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Sheriff's News Conference on Captured Marine; Michael Baisden Talks About Race

Aired April 11, 2008 - 14:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Under arrest in Mexico, one Marine accused of killing another. What happens next?
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: And we hope to get some answers just moments from now. We're standing by for a news conference from North Carolina.

LEMON: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon, live at the CNN world headquarters here in Atlanta.

WHITFIELD: And I'm Fredricka Whitfield, in for Kyra Phillips.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

LEMON: Well, he told police he's been living outside, hiding from the law in rural southern Mexico. That's a far cry from Camp Lejeune, where Marine Corporal Cesar Laurean was stationed before fleeing murder charges.

North Carolina police spoke to reporters a short time ago in Jacksonville. And that's where we find CNN's Susan Candiotti.

Susan, what did police say?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Don.

Well, shortly we will find out whether Cesar Laurean was found by accident or whether in part police were led to him after searching through e-mails that he was sending to his wife back and forth over the last few months. Recently they seized a computer that his wife was using just a couple of weeks ago.

Shortly, we will try to get those answers at a news conference here in North Carolina, a news conference that is being held by law enforcement authorities. And we will briefly retrace the steps of Cesar Laurean. We have confirmed, by the way, that he is right now in Mexico City and being confirmed -- and being interrogated, rather, by authorities.

You will remember that this is a man who was described as a stellar Marine by the Marine Corps at a press briefing just after they discovered the body of Maria Lauterbach.

The news conference about to begin.

LEMON: Yes, Susan. Let's listen in to the news conference. (JOINED IN PROGRESS)

NATHAN GRAY, FBI SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE: ... field office.

As we reported last evening, the fugitive Cesar Laurean is now in the custody of the Mexican federal police in Mexico City. He is awaiting extradition to answer the charges against him in the tragic death of Maria Lauterbach and her unborn child.

We've been working with the Mexican authorities from the start of this investigation. We've also been working side by side with the Onslow County Sheriff's Office and the NCIS.

I'd like to thank everyone involved for their dedication and hard work that they've shown from the beginning of this investigation. We go on through the coordination of the agents assigned to our illegal attache office in Mexico City and the Mexico authorities.

Laurean was taken into custody last night at approximately 7:10 p.m. Eastern Time in San Juandina (ph), Michoacan, Mexico. Now begins the legal process of his extradition back to Onslow County.

The FBI and its law enforcement partners brought to bear all of our domestic and international resources to apprehend Laurean. Without these partnerships this would not have been possible.

Thank you. Sheriff.

SHERIFF ED BROWN, ONSLOW, COUNTY, N.C.: Good afternoon. Thank you all for being here.

I'm going to stick close to the script. I've got a paper here for all the press, but I want to say before I start, to my left is a young man that I am very proud of. You know back in the beginning of this the leadership in this investigation I assigned over to Captain Sutherland, and he has done a magnificent job, and I today applaud him for that. I also today congratulate him for being the father of a new young girl born on the day of Cesar Laurean's capture, which I'm sure will be a story he'll tell her the rest of her life.

But today, for your information -- and I'll give you a copy of this -- nearly three months to the date, like in one day, after Laurean was -- after Lauterbach's body was found over in the shallow grave behind Laurean's house, he is taken into custody by the authorities down in Mexico. This is the result of an outstanding job by both the American and the Mexican law enforcement authorities.

I'll tell you this -- and you can check your release -- I was not surprised. I told you it was going to happen, and it did happen. And it happened much sooner than I expected. But I've been following this pursuit (AUDIO GAP) involved in this.

The murder case in which Laurean is accused of committing was heinous. It has terrorized the minds of our community and our country. It has been one of the most questioned cases that -- when I say questioned, our citizens want to know when he's going to be arrested.

Everywhere I go that's the question (AUDIO GAP) to say the least, Cesar Laurean is not an animal. He is a human, and he's not a trophy.

Laurean, when he comes back to the sheriff's office, will be treated just as any other inmate. He is not a high-profile inmate. He will be just like any other inmate housed in this Onslow County jail.

The likely extradition process will bring him back here. And I hope the family of Cesar Laurean clearly understands our (AUDIO GAP) Laurean's family and myself. There are confident people on my staff who will assist through these barriers.

I want the Cesar Laurean family to know we care and we -- about them, and we'll communicate to help them through this process and why he's here in our county jail. And without ceasing, my prayers have been for the Lauterbach and the Laurean family, and will continue to be.

This is how we are in America. This is why we have the reputation we have. We are a people person.

And at this time, I would like to turn the mike over to Captain Sutherland.

And I applaud you, Captain Sutherland, and I can assure you there will be a trophy coming from my office to you for your commitment in this case.

CAPT. RICK SUTHERLAND, ONSLOW COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: I'd like to start out by reiterating on behalf of our office our thanks to our federal counterparts, the FBI, NCIS, the U.S. Marshal Service, and other agencies in the federal government that have helped us with this case. They have done a fantastic job. We called on them and asked them for assistance to help with something that had gone outside of our county, and they provided the level of assistance and expertise and professionalism that we expected.

Throughout this process there has been a lot of information that was generated from within this county and information that was generated from outside of this county. And through the coordination of the sharing of that information, the coordination of resources, and each agency allowing their counterparts to do what they did best, we worked together to achieve this result.

In the last couple of weeks we developed specific information. And through a coordinated effort with the FBI, NCIS, and this office, we began to narrow down and focus the area where we suspected that Cesar Laurean was. And then through the coordination of the FBI, NCIS, and the outstanding support that we received from the Mexican authorities with the information that we provided to them, he was able to be apprehended in Mexico.

Information has already been disseminated. And some of you are aware that over the last couple of weeks, we became aware that Cesar Laurean was reaching out and attempting to communicate with family members and persons located in this county. Our office, NCIS, and the FBI acted on that information, and through the service of a search warrant, we were able to substantiate that information.

Based on the information that we obtained in that search warrant, and with the technical support that we received from the FBI, we were able to move this investigation forward. And in the last couple of weeks, as I said, we were able to narrow our focus.

A number of questions have been raised about Christina Laurean, the wife of Cesar Laurean. And our office has continued to repeat the fact that she was a cooperating witness with this investigation.

That status has not changed. Information all throughout this case that we received about activities that were occurring have been reviewed with the district attorney's office. The information was provided to Mr. Hudson's office. And we allowed Mr. Hudson's office to determine appropriate action for information that we have received.

This investigation will continue to go forward, both the homicide investigation and the fugitive investigation. Any information that we receive going forward that changes our view on the persons involved, whether in the fugitive case or on the homicide case, will be reviewed with Mr. Hudson's office. And any determination that he makes about any appropriate charges would be made by his office at that point.

At this time, our office is not drawing any additional warrants in this case. But should the investigation reveal information that we do not have at this time, that's a decision that Mr. Hudson's office would make in the future.

DEWEY HUDSON, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, ONSLOW COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA: Good afternoon.

I'm very happy that finally Cesar Laurean has been captured and arrested, and is in a Mexican jail awaiting extradition back to America and to Onslow County. Hopefully he will soon be brought back to this county to face the murder charges involved in the death of Maria Lauterbach.

Depending on whether or not Cesar Laurean waives extradition, this process could take a few days or up to a couple years to occur. I will be working closely with the United States Department of Justice in order to facilitate Laurean's expeditious return to Jacksonville for Trial. It is my duty to inform the general public that although Cesar Laurean has been indicted by an Onslow County grand jury of these charges, at this time, under our system of laws, he is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

My office has and will continue to work with the numerous law enforcement agencies involved in this case, to prepare this case for trial. If convicted, Cesar Laurean faces a sentence of life without parole for the death of Maria Lauterbach.

As I indicated earlier, I'm very happy that he was apprehended. Frankly, I'm disappointed that he was arrested in Mexico and not in the United States. As Captain Sutherland told you, we had information, recent information, that indicated his plans were to come back to America to visit family.

I was hoping that we would in fact arrest him in America if he did so. But unfortunately, he did not. And the reason I say that, as most of you know, or all of you know, in order to receive a warrant for Mexico for his arrest, back in January I had to concede the death penalty because we had a treaty with Mexico back when President Jimmy Carter was in office that basically said that they would not extradite anyone back to America who was facing a capital sentence.

We reviewed that very carefully and looked at all our options at the time, and we came to the inescapable conclusion that, before we could arrest him and bring him back from Mexico, that we would have to in fact take the death penalty off the board. And I reluctantly did so. And that's where it stands today.

So if Laurean is -- when he's brought back here, and if a jury were to convict him of first-degree murder, the only punishment in North Carolina is death or life without parole. And since the death penalty has been taken off the board, his only punishment would be life without parole.

LEMON: All right. You know what? They're going to take some questions. Hang on. Let's real quickly -- do we want to listen in to the questions?

CANDIOTTI: Could you step up to the podium, please, gentlemen? Thank you. This is CNN. We have a couple of questions, please.

First of all, given what you know, can you say what you think the biggest mistake or mistakes Laurean made and that led to his capture?

BROWN: We will not -- I will not -- and Mr. Hudson may, but I will not discuss any part of the pursuit or any part of the investigation, understanding that we are still facing a trial in reference to this crime, which we will eventually have to deal with over across the street.

Mistakes? We made none. He did. And he's captured.

CANDIOTTI: Mr. Hudson?

HUDSON: Well, Susan, that's a good question. But as the sheriff said, I really can't comment much on that. I would like to, but I can say it did take, as the sheriff indicated and you folks know, almost three months to capture him. So, up until yesterday, he did a pretty good job of avoiding arrest.

CANDIOTTI: In fact, was he caught in part by accident when he happened to walk up -- how would you characterize that?

BROWN: I know what's been going on behind the scenes. There have been no accidents made.

There has been -- every turn that Mr. Laurean made, these folks have been on him. Yesterday was a prime example. He has to be lucky every day, we have to be correct one day.

QUESTION: Sheriff, let me ask you something. You said -- the sheriff's department said last month you all were eliminating some of his resources. And then, you know, we find out that he's arrested and wandering the streets with $1 in his pocket.

I mean, is that why? I mean, are you confident in saying that the efforts that the federal authorities and the Mexican authorities did in eliminating his resources is why he was in that state when he was captured?

BROWN: I'm confident in saying that the reason Cesar Laurean is in custody is by the professional pursuit that the agencies, all agencies involved, have carried on from the time he left here. If his trying to flee from them brought him down to $1 of poverty, that's just a prime example of how good they are.

CANDIOTTI: How important were those e-mails in focusing the spot where he was caught?

HUDSON: I don't think I want to comment on that, because...

LEMON: OK. You're listening to a press conference in North Carolina there. They're asking about the e-mails that he apparently sent to some folks back in Onslow County in North Carolina.

You heard from Dewey Hudson, who is the district attorney of Onslow County, and from Sheriff Ed Brown, among others. Ed Brown has been very vocal since the very beginning, since all of this happened, and since Cesar Laurean went missing.

Some very interesting things coming out of this. This case is not -- as you can see and you can hear from the questioning, it's not cut and dry. As far as what is next, we're not sure. There are some unique legal barriers between the suspect and U.S. soil.

Paul Callan is an attorney in New York. And we talk to him sometimes about special cases like this one.

I heard the prosecutor said, you know, "I'm glad he was arrested but I was disappointed that he was not arrested on American soil." And that's because of our extradition treaty with Mexico.

PAUL CALLAN, ATTORNEY: Yes. We have a special extradition treaty that was negotiated during the Carter administration, and it has a specific provision about capital punishment.

The Mexican authorities reserve the right to require that no capital punishment will be imposed on any fugitive being returned from Mexico. So he really saved his life in this case by fleeing to Mexico, because had he been apprehended in Texas, the death penalty would have been on the table under North Carolina law and under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

LEMON: Yes. And Dewey Hudson said, you know, "I took that off the table very reluctantly," because he wanted -- you know, he said he's innocent, of course, until proven guilty, but he wanted Cesar Laurean to face the death penalty. He did not want to take that off the table.

CALLAN: And I suspect, Don, that we're going to find out later on that American authorities were probably hoping that he would cross back into the United States and that he could be arrested at that time.

LEMON: I think they mentioned that, Paul, actually in the press conference.

CALLAN: Yes.

LEMON: They said that they expected him to come back and try to visit some people in North Carolina.

CALLAN: Yes, he did make mention of that, and I think we can assume that he fell sort of inadvertently into the hands of Mexican law enforcement authorities. And of course, once he was in custody down there, we had to take action. American authorities had to take action.

LEMON: OK. Real quickly, I want to talk to you about this. Sheriff Ed Brown -- and you've been watching this from the beginning -- has been very outspoken when it comes to this case. He spoke at this press conference. I want you to hear what he said about Cesar Laurean's guilt or innocence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: ... that while Laurean's crime was horrible, to see say the least, Cesar Laurean is not an animal. He is a human and he is not a trophy.

Laurean, when he comes back to the sheriff's office, will be treated just as any other inmate. He is not a high-profile inmate. He will be just like any other inmate housed in this Onslow County jail.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: And depending on if he's housed alone, you know, what his treatment might be. The sheriff might not have anything to do with it.

But the sheriff -- someone in this press conference, I'm not sure if it was the sheriff or if it was Dewey Hudson, the prosecutor here, who said it could be a few weeks, it could be a couple of years, we don't know, it depends on if he waives his extradition rights.

CALLAN: Yes, that statement, Don, was made by district attorney Dewey Hudson. And it really is a strange situation, that an extradition process from Mexico can take upwards of two years. But that, of course, is a worst-case scenario.

That would be assuming that Mexican authorities sided with the suspect and felt maybe that justice could not be found in North Carolina. And if he had an elaborate extradition proceeding, it could be quite lengthy.

I'm betting ultimately that he's not going to want to be sitting in a Mexican prison. He'd rather be sitting in a federal prison or a North Carolina facility, and ultimately he will probably waive extradition.

LEMON: Attorney Paul Callan joining us now from New York. Paul, thank you for your insight on this. It's been very helpful.

CALLAN: Nice to be here, Don.

WHITFIELD: Here's a case that was pretty alarming. They made this tape, police say, just to put it on the Internet. We'll have the latest on eight teenagers facing charges as adults because of this. They were in court today, and so was CNN.

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LEMON: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon live here at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.

WHITFIELD: And I'm Fredricka Whitfield in for Kyra Phillips. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

LEMON: Last Friday, we began a series of conversations with black America. We looked at the concerns, the perceptions and aspirations of African-Americans 40 years after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Today we're continuing that dialogue.

We head now to our T.J. Holmes who's at North Carolina A&T State University, an historically black college in Greensboro, and he's getting reaction for us. What are you hearing, T.J.?

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Well, I'm hearing a lot that might surprise people, but I'm hearing honest opinions about the state of black America from some of the young black Americans. I'm here with one now, Danielle Koon, a Senior Communications major, and she and I have been chatting here a little bit.

And talking about earlier, Don, I know you and I were talking about so many students said they were black Americans first and Americans second. Danielle, you and I talked about this, and you explained that to people some who, quite frankly may be offended and think that, you know that we should all be Americans first. Why would you say you're black American first?

DANIELLE KOON, SENIOR, N.C. A&t STATE UNIV.: Well, the reason I say I'm a black American first, is because I want people to see me as that, and know that once they see a black woman first, then they can say, or understand that all the stereotypes that they may see that correlates with being black and being American will vanish.

HOLMES: Where do you think we are right now? Do you think unfortunately, maybe some people who do see you as a black woman first come up with some of those stereotypes, have some preconceived notions about you because they hear, or they see you as a black person first?

KOON: Well, I can't control everything. I can't control what people think. But I do challenge others to become knowledgeable about it. On the other hand, right now, in today, it's like, when people see you, they do see those stereotypes.

And I feel it's my job and also my colleagues' job here to get educated, to read, be more knowledge so that later on we can some day teach others to know that the stereotypes don't always apply to us.

HOLMES: Tell me where this comes from. I was on, like I said, Central yesterday and certainly heard some of the same things here at A&T. The young lady -- we're doing the spoken word competition, let you all know what's happening over here. But, the young lady was talking about going back to her mother -- she was talking about going back to Africa, somewhere where she is loved and accepted.

Do you find a lot of young people, and maybe you included, don't feel necessarily loved by this country even though you all grew up in a country that many of our forefathers didn't have to go through, didn't have to ride in the back of a bus, have had many rights and privileges, but still not feel loved by this country?

KOON: I think it's easier for my generation to say that they don't feel loved simply because some of the events that have gone on, where we haven't received the type of respect that I feel that we should have. So I mean, I agree with her.

HOLMES: But some of those talked about were just isolated incidents. So many of you all, you personally don't see that blatant racism. So still why, with an incident on the news, I know Jena 6 was brought up, the Michael Vick coverage and things, those are isolated incidents sometimes. But you didn't have to go through that.

So still, where does that come from? Do you hear it from your grandfathers and things like that?

KOON: I mean, just because it's something that's not affecting us so straightforward doesn't mean we don't feel it too. And that's what we get from it. We get the aftermath. What people don't see is the glass ceiling, the things that we have to -- the things that we have to make sure that we shoot farther than, so that we can get past that glass ceiling so that we can achieve all the goals that we want to.

So even though those things are isolated, we still feel them. We're black so we can relate to them, because it could have been any of us.

KOON: Danielle Koon here, a Senior Communications student. And, I thank you so much for your honesty and your candor here. And, there are so many other students have been the same way, but thank you so much. And really -- helping enlighten our viewers certainly a bit about the state of black America and what some of the young folks think here.

Don, that's as honest, and it's brutally honest and as candid as you're going to get. I've been hearing those things for the past couple of days. So -- we've still got work to do, but certainly the students seem to be willing to do it though.

LEMON: All right, T.J. Holmes, thank you very much for that, sir. We'll check back with you. It's very interesting. I was talking to you -- you were like I'm listening, I'm listening. But like Dr. King said, I want people to see a person and then who happens to be black, but she says I want people to see a black woman first.

WHITFIELD: Yes. And we're really trying to get the pulse of a lot of America. We're not just talking to black American students on college campuses, we're talking to folks across the board across America. Of course, that includes a lot of white people that you got a chance to talk with yesterday.

It sounds kind of funny saying it that way, but you specifically sought out opinions of people right here at the CNN Center to get an idea of what their dialogue is all about when we talk about conversations with black America.

LEMON: Let's just listen to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB BROGDEN, CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA: One of the things that deeply troubles me is with -- particularly young black males is, so many of them are growing up without family figures, really, but particularly without male, positive male role models. And what that leads to is -- I teach teenagers, and I think most young people want positive role models.

When they can't find them, they turn to other people who are not that positive for them, and kind of leads them down paths that we wish they didn't go down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, interesting stuff. Michael Baisden is a nationally syndicated radio talk show host based out of Dallas. I know you've gotten used to his face, you know his voice. Well, we listened in on his show last week, and it went so well that we wanted to do it again. This time the base is Atlanta not Memphis, which it was last week. Good to see you in person.

MICHAEL BAISDEN, HOST, THE MICHAEL BAISDEN SHOW: Good to be here.

LEMON: Barack Obama as President, Michael Baisden on CNN. God bless America. Michael, Michael.

BAISDEN: We're moving forward.

LEMON: We are nonpolitical here. But listen, here's what I want to ask you. You heard the gentleman there talk about what he perceived to be about black males. He's a school teacher, he sees black males taking the wrong path more so than he sees his white students. You and I have talked about mentoring.

BAISDEN: And, thank you for that, by the way. The Each One, Teach One. I appreciate that. You got me on the road on my radio show to talk about mentoring we're doing that every day thanks to you. I just wanted to give you that shout out.

LEMON: Thank you very much for that. So, how do -- do you agree with him? Because he's saying something that's maybe uncomfortable to hear, but in many ways it may be true.

BAISDEN: I heard that, I heard the young lady that he just spoke with about seeing race, and I also heard an interview you did earlier today with a white woman that was also speaking about issues that I thought was very interesting. So, you all have been doing a great job with that. But I agree with him.

LEMON: You do.

BAISDEN: I mean, obviously come on -- I see what's going on with young black men.

LEMON: And your listeners agree with that as well?

BAISDEN: Of course, they do. The whole bottom line is I think this refers back to the white woman who was on -- like you said a white woman -- I know it sounds odd to say that, but the white woman on earlier, she said about the whole idea whether or not we can let go of it. Do we need to always focus on race? Look, all we ever want as a people, if I can speak for black people for a moment, is fairness.

Fair in housing, fair in education, fair in justice which is why I got behind Jena, Louisiana. You give us fair, we'll handle our own business. We don't need any handouts, we don't need any sympathy. Give us fair, and education. This is the point -- speaking to his point, Don, just give me one second. Is that if you're fair with education, that means you're going to educate us fairly and understand our history.

If we don't understand our history, which is a very big part of the problem which is why I'm sitting here, is because I took the time as a young man to learning my history, then all you are is a side kick and co-star in history. I don't want to be a side kick and co-star. LEMON: You mentioned the woman. She said I think that people use race many times as an excuse.

BAISDEN: Sure.

LEMON: But then, the same thing in North Carolina -- one of the students said the same thing, but when you hear it from her, it feels different. You're like you're almost uncomfortable about it. When the student says it, it doesn't make you uncomfortable. I'm sure your listeners talk about this, especially when it comes to -- Barack Obama's speech about race and how much it's played out here.

BAISDEN: But, isn't it all about fairness, ultimately? In terms of the way Barack Obama's being treated as a man. Even Hillary Clinton used the gender card in terms as being treated fairly as a woman. So everybody wants to be treated fairly. I don't think we're getting fairness. And as I said, I've got to keep going back to education.

This is one thing that Roland Martin who is a very good friend of mine says all the time. If we can tackle the education issue and the issue of course, the issue of fathers being at home, you cannot deny that is a major issue in all of our cultures.

Whites are starting to suffer in many ways as blacks are in that we're not together as a family. So, if you don't have daddy at home or you don't have education, what do you expect to happen regardless of what the race of the person is?

WHITFIELD: And, what are your listeners saying specifically? Often on your shows, you'll have a theme that carries through the next few hours, people call in from across the country and they give you a little bit about what they think about whatever the topic of the day is. So when it becomes an issue of race, or when it becomes an issue of role models, what is it your listeners are saying is at the root of the problem?

BAISDEN: Fredricka, I'm glad you said that, because I kind of jokingly call my show Obama radio because we're probably the most inclusive radio program in the country in terms of age and race. So, unless there is something attached to it, it's not really something that comes up on my show.

I have a predominantly black listenership, but when you talk about the issues, very rarely is race separated and people start discussing it.

Now, when Jena happened, obviously we saw that as a racial issue, because of how -- for a lot of people, how traumatic it was.

LEMON: It was, it really blew up (ph).

BAISDEN: It blew up and it wasn't just blacks that showed up.

LEMON: Right. BAISDEN: So, I mean, whites care. Look at the number of whites that are voting for Barack Obama right now. I mean, what is that really saying? If people really want to get past it, but not to the point of being blind to color. I want to see you as a black woman. I want to see that white woman, I see you, white woman sitting over there, I want to see her as a white person.

So, what is the problem with accepting our color and saying I'm OK with it and now, let's move on, but not to erase who I am as a black person.

LEMON: Yes, and it's very interesting. We talk -- I speak on a radio show, Urban Radio every Friday, once a week and we talk about issues. And the topics that often -- that we end up talking about on the radio don't always -- are not always in the mass media. So, you cover things that are different sometimes and things that rise up on Urban Radio and black radio are different things that are in the media ...

BAISDEN: We do, but ultimately, it's all the same. We had a show about rape yesterday, I had to tell you, it was one of the most traumatic shows that I ever heard. Now, I think one of the problems that we have is that white America doesn't know us. Where do they get their images of black America? This is a real big issue for me, it's always buffoonery or it's -- it's very limited.

LEMON: That's a pretty blanket statement, though, Michael. I've got to call you on that.

BAISDEN: In terms of ...

LEMON: Why do you say white America doesn't know us?

BAISDEN: They don't, they don't know us.

LEMON: I work around a bunch of white Americans every day.

BAISDEN: But how many white Americans work around articulate, open-minded, funny, cool guys like you every day?

LEMON: I'm not sure.

BAISDEN: And so, not of enough of them. So, I think that is not necessarily our responsibility, but it would be incumbent upon us as Barack Obama said, for us to start being more sympathetic to what the other race doesn't know about us.

Because we really don't sympathize on a lot of issues that white have. We think all white people have money. They have debt and problem and abuse just like everybody else. We need to have more dialogue and that's what I'm trying to do on my radio show.

WHITFIELD: And so, Michael, quickly, the next hour, we're going to be dipping into your show.

BAISDEN: Oh, let me tell you ... WHITFIELD: Because you're going to be having ...

BAISDEN: ...you're dipping into a whole other world.

LEMON: Oh my gosh.

WHITFIELD: What's going to be the driving topic?

BAISDEN: Well, we're going to continue this conversation that we're having right now, and again, we're going to have fun with it. And I call them family, man, my white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American family, we get down on the Michael Baisden Show.

WHITFIELD: All right, we'll be tuning in.

LEMON: Michael, we've got to go. Thank you very much.

BAISDEN: And thank you for the mentoring program. I appreciate you.

LEMON: Thank you very much. We're glad that you're here and we're glad that you're being so honest.

BAISDEN: Thank you.

LEMON: It may be tough to hear some of it for some people, but.

BAISDEN: It'll be all right. It's all love.

LEMON: Michael will host his nationally syndicated radio show from the CNN Radio Studios right here in the CNN Center in Atlanta and we'll be listening in during the first hour at 3:00 p.m. Well, he did it a week ago, too, and it went so well, so we thought we would do it again today.

You can join the conversation by calling, write down this number, 877-622-3269, 877-622-3269 or send an e-mail via Web site, www.michaelbaisden.com.

WHITFIELD: All right, we want to get back to this story, which was pretty outrageous to a lot of folks. Eight teenagers facing a judge in Bartow, Florida, for beating up a fellow classmate. That's what's happening right now.

CNN producer Rich Phillips has just left the courtroom. He's on the phone with us now.

Rich, exactly what took place as these young people faced the judge for the first time since this country saw those pretty alarming images on YouTube of teens allegedly beating up another teen?

VOICE OF RICH PHILLIPS, CNN SR. PRODUCER: Right, hi, Fred. Good afternoon, everybody.

We saw six teenage girls and two teenage boys make their first appearance before the Polk County judge this afternoon. Wearing their navy blue prison jumpsuits, they seemed -- we actually got a little insight, if you will, for lack of a better word, as we watched them before the hearing sit in their holding cells, and they were very chatty and they were even smiling to each other in this holding area.

WHITFIELD: Yes, I was going to ask you. We're looking at some video right now, this one young girl, I don't know her name, and she almost seems to be smiling as she's holding her head down, perhaps the judge is talking to her, but what was so funny?

PHILLIPS: Well, you know, again, they were kind of smiling and chatting to each other. And then you know, of course, the demeanor began to change once the bailiff called all rise, and then it was a different story, and then we saw tears. We saw bowed heads.

We saw the judge, Angela Koudden (ph) go over the charges. She did find probable cause for all of them and she did set bond in the $30,000 range, which in this county is about doubled for a normal bond for these crimes.

The judge also set a long laundry list of things that they must follow over the next several months as we head to trial, things like they are not going to be allowed to go back to their high school, they're not going to be allowed to go back to a WingHouse restaurant, which has something to do with this conspiracy, although we don't know exactly what yet.

She banned them from going on Internet chat sites like YouTube and MySpace specifically, as well as other chat rooms, and they are going to be under house arrest if they can make bond. And we ought to be finding out about that in the next little bit -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Rich, thank you so much. We'll be checking back with you as you continue to monitor the developments there involving these young teenagers now looking at some pretty serious charges for beating up another teen -- Don?

LEMON: Fredricka, a Virginia Tech student sinks into depression and eventually buys a gun. And this was after last year's massacre. How did the school respond? We'll preview a CNN "SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT" documentary next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A troubled Virginia Tech student threatens to kill himself just months after the massacre on the Blacksburg campus. Well, what happened next is at the center of a "SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT" documentary called "Campus Rage." And that premieres tonight 8:00 Eastern.

Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ABBIE BOUDREAU, CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At Virginia Tech, this was a school year for healing. All was quiet, the problems were worked out, campus was safer. But one Virginia Tech family tells a very different story.

WILLIAM KIM (ph), FATHER: They just treated you like some kind of a joke.

BOUDREAU: Some kind of joke. To William Kim (ph), his son Daniel's safety was no joke. After the school massacre, Daniel, a senior at Virginia Tech, sank into a deep depression. He worried that he could be mistaken for the Virginia Tech shooter Seung-Hui Cho.

Daniel's sister, Jeanette (ph).

JEANETTE KIM, SISTER: You know, he's like everyone's going to think that I look like him, you know, the shooter. And I was like you don't look anything like him. I can tell the difference. Other people can tell the difference.

BOUDREAU: By September, Daniel had become more reclusive, wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap. Then, he stopped going to class.

W. KIM: He just don't go to classes. That doesn't make sense. That's not like him.

BOUDREAU: He seldom left his off-campus apartment. Online, playing games, living as a character in a virtual world, where unlike in real life, he made friends easily.

SHAUN PRIBUSH, RECENT GRADUATE, RPI: He was actually -- I thought he was really funny. He told all these great jokes and everything, just made people laugh.

BOUDREAU: Shaun Pribush is a recent graduate of RPI, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York. He met Daniel online in the World of War Craft. After about four or five months, Sean noticed a change in Daniel.

PRIBUSH: He was saying he was Asian and he didn't really have too many friends in real life, and then later on, I started to realize that I guess all the depressions are adding up and putting a lot of pressure on him.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOUDREAU: Turns out Daniel's online friend e-mailed Virginia Tech's counseling center about Daniel's depression and warned them he bought a gun. But how did the school respond and could they have prevented what was about to happen?

Tonight, in our "SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT" documentary, you'll hear from Daniel's family and a top Virginia Tech official who tells the school side of the story.

WHITFIELD: So what else can we expect? I know this is a very complicated topic in which to delve into, but you've done it in the hour. What else? BOUDREAU: Well, I talked to the girlfriend of Steven Kazmierczak. He's the man who killed five and injured 16 others at Northern Illinois University. She tells us about how she never saw any of the warning signs.

Then, I talked to a young man who did show warning signs as he plotted a mass killing at his high school. It's all part of our Special Investigations Unit documentary, "Campus Rage."

WHITFIELD: Sobering are stuff. All right, Abbie, thanks so much and we look forward to it.

And you can see, of course, much more of it tonight, "Campus Rage," the documentary looks at efforts to identify the warning signs and stop violence on campus. Tonight, 8:00 Eastern, only on CNN.

LEMON: Golfer Ernie Els aiming for your first Master's victory, but his son's battle with autism has given him a wider perspective when it comes to life's priorities. We'll have a live report from Augusta.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)'

LEMON: All right. Well, it's day two of the Master's golf tournament. South Africa's Ernie Els has won Majors, but he has never, never won at Augusta. In addition to his battle for a green jacket, he recently revealed a more personal challenge facing his own family.

And our Larry Smith is standing by for us at Augusta National and we know that that personal challenge -- it's autism, right?

LARRY SMITH, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it is.

Ernie Els -- first on the course, looks very good to make the cut at one over par. If he can hold on to that, he's still on the course here in the second round. But the three-time Major winner's thoughts and concerns go well beyond the golf course, and it's because of autism.

His son Ben, five-year-old son, Ben, has been diagnosed with autism. Something that the family privately struggled with until just about a month ago when he came public and now wants to raise more attention and awareness.

The 38-year-old South African hopes to use his status as an international golf star to raise interest, as well as raise support for autism, and for the organization Autism Speaks. He's even put that organization's logo on his golf bag.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERNIE ELS, GOLFER: Some kids are affected a lot differently than other kids. So you try and find out where your kid is and what this other kid (ph) is at the same time, and you kind of compare notes. And that's how you move forward because nobody really knows exactly how to cope with it. You just cope with it as a parent.

So we need to -- we need to get moving forward and start, you know, working on a cure, if there can be one, and really just get the awareness of this big problem out there. And basically, get people to talk about it a little bit more.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: Ernie says he has been touched by the people who have come up and talked to him about their own experiences with autism, and he says it's a constant learning experience as they try to, again, understand more about this condition. Again, he is at one over par right now.

Tiger Woods on the course at even par, vying for his fifth green jacket. Phil Mickelson, four under par. And the leader, Trevor Immelman, is in the clubhouse at eight under par.

Let's go back to you.

LEMON: That's -- Ernie Els, he's a good guy, good guy.

And what's your par today, sir?

SMITH: I'm sorry?

LEMON: I said what's your par today? What are you shooting today?

(LAUGHTER)

SMITH: I'm even par, you know, I've got some good live shots and some bad live shots, but I'm going to play right on through. I'm going to keep playing and keep struggling through and try to beat the weather today.

LEMON: In this business, as long as your average is pretty good, you're doing OK.

WHITFIELD: Stay out of the rough.

SMITH: Stay out of the -- that's right.

WHITFIELD: Stay out of the rough.

LEMON: Stay out of the rough and out of the sand. All right.

SMITH: I've got some good caddies working with me here.

LEMON: Thanks, Larry.

SMITH: All right. Thanks a lot.

WHITFIELD: All right. Straight ahead, some pretty nasty weather out there. Take a look at that? Strong storms in the south, blizzard up north. Forget serene spring. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Dangerous storms rumble through the south. High winds, hail and tornado warnings. Where are we headed next? Where is the storm headed next? We're tracking the storms in the CNN severe weather center.

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