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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
TSA Bans Carry-on Liquids on Flights to Russia; Interview with Representative Peter King; Top U.S. Diplomat Caught on Tape; Hooked on Heroin; Interview with Joe Putignano; The Affluenza Defense; "Affluenza" Teen Sentenced To Rehab And Probation; Murder Trial Begins For Man Accused Of Killing Teen After Dispute Over Loud Music; Moses Farrow Defends Woody Allen, Slams Mia Farrow In "People" Magazine
Aired February 06, 2014 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: This one on the eve of opening ceremonies. The federal government temporarily banning all liquids, gels, aerosols and powders in carryon luggage on flights between the U.S. and Russia. That's in the wake of concerns that terrorists might set off explosives concealed in tubes of toothpaste.
And in case you're wondering what kind of damage that could do take a look.
That is the destruction from just a couple of ounces of an explosive called RDX. CNN commissioned that test. Explosive engineers Sidney Alford filled a toothpaste tube with the RDX, topped it off with enough toothpaste to look totally innocent.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SIDNEY ALFORD, EXPLOSIVES EXPERT: I wouldn't like to be in an airplane with that explosive, not even a big one. It smells and tastes like toothpaste. I have presented this in such a way that somebody giving it a casual inspection will probably pass it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: The question of course is how good are the inspectors. How tight is security at U.S. airports and especially on Russian soil.
Ivan Watson is in Sochi for us tonight. Barbara Starr at the Pentagon.
Barbara, the TSA is issuing this ban today. Obviously the U.S. taking this latest threat very seriously.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Anderson. Good evening.
The Department of Homeland Security issuing this ban as they would say out of an abundance of caution. But the reality is now the U.S. and the Russians are tracking several threats against the Sochi games. And the challenge for intelligence services in both countries is to determine which of these threats are specific, which are credible, who would have the capability to really assemble some of these devices and carry off an attack.
And they are far from understanding that at this point. So still a lot of intelligence gathering going on, a lot of focus on this toothpaste threat. But the focus is spreading to other threats as well.
COOPER: And, Ivan, there have been reports that despite temporary Russian ban on liquids in carryon luggage people have actually been getting onto flights with those restricted items in their carryon luggage. How do officials there -- do they have an explanation for that?
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I mean, I interviewed the CEO of Sochi airport. He said yes, you're not supposed to bring any kind of makeup, cosmetics, whatever, in your carryon luggage. But then our own CNN sports correspondent Rachel Nichols, she arrived today after flying New York-Moscow, Moscow to Sochi, with not one but two tubes of toothpaste in her carryon bag as well as cosmetics and other cosmetics as well.
And she said the Russians in Moscow airport for this internal flight did not take that away from her. So there seems to be some kind of a problem between -- maybe something's lost in translation. I really don't know -- Anderson.
COOPER: Barbara, and in terms of contingent plans in the event of some kind of an attack, I mean, what is the U.S.'s response look like? I know there's a ship off shore.
STARR: Well, there are a couple of Navy ships off shore. But what you have right now, Anderson, in Sochi as I'm sure Ivan and are other members of our team would tell you, there is a U.S. operations center. That's really the hub of the U.S. response at the moment, personnel from law enforcement, intelligence, diplomatic security, all there, all keeping an eye on everything assembling information if there were to be an attack. And we hope there won't be.
They would be the first responders. They would have the latest information, work with the U.S. embassy in Moscow, develop the plans for assistance to Americans on the ground. There is now sort of, if you will, government to government links across the board. Diplomatic, law enforcement, security, intelligence and military.
The question remains, though, if something were to happen how much cooperation will there really be with the Russians -- Anderson.
COOPER: And, Ivan, it's obviously not as important as the potential security threat. But we've been reporting on this program a lot last night, we talked to you about it, about complaints by visitors about accommodations, about whether or not Sochi is actually ready for the Olympics. I know one official today had some interesting things to say about Western visitors complaining about the conditions in the hotels. What happened?
WATSON: Yes. Strange quote from the "Wall Street Journal" quoting that deputy prime minister, Dmitry Kozak, saying, you know, "We have surveillance video of some of these people complaining about the bad conditions, turning on the water in their bathroom, firing the nozzle at the wall, and leaving the water running all day," and basically suggesting that this was sabotage or something by some of the critics.
But that raised another question, if this quote is in fact true, are the Russians monitoring visitors in their bathrooms? And that's a big question.
We can assume that the Russians are very closely monitoring all the telecommunications, a lot of the data that is moving through this place. And I have to add on top of that. So this may become another issue for the Russians now as people try to follow up that potential quote.
But we also have to stress, Anderson, the massive deployment of Russian security forces on the ground. Tens of thousands of them. This alleged ring of steel with fortified Olympic venues around here. And also the reactions of some of the athletes I've talked to when it comes to the security question.
I mean, I've met dozens of members of team USA coming off the plane. And some of them said yes, we were worried about some of the security issues, but now we're here, we feel good, we feel safe, and we're going to compete to the best of our abilities. I heard that again and again today at Sochi Airport from members of team USA -- Anderson.
COOPER: All right. Ivan Watson on the ground, thank you. Barbara Starr as well.
Republican Congressman Peter King sits on the House Homeland Security Committee, as well as the Intelligence Committee. He's expressed great doubts about security at the games. I talked to him earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Congressman, this latest threat, potential explosives in toothpaste and cosmetic tubes, how specific and credible is it, you think?
REP. PETER KING (R), NEW YORK: I think it's credible and that my understanding it was a legitimate source that gave the information. Now that doesn't mean it's going to happen, that doesn't mean it's definite. But it's serious enough that we have to consider it to be accurate. We -- we have to assume that it's true and play it back from there.
So it's something being taken very seriously by our country, by the Russians, and by a number of other countries who are also involved in this.
COOPER: You're on the House Intelligence Committee. There was a hearing before the committee on Tuesday. The head of the National Counterterrorism Center, Matthew Olsen, said that there are, quote, "A number of specific threats of varying degrees of credibility. I'm saying a number specific threats, it sounds like maybe something more than toothpaste and cosmetic tubes. Is that accurate? KING: I really can't go into that. And I think just the fact that we're saying -- you know, we're saying toothpaste and cosmetics tubes, that's also pretty specific because that's the first time if this is true that this type of weaponry has been used. This is something that we have not seen before. And it was given with a degree of specificity. So to that extent, that is what I believe Director Olsen was saying. Because he also briefed us the night before in a classified session.
And there's a number of other threats, you know, we are looking at. And as I mentioned before, it's not always easy to do it this time because we're not getting full cooperation from the Russians.
COOPER: The Associated Press is reporting that six of their employees either arriving on flights into or departing on flights out of Moscow got through security with hand lotion, water bottles or even toothpaste tubes in their carryon luggage. How much does that concern you?
KING: I am generally concerned about, you know, the Russians' approach to this. But I am -- I am not that confident. Again, I have no idea if this report is true or not. But I'm not surprised to hear it, that the Russians have a heavy-handed approach to security but often can let the smaller things get by.
COOPER: And last week you and I talked, and you said you wouldn't go to the games or have your family go to the games. That still hold true?
KING: Yes, it does. I don't want to be spreading panic. I mean, odds are still on there's not going to be an attack. But the odds are higher that there will be an attack in this game than there have been for any of the other previous games in our memory. So that's really the point that I'm making, that there's far more chance of an attack here than there was in London or China or Greece.
And you add to that the location and the fact that again I emphasize we're not getting full cooperation from the Russians, to me it's just not worth the risk to go.
COOPER: Has the cooperation gotten any better, what, since you and I talked last week or is it still the same?
KING: My understanding it's gotten slightly better. But still it's not at the level it was with the Chinese or the Brits or the Greeks.
COOPER: All right. Peter King -- Congressman, I appreciate it. Thank you.
KING: Anderson, thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: I want to move on now but staying in the region, somebody once said that diplomacy is the art of saying nice doggy until you can find a big stick. Point being, diplomatic niceties can cover plenty of less than diplomatic sentiments, that is, as long as those sentiments stay private.
Tonight a leaked audio recording put the kibosh on that. It appears to show the top American diplomat to Europe, a woman named Victoria Nuland, expressing her frustration, and I'm putting that mildly, with the European Union, the EU, in resolving the crisis in Ukraine. One voice on the tape resembles Nuland's, the other apparently belongs to the American ambassador to Ukraine. The audio starts with Nuland. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VICTORIA NULAND, ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE: He's now gotten both Serry and Ban Ki-Moon to agree that Serry could come in Monday or Tuesday.
GEOFFREY PYATT, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO UKRAINE: OK.
NULAND: So that would be great, I think, to help glue this thing, and have the U.N. help glue it and, you know, (EXPLETIVE DELETED) the EU.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: "F the EU." Now the call cannot be independently verified. And it's unclear when and where it was recorded. But it's pretty clear who the U.S. thinks leaked it.
For that we're joined by chief national security correspondent Jim Sciutto.
So, all right, so the White House and the State Department, who are they pointing the finger at?
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Directly at Russia. The State Department called it a new low in Russian state craft. Jay Carney, White House spokesman also pointed the finger at Russia. And the fingerprints are pretty clear. It was tweeted out and around by an aide to the deputy prime minister of Russia.
And it was also interesting that the account on YouTube was called " Maidan puppets," Maidan is the name of the square where the protesters in Kiev are gathering. Puppets is a reference to a -- Russian charge that they are puppets of the West, puppets of America. You know, that this whole thing is an American instigated affair.
And I think frankly, I don't know if the Russians would push back too hard on them being behind this. There's a little bit of shot employed here, post NSA, et cetera. So I think we kind of know where this is coming from.
COOPER: But why -- why would the Russians release it? What's in it for them? Just to embarrass the United States?
SCIUTTO: Well, I think to embarrass the United States and also fuel this idea that the protesters are not independent, that they're being fueled and prodded and instigated by the Americans. You know, that fits that narrative for them to have that and kind of undermines the public support and the legitimacy of them or at least from the Russian point of view would undermine their legitimacy.
COOPER: Nuland has apologized to her EU counterparts, I understand, for what she said. The State Department, at least publicly, they don't seem overly concerned about that.
SCIUTTO: No, I think the relationship is going to live another day. You know, this is not -- it doesn't show a substantive disagreement with the Europeans on this. And I think essentially they're on the same side. You know, they prefer a Ukraine that is more integrated into Europe as opposed to one that is, you know, under the iron fist of Russia.
But, you know, it's a difficult thing to explain to friends. It kind of reminds me of the WikiLeaks scandal when you have a lot of these cables going out there. And really the most -- you know, the biggest headlines from those cables were the kind of personal snipe-snipes at the French president from the American ambassador, you know, things like that.
So I -- I don't think it's a substantive thing. But it does -- you know, these guys are friends. They got to see each other.
COOPER: Right.
SCIUTTO: It's not a nice thing to say about friends.
COOPER: All right. Jim Sciutto, appreciate it. Thanks.
Let us know what you think. Follow me on Twitter @andersoncooper. Tweet using #ac360.
Just ahead, new developments in the Philip Seymour Hoffman death investigation. Two suspects with possible connections to the drugs in his apartment were back in court today. We'll talk about that.
Also a former heroin -- actually a current heroin addict who's still caught up in the drug's powerful grip takes us inside his agony.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Are you afraid it's going to kill you?
JOHN, ADDICTED TO HEROIN: Yes. It's like a weird feeling of admitting the fact that why haven't I died?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Plus lawyers for the drunk driving Texas teen who killed four people and avoided prison now say the media made too big a deal out of their affluenza defense.
We're "Keeping Them Honest."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COOPER: Welcome back. A private wake for actor Philip Seymour Hoffman is being held tonight. Family and close friends have gathered at a New York funeral home. A private funeral will be held tomorrow.
Earlier today two of the suspects arrested in connection with the heroin found in Hoffman's apartment were released after their bond hearings.
Juliana Luchkiw and Max Rosenblum, both 22, are charged with misdemeanors, they pled not guilty. And 57-year-old Robert Vineberg has pleaded not guilty to a felony drug possession charge. He has a court date next week. Now police say that Vineberg had Hoffman's cell phone stored in his cell phone.
A fourth man arrested at the same apartment building as the others will not be prosecuted. The D.A.'s office said there was no evidence he had any control over the drugs.
Now we all know by now Philip Seymour Hoffman was found dead in his apartment on Sunday with a needle still in his arm. After more than 20 years of apparently staying clean, he'd recently started using heroin again.
Former heroin addicts and the experts who treat them all say the same thing that getting clean, staying clean is incredibly difficult.
Tonight Miguel Marquez takes us inside heroin's powerful pull.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARQUEZ (on camera): You're using right now? You're high?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
MARQUEZ: When did you last get high?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Probably, you know, half an hour ago.
MARQUEZ (voice-over): Thirty-seven-year-old we'll call him John says he's used heroin for more than half his life. Clean for seven months last year, his body, his brain, unable to say no to the drug.
(On camera): What is it about heroin that flips that switch for you?
JOHN: I don't know. I don't know. It's like -- it's like a feeling of love, like that love that doesn't go away.
MARQUEZ (voice-over): It's love.
(On camera): So that's an abscess from using the vein.
(Voice-over): Needing to be fed by another hit every few hours.
(On camera): Each time you use it you have to find a different spot?
JOHN: Yes. MARQUEZ (voice-over): Time now marked on the veins across John's body. Each red dot another hit. Another short escape from the inescapable. The need for more drugs.
(On camera): What does it feel like when you are denied it?
JOHN: Oh, so alone. Hurting. Like just painful like -- just hurting.
MARQUEZ (voice-over): Alienated from much of his family, even his ex- wife and two kids, now unemployed. Still the difficulty of getting off heroin monumentally harder than simply finding another hit.
(On camera): Do you consider heroin medicine?
JOHN: Yes. Yes, or I consider it a -- you know, I never thought about how I consider it, but I can -- I can -- it's something that -- I'm normal. I'm like normal.
MARQUEZ (voice-over): His addiction about 30 bucks a day, he says, with no steady income he tries to control his intake so as not to fall too far into debt. At times going without food, he's even resorted to begging on the street. He knows he's in the middle of a long, slow slide. He knows he needs to get off of it.
JOHN: I want to get clean. It's -- it's wearing me out again. Nothing's changing. I want to get clean. I don't know -- again I don't know how.
MARQUEZ: His hope? He'll find the strength to switch off that part of his brain demanding the next fix. Today it seems a fading hope.
JOHN: I can't see myself continuing on this way.
MARQUEZ (on camera): Are you afraid it's going to kill you?
JOHN: Yes. It's like a weird feeling of admitting the fact that why haven't I died? Why hasn't it taken me out?
MARQUEZ (voice-over): Miguel Marquez, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Well, gymnast Joe Putignano also knows what it's like to be in heroin's grip. He's a former member of Cirque de Soleil. His memoir -- I don't know why I can't say that, Joe?
"Acrobaddict." He describes his fall from an Olympic hopeful to a homeless junky. He's battled to beat his addiction which he's done. Joe joins us now.
Thank you very much. I've been reading the book. It's a really good read even though I can't pronounce the title correctly. Do you relate to what - to what that guy is saying about wanting to stop and not feeling like you can? JOE PUTIGNANO, AUTHOR, " ACROBADDICT": Completely. And that's one of the reasons why I have written a book. Heroin really locks you in, not just because it feels good but it's also physically addictive. And unfortunately, when you try to get clean you feel terrible. So it's really easy to crawl back.
COOPER: And you were performing in front of thousands of people in the metropolitan opera. And, I mean, a very physical performances on stages, as a gymnast, as contortionist, and you were doing that while on heroin?
PUTIGNANO: Yes.
COOPER: I think a lot of people would be surprised by that.
PUTIGNANO: Yes. It's -- it is a little unusual I think for an athlete to be a heroin addict than they do other drugs. But you know it's a difficult thing because I wanted to get clean while I was performing but I couldn't stop because I knew the withdrawals would happen. And you can't be sick on stage. So I'd have to keep using to finish the shows. It's almost as if I had to have time off to withdraw and then get clean again.
COOPER: And, I mean, I don't understand the appeal of heroin. I mean, at least initially. Is it -- I mean, obviously it's a painkiller so it's --
PUTIGNANO: Yes.
COOPER: -- a secession of whatever pain you were feeling.
PUTIGNANO: Right. The appeal is the euphoria and that there is no pain. It's interesting, I feel like as people we always have a little bit of pain. Our knee hurts, our head hurts. And then you take a substance that completely annihilates any pain you have so --
COOPER: Emotional pain. Not just physical pain.
PUTIGNANO: Yes. I used to say that you can't touch me on heroin. It's as if God is holding me. And then --
COOPER: That's what it felt like.
PUTIGNANO: Yes. Yes. And as if there's a fire inside of me. So, you know, to let go of that fire, it's like you're asking me to do a lot. You know.
COOPER: In the book you described a feeling of having like a demon in your spine.
PUTIGNANO: Yes.
COOPER: What is that?
PUTIGNANO: As we watched on the video, he talks about this obsession, which is heart-breaking for me to see. You know, he can't stop. And for me I felt like there was a demon inside of me. I wanted to stop so bad. I tried so many times, but I couldn't. I used to have a syringe in my hand and I'd be crying like I don't want to -- I don't want to do this again. But I would do it. And then the next day I'd say I'm not doing this today.
COOPER: So how did you finally stop?
PUTIGNANO: It took forever.
COOPER: How long were you using?
PUTIGNANO: I used from 19 until about 29.
COOPER: Wow.
PUTIGNANO: Yes.
COOPER: Ten years.
PUTIGNANO: Yes. Yes.
COOPER: So what finally broke it for you?
PUTIGNANO: This is very cliche, but it's the only thing I can say to another addict out there who's suffering. And I do know exactly what they're going through because we often feel like we're all alone. You can't give up. I tried so many times and failed over and over and over. You've tried different things. You know, for me it was a 12- step programs and rehabs and things like that. You have to get support. But you can't give up because your life is at stake. You know, so.
COOPER: And for you it's now been seven years?
PUTIGNANO: It will be seven years in March. Yes.
COOPER: And do you still think about it?
PUTIGNANO: I do occasionally. But the interesting thing is what he was referring to this obsession? It actually goes away. And I didn't know that. And I don't think a lot of addicts out there know that over time this obsession will dissipate. However, certain things in life will trigger it back, the desire to use, which is why it is a chronic illness and you have to treat it on a daily basis.
You have to be vigilant. It's almost like you have to be one step in front of the disease. If you have a bad day, a breakup, a loss of job, you know, give you anxiety, you want to use and kind of make yourself feel better. So you really have to be on top of your program or whatever.
COOPER: Yes. Well, I'm glad -- I'm glad you've come this far.
PUTIGNANO: Thank you. Yes, me, too, thank you.
COOPER: Yes. Again the book is "Acrobaddict." Joe Putignano, thank you so much. Appreciate it.
PUTIGNANO: Thank you.
COOPER: As always you can find more on the story at CNN.com.
Coming up next the strange defense of the affluenza defense. Remember this kid? Killed a number of people in a drunk-driving accident. How the legal counsel for Ethan Couch, 16-year-old with history of reckless behavior before that and substance abuse, blames the media for that defense.
And later, he shot an unarmed teenager to death over loud music at a gas station. Says it was in self-defense. We'll dig into the case of another man as his trial begins and this video is played in court.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Hey, welcome back. "Keeping Them Honest" tonight. A case of adding insult to injury in the killings of four people.
Now here's the background. Holly Boyles, her daughter Shelby, Brianna Mitchell and Brian Jennings, all died when a pickup driven by 16-year- old Ethan Couch plowed into them along the Ft. Worth, Texas, area roadside last June. Ethan killed all four.
He was three times over the legal limit for alcohol. Alcohol he was too young to buy or to drink. He was also a kid with a history of reckless behavior and substance abuse and a child of privilege.
It was that last point his legal team latched onto, crafting an argument that persuaded a judge to forego prison time. Couch they said was suffering from affluenza. That's right, affluenza. They had a doctor say this. It may sound ridiculous but the argument was basically that because he had never faced any serious consequences for his actions before because his parents allowed him to get away with all this stuff that he shouldn't be expected to now.
Psychologist G. Dick Miller testified at the trial. He's the one who came up with this term. He said he regrets using the term affluenza. But when we last spoke he didn't seem to regret the outcome.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: But isn't this making excuses? I mean, you say vast majority of people then, you know, want too much, spend too much, eat too much. But if you commit a crime, if you killed four people, you can't use that as an excuse, can you?
G. DICK MILLER, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: No. And the term -- when you use the word kill, and people out in America hear that, it implies that there was some -- that motive, that the motive was not good. And I think, Anderson --
COOPER: Are you saying he didn't murder four -- he didn't kill four people?
MILLER: Yes, he did not murder four people. It's a legal term.
COOPER: OK. But he slammed his truck --
MILLER: First-degree -- first-degree homicide and involuntary manslaughter are different things, Anderson.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: He killed four people. But intoxication, manslaughter which is what Ethan Couch pleaded to normally does carry significant prison time. So when the judge first sentenced him to probation and rehab, apparently buying into this affluenza defense, there was outrage.
Well, here now is the insult. After yesterday's probation hearing, after the judge reaffirmed the sentence, Couch's lawyer blamed the media for all the fuss over the affluenza defense.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REAGAN WYNN, ETHAN COUCH'S ATTORNEY: I would submit it was ridiculous to think that we walked into court and said, this is a rich white kid and she decided to probate. I think that word might have got said once by a witness in passing. And all of a sudden that became the story. I just think it's really sad that she has been blasted in the immediate way she has for doing what she thought was right based on all the evidence because one word got out and went viral on the internet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: "Keeping Them Honest," though, that one word, affluenza, didn't come out of thin air as the prosecutor in the case explained.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD ALPERT, TARRANT COUNTY ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Well, that's ironic. Because it's his expert that brought that before the courtroom so somebody made a decision before this hearing that was a good term. He's a good attorney. His witnesses don't say things by accident.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Bingo. Said another way, it wasn't the big bad media that started this whole affluenza thing, we never even heard of this as a defense. No one had even ever imagined it as a defense. It was the boy's own attorney who allowed this kind of testimony in. So insult and injury now reaction from Eric Boyles whose wife and daughter were killed by Ethan Couch and who joins us tonight.
Eric, I heard you say you wanted to hear two words from Ethan Couch yesterday that you never actually heard. What were those words?
ERIC BOYLES, WIFE AND DAUGHTER KILLED BY "AFFLUENZA" TEEN: I'm sorry. You know, to expect probably a 16-year-old in this environment to rattle off some eloquent statement was not necessarily expected, I don't think, from the victims' families. But even just an attempt to muster "I'm sorry" would have gone a long way. And we've not heard that anywhere along the way.
COOPER: Do you think he is sorry? I mean, do you think he understands what he's done?
BOYLES: Well, based on what you see and the emotions in the courtroom, I don't get that. I've heard his attorneys speak to that, but I can tell you that in general from the victims' families, we certainly have not seen any remorse. And we certainly have not seen any attempt to provide remorse.
COOPER: The fact that this young man was sentenced to probation and treatment instead of a juvenile detention facility where he could have gotten treatment do you have any doubt money was behind that decision, money that paid for his attorneys and paid for fancy doctors and influenced the judge's decision about what kind of facility for him to ultimately go to?
BOYLES: Had money not been available for the defense, for the expert witnesses that were there, as well as money available for an additional treatment facility, typically not offered to other youthful offenders, it absolutely played into the decision that was made.
COOPER: A lot had been made about Couch possibly being sent to this very expensive private facility out in California, one that his parents would foot the bill for. They had all sorts of like equine therapy and yoga and cooking classes. Were you pleased the judge instead remanded him to a state-run facility in Texas? Did that at least send something of a message?
BOYLES: Well, it is a lockdown facility. He's not going to be riding horses or taking yoga classes. So at least that is a plus. But at the end of the day, he completes his treatment; he goes home to his family. You know, I had a warm, vibrant home that I went to every night. I now go home to a quiet, stark, sterile environment. So it's now not just a house. It's not a home.
COOPER: I was surprised the defense lawyer for this young man said yesterday that it was the reporting on this case that distorted the facts, the so-called affluenza defense that it should never have been the focus of the case. I was surprised by that, because that defense lawyer is the one who introduced it through the doctor that he selected to testify.
BOYLES: Absolutely. The reason they're walking it back today is because of the media outcry that followed is negative. Even if you just take away, OK, Ethan couldn't know better because of the way he was raised, the influenza still applies to the fact of the level of defense that was provided, of the expert witnesses that were there to testify on his behalf and the fact that he could pay for $450,000 facility a year.
So I was actually surprised to hear them attempt to walk back the affluenza term they created it. The outcry follows it and now they wish that indeed that the negative focus wasn't so much around affluenza. My own opinion is that doesn't go away.
COOPER: Eric, I'm sorry to put you through this of having you come on and speak. But again, I do think attention on this is important. I appreciate you taking the time. Thank you.
BOYLES: Thank you.
COOPER: Up next, some dramatic video showing the moment a Florida man opened fire on a car of African-American teenagers after a fight over loud music. He killed one of those teens. Question, was it self defense as he claims or murder? Defense Attorney Mark Geragos and former prosecutor, Sunny Hostin weigh in.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Welcome back. "Crime and Punishment" now, in Florida, a murder trial begins for a man accused of killing an unarmed African- American teenager. The victim 17-year-old Jordan Davis was shot to death after a fight over loud music at a gas station. The defendant is Michael Dunn. He claimed the shooting was self-defense.
According to Dunn's defence attorney, he opened fire fearing for his life after he says he was threatened and saw a weapon in the teen's SUV. No gun though was ever found. During opening arguments today the jury heard the moment that Dunn opened fire.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My God, somebody's shooting. Somebody's shooting out of their car.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: That's from a surveillance camera video. Obviously, CNN's Tory Dunnan was in the court today and has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My god, somebody is shooting out of their car.
TORY DUNNAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Surveillance video shown in court from the night 17-year-old Jordan Davis was shot and killed. Police say it all started with an argument over loud music blasting from a car parked at a Jacksonville gas station. The 47-year-old software developer, Michael Dunn, charged with first degree murder and three counts of attempted murder, is claiming self-defense.
Dunn told police during an interrogation that he asked Davis and the other teens in the SUV parked next to him to turn down the music. He said at first they complied, and then he says he heard threats.
MICHAEL DUNN, ALLEGED SHOOTER: The guy that was in the back he was getting really agitated. And my window's up, I can't hear anything he's saying, but, you know, there's a lot of -- and that -- and -- then the music comes back on.
DUNNAN: Two sides in court today telling very different stories about what happened on November 23rd, 2012.
JOHN GUY, PROSECUTOR: And they'll tell you about the interaction between Jordan Davis and the defendant, that Jordan Davis was upset, no doubt. He was cussing, no doubt. He raised his voice, but he never threatened the defendant. He disrespected him. Jordan David threatened Michael Dunn. You're dead -- this is going down now. With a shotgun barrel sticking out of the window or a lead pipe, whatever it was a deadly weapon.
DUNNAN: Dunn told investigators he saw a weapon pointed at him, feared for his safety, grabbed his gun and fired.
UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: We had shots fired in the parking lot. The person firing has left.
DUNNAN: Police say they never found a gun in the teens red Dodge Durango.
GUY: The only thing he had on his person was a cell phone and a pocket knife. And both of those things were in his pockets when he was shot and killed.
DUNNAN: At the crux of the case, why didn't Dunn just drive off?
CORY STROLLA, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: He just had somebody threaten his life, display a weapon, try to exit a vehicle and say this -- is going down now -- and for the first time in his life, he has to use a firearm to defend himself.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DUNNAN: So Anderson, one big thing that continues to come up in court is the fact that Dunn left the scene, never calling 911. It was detectives who were able to talk to witnesses and found a license plate, and that is ultimately how they tracked him down. Anderson, you can imagine both sides of the aisle are definitely focusing on that element.
COOPER: Tory Dunnan, appreciate it. Thanks a lot. To discuss with our equal justice panel, CNN legal analyst, Sunny Hostin, a former federal prosecutor, and Mark Geragos, a criminal defense attorney.
Sunny, he didn't drive off when he could have and avoided this whole thing. He did drive off after shooting this young man, went to a hotel, watched a movie, had a drink, and hung out with his girlfriend.
SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Didn't call 911, nothing, and I think there's no coincidence that these types of cases are happening in Florida. We've got the movie theater texting shooting case. We've got the Zimmerman case and it's happening in Florida because of the stand your ground law. No one wants to talk about it. They're saying this is regular self-defense.
The problem, Anderson, in Florida self-defense is the stand your ground law. It's codified, part of the standard jury instructions and it's empowering people. It's made Florida sort of like the wild south and made it open season on young black guys.
COOPER: Mark, this guy, Dunn, wrote some pretty stunning things, letters while he was in jail, calling people who listen to rap thugs, saying if more people would arm themselves and kill thugs when they were threatening you they would change their behaviour. Are those kinds of things admissible?
MARK GERAGOS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes. They're clearly admissible and as a defense lawyer the kinds of things that keep you up at night. You want to bitch slap the defendant and ask him what the hell he was thinking. The problem with a case like this is like any other criminal case, it comes down to jury selection. Sunny was sweet enough to forward to me today the jury racial breakdown.
HOSTIN: You're welcome, Mark.
GERAGOS: Thank you, Sunny. That has hung jury written all over it to me.
COOPER: Why? What's the makeup?
GERAGOS: Tell him, Sunny.
HOSTIN: Well, we don't know exactly where they're seated because we've got 12 jurors and four alternates. We don't know which jurors are the alternates, but there are three African-American women and one Hispanic man and all the other jurors are white. I will agree with Mark on that because if there are no African-Americans on this jury it's going to be a big problem.
Because again, with stand your ground, it doesn't have to be a real threat. It's a perceived threat. So if you've got a group of black kids listening to rap music in your car, and you think that you're scared, then you can shoot to kill. And it's just shocking to me that no one's talking about it.
It's just like the Zimmerman case. And it's just like every other case you're going to hear about in Florida because of stand your ground. Its Zimmerman land again.
GERAGOS: Well, remember also it's like Zimmerman because it's got Sunny's favourite prosecutor there.
HOSTIN: Will McDreamy did give the opening statement today.
COOPER: I can't believe you called the prosecutor, McDreamy.
GERAGOS: She loves this guy. She's got a crush on him since last trial.
HOSTIN: He's very good. He was a detective.
COOPER: I heard you thought about Kevin Costner, Sunny, when watching this video.
HOSTIN: I will say that I believe that he looks like Kevin Costner. He gave a really impassioned, very good opening statement. I think he learned from the Zimmerman case about putting the victim into the courtroom. So we heard a lot about Jordan Davis.
COOPER: But Mark, it's depressing when you say that it all boils down to jury selection and this has hung jury written all over it. Basically you're saying because of the racial makeup of this it has a hung jury? That's kind of a sad testament.
GERAGOS: Well, it is sad. But you know, Anderson, after Trayvon Martin, you and I have discussed this so many times. The kind of not so hidden secret about the criminal justice system is that it all comes down to race. I mean, not unlike a lot of American society.
And unfortunately in a case like this, where you have a white male who has got basically no priors and you've got a black African-American victim and you have loud music and kind of this throw down situation, it plays into all of the worst racial stereotypes. And unfortunately, that's what's going to resonate or not resonate with the jury.
HOSTIN: And I just want to add very quickly, what was shocking to me in the opening statements given by the defense today is that he said there must have been a gun, they must have sort of thrown it away. And I'm thinking just because there are four black kids in a car don't mean necessarily that there was a gun in the car. It's just shocking.
GERAGOS: You want to know something, Sunny? A lot of people would be very receptive to that argument.
COOPER: We're going to continue to follow this case because it's an important one. Sunny, appreciate it. Mark Geragos as well.
Up next, a new twist in the Woody Allen sex abuse scandal. Less than a week after his adopted daughter, Dylan Farrow, accused of molesting her in a detailed letter to the "New York Times," another one of Allen's adoptive children is coming to his defense in "People" magazine why Moses Farrow says his sister is lying, made it up.
Plus this dramatic video of a police chase and shootout, we'll show you how it ends ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Welcome back. Tonight another child of Mia Farrow and Woody Allen is speaking out in defense of Woody Allen. Moses Farrowl's interview is in the new issue of "People" magazine. Philip Seymour Hoffman is on the cover, but the Allen-Farrow feud has a cover line. He says his sister Dylan's renewed allegations that Allen molested her when she was 7 are flat out made up.
In a letter to the "New York Times" published last weekend as you know Dylan Farrow who is now 28 described the alleged molestation for the first time publicly. The "Los Angeles Times" says its editors were approached about running an op-ed by Dylan Farrow before her letter ran in the "New York Times," but they decided not to publish it.
Moses Farrow told "People" magazine that his mother, Mia Farrow, poisoned her kids against Allen during that highly publicized public custody battle in the 90s. The molestation allegation was at the center of the battle. Police investigation ended with no charges.
With his interview, Moses Farrow is the latest in family to publicly take sides. Kate Coyne assisting managing editor for people magazine joins us now. This is so tragic no matter how you look at it. Moses farrow said point blank the molestation of his sister never happened.
KATE COYNE, ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITOR, "PEOPLE" MAGAZINE: Said didn't happen, totally false.
COOPER: How does he know?
COYNE: He says the incident in question that Dylan outlined in her letter, the incident in the attic with the train set couldn't have happened by his own memory, he himself was a child at the time. By his own memory he says it couldn't have happened because on that day they were all in public rooms the entire time with babysitters, with shape chaperones, people with them at all times.
So there's simply no way it could have happened. Furthermore, he doesn't seem inclined to believe it ever happened because he adores his father. He's very much in support of Woody Allen and doesn't feel this is something that's even possible that his father could have done.
COOPER: He also points the finger at his mom, Mia Farrow, in a number of ways. What was he saying?
COYNE: Well, he basically believes that even if Dylan believes what she's saying, it is only because Mia has poisoned her mind, has manipulated her, planted false memories in her head that have sent been drilled into her for 20 plus years now and that this is the reason she's making these claims, that she's a vengeful, violent he goes on to say during his childhood he was physically harmed. Really horrible person, by Mia. He really goes to great lengths to paint a portrait of his childhood that was nothing short of horrific.
COOPER: He wasn't always supportive of Woody Allen, was he?
COYNE: He says he knows of what he speaks because he himself was once on Dylan's side, was once in Dylan's position, being very much against his father, believing everything he had been told and he now characterizes himself as being freed from that in some way, that he has escaped this kind of brain washing.
COOPER: Wow. "People" magazine also talked to Dylan Farrow exclusively. What did she say about her brother's allegations?
COYNE: Actually tonight, we posted a much lengthier interview with Dylan. She had a lot to say. She is unequivocal about her feelings about what Moses has now said. She sees it as a betrayal. She said that her brother is now dead to her. And that her memories were absolutely hers. She said my memories are mine. They were not manipulated or planted. In fact, when she went to Mia hoped she was lying. Mia said it's OK if you've made this up. You can tell me. But that this absolutely happened to her, that this is her truth, that she is proud of herself as are many who support her for telling this truth. And that she sees what Moses as doing is nothing short of betrayal.
COOPER: It's all in "People" and people.com. Appreciate you joining us. Very disturbing!
Let's check some other headlines. Stephanie Elam has a 360 Bulletin.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, Albuquerque, New Mexico police have released incredible video of a shootout they had with a man during a chase. The video was recorded on a lapel camera last October. Take a look. The gunman, Christopher Chase, died after being shot eight times by cops. He wounded four law enforcement officers that day.
And tears at a bail hearing today from the man who shot to death a fellow movie goer last month as his daughter took the stand on his behalf! Witnesses say retired Tampa police officer, Curtis Reeves, killed Chad Olsen after he was texting his 2-year-old daughter and tossed popcorn at the defendant. Olsen's widow was wounded that day and was also moved to tears in court.
And a rare nearly 300-year-old Stradivarius violin stolen last week in Milwaukee has been found in an attic. Three suspects are accused of using a stun gun to steal it from a concert violinist.
COOPER: Stephanie, thanks very much. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Breaking news on the terror threats against the Olympics. We don't have time for the "Ridiculist" tonight. That does it for 360 right now. Thanks for watching. Tune in at 10:00 p.m. Eastern for "The 60s, The British Invasion." "PIERS MORGAN LIVE" starts now.
PIERS MORGAN, CNN HOST: This is PIERS MORGAN LIVE. Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world.
