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Second Prison Worker Charged After Escape; Calls to Remove Confederate Flag Grow; What Issues Do S.C. Voters Care About? Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired June 25, 2015 - 06:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:31:42] MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: A New York corrections officer is now the second person now facing charges in the escape of Richard Matt and David Sweat. Gene Palmer facing for allegedly loaning tools to the prisoners before their escape and destroying evidence. It's already been alleged he brought Richard Matt frozen meat from Joyce Mitchell containing escape tools.

It is now day 20 of the search. Police are concerned the pair may have taken guns from an upstate cabin where their DNA was found.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Calls to remove the Confederate flag keep spreading. The National Park Service and gift shops in South Carolina are the latest to join the chorus. The church shooting suspect, the man on your screen right now, is also expected to face federal hate crime charges. South Carolina does not have a hate crime statute so the federal way to do it would be the only path to a hate crime.

What you're watching now is the scene as thousands paid respects to slain Pastor Clementa Pinckney Wednesday.

Meanwhile, bible study has resumed in the same room where the massacre took place.

PEREIRA: Add Bobby Jindal to the crowded list of Republican candidates. The Louisiana governor threw his hat into the race Wednesday. Jindal branded himself as a doer in a field of talkers. He wasted no time talking jobs with both Hillary Clinton and President Obama and his GOP rival Jeb Bush.

CUOMO: Forty-four years old, the second youngest in there with Marco Rubio.

It's being called the catch of the year. Check this out. Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson flying into the stands to make a catch in the eighth inning of their game. (INAUDIBLE) under Jeter. He was playing against the Tampa Bay Devil rays there. The desperate play kept Marco Estrada's perfect game hopes alive. But it turns out the very next batter got a hit.

PEREIRA: Even my nana would look up from her knitting. I used to watch Blue Jays games with my grandmother.

CUOMO: Yes.

PEREIRA: On my dad side, and she wild look up from her knitting to say that's amazing. That was incredible.

CUOMO: That is a combination of everything that is most difficult to do in the field.

PEREIRA: But you know what I love? After he stuck the landing, the big grin on his face. It was so good.

CUOMO: Moving, diving, knowing you're going to get hurt. Luckily there was no dad feeding a baby.

PEREIRA: Not this time. Nobody was hurt. We are glad to hear that and he made the catch.

Reports say that federal prosecutors intend to file hate crime charges in the Charleston church massacre. We're going to take a look at how that impact and what it could have against the confessed shooter. That's ahead for us here.

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[06:38:09] ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: I'm live here in Columbia, South Carolina, with more on the aftermath of the church massacre.

CNN has learned that the department of justice may pursue federal hate crime charges against the confessed Charleston mass gunman. The gunman is already facing nine counts of murder and could be sentenced to death.

So, let's bring in to talk about all this, Bakari Sellers. He's a CNN contributor, former South Carolina state representative. He's also an attorney.

Bakari, thanks so much for being here.

BAKARI SELLERS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Thank you for having me.

CAMEROTA: I'm perplexed I must say, by this debate about hate crimes. How could this not be a hate crime?

SELLERS: Well, from the beginning we have to call it what it is. It's domestic terror. It's racism and it's hate. And I think that language is important to describe that.

CAMEROTA: The gunman is facing nine counts of murder. He is likely facing the death penalty. How does charging him with a hate crime change anything?

SELLERS: Well, I think it symbolizes the fact that we have to understand the root of the problem. This young man was enveloped in hate. And it's ironic and it's troublesome that someone, 21 years old, born in the 1990s, had a mentality of a George Wallace or Bull Connor.

CAMEROTA: Murderous (ph), but homicidal.

SELLERS: But homicidal as well. And so, we have to get to the bottom of it. I'm glad the federal government is coming around to charge him with a hate crime and also defining this as a terrorist act.

CAMEROTA: You accompanied the body of Senator Pinckney into the statehouse here yesterday. Wasn't that an incredible scene?

SELLERS: It was. My emotions ran the gamut. I've been saying in trying to describe my feelings when I saw the horse-drawn carriage come up by the flag, I was a little bit enraged and for the first time -- I'm feeling hateful in my heart.

But then I got a chance to hug his wife and to hug his little girls, and the look in their eyes and to understand that our mission is much larger than that and we must persevere and be resilient.

[06:40:00] CAMEROTA: And you were feeling hate in your heart because this flag was still hanging here?

SELLERS: This flag was still hanging here. Although the flag did not pull the trigger and shoot my dear and others, it did it was a banner in which the killer found some justification, and that for me was really, really a heartache.

CAMEROTA: Some thought Governor Nikki Haley would take down the flag temporarily just for a day so that people, all the mourners didn't have to see it. She released the statement yesterday saying she did not have legal authority. That flag has to be -- whatever happens to the flag, it must be decided by the general assembly -- two-thirds of them must decide its fate.

What do you think of her legal rational she couldn't do it?

SELLERS: Well, I think one of the reasons we wanted it to come down was a legal loophole, to say the least. The flag can come down for cleaning and we were looking at the flag yesterday and we felt like it might have been quite dirty. So, we wanted her to do that.

But, you know, she chose not to and I completely understand that she didn't want to convert the law. But we still have to change the law. Then after that flag comes down, there's much more work to be done.

CAMEROTA: She still has the opportunity on tomorrow for the funeral of Senator Pinckney to take the flag down, should she take it down for cleaning, as they say for the legal loophole?

SELLERS: If I were governor of the state of South Carolina, I would take the flag down for cleaning in in legal loophole just to pay respects. Not only to Senator Pinckney but those other eight individuals. The world will be looking at South Carolina. And while our flags, the United States flag and the flag of South Carolina, are flying at half-mast, the Confederate flag will still fly as high as it ever did tomorrow.

CAMEROTA: Are you surprised by how quickly other states are taking action against the Confederate flag?

SELLERS: Well, in our country, we have a history where bloodshed begets change. And so you begin to see these rapid reactions. And I'm just proud to know that these nine lives are not in vain. They didn't give their lives in vain. And now they go down with other civil rights heroes and icons and martyrs who gave their lives so we can have some substance of change.

Now the challenge, though, is when all the cameras leave and we have all our funerals, to carry their legacy forward, and pivoting and start talking about economics and educational things that they lived their life for.

CAMEROTA: I have to tell you, the scene here yesterday I was waiting in line, it was remarkable. I have never seen anything like it, black and white together. People holding the doors open for each other, friends and neighbors.

SELLERS: That's called joy. What you saw yesterday was -- there's a distinction between you and happiness. I don't think anybody is happy, but yesterday, our hearts were filled with so much joy. Those lines were so long, people were crying. I found myself hugging and falling in the arms of my friend Rick Quinn (ph), who is a Republican from Lexington County, just crying and crying and crying.

But seeing those people come together just warms your heart with joy. So, you went from rage to joy really quickly.

CAMEROTA: Absolutely. I have to tell you, nobody was talking about the flag. That's not what people were concerned with. This line where they waiting for an hour in 100-degree heat. They weren't talking about it.

But are we too to us asked on the symbol with issues deeper and bigger?

SELLERS: They are deeper and bigger. It's not the N-word. It's not just the flag. When the flag comes down, that will be a great day in South Carolina because it represents so much hate to so many, but there are discussions we need to have. We need to talk about the fact with children who literally go to school where their infrastructure is coming apart. The heating doesn't work.

We need to talk about the fact that we don't have access to health care, not just in South Carolina but in a larger global community. And there are many issues that if Clementa was standing here today, I would say, Clem, what do you want your life to be remembered for? And it would be more than the flag but that's a part of it.

CAMEROTA: Lastly, does your political gut tell you, your political prowess tell you, that around July 4th this flag and this state will come down?

SELLERS: Well, I know from being in the House of Representatives here in this body that they will move quickly. That will not be the issue. They will move quickly. They will have people vote against it as they have had.

In the Senate, it will be a little more deliberate. Our Senate is a very deliberate body as the big boy Senate up there in D.C. And I think that people still need to keep the pressure on. Just because Governor Nikki Haley wants the flag to come down does not mean the flag is coming down.

CAMEROTA: Bakari, always great to get your perspective. Thanks so much for being with us.

SELLERS: Thanks so much.

CAMEROTA: What is your take on all of these issues? Please tweet us using #NewDayCNN, or post your comment on Facebook.com/NewDay. I will look forward to reading all of them.

And what matters to you in the 2016 presidential race? Is it these issues? We pose that question to a cross-section of voters here in South Carolina. You don't want to miss what they had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: What about fighting ISIS?

[06:44:43] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Actually, I believe we should let the Middle East handle it themselves.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: Welcome back to NEW DAY. I'm in Columbia, South Carolina, covering the aftermath of the church massacre.

But South Carolina is one of the early voting states for the 2016 presidential election. So, how are people here feeling today about the big issues? We assembled a group of voters, two Republicans, two Democrats, two independents at the historic Nathaniel Russell House Museum to find out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: What are the issues you'll vote on or you think will be important to you in 2016 that you're looking at the candidates?

COREY VAN HANNEGEYN, DEMOCRAT: Income inequality, student loan debt.

CAMEROTA: Whitney, what issues are listening for?

WHITNEY RINGLER, REPUBLICAN: I think for me it is personal. So, health care is one of the number one things for me.

CAMEROTA: And you say it is personal because you have a sick child.

RINGLER: That's correct, yes.

CAMEROTA: And what have your health care challenges other than his sickness been?

RINGLER: Well, you know, when he was diagnosed, it was stage 4 cancer.

[06:50:03] And so, we went through tiers of intense treatment with him. And, you know, our insurance -- we didn't need to be fighting with insurance. We needed to be helping our child survive.

CAMEROTA: Were you fighting the insurance?

RINGLER: He was put on a clinical trial and our insurance policy would not pay for the medication that saved his life. And so, they were wanting us to pay $1,000 a day for a vile of medicine. So we had to fight for, you know, our insurance policy company.

So, we're looking at, you know, now that he survived, is he going to be able to get health insurance policy in the future?

CAMEROTA: Ashley, what issues to you will you be looking for?

ASHLEY CALDWELL, REPUBLICAN: Well, as a business opener, I definitely care about the health insurance. I have a small staff. I'm not legally required to provide health insurance for them, but I want to and work really hard to be able to. And I would love to be able to have a solution that makes it easier.

CAMEROTA: How about social issues for you?

CALDWELL: It is definitely at the top of my list as well. In my mind if I'm not able to comfortably live in a place where we are all equal, the other things just don't matter.

CAMEROTA: What does that mean to you, all be equal?

CALDWELL: There's the gay rights, gay marriage, all the racial issues. Now there's a lot of kind of talk about the transgender community, which I think is really important. And really looking at a more diverse candidate and really seeing what they can bring to the table.

CAMEROTA: What's your big issue that you'll be listening for, heather?

HEATHER HEATH, INDEPENDENT: My main issue at heart really has to do with the corruption in politics and the fact that I don't entirely trust or put much confidence in our current political system. I don't think that Social Security will be around when I get to that age to use it. I'm for transparency. And the biggest thing that concerns me is lobbyists and the deals that are made and the handshakes under the table and really who is scratching who's back.

CAMEROTA: John, you are an independent?

JOHN DODDS, INDEPENDENT: Yes, ma'am.

CAMEROTA: And what issues are you looking at?

DODDS: I'm really passionate about education. I think that can solve so many of our problems that are currently facing our country. I'm also very passionate about civil rights issues. Gay marriage, gender inequality, race relations. So, those are the things that I'm really looking out for in determining who I am going to vote for.

CAMEROTA: What's wrong with the education system as you see it?

DODDS: It just seems that separate but equal kind of gave way together but unequal. And I think African-Americans and minorities, in general, don't have access to the education that the majority of our country does. And I think that can solve so many of our issues.

BO MADEO, DEMOCRAT: I'm glad that you said education. I think that's one thing that could be a silver bullet. Education reform can help fight poverty, can help fight racism, it can help the economy. So education is huge. But this cycle, my biggest thing is income inequality. I think that the distribution of wealth in this country is horrendous.

CAMEROTA: What can a president do to ensure there's better income equality?

MADEO: I mean, one way that I think we could combat it would be by reigning in corporate America. And I think that by buying elections and perhaps even buying up chunks of our economy is killing us. It's just not as feasible for small businesses to grow and to become successful as it is for a large corporation to just manhandle it.

CAMEROTA: Where are foreign affairs in terms of your priority list, Corey?

VAN HANNEGEYN: Well, pretty high, probably top three.

CAMEROTA: And why is that?

VAN HANNEGEYN: So many soldiers. My dad was a Vietnam vet. Based on the condition that he's in and seeing these soldiers come back in brutal conditions because I'm always at the V.A., and I think we just need to pull back on some of the issues -- I mean, some of the countries we are involved in, especially like Iraq and the ISIS situation.

CAMEROTA: What about fighting ISIS?

VAN HANNEGEYN: Actually, I believe that we should let the Middle East handle it themselves. Let Saudi Arabia step up a little more. They are supposed to have the fourth largest military budget. So why not let them handle the situation instead of using our American lives to sacrifice for them?

HEATH: I feel like we need to be there for a support system but on the peripheral. Not front and center. We are coming in and fixing it ourselves, especially when we have so many issues at home to focus on.

MADEO: I think that as a leader in the global community we have a moral imperative to step in when human dignity is being trounced. And that's kind of what is going on with ISIS. So I think it is our place to be there. Hopefully, we can really get this training going and just help the Iraqi defense forces, because that's the problem, they are just not really -- they are just not really ready.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[06:55:07] CAMEROTA: So, Chris and Michaela, it was really interesting to talk to this group of relatively young voters. They all had their personal priorities and none of them have mare mind made up whatsoever about which candidates they want to go with.

But you heard that health care for some, foreign affairs for some, income inequality -- I mean, they were really sort of plugged in.

PEREIRA: You know what? I just thought while watching the last bit of that, is that it might be wise for Congress to bring a voter to work day and take your panel with them to maybe have them listen to what -- I mean, the young people, they are, our age and little bit younger. They are really plugged in and have really serious concerns.

CUOMO: That's what the representatives are supposed to be doing when they are not in session.

CAMEROTA: That's a great suggestion.

CUOMO: They are supposed to be back in their home districts here canvassing people all the time.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

CUOMO: That's what they are supposed to be doing. I think it is interesting they say intelligent things and are picking the right things to care about, but there's also --

PEREIRA: They are very motivated, too. Don't you notice?

CUOMO: There's also a disconnect between what their leaders can do and how they see the problem. One of the young men talked about money in politics, the Supreme Court passed its judgment on that. Citizens United is the standard. I think people also have to learn what the barriers to change are and how to you get past those.

You know, the complications of it usually wind up not being discussed in the election. But it was a great interview, Alisyn. A good look at that group of voters from there.

CAMEROTA: Yes, thanks. Thanks so much.

And they did talk about it, by the way. They did touch on Citizens United and how disappointed they were about that. So yes, there's still idealism and practicality there, but thanks, guys. I'll talk to you in a minute.

We'll see have more on the voter panel tomorrow. We'll talk to candidates themselves and who they want to hear more from, who they're particularly intrigued by.

OK. Back to you, guys, in New York.

CUOMO: All right. We have more on what is going on in South Carolina and the church massacre and the flag and how it's reflected in the election.

But there's a lot more news this morning, so let's get right to it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Every sighting or lead will be investigated until exhausted.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Clinton corrections officer Gene Palmer is now the focus of a lot of questions.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He neglected to put the meat through the metal detector.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This was a clear violation of prison policy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Boston bomber speaks.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He said, I'm sorry for the lives I've taken.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our lives have been anything but easy. And our lives will never be the same again.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To hear him say that he's sorry, that is enough for me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The future of the Confederate flag overshadows the morning in South Carolina.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As Clementa Pinckney's casket was carried to the rotunda, it passed under the Confederate flag.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Restoration and unity in our nation. Those are powerful words.

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Alisyn Camerota, and Michaela Pereira.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO: Good morning. Welcome to your NEW DAY.

As you see Alyson in is in Columbia, South Carolina, amid growing calls to remove the Confederate flag. But we have big news on the escape of the two big inmates in New York.

Another prison worker has been arrested in connection with that escape as the killers are still running around the heavily forested areas in Upstate New York. His name is Gene Palmer and he's due in court today.

Here's what he's accused of, loaning the escaped killers tools and tampering with evidence after their prison break.

Let's get to CNN's Boris Sanchez with the latest. He's in Owls Head, New York.

Boris, that's where the cabin is they believe these two escapees were in for some time.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That is correct, Chris. Good morning.

About a thousand people are on the hunt for these escapees. Officials believe they are still in the area of that cabin that was broken into over the weekend. The area here is so treacherous they don't think they have gotten very far.

Meantime, the investigation not only ongoing here in Owls Head but also at the Clinton correctional facility where as you said, another prison employee has been arrested and charged.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ (voice-over): Breaking overnight, the second corrections officer arrested in connection with the brazen New York jailbreak now out on bail. Fifty-seven-year-old veteran prison guard Gene Palmer expected to plead not guilty to charges of promoting dangerous prison contraband, tampering with evidence and official misconduct.

The guard allegedly carried frozen hamburger meat embedded with smuggled tools to the escapees, Richard Matt and David Sweat. Officials saying Palmer, who worked in the cell block that house the two convicts, was acting at the request of federal prison employee Joyce Mitchell, who hid the tools in the meat and brought it into the jail.

Palmer's lawyer telling CNN his client was unaware there were hacksaw blades and drill bits inside that meat, though the prosecution said he failed to screen the meat through a metal detector, violating prison policy.

ANDREW BROCKWAY, GENE PALMER'S ATTORNEY: He was conned by Joyce Mitchell. She duped him. He knows he made a mistake and that he shouldn't have done what he did.