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Crime and Justice With Ashleigh Banfield
Newlywed Accused of Hiring Hitman to Kill Husband; Disturbing Video Lands Teacher in Court; Canadian Cops Threaten Drunk Drivers with Nickelback; Committee Recommends Judge`s Removal; Teen Driver Pleads Guilty for Hitting, Killing School Superintendent; Angry Customer Unloads on Black Employees/Sherri Papini`s Husband Speaks/Dalia Dippolito Retrial. Aired 8- 9p ET
Aired December 01, 2016 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, HOST: Caught on video, a young woman`s wild rant that went on and on.
And yet another sick detail in the story of Sherri Papini, beaten and branded and starved for three weeks before being dumped roadside. Hear
what she says it was like trying to flag down passing motorists for help when no one would stop.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BANFIELD (voice-over): Caught on video. A woman launches into a profanity-laced rant against two African-American employees at a Michael`s
store.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You`re a liar!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don`t care!
BANFIELD: While shocked customers start rolling tape.
The husband of Sherri Papini says after three weeks of hell in captivity, no one would help her after being dumped roadside.
And crocodile tears for a husband after police tell this woman he`s been killed.
DALIA DIPPOLITO, CHARGED WITH HIRING A HITMAN: No! No!
BANFIELD: He was alive, and it was a sting. She`s accused of hiring a hitman to kill him. But will the jury ever see what you`re seeing?
And this teacher seen on video dragging a special needs student by the hair. She`s already lost her job, but will she lose her freedom, too?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BANFIELD: Good evening, everyone. I`m Ashleigh Banfield. Thanks for being with us tonight.
You know, sometimes very public video of a very public meltdown hits the internet, and then it creates the kind of social media equivalent of rubber
nexking on the highway. You just can`t help but look, even though you know you shouldn`t. And tnoight, we`ve got an example of one of those videos, a
customer`s 10-minute curse-filled rant at a Chicago`s Michael`s store. She`s clearly angry about a lot of things.
Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) discriminated against (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You want to discriminate against me (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don`t know what you think you`re videoing, lady. I don`t know what you think you were videoing. I was just discriminated
against by two black women. Yes, I was. And you being a white woman, you literally thinking that that`s OK, you standing there with your baby
thinking that`s OK.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: OK, so guess what? It went on and on and on and on. And then it took on all these different overtones. We think, but we can`t be sure,
that it started with an issue of what kind of bag she was going to get at the checkout. And when that didn`t work out so well, it devolved into, I`m
being discriminated against. And Trump made his way into the conversation somehow and the way the woman voted made her way into the-- you need to
listen to this next one so that it makes a little more sense.
Have a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Lady, I`m making a report against you. You discriminated against me twice. Twice I was discriminated against.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ma`am, I have not discriminated--
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, you did! You refused to ring me up! I am a paying customer. I-- you-- you--
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can`t talk like that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, yes, I can!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: --around.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I asked-- when I asked for my things to be bagged-- and I don`t care about the size of the bag, this other woman makes
a big of about it. And coming (ph) around-- I told you she`s screaming at me from across the store, screaming at me!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ma`am-- ma`am--
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I told-- I said, I want to speak to the manager?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I came up to try to help you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, you didn`t.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I did.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, you didn`t. No, you didn`t.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ma`am--
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, you didn`!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: --this has to stop.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: --everyone will see that I did nothing to you. I did absolutely nothing to you--
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But ma`am--
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I didn`t mention bags. I wanted my (EXPLETIVE DELETED) bags (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just ask you to not talk like this.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And you`re not my mother and I will do whatever I want to do!
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There are children around.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Yeah, that last thing, Bill Stanton, ``There are children around.`` You`re a former NYPD officer. You`re a security specialist. I
watched this thing minute after minute after minute after minute, and the one question I had, other than What the hell is she talking about, was,
Where`s the security?
BILL STANTON, SECURITY EXPERT: Well, that`s good question. We have to ask Michael`s You know, I think it`s a cost-benefit thing. I`ve shopped at
Michael`s. I`ve never seen security there.
But I think there`s enough blame to go around for all. From what I`ve seen, with obviously this person who`s making the complaint, she either has
a chip on her shoulder the size of New York or she`s a little bit challenged.
To the manager and to the woman that`s actually taping with the child-- you know, there`s all this talk about the child. That mother should never have
been taking that video. She should have gotten the child out of there because it could have escalated. So there`s a lot of blame to go around
here. But at the end of the day, it`s much todo about nothing.
[20:05:08]BANFIELD: I will tell you what you just mentioned about the woman who was taping-- she is among several who claimed that they watched
all of this, and that the store was not to blame. The manager was not to blame. The person who was at the cash register was not to blame, that
clearly, it was just this young woman, this customer, who was losing it and wanted to make clear actually on Facebook--
(CROSSTALK)
BANFIELD: --by the way, to the police. Because did you see her? Did you see the ranting woman started to dial the police?
STANTON: Yes. But from--
BANFIELD: Right?
STANTON: As a former South Bronx cop, and now we live in this day of social media, that person, in my opinion, became part of the problem
because she gave her a platform to perform, if you will.
BANFIELD: OK. I hear you. But what about the police factor?
STANTON: ANd she was engaging with her.
BANFIELD: Hold it. What about the police factor? Because we can hear on tape at one point she`s saying, They won`t ring me up. She calls the
police to say, They won`t ring me up.
STANTON: Right.
BANFIELD: Is that something you should be calling 911 to complain about?
STANTON: No. It`s a complete waste of city resources. And obviously, as we`ve seen in her history, there`s issues there. And I think at the end of
the day during the Christmas season, all this person needs is a big hug. And she obviously wants to be heard, and she`s doing it in a real bad
fashion.
BANFIELD: Well, I will say this. She wanted to be heard. She made her phone call to the police, but when the police got there, she bounced (ph).
She`s been gone a while. And all those witnesses, many of the them decided to stay so that they could tell their story.
I want you to just watch this next little moment because this is that moment you`re talking about, Bill, where she kind of turned her attention
from the cash register and the manager to the lady doing the taping! And well, you`ll hear it. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`m videotaping everybody.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because you voted for Trump, people are discriminating against you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I did vote for Trump. I did vote for Trump. Yes, I did. And you have a problem with that?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why does that matter?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The last person who got--
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why does that matter?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: --who (INAUDIBLE) said out loud they voted for Trump got beat up! So what, you`re all going to beat me up? Too bad! What are
you going to do about it?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nobody cares.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What are you going to do about it?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nobody cares.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, you all have a problem with it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nobody cares.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You care!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You-- why are you still here videotaping me?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I do because you mistreating these people.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why are you still video-- I didn`t mistreat anyone, and you heard none of our conversation, lady!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was in the store the whole time.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I told you to walk ahead of me, and you did. And you`re a liar. And you`re a liar. Go home to your pathetic life! Go
home! Go home to your husband! Oh!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You`re so ridiculous.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh! Oh! Is that not possible? Can you not go home? Why do you have to stand here?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: That`s so mean. I don`t even know what to say!
(LAUGHTER)
STANTON: I feel like I`m watching performance art. It`s performance art meets the third grade. I`m taping you, I`m taping you. And what they`re
doing is they`re giving each other a performance.
BANFIELD: So I want to bring in Paul Martin, former prosecutor. Jayne Weintraub (ph) is a defense attorney. Here`s the deal. I got a little
nervous for some of the people who were in there. But then I got angry when I realized the police were called in. Is there something the police
should have been called for, Jayne, in this incident?
JAYNE WEINTRAUB, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, I don`t really-- it`s not a crime, number one. She wasn`t committing a crime. Being rude and nasty,
as deplorable as she was being, I mean, it`s just not a crime. That`s number one.
BANFIELD: And let`s be clear. She has not been charged with anything. However, she called 911 and she left. Is there something wrong with that,
Paul?
PAUL MARTIN, FORMER PROSECUTOR: She could possibly be charged with filing a false report, or like you said, calling the police for no real basis.
But I don`t really believe that they will prosecute a crime like this.
BANFIELD: Isn`t there some sort of local ordinance that a lot of these communities have about calling 911 unnecessarily? You can get in trouble
for that, can`t you?
XX: Yeah, and it would be filing a false police report.
(CROSSTALK)
BANFIELD: You know those people who call about a chicken nuggets? They call 911 and they say, I only got five chicken nuggets, when there should
have been six. 911, what`s your emergency?
STANTON (?): You mean that`s not a crime?
BANFIELD: Right. That`s the point.
MARTIN: But reality is that they-- the police are not going to arrest anyone. They are going to show up, quell the situation and keep it moving.
WEINTRAUB: You know what they should have done? They should have asked her to leave the store--
BANFIELD: They did!
WEINTRAUB: --so that when they escort her out with security that wasn`t there, then they could arrest her next time for trespass after warning.
BANFIELD: The funny thing is I think the reason that she called 911 and said, They`re not ringing me up, is because they said, You need to leave.
We`re not going to ring you up.
Anyway, there is more to this story, as it turns out. Always is. Let`s go back a few more months to the warmer climes of, say, summertime. And it
turns out this young woman has done something similar to another place, another establishment, a coffee shop.
This one didn`t seem to have any Trump overtones, racial overtones, anything like that, no mention of being discriminated against or African-
Americans or anything like that. But there was a big mention of how much money she made and how much money the person she was talking to made.
I`m going to let you watch this and have a peek, and you be the judge.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[20:10:00]UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) Oh, my God! Really? And you call people bitches? You`re a bitch
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was treated like crap! (INAUDIBLE) no, she wasn`t!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, she wasn`t!
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I didn`t have my wallet!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because I didn`t have my wallet! (INAUDIBLE) who heard me!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: OK. So that happened. We need you to know something. Whenever these kinds of things happen-- we go to work for hours and hours prior to
showing those tapes, and we try to vet these tapes, find out if, in fact, the right person is whom we think it is on the tape, and that`s what we did
in this case.
And we spoke to that woman`s attorney, and we got a statement from that woman`s mother. They confirmed that it`s the same woman in both of these
tapes.
So guys, should we go back to the whole dangerous notion? If this is happening in more than one environment, at the level at which it`s
happening, is this something-- look, it`s clear she has not been charged with any crime, but is this a kind of disturbance of the peace? Is there
something to this?
WEINTRAUB: You know, that`s interesting. It could be a public disturbance or a disturbance-- it could be a nuisance of sorts. But again, is this
what we want to waste our resources on and prosecute and take through the system?
BANFIELD: I was worried there was a kid. I have to be honest. The woman who was doing the taping of the original incident we showed you, she had a
little kid with her. And then you`ve got somebody who is clearly volatile. I don`t know of a way-- I don`t know what`s going to happen next.
STANTON (?): She stayed. Why did the mother stay?
MARTIN: Well, I don`t think the responsibility`s on the mother.
STANTON: Why was the mother staying, taping? The priority should have been the kid, exit stage right.
MARTIN: But I don`t think the responsibility should be on the mother. It should be on the person that conducted herself in this manner. This woman
is sick. She needs treatment.
BANFIELD: Well, I-- and I can`t speak to that. I don`t know that. We did ask her lawyer to join us, and he agreed. And then just as I was getting
the mike on and all the rest, he changed his mind. So unfortunately, I can`t ask him those questions. I think it`s an important question. What`s
happening to her now? You know what happens when something goes viral on line, things get very, very bad, usually (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She`s going to end up working at Michael`s now.
BANFIELD: Oh, I don`t know about that!
STANTON: She`s going to lose that $90,000 job!
BANFIELD: I don`t know about that! So I think there`s a lot of questions still unanswered, and it`s such an unfortunate occurrence that the attorney
decided not to join us because we can`t get those questions answered noc.
But I want to remind everybody, because it`s important, she was not charged with anything. She`s committed no crime so far in the eyes of the law, but
she`s out there.
I have another story that I want to bring you. We`ve been following this story, and I know you have, as well, details from Sherri Papini`s husband
about this incredible rescue. Three weeks after she was captured, she was released by those captors and screamed so hard on the side of the road for
help that her throat was bleeding.
Back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:17:12]BANFIELD: Sherri Papini`s first moments of freedom after weeks of captivity were possibly just as terrifying. Her husband now says that
she was screaming so loud for help after she was dumped on a roadside in the middle of the night-- she`d been chained, beaten, branded-- she was
screaming so loud she was coughing up blood.
CNN`s correspondent Dan Simon joins me live now from San Francisco. Dan, I want to just play this moment. Her husband, Keith Papini, has done an
interview with "20/20." And some of those clips are being released, and this one of them that`s extraordinary in terms of the description of how
she got pushed from that car.
Let`s listen, and I want to ask you about it on the other side.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEITH PAPIPI, HUSBAND OF KIDNAP VICTIM: She was bound. She had a metal-- sorry, a chain around her waist, that is correct. She had a bag over her
head. Her left hand was in the vehicle, chained to something to make sure she didn`t jump out of the car. She was chained any time she was in a
vehicle.
They opened the door. She doesn`t know because she had a bag over her head. They cut something to free her restraint that was holding her into
the vehicle and then kind of pushed her out of the vehicle. And she has-- at this point, has no idea where she`s at, and then ran to the freeway.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: And Dan, the "they" that`s being referred to, the only thing we can say are two Hispanic women with a handgun in an SUV. Nothing more than
that. And yet the sheriff is saying the details that Keith Papini is giving may be compromising the investigation. What do we know about that?
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ashleigh, as you know, authorities never want people to give all that much information when you have an
ongoing investigation because they don`t want it to be compromised. You can understand because this case is so crazy, it`s so bizarre, that there
is a lot of on-line speculation that this may be a hoax.
So because of that, the sheriff is sensitive to all the information that`s out there. By the way, he says this was not a hoax, that he absolutely
believes the woman`s story. But he just wants people to be quiet at this point. We don`t know if he told the husband, you know, it would be a good
idea not to really give all that much detail and the husband ignored that--
BANFIELD: Yeah.
SIMON: --or what. But it`s clear that the sheriff was disappointed.
BANFIELD: And he has-- he has said that he has no reason to disbelieve her story at this point.
So Keith Papini did go on with further descriptions of what it was like on the side of the road once SHerri had been shoved out of that vehicle.
Imagine for a moment, she`s got a bag over her head, her hands are chained, she is looking terribly badly beaten. Her head has been shaved or chopped
of. Her hair has been chopped off. It`s unclear at this point.
And then she`s trying to get help, and this is what he said happens next. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[20:20:06]PAPINI: I thought about being her being there, screaming my name. She screamed so much, she said she was coughing up, you know, like
blood from the screaming, trying to get somebody to, you know, stop. And again, just another sign of how my wife is-- she`s so wonderful that she--
she`s saying, Well, maybe people aren`t stopping because I have a chain and it looks like I broke out of prison. So she tried to tuck in her chain
under her clothes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Dan, there was more detail that she had been starved down to 87 pounds. It is just so violent, what she went through. I know they`re
keeping things close to a vest, but do we know, as a public that could be in danger from these people, if they`re getting any closer to finding them?
SIMON: Doesn`t sound like it. And the description is very vague, as you said. We`re talking about two Hispanic women. And the reason why the
description is not more specific, because according to the sheriff, the captors basically had masks or they had hoods that were covering their
faces. So you`re not getting a whole lot there, Ashleigh.
BANFIELD: Where is Sherri Papini right now?
SIMON: From my understanding, she`s been released from the hospital and she is with relatives and trying to recover. As we heard the husband say
just there, this is a woman who was savagely beaten, and it`s going to take a while for her to recover. But sounds like, you know, she`s on the mend
and has been released from the hospital.
BANFIELD: Maybe physically. But wow, I don`t think you`re on the end too quickly from that emotionally and mentally for-- maybe for the rest of your
life. It`s so unbelievable.
Dan`s working the story. You`re going to come back with what you get on this, and we`ll continue to cover it, too. Thank you, Dan. Appreciate
that.
When she thought her husband was dead, the woman you`re about to meet did something pretty amazing. She gave an Oscar-worthy performance, simply
Oscar-worthy. Here`s part of it. Amazingly, it was on videotape.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And there were shots fired. Your husband Michael-- OK, I`m sorry to tell you, ma`am, he`s been killed.
DALIA DIPPOLITO, CHARGED WITH HIRING A HITMAN: Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He`s been killed, ma`am.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Yeah, I would have the same reaction, too, if those guys were telling the truth. Those guys are not telling her the truth. And when we
come back, you will find out why and what happened next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:26:45]BANFIELD: Beautiful Florida newlywed allegedly hires a hitman to kill her husband. But what she doesn`t know is that the so-called hitman
is a cop. And when she`s caught in the middle of the sting, she pretends to break down in tears after she`s told about the deed being done-- like,
he`s dead, all of it caught on video.
I want you to watch this. And keep your eyes, as well, on the other officers who are there because they`re all trying to play along on the
sting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is your husband Michael? OK, I`m sory to tell you, ma`am, he`s been killed.
DIPPOLITO: Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He`s been killed, ma`am.
DIPPOLITO: Oh! Oh! Oh, no!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Try to calm down.
DIPPOLITO: No!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) we need to get you to the police station. (INAUDIBLE) We have to find his killer.
DIPPOLITO: Oh! Oh! Oh!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just calm down. I need you to (INAUDIBLE) OK? Does he have enemies?
DIPPOLITO: Oh! Oh! Oh!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is there anyone (INAUDIBLE) OK, who would ever hurt him?
DIPPOLITO: Oh! Oh! Oh~!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Witnesses say they saw a black male runing for here. I can`t let you see him, ma`am.
DIPPOLITO: (INAUDIBLE) Oh! Oh!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ma`am, I cannot do this right now.
DIPPOLITO: Oh! Oh! (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I need you to take her to the station.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: I`d feel so bad for her, if, in fact, that were true. But here`s the deal. Did you see those guys, the guys behind the cop that gave
her the news going, like-- (INAUDIBLE) get on with my job. They were all in on it. It was a sting. He wasn`t dead. They were just telling her
that to get a reaction, videotaping it, too.
But then there was another chapter of this very real life drama, and it came to light when that young lady was hauled into an interview room and
being interrogated by the police. And then-- and then her husband walked in! You know, the one that she thought was dead? Yeah, here`s how that
went.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DIPPOLITO: Oh, my God!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He`s alive.
DIPPOLITO: Come here, please. Come here. Mike, come here! Come here, please! Come here!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) can`t.
DIPPOLITO: Why not? (INAUDIBLE) Mike, come here, please. Come here!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: That is never good. Ms. Dippolito was convicted of this crime back in 2011. But all of that got reversed on appeal because of a
technicality, and now that case is back in court, heading for a retrial.
But the key video that you`re watching, this one right here, "Oh, I`m so upset," Dippolito reacting to the fake news that her husband`s dead. He`s
alive. That is not something that the jury is going to be allowed to hear. How do you feel about that?
Dalia Dippolito`s her attorney has some opinions on that, Brian Claypool. He`s live with me. And Mason Brodie also has some feelings. He`s Dalia`s
ex-husband`s, Michael Dippolito`s, attorney.
Hello to both you. And thank you for being here. Brian, I`m going to start with you. It`s hard, I`m not going to lie, it is really hard
watching that video. And I think it`s hard for me to think about you because that is a real uphill climb, knowing that that video exists. But
there`s so much more, as well. How do you defend her?
BRIAN CLAYPOOL, ATTORNEY FOR DALIA DIPPOLITO: First of all, Ashleigh, don`t judge a book by its cover. When I first saw the video, I thought the same
thing everybody else across the country is thinking, wow, did she really do this?
But I got to tell you, what the state prosecutors want everyone to believe is, that that video is the final chapter of the Dalia Dippolito saga.
What we`re going to do in this trial though is give the jury chapters one through ten. And that is a police department that was more fixed on
generating fame and notoriety for the members of the police department than it was for safeguarding her constitutional rights.
BANFIELD: Okay. That`s a fair argument. Jason, what do you think about some of this video actually being suppressed, like that stuff we just showed,
the whole crocodile tear drama, drama that wasn`t true? The jury is not going to see it.
JASON BRODIE, DIVORCE ATTORNEY FOR MICHAEL DIPPOLITO: Yeah, it`s amazing they`re not going to see all that stuff, but the state believes that they
have enough evidence without that video that they can convict her. They don`t want to run the risk.
CLAYPOOL: That`s not true at all, Jason. The judge threw it out.
BRODIE: . and then having it overturned.
CLAYPOOL: State fought it. The state fought to keep that in. We kept it out, and the reason why is, because the police department already had
probable cause to arrest Dalia Dippolito, and instead what they did instead of arresting her, they went out and created fictional drama for a T.V.
show.
BANFIELD: Okay, all right. So to that point, I want to play this -- because I said before, there were hours and hours and hours of undercover video,
and I`m about to play another piece. It doesn`t go well for Dalia.
This is that time when those cops that do this for a living and know they have to cover their you know what`s, give you lots of options to back out
of the plan. And here`s how that went. Take a look.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If it`s not done by Wednesday them I`ll call you. If it`s done by Wednesday, the only thing you`re gonna hear from me is to
collect, alright? Which is why I said that between now and when it`s done, you know, you`re not gonna have an option to change your mind. Even if you
change your mind.
DALIA DIPPOLITO, ACCUSED OF TRYING TO HAVE HER NEWLYWED HUSBAND KILLED: There`s no changing. No, there`s no like, I`m determined already. I`m
positive, like 5,000 percent sure. Like, I was stressing when you told me you were gonna come up here and then I`m like looking at the time and I`m
like what the (beep) he`s not coming, he`s not this, you know, like all this stuff or whatever.
Like no, when I say I`m gonna do something, I`m gonna do it. Like as soon as you told me listen. I need the money from you I went. I grabbed it right
away. Like we were good to go. Like with me, you`re not gonna have a problem, you`re not gonna have an issue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Ouch, 5,000 percent, I`m 5,000 percent sure. Brian Claypool, 5,000 percent sure, and you`re saying this is all about drama? Are you
saying that she was pretending? Because in the first trial, that was the defense.
This is all an act. She thought she was acting. She thought everybody was part of the show. Her boyfriend or lover was an actor. Is this still the
defense for the round two?
CLAYPOOL: That`s not the cornerstone of our defense, Ashleigh. What our defense is that Dalia was pressured by the confidential informant, Mohamed
Shihadeh. He was the confidential informant. He was pressuring her to go through and get videotaped with the undercover officer, Widy Jean, because
he had been threatened and pressured by the Boynton Beach Police Department, unless he went through with this.
Remember, Ashleigh, the first phone call made by the informant to the police station was, hey, I think this woman might want to hurt her husband,
but it`s not a serious deal and I don`t think it`s a big deal and I don`t want to be involved. People don`t realize that.
BANFIELD: Jason, does that make sense to you?
BRODIE: Ashleigh, if this is at all true, tell me why when she was sitting in that interrogation room, they showed her Mike was alive, why at that
point didn`t she say this was fake? Why at the time that she was going through all the interviews and making phone calls -- she made a phone call
from jail to Michael. Why didn`t she say Michael, why don`t you tell them this is all fake. Why don`t we tell them? Why didn`t she during during the
entire divorce case.
CLAYPOOL: Jason.
BRODIE: . we were representing Michael -- hang on a second, Brian. I`ll let you speak. Brian, stop. How come during the entire divorce case, right from
involvement in this case from the beginning in 2009 did she never say this?
BANFIELD: I`m going to have to leave it there. I gave you both hearsay on this. But this is going to be litigated and there is going to be more
coverage in it. I hope both of you will come back and talk to me about it.
CLAYPOOL: Thank you, Ashleigh.
BANFIELD: And I`m just glad no one is dead so I can laugh about the video. Because otherwise, that would be one real ugly tragedy. So thank you, guys.
Appreciate it. Brian and Jason, thank you. Take care.
CLAYPOOL: Thanks, Ashleigh. Thank you. Have a good evening.
BANFIELD: You too. Hey, school is supposed to be a safe place, especially for kids with special needs. Especially when teachers are around watching
over. But it looks like the exact opposite happened here. This is really unpleasant stuff, but you are going to find out what kind of justice exists
for the little girl on the floor, with special needs, in a minute.
[20:35:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: A Mississippi teacher has been fired after some really disturbing cell phone video went viral. So I want to show you some of the pictures.
This is Linda Winters-Johnson. That`s the adult. And she is quite literally dragging a special needs student by her pony tail, by the hair.
This child is sort of pinned on the floor and tries to get up. There`s some fuzziness on the video, but she tries to pull herself up by the latch on
the door. And the teacher doesn`t like it at all, and that`s how she reacts. Can you hear what sounds like the little girl saying "please stop"
about three times.
You can also hear other kids, obviously one of them with a cell phone, videotaping this, and making comments as well. This wasn`t the last
indignity that that child suffered. That child was also hit over the head with a thermal cup.
[20:40:00] And then kept in her place right there. And that woman is in trouble. Of course she lost her job. That you might think is a natural. But
now she may have a lot bigger problem to deal with, and that is a courtroom, because she`s now set to stand trial.
I want to bring in Randy Zelin, Jayne Weintraub, Paul Martin. I guess it`s a no-brainer that she`s going to stand trial for this, guys. But the charge
is a misdemeanor, right?
JAYNE WEINTRAUB, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Yes.
BANFIELD: Abuse of a vulnerable person. I haven`t heard a term like that.
RANDY ZELIN, FORMER PROSECUTOR: That`s the fascinating point because remember, this case was presented to a grand jury. Grand juries are a body
of citizens who hear evidence typically to determine whether or not someone should be tried for a felony.
The felony option was presented to this grand jury, and they said no, it`s not that serious. We will bring back an indictment, but only on a
misdemeanor. So she`s off to a pretty good start.
BANFIELD: It looks like a felony to me but I`m not a lawyer.
PAUL MARTIN, FORMER PROSECUTOR: She`s off to a good start because the criminal justice system is dealing with her. She`s lucky that wasn`t my
child, because the criminal justice system wouldn`t have enough protection for her whatsoever.
BANFIELD: I am so with you on this because when I saw it, I wanted to reach through the lens and smack her. And I know that`s not the right reaction.
MARTIN: But it`s my reaction.
BANFIELD: Yeah, it was mine too. For any kid, let alone a special needs kid, for God`s sake. What was her crime? Reaching up to pull herself up,
you know, from the prone position she was in. Jayne, it`s so obvious you can`t behave this way.
WEINTRAUB: No, and as a mom.
BANFIELD: As a grownup, I`m saying, you know.
WEINTRAUB: No, of course as a mother watching this, and we all work as moms, and I`m not going to confess I have cameras in my house because I
don`t want to but maybe I should.
BANFIELD: Oh, I got them. I got them everywhere. And you know what? I got them everywhere. I had a nanny shake my child.
WEINTRAUB: Oh my God.
BANFIELD: . when I was away on a business trip and I nearly lost it. But it happens, you know. And this was a child who didn`t seem to be be able to
defend herself. She just kept saying, please stop, please stop.
MARTIN: How often has that happened in the past where it wasn`t caught on video? That`s what concerns me.
BANFIELD: This is, thank God, some kid was deciding to tape it.
ZELIN: This case from a purely legal standpoint what I find interesting because the natural reaction is, why is this case going anywhere? You watch
the video, that should be the end of it. So there`s something here. I wonder if it is whether or not from getting evidence seen. First of all, do
they have the person who took the video? Because she or he will have to be put on the witness stand to get that video in. And what do you do with the
child? This is a special needs child. Is she going to be able to testify? Will the jury before they convict want to hear from the victim?
BANFIELD: It may never go to trial. We never know. I have to leave it there, guys. I have a couple of other things I need you to weigh in on.
First of all, are you music fans?
WEINTRAUB: Absolutely.
BANFIELD: Big music fans?
ZELIN: Yes.
BANFIELD: Have you ever heard of Nickelback?
ZELIN: Yes.
BANFIELD: Okay. Do not tell me that you don`t like Nickelback or you are off this set.
(LAUGHTER)
BANFIELD: I like Nickelback. I`m going on the record tonight and I`m going to say right here now, I am a huge fan of Nickelback. I am mocked
mercilessly for saying so. But I like this band, I like that lead singer, I like their songs, I like their lyrics, I like their videos, and there is a
police department right now that is mocking them.
I like the police. But when you urge people not to drink and drive and threaten to make them listen to Nickelback, you hurt my feelings. We`re
going to talk about it in a moment.
[20:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BAND PLAYING)
BANFIELD: Do not lie, you like it, too. I like Nickelback. So warning to all you haters out there, that Canadian band is awesome. And also a little
known fact, at least rumor any way, and I would love to know if somebody could clarify it for me, that name Nickelback, somebody used to work in
Starbucks I think in the band used to, you know, say, do you want your nickel back?
Every time they fill the dollar and so they got the name Nickelback, I hear. Now, it turns out that a Canadian police organization in Kensington
in Prince Edward Island has decided to threaten people that if you`re gonna drink and drive, we`re going to force you to listen to Nickelback. I`m not
kidding. I swear. Let me read for you what they actually said on their Facebook post.
For those of you dumb enough to feel they can drink and drive when we touch you and we will touch you on top of a hefty fine, a criminal charge, and a
year`s driving suspension, we will also provide you with a bonus gift of playing the office`s copy of Nickelback in the cruiser on the way to jail.
So please not ruin a perfectly good unopened copy of Nickelback. You don`t drink and drive and we won`t make you listen to it. I just don`t know how I
feel about that.
(LAUGHTER)
BANFIELD: Paul, Randy, Jayne?
MARTIN: We`re going get you a bottle of champagne and rental car.
ZELIN: I don`t think they would really dig that. I think it`s fascinating and I think it`s great that they made -- you make light of something
serious.
BANFIELD: And look, we`re talking about it on national television.
ZELIN: Exactly. We`re talking about it. And if one person at a bar looks at his or her buddy and says, you`re not getting behind the wheel because you
know what`s going to happen. You`re right, I`m not going to do it. One life gets saved. By the way, that was a platinum album, released on September
11, 2001. So, I don`t know, I`m not making fun.
BANFIELD: I don`t know why this became a thing that people don`t like Nickelback. Come on.
[20:50:00] I mean, how do you remind me of -- you mentioned it during the break.
ZELIN: Rockstar.
BANFIELD: Rockstar. It`s such an amazing video.
ZELIN: Someday.
BANFIELD: . and Rockstar, anybody who puts Wayne Gretzky in a video, ZZ Top, and Ted Nugent and all these other -- I love the song. And I love Chad
Kroeger, the lead singer.
WEINTRAUB: What`s the message? I mean, if the message is, you`re getting a DUI, and they want to do something about it, they should play videos of
people crashing and dying that were drunk drivers.
BANFIELD: But would we be talking about it, Jayne?
WEINTRAUB: It`s an interesting concept. You can`t make somebody watch it or listen to it.
ZELIN: I think it`s great, I really do.
BANFIELD: Can we all agree that it shouldn`t be a thing anymore? Can we all just agree to get along about Nickelback? It`s a great band, as most
Canadian bands are. Sweetheart, I`m looking at you. And we have Canadians in the studio who are being very polite and very quietly right now.
Okay. Speaking of the Canadian theme, I think you guys remember this story. I was so blown away by it. I did something on my CNN show that went viral.
I got so angry with a Canadian judge who wondered why a rape victim couldn`t keep her knees together.
What? So it turns out, she got looked at real, real close by a judicial committee, and that judicial committee has decided to pass down some
suggestions for Justice Robin Camp. And you`re about to find out what they said.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: Voting is now under way for the CNN hero of the year, and here is one of this year`s top ten heroes. Meet Umra Omar.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
UMRA OMAR, ONE OF CNN HEROES: If you look at one of the best challenges in health care, it`s professionals, health care professionals. We have about
six villages that have absolutely zero access to health care. To come back to where I`m born, it was kind of a sense of responsibility.
We see monthly clinics in at least ten of the villages going in with a medical officer, making sure that the drugs in each facility are available.
Being here, being close to home to be able to fill some of the gaps in accessing health care, an IV drip for life and purpose, you can see the
impact in 0.1 seconds.
[20:55:00] I have absolutely zero regrets for taking the leap of faith. I wouldn`t trade it for anything in the world right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: You can vote for Umra Omar or any one of your favorite top ten heroes right now, in fact. Cnnheroes.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: Back with my attorneys. Paul Martin, Jayne Weintraub, and Randy Zelin. So this judge in Canada really got the hair on the back of my neck
standing up with this -- he adjudicated his case of a rape survivor. And saying things that you just don`t say. He called her the -- accuser -- no,
he called her the -- he used a term that was really unfair.
He said, why couldn`t you just keep your knees together? He also said pain and sex sometimes go together. And now there`s this committee that has gone
over how this case actually transpired and has suggested to the justice minister of Canada that he actually should be turfed.
ZELIN: The only bench that that hopefully ex-judge should be sitting at should be at a park bench.
MARTIN: The reason why.
ZELIN: Go ahead.
MARTIN: . the reason why victims do not bring cases, that`s the poster child right there, because they feel that they`re being victimized.
WEINTRAUB: They were offering him sensitivity training. There`s not enough sensitivity training in the world for this judge or this man.
BANFIELD: You know, you would think that he did say a few things. He did apologize. He said, I was not the good judge I thought I was. He also said,
Canadians deserve more from their judges. Does that count for anything?
WEINTRAUB: It`s like at sentencing when a client will come before the court, he`s sorry because he`s caught or he`s sorry -- is it really out of
humility?
ZELIN: What will the judge say? You should have thought about that before you did it.
BANFIELD: Yeah, by the way. He called her the accused several times. He called her the accused several times which is that sensitivity issue. So
it`s called the Canadian judicial counsel. They do things a little differently up in my homeland. And they put this report out and it said,
yeah, we`re giving him the turf, that this is gonna be a final decision that will have to follow at a later time.
This next story, I want to tell you but real quickly, a teenager, 17 years old, late for a school trip, driving too fast, on her cell phone, and she
ran into the school superintendent early in the morning out for a jog with his dog, killed him, killed the dog, ultimately she`s pleaded guilty to
leaving the scene of an accident, and she`s not going to get any prison time out of this. Is this surprising?
ZELIN: I don`t find it to be so offensive. We have seen a lot of cases that have gotten a lot of publicity where teenagers, the perception is the
teenager got off lightly. We had the very well known rape case where the teenager -- that cost the judge -- another judge his judgeship. But here to
me, it was almost as if someone channeled the principal and the principal said this child has been destroyed enough.
BANFIELD: I have to leave it there, but I will say this. For those that think that teen drivers are the worst drivers, it turns out that us adults
are much worse when we are using our cell phones. We use them more. We text more. We talk more when we`re driving than the teenagers do. So, we do have
to give the kids their do at that point.
Thank you, all three of you. Appreciate it. And thank you, everybody, for watching. It has been nice to have you here with us tonight. Please do come
back here on Monday at 8:00 for Primetime Justice. We`ll see you then. In the meantime, Forensic Files. Stick around. It`s really awesome, super
awesome.
[21:00:00]
END
