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Terrorist Attack on British Airport

Aired June 30, 2007 - 23:00   ET

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

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN ANCHOR: A terrorist attack on one of Britain's main airport.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The guy was in flames and seemed to be enjoying himself, smiling and everything.

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ROESGEN: Men on a mission to destroy, using a jeep as a missile.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, you show (INAUDIBLE).

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ROESGEN: Who's behind the second terrorist attempt in as many days?

And your security, heightened alert at U.S. airports and around the world.

Plus, one moment a woman is in her house, the next she's dead and everything is gone. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Here it is. The frightening scene of today's fiery airport attack in Scotland. British authorities say they are convinced it is terrorism. A speeding jeep smashes into the front entrance of the check-in terminal at the airport in Glasgow and bursts into flames. There was chaos and then the airport and others nearby were evacuated and shut down. If there was a positive side to it all, no bystanders were killed, none of them even badly hurt.

Now here's one of the few photographs showing police and paramedics apparently tending to one of the men from the burning vehicle. He was burned pretty badly. And he's now in critical condition. Another man is in custody. And sources say a third suspect was dead in the car.

The police are linking this attack to the discovery of two cars in London yesterday, both packed with enough explosive material to make them potentially deadly car bombs.

We've got the full power of CNN focused on this story tonight from where it's happening in Britain to the busiest airports in the United States. Nic Robertson and Paula Newton in London, Jim Acosta on the East coast, Kara Finnstrom on the West coast, and Josh Levs at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta.

The British terror threat level is now the highest it can be. And just in the last few hours, British police arrested two more suspects in northern England. So along with the Glasgow suspects arrested at the airport, that makes four people in custody now so far in connection with this case. Here's our senior international correspondent, Nic Robertson.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Susan, the police have been working well into the night here to secure the vehicle that crashed into the front of the airport building. People, passengers, air crews that have been trapped here all day are only now being able to leave. Many of them stuck here in their planes on the tarmac since the incident began in the middle of the afternoon.

(voice-over): Flames from a burning jeep shoot into the air, scorching the front of Scotland's busiest airport. A terror attack at the Glasgow air terminal, according to police directly linked to the car bombs found in London Friday.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The incident at Glasgow airport is linked to the events in London yesterday. There are clearly similarities. And we can confirm that this is being treated as a terrorist incident.

ROBERTSON: Witnesses of the mid-afternoon blast saw several men speed towards the terminal building in a large off-road vehicle.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At the beginning, I thought it was somebody that had obviously just, you know, crashed the car into the building by mistake. But as I continued to look and (INAUDIBLE) see the car, I'm realizing that this is obviously deliberately done.

ROBERTSON: Then according to witnesses, the men doused themselves and the jeep in fuel.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why is that guy not getting into the car? Then comes - and you go, like a (INAUDIBLE) whatever, poured all of that (INAUDIBLE) on the car.

ROBERTSON: Police quickly took control, closing the airport and sealing off the area, as the fight with the attackers went on.

JOHN SMITTEN, GLASGOW AIRPORT EMPLOYEE: I seen a man come out of the passenger's seat of the vehicle. A policeman is running out across to assist. The man then attacks the policeman. I see this happening, see, well I'll (INAUDIBLE) to push my hand. So I ran. And other members of the public as well, I mean, to try to subdue the guy, but he's a bad boy. He's not being subdued. He's throwing punches left, right, and center.

ROBERTSON: Other witnesses also said the attackers did not want to be saved from the flames.

SMITTEN: He was speeding out of it and he was shouting something, Allah, something Allah. Every time he threw a punch, he was saying Allah. And they all (INAUDIBLE) as a policeman.

ROBERTSON: Fire crews struggled to put out the blaze, one attacker dying at the scene, the other two arrested. One of them taken to the hospital in critical condition.

WILLIAM RAE, CHIEF CONSTABLE, STRATHCLYDE POLICE: When he was being treated at the hospital, a suspect device was found at the hospital. And as a consequence of that, the hospital was partly evacuated until this device was removed and put into a safe area.

ROBERTSON (on camera): And the police here say they're not just increasing security at the airport. But at key locations in venues throughout Scotland. They say they're appealing to the public to be vigilant. The fear here is that the attacks may not be over. Susan?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROESGEN: Nic Robertson reporting in London.

So two days, two terror-related incidents in the United Kingdom. And it has the attention of Homeland Security here in the United States. What does it mean for travelers here? Let's start at Los Angeles International Airport, where CNN's Kara Finnstrom joins us live. Kara?

KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello. Well, there is some heightened concern here. This is a huge airport. We're going into a holiday week. And LAX has been the target of terrorist plots before. So we did speak with LAX police earlier today. And they issued a formal statement, saying that out of extreme caution, they are going to take some extra measures. Mainly, they are going to be having more uniform police officers around the airport. And they're also going to be stepping up their K-9 patrols. And we have seen some bomb sniffing dogs going around the perimeter of the airport and going around the inside of the airport.

We also took some video earlier today of some random checkpoints. Now these are in place quite often as a regular part of the security, but they are also up and running today. They check for things like explosives that could be hidden inside of cars.

Nothing, though however here, has been shut down. Everything running normally. And the LAX police tells the most people can expect here are some delays as they get ready to board their flights.

Now all of this comes on the heels of some concerns here at LAX in the past. Five years ago on the July 4th weekend, a lone gunman walked up to an Israeli ticket counter for an Israeli airline and opened fire, injuring a number of people. Nobody was killed. That gunman not linked to any formal terrorist organization, but was upset about U.S. support for Israel. And then, of course, back in 1999, there was a so-called millennium bomber, who was caught up in Seattle getting off a ferry. Custom agents were suspicious when they saw him sweating profusely, acting strangely. And they actually ended up unfoiling a plot to blow up a car bomb here at LAX.

So today, LAX officials just asking everyone here to be on extra alert. If they see anything suspicious, to report it to them. But all of the passengers we've been talking with who are going through here today say that they feel pretty secure. Most of them seem to actually, Susan, to be more concerned about any delays than getting to where they're going.

ROESGEN: OK, Kara Finnstrom reporting live for us in Los Angeles. Thank you.

Now other major airports in the U.S. are taking similar precautions. Security has been tightened at New York's Laguardia and at Reagan National in Washington. Chicago's O'Hare, one of the world's busiest, as you know, has also increased security measures. And in Orlando, one of the last flights to leave Glasgow today arrived just a few hours ago.

Now in New York, the increased security is front and center at Laguardia. The police worked quickly to keep cars moving in front of busy departure terminals. And the city's rapid response units were pulled out of another exercise in Manhattan to give a show of force there.

Extra security is also deployed at Reagan National Airport in Washington, though. Much of this is behind the scenes. Passengers there told CNN today that they have mixed emotions about traveling.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think it changes how we approach the flight. I just want to get there. At this point, we've been here 10 - we're going to be here 10 hours. And I don't -- really don't like being in this airport knowing what happened.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel pretty confident of the airline security here and what's going on in the United States. And I'm heading towards the West coast. And I feel OK about it.

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ROESGEN: Well, in Chicago, travelers have been warned to give themselves extra time at O'Hare and Midway Airports. Mayor Richard Daily says city officials are staying in touch with the Homeland Security department.

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RICHARD DALEY, MAYOR, CHICAGO: We're in full contact with them at all times. And like anything else, we will always keep alerts in and around the airports, and around infrastructure. (END VIDEO CLIP)

ROESGEN: And a Virgin Atlantic flight was one of the last planes to fly out of Glasgow before the airport was shut down, but the passengers didn't know anything about the attack until they arrived in Florida several hours ago.

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KRISTY FAIRCOUGH, PASSENGER: I feel very lucky. I feel very lucky. And well just hopefully, they'll get it sorted out. And everybody will be safe going back. And everyone will be safe here and on holiday.

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ROESGEN: And now to the second busiest airport in the U.S. - Hartsfield-Jackson International right here in Atlanta. CNN's Josh Levs is keeping an eye on the security situation here. Josh?

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there. You know, it is the second-busiest. And it's the busiest passenger airport. Has more people coming in and out than any other airport in America.

Let me put this in context for you. The Glasgow airport that we've been talking about today has nearly 9 million passengers a year. This airport, 85 million a year and nearly 100,000 take-offs. So obviously, security is a tremendous concern here and has been for a long time, especially since 9/11.

Now what you're seeing over here, cars are passing through. It seems like a relatively normal night. And it is. We've spoken with security officials. The police told us things were relatively similar. The TSA told us today that they have stepped up the curb- side presence, at least outwardly. And we did at some points today see more TSA people walking around.

But as you can tell, mostly generally here, a pretty normal night.

However, when you see cars pass by here, to us it looks like cars passing by. Something normal. What it looks like to security is something different. And that's where this Glasgow idea fits in.

You know, Susan, they've got some intense security measures to watch out for suspect vehicles. They watch vehicles coming here from miles away. And then, no car can be left in this area at all unattended at all. It's immediately removed.

They have tow trucks that stand by to remove any trucks, any vehicles that may be left unattended. And also, they do stop some suspicious vehicles at times farther away from the airport.

Now we spoke with someone today who I think can give us some good insight into what's been going on internationally. We spoke with a man named Barry Mangel, who is actually in London today at Heathrow Airport. He had been there a couple of weeks ago. And he told us how security is very different today.

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BARRY MANGEL, PASSENGER: It was more than when we came into London about two weeks ago. So it was noticeable. There were police officers above us with guns on, you know, at the upper levels. So that was more noticeable. I didn't notice that when we came in.

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LEVS: So he was able to see the different things when he was at Heathrow today. Obviously, it's not quite the same here in America. Passengers we're talking to are saying they still feel comfortable flying, largely because of the attacks that did take place in Glasgow was not, Susan, not on an airplane.

ROESGEN: All right, Josh Levs reporting from Atlanta's airport. Thank you so much.

President Bush is in Maine tonight, getting ready to host Russian President Vladimir Putin tomorrow at the Bush family vacation home. The president got two security briefings today on what was happening in Britain, but he continued his recreational bike riding and boating.

White House spokesman Tony Snow told reporters in his words, "...there is no indication of any specific or credible threat to the United States." And aside from the beefed-up security at airports that we're seeing, he says there is no change in the overall security threat level here in the U.S.

Still ahead, we'll have much more coverage of the terror threat in the United Kingdom, the link now between what happened in London, the car bombs discovered there, and what happened today in Scotland. We'll show you a timeline of how this all connects.

Then, a fiery explosion after a plane crashes into a house. We've got the story.

Plus, raging wildfires. Some parts of the western United States just cannot get a break. All this and more straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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ROESGEN: And taking a closer look now at our top story tonight, the police have arrested two more people in connection with this new terror threat in the United Kingdom. The latest arrests happened just a few hours ago in northern England. Two other suspects were taken in custody earlier in Scotland.

But it all started with two parked cars.

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ROESGEN (voice-over): Friday, 1:30 a.m. in London, a Mercedes- Benz parked outside a night club near London's Piccadilly Circus draws suspicion. Authorities find fuel, gas canisters, and nails inside, the makings of a deadly car bomb.

Just one hour later, just a half mile away, a second Mercedes parked near Trafalgar Square also draws suspicion. Inside, fuel, gas canisters, nails. By now, authorities say the two vehicles are clearly linked. And they believe they've thwarted a potential terrorist attack.

Fast forward to Saturday around 3:15 p.m., Scotland. A jeep Cherokee crashes into the front door of a terminal at Glasgow Airport and bursts into flames. Witnesses see two men jump from the vehicle, one of them on fire. Police arrest both. Sources say a third suspect died in the flaming vehicle.

Just hours after the crash, authorities call it a terrorist attack. And they link it to the bomb-filled cars found in London the day before. Tonight, airports in the United Kingdom and the United States have heightened security. And the U.K. is under its highest terror alert level.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROESGEN: And now a look at some of the stories making news across America. A small plane crashed into a house in Conway, Arkansas, killing the pilot and a woman who was inside the house. It looks as if nothing is left. But the police say a passenger in the plane and another person inside that house actually survived the crash.

This is usually a ditch as that woman said there, but it looks more like a river tonight. I-reporter Cheryl Buckner sent us this video from Oklahoma, where people are still dealing with flooding caused by days of heavy rain. Roads and highways are closed. And Oklahoma City got rain for a record 18th straight day.

Burning out of control tonight, this wildfire in eastern Utah killed three men who were working in a hay field. The fire has burned more than 20 square miles. And the governor there is asking for federal aid to help the people affected. But hot, windy, and dry weather is fanning the flames.

We're keeping you updated on today's terror threat as the latest details come out of the U.K. Still to come, new information about yesterday's thwarted car bombings in London.

Also, this high school student could get 20 years in prison for a school fight. Coming up next, his dad talks to us about the brawl that landed his son behind bars.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

ROESGEN: The British terror threat alert is now at its highest level after today's attack at Scotland's Glasgow Airport. And the police now have firmly connected that attack to the double car bomb discovery in London on Friday. Here's more from CNN's Paula Newton.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Scotland Yard announcing a breakthrough in their investigation into the two car bombs that were defused in London on Friday. Two arrests were made in the northwest of England in connection with those incidents. The government and the police really not saying much more about the situation now, given the laws here in Britain at this point in time. A lot of the information flow will stop because they don't want to prejudice any future case.

In the meantime, though, they are still investigating the incident at Glasgow Airport and also seeing what kind of links it has to those two car bombs diffused in London. They say there is a link. At this point though, they're not sure whether it was a straight copycat or if this was part of a larger wave of attacks.

Earlier, we heard from Scottish police. And that was from Chief Constable William Rae, who discussed the fact that there was one suspect was in custody. One in critical condition in hospital with severe burns. And CNN has learned that there is a third suspect still in the vehicle that charged into that Glasgow Airport.

Another interesting incident, though, quite alarming with the suspect who is in the hospital. Police do confirm that the hospital was temporarily evacuated because they found a suspicious device.

WILLIAM RAE, CHIEF CONSTABLE, STRATHCLYDE POLICE: And two men from the vehicle were arrested at the scene. One of the men was taken to the Royal Alexandria Hospital in Paisley, where he is currently detained, suffering from severe burns. And he is in a critical condition. When he was being treated at the hospital, a suspect device was found at the hospital. And as a consequence of that, the hospital was properly evacuated until this device was actually moved and put into a safe area.

NEWTON: Now police are looking at whether or not that was some type of suicide vest. They have it in forensics and are taking a look at it again.

In the meantime, the threat level here in the U.K. has been elevated to critical. That means that authorities expect an attack to be imminent. We can expect many more patrols on the streets in Britain, and especially in London throughout the next several days.

Paula Newton, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROESGEN: So that is the question now, could another terrorist attack be on the way? That's what we asked global security expert John Pike.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROESGEN: John, what do you think? We've had these two terrorist attempts in two days. Is there another one on the way?

JOHN PIKE, DIRECTOR, GLOBALSECURITY.ORG: Well, it looks like the British government has decided that that's a distinct possibility by increasing their threat level. The concern that you'd have to have is that they have not arrested everybody involved in this conspiracy, that there are more conspirators out there, that the plan would have been to have a series of attacks day after day, to destroy - basically to destroy public confidence and public places.

You can't go to the airport. You can't go to a night club. You can't go out anywhere without the risk of being attacked. That would be the thing that you'd be concerned about.

What you hope is that there were five people in this conspiracy. One of them is dead, four of them are in jail, and that's the end of it.

ROESGEN: Well, you've got, you know, what's apparently not a very sophisticated operation. Does that make any difference how sophisticated it is, if it's a terrorist attack?

PIKE: Well, I think that it certainly makes the difference in terms of how many people were killed. At this point, you've had no civilians killed in these first two incidents. And if you compare that to September 11th, I think that what we're seeing here is that while people influence are inspired by al Qaeda might be able to mount small attacks with a handful of conspirators, that this sort of big, multi continental, dozens of people, several years into preparation, spectacular attacks that we were seeing up through September 11th, we haven't seen those since. And there's still no indication that al Qaeda is able to mount those types of big attacks as opposed to these small ones.

I mean, the Glasgow fire initially, it was unclear whether it was an accident or an attack.

ROESGEN: Well, just to get a sense of the dangers if we go ahead, really quickly here, if success for a terrorist is mass casualties, regardless of how sophisticated the attack is, do you think that whoever was behind these two attempts is really going to launch a third?

PIKE: Well, certainly we had a close call with those London bombs, which could have done a lot more damage than what we saw in Glasgow. You have to be worried that there are a couple of more people out there, a few more bombs. And their next attempt isn't going to fail.

ROESGEN: OK, John Pike, the director of Globalsecurity.org, thanks for joining us.

PIKE: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROESGEN: And we will keep bringing you the latest on the U.K. terror alert throughout the night

Plus coming up, the death of Chris Benoit sent shockwaves through the pro wrestling world. But this wrestler is not the exception. More than 60 dead before the age of 50. An insider tells us why.

And was it just a school fight or was it a case of attempted murder?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was getting kicked and stomped.

ROESGEN: Why?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know. You tell me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROESGEN: The parents of a beating victim speak exclusively to CNN. We've got both sides of the Jena Six story, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROESGEN: It's a case of teenage sex that led to prison. Now it's going to a higher court. The Georgia Supreme Court will decide whether to grant a bond hearing for this man, Genarlow Wilson. He's serving 10 years in prison for having consensual sex with another teenager when he himself was a teenager.

He has already served more than two years of that sentence. Under Georgia state law, at the time of Wilson's conviction, 10 years was mandatory for sex with an underage person, but state lawmakers changed that law to make the crime a misdemeanor if both parties are teenagers after Wilson's conviction.

Now to another case of young people who are caught in the strong arm of the law. This one is in a small town in Louisiana. Six black teenagers could face years in prison for a school fight. And the first of those teenagers was convicted this week by an all-white jury without a single witness in his defense.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROESGEN (voice-over): Marcus Jones is outraged and frightened. His son, 17-year-old Mychal Bell, has been found guilty of aggravated battery and conspiracy to commit aggravated battery, charges that could send him to prison for more than 20 years. And it all stems from a high school fight.

Back in September, black students sat under this tree in the school courtyard where traditionally only white students sit. The next day, three white students hung nooses from the tree and were suspended. What the nooses meant divided the town.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think a couple of boys made a mistake. You know, but I think it's all being blown out of proportion.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was very offended, because that's a racial slur against us. ROESGEN: From there, things got worse. In November, someone set fire to the school, destroying one of its main buildings. Though police don't know if there's a connection to the nooses.

Then in December, a school fight. A white student, Justin Barker, was knocked unconscious and kicked as he lay on the ground. Six black teenagers were accused of beating him.

(on camera): This is a copy of the school hand book here at Jena High School. It says the punishment for a school fight is three days' suspension.

(voice-over): But in this case, the six black teenagers were charged with attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder. Carwyn Jones, Bryant Purvis, Robert Bailey, Jr., Theodore Shaw, and a fifth teenager who's name hasn't been released because he's only 16 are charged with attempted murder.

Now the sixth teenager, Mychal Bell, has been found guilty of the lesser felony charge of aggravated battery. But all the teenagers say they're innocent. And one of them told us he didn't even see what happened.

ROBERT BAILEY, DEFENDANT: You know, when a fight breaks out, every -- all the kids just run to see a fight. That's just how it was. And everybody was in one part. You really couldn't see nothing. So when I'm running to see what's going on, I got down there to the fight, it was over. The coaches and the students was breaking up the fight.

ROESGEN: The students' parents say whatever happened, the only reason their sons were arrested is because they are black.

TINA JONES, PARENT: I've never seen nothing like this before in my life, you know. It's just - it's mind-blowing. You know, it's heart-breaking. You know?

ROESGEN: Two of the students have been locked up in jail since December because their parents can't afford the $90,000 bail.

THEODORE MCCOY, PARENT: Nope. No previous record of anything. And he's been taking it pretty hard at times because we visit every Sunday. Sometimes he's OK. The next minute, he's taking it very hard.

ROESGEN: The parents believe their sons just can't get a fair trial when they're the minority in a town that's 85 percent white. Even some white residents agree.

KRISTY BOYETTE, RESIDENT: These are kids. They are kids. You're just ruining kids' life.

ROESGEN: District Attorney Reed Walters released a statement after the incident, saying he had never charged anyone based on who they are. But he also addressed the six black students directly, saying "you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. I will see to it you never again menace the students at any school in this parish."

Since the arrest last December, Jena has seen protests denouncing the criminal charges against the six black students as racially- motivated. But there is another side of this story that's gone unreported.

KELLY BARKER, VICTIM'S MOTHER: He was getting kicked and stomped.

ROESGEN: Why?

BARKER: I don't know. You tell me.

ROESGEN: For the first time, the parents of Justin Barker, the victim, agreed to be interviewed exclusively by CNN.

BARKER: Several lacerations on both sides, both ears was kind of really damaged. And both eyes. His right eye was the worst. It had blood clots in it.

ROESGEN: Kelly and David Barker say Justin has no idea why he was attacked, but his injuries have cost $12,000 in medical bills. And his parents do believe it was a case of attempted murder.

BARKER: I wish to goodness it wouldn't have happened. I mean, they had parents. And you know, me and David are parents to Justin. And I hate it for them parents. I mean, I can only imagine, but I also have to think about my child and my family.

ROESGEN: The trial for Theodore Shah will be next in a town where fear and suspicion on both sides have made Jena an uncomfortable police to call home.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROESGEN: Mychal Bell, the first to be convicted in this case, will be sentenced at the end of July, but his parents and his public defender promise an appeal.

Coming up in the NEWSROOM, we've just seen the anger of Mychal Bell's father, the anger and disgust as he stormed out of the courtroom after the conviction. Marcus Jones says it's a travesty of justice. And you'll hear from him live coming up next.

And a fiery terrorist attack on Scotland's main airport. Two suspects are in custody. Actually four now after this jeep crashed into a terminal and burst into flames. Authorities are now linking this crash to the discovery of two car bombs in London. And they have made more arrests. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROESGEN: We're going to look a little deeper now at the story we told you about just before the commercial break.

Here's the recap. Six black teenagers in a small Louisiana town could face years in prison because of a school fight. These six high schoolers are accused of beating up a white classmate. The first punch knocked him out. And he testified that he didn't even see who hit him.

But this week, 17-year-old Mychal Bell, a football star at Jena High School, was convicted of felony battery, which carries a sentence of more than 20 years. All six of the black students say there are innocent. And the fight came after a lot of racial tension at the school after some white students hung nooses from this tree in the school courtyard. The parents of the so-called Jena Six now are outraged.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TINA JONES, PARENT OF DEFENDANT: I've never seen nothing like this before in my life. You know, it's just - it's mind-blowing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROESGEN: Well, Tina Jones is one of the parents. Joining us now to talk about the case is Mychal Bell's father, Marcus Jones and civil rights attorney Avery Friedman.

Marcus, what do you think was wrong with the way your son was defended in court this week?

MARCUS JONES, CONVICTED TEEN'S FATHER: The attorney that he had was very, very poor in defending my son. He didn't fight for a change of venue. He had a gag order put on me and his mother, where we couldn't be present in the trial while the trial was going on. He let them pick an all-white jury, instead of him sequestering. The judge to get the -- get more black jurors on there, I mean, he just done just a pitiful job. He didn't even put up no defense for my son when they were in the states - yes, go ahead.

ROESGEN: We know that it's a public defender because you said that you couldn't afford a private lawyer. And the...

JONES: Yes.

ROESGEN: ...competency of the public defender is something that we can talk about later. But just before the trial, the D.A. dropped the charge against Mychal from attempted murder to aggravated battery. Did he expect your son to plead guilty to that lesser charge?

JONES: Yes, yes, yes, he did. Yes, he did.

ROESGEN: Did he ask your son to plea to that? Was there any kind of plea deal proposed?

JONES: Yes. He was trying to get my son to take the plea deal, but my son didn't take it.

ROESGEN: Why not?

JONES: Because it wasn't -- because it wasn't right. ROESGEN: Let's bring in Avery Friedman here. Avery, do you see any grounds for an appeal in this case when you have the father here saying look, we think our public defender did not do what he should have done? An all-white jury, no change of venue, no witnesses called in the defense of Mychal Bell. Is there grounds here for an appeal?

AVERY FRIEDMAN: Well, you just -- Susan, you just identified all of the issues for the court of appeals. The fact is that every criminal -- every one charged with a crime is entitled to effective assistance of counsel. And the various issues that you've identified, the failure to have the judge enforce subpoenas which were issued to jurors, potential jurors, who were black were never enforced. The best he could say is, well I was disappointed that they didn't show up.

Secondly, the prosecutor in this case, Susan, called 40 witnesses. And counsel for Mychal basically said, well, we don't think they proved the case. We're not going to call anybody. So there are a number of very powerful issues. Maybe the most of which would have been the deep examination before the selection of what went on in September, the things that you talked about in your report about the racial tension existing in the city. And there's very little evidence of that.

ROESGEN: Well, let's talk about the victim for a second, Avery. The mother of the victim told me that if the students who attacked her son hadn't been pulled off of him, they would have killed him. So do you think attempted murder charges, criminal charges, are warranted?

FRIEDMAN: Well, the mother wasn't there. The -- it sounds like an overcharge. Let me make this clear. Justin Barker was seriously injured. And the people that did this have to be accountable.

But in America, we play by the rules. And the rules were not complied with her. And naturally, the issue in the court of appeals. Justin is entitled to his day in court, but the fact is that you can't get convictions by not playing fair.

Marcus, what is your son, Mychal, say about what's happened? Did you get a chance to talk to him after the conviction?

JONES: He -- he just -- I mean, he's just so hurt and disappointed about it. You know, he just -- he's just real disappointed in it. And you know, basically, you know, just -- I mean, just as -- you know, the -- the confidence that he had in Blaine Williams, I mean, just -- I mean, just devastating, you know.

ROESGEN: His public defender.

Well, we will stay on this case, Marcus. Thank you both, Marcus Jones, the father of Mychal Bell, the young man who was just convicted and Avery Friedman, a civil rights attorney in Cleveland. We're going to stay on this case and follow it through. Thank you both for joining us tonight.

Also, we want to let you know that we did try to reach the district attorney numerous times and Blaine Williams, the public defender for a comment on the outcome on the case, but they have not returned any of our calls.

We have much more to come in the CNN NEWSROOM. Here's an update on the story we've been reporting all day. Four people now arrested in connection with this terrorist incident in Scotland, connected to the two car bombs discovered in London. Today, this jeep crashed into the terminal at Glasgow International Airport. And that was just a day after two explosive-filled cars were found parked near each other in London.

Also, straight ahead in the NEWSROOM, wrestlers dying young. This week's double murder suicide involving wrestling star Chris Benoit is just the tip of the iceberg. We'll take you inside the ring to uncover a startling trend.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROESGEN: Pro wrestler Chris Benoit kills his wife and son and then himself. That double murder/suicide has shaken a quiet Atlanta suburb. But the shockwaves spread across the country and into the heart of the wrestling world.

Many men would do almost anything to be a part of this culture. The question is at what price? CNN's Larry Smith talked to some wrestling hopefuls.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, folks. Welcome back to another exciting hour of professional wrestling.

LARRY SMITH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If pro wrestling was a sport, this would be its minor league, the training grounds for those who seek the fame and fortune of the wrestling entertainment empire. Their idols are the biggest names in the game, including Chris Benoit.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chris Benoit was one of my favorite wrestlers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a blow to the business. You know, this guy was a consummate performer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Benoit and like (INAUDIBLE) and like Wayne Steel and guys like that, they were like, I guess, like big inspirations to me.

SMITH: Benoit's bizarre death in a murder-suicide is the kind of tragedy wrestling has grappled with far too often. Since 1985, more than 60 wrestlers have died before the age of 50. And that's only counting those that have made it big on national TV.

Just last week, Shane Bauer, known to his fans as Biff Wellington and a former tag team partner of Benoit's, was found dead. He was only 42. MR. HUGHES, PRO WRESTLING COACH: Most of these guys on TV look like a cartoon characters. And most of them are the stars. So when guys see that, they say, well, I've got to be like that to get to that level.

SMITH: After pro wrestling star Eddie Guerrero died in 2005 of heart disease, which a coroner says was brought on by years of anabolic steroid use, the WWE instituted a wellness policy. But how well it's enforced could be another story.

Unlike professional sports, pro wrestling is scripted, relying on characters instead of competition, to determine its biggest stars, which means those either in or looking to be in the spotlight may not feel compelled to follow the rules.

AMIEN RIOS, PRO WRESTLING STUDENT: Like to be honest, I -- you know, I have contemplated myself about, you know, using steroid drugs or enhancement drugs myself just because in this type of business, the way you look has a lot to do with if you're going to, you know, get a contract or not. I think I'm just going to, you know, do it the natural way and just rely on my skills to get me here.

SMITH: Perhaps this time, they'll take heed of a lesson that's been taught time and time again through tragedy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SMITH: It's been a tough to story to follow all week. I can tell you that I live not far from the Benoit household. And not a day has gone by this week that someone has not stopped me and asked me how does this happen and how do we stop it from happening again?

Well, for more on this, we welcome in Dave Meltzer, who has followed pro wrestling since 1971. He is the editor of "Wrestling Observer" newsletter and the co-host of the radio show, "Wrestling Observer Live."

Dave, thanks for joining us tonight.

DAVE MELTZER, EDITOR, WRESTLING OBSERVER: OK, you're very welcome.

SMITH: I want to first get into the wrestling world. Is it a shock and dismay to everybody else at the staggering number of deaths among young people associated with pro wrestling?

MELTZER: Oh, you know, I mean I think probably that probably the wrestling world itself is probably more shocked and dismayed because they've been living the story on and off for a decade now.

A lot of people just are suddenly realizing it. But yes. And this one, I think, you know, you've got to remember that as horrible as this crime was, up until, you know, Monday morning, Chris Benoit was one of the most loved guys in the business. And many of the guys who have passed away were very, very popular wrestlers who had a lot of fans. And you know, it's -- I think it's very hard for wrestling fans when you -- when you see, you know, you look at like old tapes of something from like five, ten years ago and such a staggering percent of the people on this tape, you know, are no longer with us.

SMITH: Yes. The wellness policy put in a couple official years ago, has it had an impact? I know that so many times the damage has already been done with some people we see dying in their 40s or early 50s. Do you see an impact now with that wellness policy?

MELTZER: I think it's too soon to really give a definitive answer, because it's only been in for -- since early 2006. And since that time, this is -- I mean, as far as wrestlers under contract, this is the first death. And it was not a heart attack death or something like that, you know, you would attribute. Similar to a lot of the deaths, this was just a staggering crazy thing.

So I can't really give an answer yet, but if we find out that there were a high percentage or a lot of different drugs or high percentage of any drug in Chris' system, at this point, you know, when the toxicology reports come in, then we'd have to say - we have ask the question, how did this happen? How did this, you know, slip through the cracks?

SMITH: Yes, OK, I've got about 10 seconds left. Very quickly in 10 seconds, what's next for wrestling? How do we stop this from happening?

MELTZER: It's not an easy answer. I don't know. I think -- I really think that you need some sort of outside regulation. And I don't know that that's really going to happen. You know, it's complex. I mean, you know, could probably ease up the schedule, test more vigilant, change the standards of what you want for wrestlers is actually probably a big deal. You know, like not so much emphasize the muscular bodies because then people aren't - you know, they're not going to be so apt to want to have muscular bodies if it's not to their financial benefit.

SMITH: OK, I know it's a complex issue. We could talk for hours about it. But unfortunately, we have to leave it there. Dave Meltzer with "Wrestling Observer" newsletter and the radio show "Wrestling Observer Live," thanks again for your time.

MELTZER: OK, you're very welcome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROESGEN: And we will return to our top story, the U.K. terror threat, when we come back.

Also straight ahead, one man steps up to save children that everyone else seems to ignore.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROESGEN: Special people turning their vision for a better world into action. They are CNN heroes. And you'll be meeting them all year long. Tonight, we take you to Kliptown in South Africa, where one man is working to turn a promise of equality and prosperity into reality. Bob Nameng is tonight's CNN hero.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BOB NAMENG: When I look at children, I see them like flowers, flowers that have the right to blossom. In this case, don't deserve these conditions that they find themselves in in Kliptown. No proper infrastructure, no good sanitation, no school, no facilities around.

We come from very difficult times. Apartheid times. 3,000 people came together in 1955 in Kliptown, which led now to the adoption of the freedom charter, which was the constitution of South Africa.

For me, the contradiction because all those things that are written there, I don't see any of them have any in our community. Young people are bored, hanging around, doing nothing, but nobody's talking to these kids, nobody's telling them how special they are. Nobody's trying to say to them, let your little light shine. My name is Bob Nameng and I'm the founder of Kliptown Youth Foundation.

There's a feeding program where we give our kids meals, three meals a day. There's educational programs where kids have been given access to computers, library where kids are learning. This will improve vocabulary. What we're doing is community work to help and make a difference in our own community.

I'm a little child. I know like in - children live with they see. So if we live a positive life, then we're setting a good example to our children.

The people can know that they own this community, lots of things can in fact moving in a positive way. As it is one day, things going to be OK, because after that mess, there is light.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROESGEN: And you can learn much more about Bob Nameng and his work on our website. And that's also where you can nominate your hero for special recognition possibly later this year. All the details are at cnn.com/heroes.

And one more look now at the hour's top story. Two terror alerts in two days in the United Kingdom. Tonight, the police report two more arrests in their terror investigation, both in northern England. This burning jeep is in Glasgow, Scotland's International Airport. Smashed into the check-in terminal. One man in the car is in custody, another is badly burned in the hospital, and sources tell CNN another person died in that car. U.K. officials believe this crash is linked to Friday's car bomb discovery in London. There were two cars, both Mercedes, filled with fuel, gasoline canisters and nails.

Now stay tuned for a special encore celebration of LARRY KING LIVE. He talks to Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr on the anniversary that the Beatles love.

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