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At This Hour

Did ISIS Destroy Another Ancient Temple; D.A. Describes Texas Deputy's Killing; Horror Film Director Wes Craven Dies; Judge Could Rule on Deflategate by Tomorrow. Aired 11:30a-Noon ET

Aired August 31, 2015 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:29:51] NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: At this stage, the Syrian government regime has said that according to eyewitnesses speaking to him, they believe that, in fact, the key columns of that temple are still standing. That's according to eyewitnesses they have spoken to, who have driven past it today. That's after yesterday, ISIS, a second time in a week, as you said, laid a lot of explosives around that building. Locals heard an explosion inside it. Clearly there was, it seems, some damage but it's not clear the full extent of it.

It comes after the attack on a similar temple, both of these dating back to the 1st century. A time really when this was an oasis for trade, where so many cultures met in the center of the Syrian Desert. Really, many say, the most historically symbolic part, some argue, in the whole Middle East, and under ISIS' crosshair. When they swept into Palmyra, kicking the regime out of it, and now there's deep concern amongst many officials in the cultural world that they would focus in on these vital historic monuments. They've waited some time. In fact, carrying out grisly executions in part of it and now it seems targeting those buildings themselves. But if it is the case on Sunday they didn't manage to take down those columns, I think those who consider these to be some of the most important parts of the Middle East will see some sense of perhaps ironic vindication they weren't able to bring those symbolic columns down but many fear it's just a matter of time until they do -- John?

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, temporary welcome news in that sea of tragedy.

Nick Paton Walsh, thank you so much.

Wes Craven said it's his job to scare the dickens out of people. "Dickens" is one word for it. Why he said it was all for a good cause. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:35:19] BERMAN: Breaking news. The man accused of killing a deputy execution-style appeared in court just a few minutes ago. The Harris County district attorney, Devon Anderson, spoke just moments ago. Let's listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DEVON ANDERSON, HARRIS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: About 8:20 p.m., at the Chevron gas station, a call dropped of an officer-involved shooting. Officers found Deputy Goforth facedown in a parking lot near his patrol car. He had clearly been shot multiple times with a firearm. He was dead when they arrived. They found 15 .40 Ageela (ph) shell casings scattered around the body.

They made contact with a witness who he and his kids had gone to the gas station. He pulled in to park. As he was getting out and his kids were getting out on the other side, he heard gunshots and looked up and saw a black male with a bald head shooting, standing over Deputy Goforth and unloading a pistol into him. He ran to get his kids back in the car and turned and saw the male getting into the driver's side of a Ford pickup truck, a red one with an extended cab and watched him drive away.

Deputies saw that there were cameras all through the parking lot and so they contacted the owner of the gas station who allowed them to come in the back and look at all the video that had been made. They saw a male sitting in the driver's side of the red Ford pickup parked right in front of the store. They saw Deputy Goforth come out of the store. He had evidently pumped gas, went inside, and then was walking back to his patrol car and as you see the video, you see the male get out of the car, he's wearing a white T-shirt --

BERMAN: You're listening to the Harris County district attorney, Devon Anderson, lay out the evidence that they have against Shannon Miles, the man you're looking at on the left right now, who just had his first court appearance. He will be charged with capital murder for the death of Officer Darren Goforth, killed at a gas station, firing 16 bullets, this prosecutor says, into the back of his head or at the back of his head. A gruesome, grisly, horrific crime.

Joining me to discuss this, criminal and civil trial attorney, Eric Guster.

Eric, we have ballistics say the prosecutor tying the suspect, Shannon Miles, to the gun used in this case. We have witnesses tying the suspect to the crime here, and there's also the truck that was nearby tying this suspect to the crime. What we don't have, at least not yet, is why, any kind of motive. They haven't explained if this man has said anything or explained why he shot and killed this sheriff's deputy. From a legal standpoint, does that matter at this point?

ERIC GUSTER, CRIMINAL & CIVIL TRIAL ATTORNEY & CNN CONTRIBUTOR: It does not matter because motive is not one of the issues that you need to prove in order to get a conviction. When you're going forward with a criminal case such as this, you have witnesses, you have ballistic evidence, you have probably more than enough to prove that this man was actually -- is actually guilty of this crime. Because often times we watch TV, "Law and Order" and people want to see motive as a requirement to finding a person guilty, but in real life, motive is not an issue. It's who did it and that's all that matters.

BERMAN: You also have outrage in this case, frankly. The outrage of a community there seeing a sheriff's deputy murdered in cold blood, apparently for no reason. How will that, do you think, impact the case in the coming weeks?

GUSTER: It could impact the case in that the defense will probably move for a change of venue. When you have this type of community outpouring with the balloons and everyone going to that gas station and everyone knowing about this case, they're likely going to ask for a change of venue in order to make sure this man gets a fair trial. Although, we feel that there's enough evidence for him to be convicted, every defendant has the right to a trial by jury, so they may have to try this case if they're not offering them anything decent.

BERMAN: Due process.

Eric Guster, thank you so much for being with us. Really appreciate it.

GUSTER: Thank you.

BERMAN: All right. We have breaking news on another legal matter. The Deflategate saga, Tom Brady and Roger Goodell were in court. They just were and now they're not. So what on earth happened? Stay with us for that.

Plus, he told me what is inside of all of us, the rage that exists within. Horror film director, Wes Craven, has died. A remarkable man. A man who will surprise you. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:43:34] BERMAN: Wes Craven, the film was his canvas, fake blood was his paint, and he was the Picasso.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SCREAMING)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: Do you believe in the bogeyman?

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: No.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: Whatever you do, don't fall asleep.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Eight seconds and I'm scared. He turned box office gore into gold with films like "A Nightmare on Elm Street," "The Hills Have Eyes," and "The Serpent and the Rainbow." He died of cancer at the age of 76.

A few years, I had a chance to be on set with Wes Craven and as he was making a fourth installment of his franchise, "Scream." He explained to me how his nightmarish, blood-spattered cinema is actually a kind of public service.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) WES CRAVEN, HORROR FILM DIRECTOR: You're talking about the beast in the forest that come after you during the daytime or during the night, but in a way that's under control. So in a sense you can own the beast.

BERMAN: So you're helping people.

CRAVEN: In a way, I am. If I do signings in a convention, they say thank you, you scared the blank out of me, and there's a big grin on their face. There are amongst us and even inside of us homicidal maniac that could be released.

BERMAN: Do you think there's a homicidal maniac inside of you?

CRAVEN: I think there could be in almost anybody in this room.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: But he means it in a good way. I want to talk more about this with Michael Musto, a columnist with out.com, and so many other outlets.

Michael, he did really creepy films, but he was a really nice guy.

[11:45:] MICHAEL MUSTO, COLUMNIST, OUT.COM: Apparently, he was not actually a serial killer. He was not a slasher. He was a nice person with a dark imagination. He's right to say there is darkness in all of us. What he helped us to do was flush it out. His movies were cathartic.

BERMAN: And Freddie Kruger, you think of Wes Craven, you think of Freddie Kruger, who is an iconic horror figure now, up there with Mike Myers. And Jason, "Friday the 13th," he's in the pantheon.

MUSTO: Not Mike Myers, the comedian.

BERMAN: No.

MUSTO: Yeah, Freddie was a horrific person because he was basically a ghost, a scar faced, hideous looking with nails longer than Barbra Streisand that could infect your dreams and then carve you up and kill you in mysterious and witty ways. It wasn't just, wham, you're dead.

BERMAN: Wes Craven liked to combine this kind of strange with gore and slasher stuff later in his career. Earlier, his first film was "Last House on the Left," which to me is just horrifying.

MUSTO: Which is a revenge drama.

(CROSSTALK)

BERMAN: A revenge rape drama, which is deeply troubling, but it's interesting to see a guy go from that to slasher films.

MUSTO: By the time he got to "A Nightmare on Elm Street," he was the middle between Alfred Hitchcock and suspense thrillers, like "Psycho," where everything is done by innuendo, like you only saw the murders through the shower curtain, and the torture point, where everything is over the top and it's sadomasochistic stuff. Tons of blood, tons of guts. He was halfway there. He had the gore, he had the gross in Freddie, but also there was the psychological stuff, wading into it, that made it all the more creepy.

BERMAN: Where are we now in terms of horror films? Is there a genre that can make money anymore in the box office?

MUSTO: Oh, sure, and the thing about horror is it makes money for no budget. They can throw a movie together practically by shooting it on an iPhone and make 50 times the budget.

The problem is the movies lack the subtlety of most of the horror classics of the past. And people have to remember what Wes Craven knew, which is that horror is based on subtlety and innuendo and that slight why is that prop slightly moved from where it was before, and little hints that hint at the evil in all of us.

BERMAN: There are so many ways to scare people. Although I will say, when I was on set, there was literally synthetic blood to be used.

MUSTO: He definitely helped the budget of the blood industry.

(LAUGHTER)

BERMAN: Michael Musto, great to have you with us.

MUSTO: Thank you.

BERMAN: Thank you so much.

We have breaking news. When it comes to Deflategate and Tom Brady, the quarterback was in court. He's not anymore. So why not and what does this mean for opening day of the NFL season? Details ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:51:28] BERMAN: With just 11 days to go to the NFL season opener, can Tom Brady and Roger Goodell clear the air -- assuming Brady hasn't let it out already.

RACHEL NICHOLS, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Oh, boy.

I can make that joke because I don't mean it. But the short answer is, no, the quarterback and commissioner could not reach a settlement on the Deflategate lawsuit. Brady is suing to stop his suspension. The judge says he could have a ruling as soon as tomorrow.

Joining me, CNN sports anchor, Rachel Nichols; also from the great state of Massachusetts, Dale Arnold, from the New England Sports Network, joins us from Gillette Stadium in Foxborough.

Dale, hang on. Let's get the news from Rachel.

Rachel, Judge Berman, no relation -- unfortunately -- said no deal was made. He'll decide this soon.

NICHOLS: They met in court today. It was a last-ditch attempt to get them to settle. It's what the judge wanted all along. Not only did he haul in Roger Goodell and Tom Brady to get them to settle, he had New York Giants owner, John Mara, come in to court against the NFL's wishes, by the way. This is one of Roger Goodell's 32 bosses, kind of like you or me going into a store saying, "I don't like what I'm getting, can I talk to the manager?" That's what he did to put increased pressure on a settlement. They had a short meeting today, both sides very firm in their entrenchment that they'll win this case and he came out on the bench and said, "No settlement will be reached, I'll rule tomorrow or Wednesday." This is coming quick.

BERMAN: And the body language from this judge has been much tougher on the NFL than on Tom Brady.

NICHOLS: That's hard to read, though. He has been pushing for a settlement. Judges like settlements because once that agreement the in there can't be more appeals. Judges like settlements because the decision can't beer ruled if there's no decision to begin with. He has been deciding to push a settlement, part of that is to get the NFL to the bargaining table but he's shown sympathy for Tom Brady.

Dale in Foxborough, Massachusetts, Tom Brady won't quit. He'll fight this as long as he can. You are -- you do New England sports. I think you and I are more fair about this than a lot of Boston sports fans who are like "he's innocent, let him go." At the same time, the NFL has gone way, way out on the limb here.

DALE ARNOLD, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST, NEW ENGLAND SPORTS NETWORK: If you think about it, John, you and I spoke 15 weeks ago about this case. I have a feeling you and Rachel and I can speak again 15 months from now about this case because the lack of a settlement here today means that whatever ruling judge Berman lays down tomorrow or the next day will be appealed by the losing side. I wouldn't be surprised if the losing side is willing to try to take this thing as far as the Supreme Court, and when you think the ideal gas law and what we're talking about and the pounds per square inch in a football, this is so far beyond ridiculous it's a joke.

BERMAN: At this point, I think I've come around to your standpoint wholeheartedly. What's the feeling inside the stadium right now? Do they think that Thursday night one week from now that Tom Brady will be playing against the Pittsburgh Steelers?

ARNOLD: I'm not sure because as Rachel will tell you, they close ranks around here pretty well. I do the Monday radio show with Bill Belichick every week, that's why I'm down here at the stadium today. When I talked to him last month, it was the first time he even mentioned the words "Tom Brady's situation." My guess is they think he'll be playing a week from Thursday, the 10th. I think he'll be playing on September. I'm not sure Roger Goodell agrees with us, though.

BERMAN: No.

And, Rachel, they're both dug in here, hard.

[11:55:00] NICHOLS: Look, the NFL has said to reach any kind of settlement they would need Tom Brady to admit responsibility for this deflated football's scheme as they have put it. Brady has said the most he would ever admit is obstructing the investigation or not fully cooperating with the investigation. But he doesn't want to say he's guilty because he says he's nothing and this is this has become about process, and this goes to what Dale was saying about the appeals, and this could go to the Supreme Court. Both sides are dug in not just on this issue, if you're like why are we talking about deflated footballs for the eighth month in? It's a lot about does Roger Goodell really have this much power? The NFL P.A. is going to fight that the whole way. And the NFL is going to fight to hold on to it.

BERMAN: And quickly, on Dale's point, no matter what judge Berman rules tomorrow or Wednesday, the other side is likely to appeal.

NICHOLS: Absolutely. And judge Berman at the time, even if he rules for the NFL, he could simultaneously say to Tom Brady, I'm also issuing an injunction that allows you to stay on the field while the appeals court listens to the case.

BERMAN: Rachel Nichols.

Dale Arnold, good luck with Bill Belichick. I know it will be an exciting interview, revealing as all discussions are with the coach. Thanks, Dale.

ARNOLD: You're welcome.

BERMAN: And thank you all so much for joining us AT THIS HOUR.

"Legal View" with Ashleigh Banfield starts right after this.

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