murder of an unarmed black man. The court documents that are filed this week alone show that Walter Scott, who is deceased had cocaine and alcohol in his system when he was shot and killed by a North Charleston police officer named Michael Slager.

Business (ph) activists issue a new call to keep Slager behind bars. That former police officer has a hearing tomorrow. His defense will fight to get him bail. I will remind you that that victim was shot in the back. It wasn't like every other shooting that you've seen. I want to bring back CNN Legal Analyst Paul Callan and Forensic Scientist Larry Kobilinsky.

So, Dr. Kobilinsky, first to you. The tox report said that there was cocaine and alcohol in his system. But if you look really sort of deep down into it, it was pretty darn small. I mean, the amount of cocaine was 36 nanograms per milliliter. And that compares to an impaired driver who might have, like, 87. Does that make a difference on how you behave if you have that small amount in your system? LARRY KOBILINSKY, FORENSIC SCIENTIST: It's generally difficult to state what one's behavior is with a fixed amount of cocaine. However, if there is a significant amount, it can make somebody aggressive and even violent. However, this amount is so low. I would say that it is very unlikely that it had any kind of impact on Scott's behavior.

BANFIELD: And I don't have the report in front of me saying what kind of blood was found on the officer's clothing but does it speak to you that there was something else afoot?

KOBILINSKY: Well, clearly there was some contact. I don't believe the officer was bleeding. I mean, I'm assuming here that it was Mr. Scott's blood. There must have been contact. When that contact was made is really not clear. I know there was a scuffle but we don't know when that happens.

BANFIELD: Paul, here's what I don't understand. Bail is so often just about flight risk, what do these details matter?

PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, they're important because bail -- when judges look at bail considerations, they're looking at flight risk. And when you evaluate flight risk, you look at the strength of the case. And in evaluating that, the officer's lawyer is going to stand up and say, you know, Walter Scott was a bad guy, he had traces of cocaine and alcohol in his bloodstream, he took the Taser and maybe tried to use it on the police officer.

BANFIELD: That's in the report as well that it was fired six times in 67 seconds.

CALLAN: That's right. So in the end, the lawyer is going to say, the officer was in fear of his life and therefore, acted in self-defense.

BANFIELD: You think, this is strong enough to get him sprung?

CALLAN: It's hard to say. I would say probably not given how clear the video is but...

BANFIELD: The video is excruciating.

[12:50:06] CALLAN: But police officers almost never get put in without bail. They usually get bail. So, it's rare to see a police officer incarcerated before trial.

BANFIELD: Paul Callan, thank you. Dr. Kobilinsky, as always, thank you for that as well.

Next to a case that may remind you of Drew Peterson, a man on trial for the murder of his second wife and there's an investigation into the death of his first wife as well. Did Harold Henthorn deliberately push his wife of 12 years off of a cliff?

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BANFIELD: A Colorado man is on trial charged with first degree murder in the death of his second wife. And in case you're wondering, his first wife Sandra died in 1995, apparently crushed under her car in their 12th year of marriage. Police at the time said they believed this was an accident. Then in 2012, his second wife died plunging face first off of a cliff at Rocky Mountain National Park. And guess what? They were also celebrating their 12th wedding anniversary.

The man Mr. Henthorn maintains that her death was also an accident but the wife's brother testified yesterday that on the day she died and over the next few days, his brother-in-law was telling several different stories to the point the family became suspicious.

[12:55:01] TODD BERTOLET, TONI HENTHORN'S BROTHER: It's an extremely logical conclusion to come to -- that he had a hand in my sister's death. To have two wives die of freak accidents. You're -- the odds are better off that you win the Powerball lottery.

BANFIELD: Unbeknownst to the family and to the dead wife Toni Henthorn herself, court documents showed that Harold Henthorn had three life insurance policies taken out on his wife. And all told they were $4.5 million. And what was especially troubling to the police was that Harold Henthorn couldn't seem to explain why he had a park map with an "x" drawn exactly where his wife Toni fell. We're going to continue to follow this story. We will give you an update as soon as we know more about those proceedings.

In the meantime, thank you very much for being with us. It's been nice to have you here with us this hour. Stay tuned. My friend and colleague Wolf starts right after this quick break.

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