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Amanda Knox Appeal Ruling; "Occupy Wall Street"; California Family Rescues Their Dad; Autopsy Reports the Drugs in Michael Jackson's Body; Controversial Book about Walter Payton is Released

Aired October 02, 2011 - 18:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Thanks for joining us. I'm Don Lemon. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

You know, in just a few hours, Amanda Knox could be a free woman. On Monday, she could learn if her 2009 murder conviction is overturned. For nearly two years, a 24-year-old American has been imprisoned in Italy. The stakes could not be higher.

Knox was sentenced to 26 years when she was found guilty of the 2007 murder of her roommate Meredith Kercher.

Our senior international correspondent Matthew Chance is live from Perugia, Italy.

So, listen, she's going to take the stand tomorrow. Will we see a ruling tomorrow, Matthew?

MATTHEW CHANCE, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think we probably will. But, first of all, we're going to see Amanda Knox take the stand as it were, turn to the jury and the judges at the courthouse and make a heartfelt appeal for her to be released, for her murder conviction, to be quashed by the court. She got a sentence of 26 years remember. She's been serving in a jail just outside of this city.

We understand from her parents she's been thinking about what she's going to say for the past several months. Obviously, she's going to be pleading for her innocence. We also understand that because she's learned to speak Italian so fluently in jail, that she'll be making the address in the local language, which possibly could endear her to the jury.

But, anyway, the verdict, as it were, the ruling, the decision of the court that will come, we expect at this time tomorrow night.

LEMON: So, Matthew, I have to ask, we know that her family is there. They have been there. Any sign of them today?

CHANCE: It is Sunday today, of course. And so, the court hasn't been in session. They have been keeping themselves -- pretty much to themselves. They are normally there giving statements and interviews to the huge amounts of international media gathered here in Perugia. They didn't pay a visit to Amanda Knox in her prison today. I was at the prison. There was no sign of them. Obviously, they are leaving Amanda just one final day to prepare what she's going to say in court tomorrow. That's going to be you know, essentially, Don, it's going to be the speech of her life. It could all turn whether she can convince that audience, that jury, that judge to have sympathy with her.

LEMON: Matthew Chance, thank you very much. We look forward to your reporting.

Meantime, here in the United States, the "Occupy Wall Street" protests are much quieter today compared to this scene on Saturday. Hundreds of people were arrested and then ticketed for blocking part of the Brooklyn Bridge. They say they are protesting what they call the social inequities of America's financial system. The demonstration shut down traffic to Brooklyn for several hours.

Susan Candiotti at the public park n the financial district that has become the center of this protest.

So, Susan, it's now entering the third week. There's been -- this is a criticism by some -- there's been no coherent message. Are they getting any better organized now?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It doesn't seem to be the case, but they have a pretty good size crowd here out in this public park that has been taken over by protesters for going on three weeks now, as you said. If you look over that way, you can see a lot of people here today, but it's been quiet. There have been no marches.

And now, coming back over in this direction, you can see that it has been set up. There are, in fact, mattresses. People are taking little rests here. If you look over in this direction, signs of people protesting. All kinds of things -- the high price of gas, lack of health insurance, education cuts, they want to see more union participation out here.

But, you know, Don, no one seems to mind that there isn't anyone in charge here. They actually, kind of, like it that way. And if you spin over this way you will often hear a drum beat during the day, guitars playing, saxophones playing, just kind of leading to an interesting atmosphere here, Don.

LEMON: Susan, after what we saw on Saturday at the Brooklyn Bridge, is there any sense that this protest is gaining momentum?

CANDIOTTI: You know, it's hard to say. They certainly hope that that's happening. For example, they told me the reason that they went out to the Brooklyn Bridge yesterday was because it's a symbol of New York City. And they hoped that it would get a lot of media attention and, therefore, bring more people to their movement.

But we'll have to see what happens in the days and weeks to come as they're planning to stay out here as long as it takes, they say, to organize.

LEMON: There are protests in New York City all the time. How does the size of this demonstration compare to others in the city?

CANDIOTTI: Well, you know, I would say compared to, for example, the United Nations protest that we saw a couple of weeks ago, those were actually many of them bigger than this. But because this is going day after day and is receiving a lot more coverage than those kinds of protests do, it's certainly is garnering more attention than the others.

LEMON: Susan Candiotti, standing by for us on Wall Street -- "Occupy Wall Street" demonstrations there -- thank you very much, Susan.

In other news, six Supreme Court justices were among the dignitaries at the annual Red Mass today in Washington. The Catholic Church service is held every year before the opening of the Supreme Court's term. It's called the Red Mass because of the color of the robes worn by clergy. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, White House Chief of Staff William Daley and hundreds of other dignitaries were also at the service.

Critics say the attendance of Washington power brokers at the service is inappropriate. They call the Red Mass unhealthy mix of politics, the law and religion.

A former vice president who says he supports the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell." Stay tuned the man behind the statement may surprise you.

And the name of a hunting camp used by presidential candidate Rick Perry drawing anger and could spell a long week for his campaign. We'll break it down.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right. A vote of confidence for the Obama administration's repeal of "don't ask, don't tell" and it's coming from someone who rarely has a kind word for the current White House. Former Vice President Dick Cheney appeared on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION" with Candy Crowley. He applauded the repeal but defended GOP candidates who were silent when crowd members booed a gay soldier in a recent debate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD CHENEY, FORMER U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: The decision has been made with respect to allowing gays to serve openly in the military is a good one. It's the right thing to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, Cheney did accuse the president of trying to have it both ways by not supporting same-sex marriage while carrying through on the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell."

OK. So, listen, it is difficult to imagine a more poisonous word in the English language than nigger -- which is why many are taken aback to learn the word once adorned a hunting camp used by Texas Governor Rick Perry and his family. The camp used to be called Niggerhead. The word painted large in a rock at the entrance. Perry's family leased the camp and he said he hasn't been there since 2006. The camp name has been changed and the rock painted over. But when that happened is a matter of dispute between Perry's people and the "Washington Post" which published a lengthy article on it just today.

So, that word sounds outrageously backward in today's word. But in eras past, it was often used for land formations like hills and rocks. That's according to "The Post." Herman Cain, one of Perry's presidential rivals, doesn't care for the connotation in any form.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HERMAN CAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My reaction is, that's just very insensitive. That is in a much -- that is in a more vile, negative word than the "N" word and for him to leave it there as long as he did before I hear that they finally painted over it is just plain insensitive to a lot of black people in this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: All right. I want to talk more about this with CNN contributor Will Cain and LZ Granderson, a CNN.com contributor and senior writer at ESPN.

I don't want to get in to when the word was painted over, when the rock was moved, or what have you. We are saying the word for a reason because I think if you don't say it, you actually sanitize it, right?

So, LZ, how big of an issue is this for Perry?

LZ GRANDERSON, CNN.COM CONTRIBUTOR: I think it's huge. I don't see how you can stand on the stage across from President Obama, the first African-American president, with nigger hanging over your head, which is essentially what this story will be for him. This is the reason why this is -- this is among other reasons why Chris Christie is still trying to be wooed because Perry has a lot of these types of skeletons in his closet and the GOP knows that once he gets in front of Barack Obama by himself, these types of stories are going to come out and derail his campaign.

LEMON: OK. So, we have said, you know, in the context of "The Post," that it was used for rock formations and it is part of our nation's history. And there were other names that word was used in.

So, Will, I'm wondering how does a candidate recover -- can a candidate recover once they have been associated with a controversy over the word "nigger."

WILL CAIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I don't know if they can, Don. And that's why I think we all need to be very careful here. It's so powerful this word that in 2006 when George Allen was running for senator of Virginia, he used the word macaca, a word that nobody has ever heard. That is actually some French derivation of an African slang term that has the same weight, the same connotation. So, this word is so powerful, Don. It's such an atomic bomb on a campaign that I just think we need to be very careful, and very responsible about how we treat the story. You know that "Washington Post" story was full of anonymous sources. It was full of speculation, and I just don't know that I want to be a pundit that goes on TV and speculates about this any further. I think these are questions for Rick Perry to answer at this point.

LEMON: I think that is a good point of view to have. But the question was, being -- I just said being associated in a controversy, whether it's true or not -- I mean, that's tough to recover from.

CAIN: It's so tough to recover, Don, and it might not be able to be recoverable. That's why I'm saying we need to be careful about associating wit. We just need to make sure we got everything right here.

LEMON: All right. Thank you, Will. Thank you, LZ.

Let's move on now. I want to switch to a man considered Perry's main rival, Mitt Romney. Many pundits still think that he is still the man to beat, but, you know, the other so-called flavor of the week candidates are winning straw polls and getting more press.

Here's my question. You see how Herman Cain has surged. First, it was Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry. What is the problem? What problem is the GOP have with Mitt Romney?

GRANDERSON: I think, first of all --

CAIN: You want me to take that?

LEMON: Yes, it is you, Will.

CAIN: Let me see, Don. Let me make my list.

GRANDERSON: I think, first, he's a Mormon and I just think that's a huge problem that a lot of people have.

LEMON: Go ahead, LZ. You said -- you think it's because he's a Mormon, that's what people in our meetings today. I think it maybe because he's a Mormon that people won't really talk about that, LZ.

GRANDERSON: Yes. Think about it. How many times that you see GOP candidates tout their Christianity and yet Mitt Romney, barely, if ever, brings up his religion on his own admission. It's usually a question presented to him and he responds very succinctly and shortly. I think he's dodging bringing up the fact that he's a Mormon and I think a lot of people in his base are reminded every time you see him that he's not quite like them and because of that, they have this distance with them.

LEMON: Is that his weak spot? Is that the issue behind this, Will?

CAIN: No. In fact, LZ, it's absurd. Listen, we can take a list of why the GOP voters have a potential problem with Romney. Basically, we can sum it up by saying they are worried about his philosophy of government.

He created the model for Obamacare. He's flirted with raising taxes when he was governor of Massachusetts. He flirted with the carbon tax as governor of Massachusetts. He was pro-choice before he was pro- life. I've rattled out five substantive reasons. And I traveled in many conservative circles.

I've got a pretty good exposure to that electorate and not once have I heard somebody say, you know, I got a real problem with Mitt Romney and the poll is down with the fact that he's a Mormon.

GRANDERSDON: That's because it is taboo to say that part out loud. Of course, you are not going to hear the taboo part of it. That's what we say in closed doors, behind closed doors and our tight circles, to ourselves, that there's something not right about it.

I agree with you. His policies, sure, on paper there's a lot not to like. But there's such a dislike for President Obama you would think that the entire party would get behind the guy who seems the most electable. But they are hesitant and I think they're hesitant because of what's not being said opposed to what is being said.

LEMON: And I think that to count out that one part -- I mean, I think people to be honest that is probably one thing. It may not be the only thing but not to mention it I think would be disingenuous for people even not to mention it or not consider that.

So, listen, let's move on. Do you want to respond? Go ahead.

CAIN: No. Go ahead, Don. I'm sorry.

LEMON: All right. Let's talk about the primaries here because Florida is forcing everything to move up by changing its primary to January.

What's the rush here, Will?

CAIN: Influence. Plain and simple influence. Look, is there any reason that Iowa should be such a great predicator of who's going to be the president of the United States? Or so influential in determining who the GOP candidate is for the president of the United States?

No, there's not. Iowa is not representative of the conservative electorate across this country. And if you want to know why we have ethanol subsidies, it's because Iowa is first on the list. And now, Florida wants to get up a little higher on the list and exert some of their own influence.

LEMON: LZ, here listen. I'm going to ask you the same question, but with this attached to it. The current crop of GOP candidates, are they that dissatisfied with their current crop that they are forcing -- why force a decision so soon because they are talking about Palin, they're talking about Christie -- so why force a decision by moving primary season up if you are not satisfied with the current crop and you're still asking other people to potentially get into the race? GRANDERSON: I think, if I had to take a stab at it, I think Social Security would be the main issue. What is it one in six of the voters down there are relying on Social Security. And I think that they want to make sure that whatever candidate they end up with is someone who's on their side, on their particular topic. They don't want to wait until what would normally be, what, March 6th before they get inside the primary because by then, there might be momentum for one person who may not have the ideals about Social Security that they'd like.

So, they want to get in early on this conversation. They want to dictate as opposed to follow.

LEMON: All right, LZ, don't think -- I don't see the Detroit Lions t- shirt you have on there.

CAIN: Oh, no.

LEMON: Therefore --

GRANDERSON: I think you do.

CAIN: I'm from Texas, I'm from Dallas, Don. That was a jab at me.

GRANDERSON: How about some Cowboys?

LEMON: Beat the Cowboys today. So, he's getting subliminally. He's trying to do it.

Thank you. Both of you.

GRANDERSON: Restore the war, baby.

CAIN: I didn't see it. There it is.

LEMON: All right. Let's move on now. Thanks, guys.

GRANDERSON: Thirty-one points in the second half, dude. How do you even do that?

LEMON: Oh, my gosh! Next time. Thank you.

CAIN: I'm out of here.

LEMON: See you later. We're moving on. Cut the mikes, everybody.

All right. The hijack suspect is now in custody in Europe, but it could be years before he is back in U.S. courtroom. After the break, my conversation with two passengers who were on the Delta flight, that Delta flight more than 40 years ago.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: In Portugal, an extradition hearing two weeks from now will begin the lengthy process of trying to return longtime American fugitive George Wright to the U.S. Wright had been on the run for more than 40 year after allegedly helping to hijack a Delta Airliner back in 1972. He was picked up on Monday.

CNN's Susan Candiotti has the details of when and where he was found.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDIOTTI (voice over): This rural seaside town is the idyllic backdrop for a fugitive living with a secret for more than four decades. Looking nothing like he did in the early 60s when he was still a teenager, George Wright, now 68, was arrested in central Portugal after breakfast at this bakery.

"About eight officers in plain clothes surrounded him," this man says. They did it quietly and he didn't put up a fight.

(on camera): Reviving the case in 2002, U.S. Marshals and the FBI tracked Wright to Portugal through travel patterns they were examining, a law enforcement source tells CNN.

U.S. authorities say they in turn matched a fingerprint from a Portuguese national ID database to one they had on file for Wright in prison, and set up a delicate surveillance operation to make sure they had the man who had eluded them for so long.

(voice over): Wright was convicted of killing a decorated World War II vet during a gas station robbery. Serving time in New Jersey, he escaped in 1970, hiding out in Detroit where he joined the Black Liberation Army.

In 1972, Wright hijacked a Delta flight from Detroit to Miami. He had a gun and a cutout Bible and posed as a priest to take over the flight with four others.

WILLIAM MAY, DELTA AIRLINES CAPTAIN: I went back to the lavatory and as I came out of the lavatory, the stewardess was in the forward buffet with one of the hijackers, which I didn't know at this time. And I asked her for a coffee and he turned around and pointed a gun and says they want you in the cockpit.

CANDIOTTI: At Miami International Airport, FBI agents forced to wear bathing suits to prove they were unarmed delivered a $1 million ransom -- at that time, a record amount.

Passengers were let go, but the flight crew was ordered to fly to Boston to pick up a navigator before going on to Algiers.

Algeria returned the ransom money to the U.S. but Wright and his buddies were allowed to stay in Algeria.

Wright eventually settled in this town in Portugal and used the name Jorge dos Santos. Townspeople say he held several jobs and even owned restaurants. He was married and had children. He blended in, even as a foreigner.

"He was pleasant," this woman says, and when he spoke to his wife and children, he used English, not Portuguese.

His capture is a relief for the daughter of William Patterson who was killed by Wright at the gas station 40 years ago.

ANN PATTERSON, FATHER KILLED BY WRIGHT: There was no dad there at graduation. There was no daddy to walk us down the aisle. Grandchildren didn't have a grandfather. You know, it's a big void. It's a big empty spot.

CANDIOTTI (on camera): Saying he's a Portuguese citizen, Wright is fighting to stay put but the U.S. wants him back to finish a murder sentence and face other charges, including that hijacking decades ago. The legal process could take weeks, months, or even longer.

Susan Candiotti, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: All right. Susan, thank you.

Judge Dalton Roberson and his pregnant wife and little girl were on the hijacked flight. They were on their way to Miami for a lawyers' convention. And just a short time ago, I spoke with the Robersons about that experience, and Mrs. Roberson says she immediately noticed something odd about the passenger who turned out to be George Wright.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PEARL ROBERSON, PASSENGER OIN HIJACKED FLIGHT: I only thought that after we had gotten on the plane, I didn't -- and he stood up and I thought that's strange. He didn't look like a priest and I don't know what a priest always looked like but he didn't -- there was something strange. He was surveying the passengers on the plane, and I said to my husband, I said, that doesn't look right. So he made some comment.

LEMON: What did you say, Judge?

JUDGE DALTON ROBERSON, PASSENGER ON HIJACKED FLIGHT: Well, when she said it to me, she said, he really doesn't look like a priest. I said, oh, you are just pregnant. Don't worry about it. We'll be OK.

P. ROBERSON: Right.

D. ROBERSON: And then she said to me, there he goes with her up to the cockpit. And I said, well, they'll let anybody go up to the cockpit, because back then, you know, pilots would let come -- they let children come to the cockpit. Remember that was when they used to give them the little wings when they flew.

LEMON: Yes.

D. ROBERSON: And I just thought that he was somebody who's inquiring about the airplane. And she said, now, he's going in to the cockpit with her and at that point -- we started -- I started joining her in feeling that something was wrong. When the plane landed, we didn't go to the terminal. We stayed on the tarmac. And eventually, the pilot came on and told us he had two young men who wanted to go to Algeria and that he was going to take them to Algeria, but the problem was that they wanted $1 million in $20 bills. P. ROBERSON: We were all looking around puzzled and terrified to tell you the truth.

LEMON: Did you think you were going to survive it?

P. ROBERSON: We weren't sure. I wasn't sure. But I was trying to keep my daughter calm and trying to entertain her and have her not know how frightened we all were.

D. ROBERSON: We must have stay on the tarmac for two hours, at least. And then we saw people come to the plane, who I presume to be FBI agents, come to the plane in bikini bathing suits and they were bringing the million dollars out to the airplane.

They hoisted the money on to a rope in the plane and then they let us off, out on the tarmac. And back then they gave us a black (INAUDIBLE) sign as the plane took off.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Well, the Robersons told me after 40 years they had basically forgotten all about the hijacking until news broke that Wright had been found living in Portugal.

Lost -- a man missing and trapped nearly a week after his car plunged down in a ravine. He is found and he's alive to tell about it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: The next story is really unbelievable. It's a story of determination, survival and luck. And it thrust a California family into the national spotlight.

The dad was missing somewhere in the thousands of square miles of the Angeles National Forest. And his four grown children found him, can you believe it? Plus, they may have helped another family in distress.

CNN's Tina Kim has the remarkable details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TINA KIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Two cars mangled at the bottom of a ravine. That was the sight of a family reunion unlike any other -- one that has likely solved a missing person's case and saved a father's life as this show shows. The worry began when the man being airlifted did not call his kids.

LISA LAVAU, DAVID LAVAU'S DAUGHTER: My dad would never not call his kids. There's four of us. And it just -- by the time the fourth day, the fifth day and then the sixth day -- we knew something was wrong.

KIM: And so, the children of David Lavau started searching on their own, pinpointing an area in California's Angeles National Forest after detectives helped track their dad's cell and credit card activity.

Then the brother and sisters, with other family and friends, began to drive.

LAVAU: We stopped at every ravine and looked over every hill.

SEAN LAVAU, CRASH SURVIVOR'S SON: All of a sudden, I thought I heard a cat or dog, enough where I said, hello, and it echoed down.

KIM: Sean Lavau found his father Thursday 200 feet down a ravine on Thursday. The 67-yer-old man had been missing for six days.

SEAN LAVAU: I hugged him and we both cried. And I said, how did you make it? And he said, I drank the water in the river and I ate leaves and bugs.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was heading this direction. Another car was heading toward him. Had bright lights on. So he flashed the lights at the car. I believe at that point, probably swerved and went of the road.

KIM: David Lavau ended up right near another wrecked car with a decomposing body inside. As his children worried about him, Lavau worried about how his kids would find him. The "Los Angeles Times" reports, he wrote on his car's dirty trunk, "I love my kids. Dead man was not my fault. Love, Dad."

The dead man is likely to be the 80-year-old Melvin Gelfand, who has been missing since August 14th. His daughter, Joan Matlack, says she is thankful for answers.

JOAN MATLOCK, DAUGHTER OF MELVIN GELFAND: We may have never found him. We tried to prepare for the worst but hoped for the best.

KIM: Authorities have to confirm the body's identity.

What is certain is David Lavau raised some determined kids.

Tina Kim, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DON LEMON: CNN ANCHOR: Unbelievable.

It has been six weeks since the Washington Monument closed after an earthquake damaged it. Now another bump in the road for tourists who hope to visit it. Work to assess damage? Well, it has been suspended after a mishap on Friday. Eric Sohn (ph), a member of an engineering team, was hanging by a rope at the top of the 550 foot monument when a gust of wind blew him 30 feet away from the west face to the south face. You see that? Sohn (ph) is fine, but the National Parks Service says it will be, at the earliest, Monday before crews can resume their job as they wait for the high winds to die down.

Yes, that's pretty dangerous.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: That's scary.

LEMON: Yes, gusty winds like that, the ones in Washington may not be the rule, Jacqui Jeras. She's right there. But the exception here.

JERAS: Yes.

LEMON: That's very dangerous.

JERAS: Yes, absolutely. Repelling is kind of scary anyway.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: Yes.

JERAS: But the weather has been so lousy in D.C.

LEMON: Really.

JERAS: It's been a whole week that you have been dealing with this. Since last weekend we were talking about that upper low. We were hoping that front would come through and sweep it out. Unfortunately, the low just kind of got caught up with the other one. It is still sitting here. Yes, it also has to do a little bit with our hurricane in the Atlantic, too. Kind of blocking the pattern and keeping things in place, so look for more dreary weather.

(WEATHER REPORT)

LEMON: Right in the middle of the country. Good old heartland.

JERAS: Yes. The heartland, exactly.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: Thank you, Jacqui. Appreciate it.

Coming up after the break, the Michael Jackson autopsy report. Unless you are a medical doctor, you've probably never heard of the drugs found in his body. A doctor explains what they are and how dangerous they can be. That's next. Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: The trial of Dr. Conrad Murray gets underway on Monday. Murray's been charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of Michael Jackson. Jackson died of an overdose of the anesthesia Propofol and other drugs.

To find out what affects these drugs had, I spoke to a doctor who saw Jackson's autopsy report. His name is Dr. Zeev Cain. He is the head of the Anesthesiology Department at the University of California, Irvine.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: You saw the toxicology report?

DR. ZEEV CAIN, DIRECTOR, ANESTHESIOLOGY DEPARTMENT, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE: I saw the toxicology repot. I saw the autopsy report.

LEMON: You did?

CAIN: I did.

LEMON: What was in Michael Jackson's system?

CAIN: Several drugs, Midazolam, Diazepam, Lorazepam, Lidocaine, Epinephrine and Propofol.

LEMON: That's a lot.

CAIN: That's a lot of drugs. That's a lot of drugs.

LEMON: Enough to kill someone?

CAIN: Certainly enough to make sure that he stopped breathing, yes.

LEMON: Yes. What did the autopsy report show?

CAIN: Well, overall, Michael Jackson was actually in good health. There was no real problems in his internal organs. It did show, at some point in the past, he did use drugs but, again, overall, he was in excellent health.

LEMON: What kind of drugs?

CAIN: You can't really say that. The only thing we can do is go based on what we found in his blood.

LEMON: OK. It didn't show one drug which the defense is saying he was addicted to. What I'm talking about, (INAUDIBLE), on the record, Demerol.

CAIN: Absolutely true. There was no Demerol found there, which means he did not really take Demerol for 40 days before this.

LEMON: How many days would it have been in order for it to leave?

CAIN: Several days. Demerol actually has a pretty long half life. So it stays in the system quite a while.

LEMON: Yes. Were you surprised by anything in the report?

CAIN: I would say I was surprised by what in good shape he was. Based on what I've heard previously, I expected to see more signs of chronic illness in his organs, more signs of an addict. They are not really there. He was basically healthy.

LEMON: Yes. Yes. And to have those drugs, you said Lorazepam --

CAIN: Diazepam, Midazolam.

LEMON: All those drugs in there together -- does someone usually take all of those drugs together? CAIN: You take them if you want to induce sedation or medically induced coma. Which brings me to the issue of Propofol should not be used in home settings.

LEMON: Yes.

CAIN: It should be used when you want to medially induce coma or sedation in a hospital. You have to monitor somebody's blood pressure, heart rate, how well they are breathing. You have to monitor their oxygen level. That's the bottom line.

LEMON: So, listen, people are -- this is going to be the issue now with medicine. How much can you get from doctors, depending on how much you pay? Your celebrity status? What you do for a living? All of that, is that at issue here?

CAIN: Absolutely, it is. Remember, they found four gallons. Four gallons are enough to put to sleep about 500 people. Or it is enough to keep somebody asleep for eight hours for almost two months. Now, that may be a bit misleading, because he may have built resistance in his body already. We have to remember, when somebody does take Propofol on a regular basis, they will build up resistance. So I know some reports say it is a two-months supply. It depends how much resistance was in his body. It may only be a one week supply. We don't know.

LEMON: Is there something we should be concerned about? I heard during the testimony that it is usually a doctor/patient relationship, and maybe this was an employee/employer relationship. Is that a concern to society overall in this case and in society, this culture where you see drugs on television and what have you?

CAIN: To my opinion, there is a fundamental difference in the Western society versus other societies in the relations between doctor/patient. I think we need to go back to the basics and say doctors are here to take care of patients. It's not a question of you paying me for something. We are not the same as lawyers, to my opinion. We are doctors. Our first sworn duty is to take care of you. Money is secondary. We really need to take care your well being, regardless of how much you will pay for me.

LEMON: Thank you, doctor.

CAIN: You're welcome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Dr. Zeev Cain. My thanks to him at the University of California, Irvine.

Stay with CNN. There's more ahead next hour on Dr. Murray's trial. Legal analyst, Holly Hughes, will join me to explain what we can expect when testimony resumes on Monday.

Coming up, the return of skulls to the place they belong gives a morbid history lesson. The first time in the 20th century one nation tried to erase the existence of a people.

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LEMON: Usually high water means you get out, but check this out.

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LEMON: Look at that. The streets of the Philippines swamped. We're going to tell you why in a moment.

But first, as we go "Globe Trekking," the return of skulls to an African nation marks a morbid first for the 21st century.

CNN international desk editor, Azadeh Ansari, joins me to explain.

Azadeh, I understand a delegation from Namibia accepted the skulls from Germany. What's going on?

ANSARI: Right, Don. You have to follow me back 100 years. This was when Germany had an emperor, and Namibia was the colonial crown jewel of Germany. And it was known as Germany Southwest. So the delegation we're seeing here is in Germany to accept the skulls.

So what does skulls have to do with this, is probably what people are probably asking.

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ANSARI: Right. The thing is, is that the indigenous group of the Horaros (ph) were met with brutal force when they rebelled against their German oppressors. As if the genocide wasn't horrific enough, the skulls were sent back to Germany to do racial analysis. Scientists would take the skulls and look at them to prove white supremacy. Now, the skulls that we're seeing in the picture, now they are being given back by the German government as a gesture of reconciliation for the genocide that took place 100 years ago.

Can I give you a little -- tell you an interesting note about this. The hospital where these skulls are currently at, they didn't even know they had them until a German journalist stumbled on them in the hospital museum --

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ANSARI: -- and was like, wait a second, there could be something here.

LEMON: That's a really cool story. We have a couple to get through here. Can we go back to the flooding video in the Philippines? Where is the water coming from? And how has it impacted the nation.

ANSARI: It's like two types of typhoons hit the Philippines in a week. The water keeps adding on and adding on. People are walking in waist-high waters, as you can see. Many of them are without food, without water. About three million people have been estimated to be affected by this. This is according to World Vision, a nonprofit organization. And again, now, the typhoon has been downgraded to a tropical storm and it's heading to the coast, the south coast of China.

LEMON: But they are still left with the water. And there's another David-and-Goliath situation. A Brazilian tribe has gotten construction to stop on an $11 billion project to build a dam?

ANSARI: The dam has been in the works for a while now. And protests continue from the indigenous population. They are saying, if the dam goes through, if the project is actually accepted, it could be the world's largest producer of hydro-electric energy. But the thing is, environmentalists are saying, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a second here, this could mean tens of thousands of indigenous people leaving the Amazon, flooding of the Amazon, deforestation. But Brazil is like, look, we have an energy crisis. We need to meet it. We have high demand. And one way to do this it is to avert the flow of the river, the Poshingu (ph) River, and by doing that, they can produce all of this energy. But the down side of that is --

LEMON: You see the pictures there. Yes, good pictures.

Thank you very much.

ANSARI: All right.

LEMON: Azadeh Ansari, from the international desk.

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LEMON: The legend of an American sports icon, is it tainted by a new book? Did the running back nicknamed "Sweetness" have a dark side? We will talk about it with a senior writer from "Sports Illustrated." That's coming up next.

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LEMON: The baseball playoffs are just getting underway, but one of the big stories this week was two teams that didn't make it.

Joining us now to talk about it is Jon Wertheim with "Sports Illustrated."

Here's this weeks cover, and it's focusing on the soon-to-be-released biography of Hall of Fame running back, Walter Payton.

And we're going to be getting back to the stunning revelations in that book, but let's talk about the playoffs real quickly, Jon. What happened to the Red Sox and the Atlanta Braves?

JON WERTHEIM, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED: These twin collapses, on September 1st, they're both sitting pretty. In one case, the hitting gave out, the other case, the pitching. But it was almost voyeuristic. It was almost rubber-necking to watch these teams lose and lose and lose. They played passively and tentatively. It goes down to the last game of the season. They both lose. The Tampa Rays and Cardinals both sneak in. And, boy, long off seasons for both of those teams. Boston is already part of the ways with its managers. Two just titanic collapses in the last month of season.

LEMON: And we're seeing some fallout now in Boston and Atlanta?

WERTHEIM: Yes, the Red Sox and Terry Frank Conan (ph), their manager, parted ways. We'll see what happens in Atlanta. But two real long off seasons for those organizations. Just stunning collapses and they're both on the outside looking in now.

LEMON: Let's go to the NBA, the lockout. Talks this weekend that include star players like Lebron James and Dwyane Wade. Are those stars getting involved? Is that a good sign?

WERTHEIM: I think it gives the negotiations some heft. It helps to have players of that stature. On the other hand, it raises the ego quotient. Not a lot got done yesterday. We'll see what happens on Monday.

You know, from Colby Bryant on down, these players are fielding offers to play overseas. That's not the case with the NFL. In the NBA, though, you've got these other markets that will pay a competitive wage. That's a really interesting component to all this because these players can go elsewhere if there's no reason.

LEMON: There was a report that the commissioner -- I'm glad you said that -- that David Stern, that had he had threatened players with cancellation of the entire season if no progress was made. And the league denied that. But are we that close, Jon, to losing an entire season?

WERTHEIM: Yes. You know, 12 years ago, we had a labor situation. They played a 50-game season. That meant losing more than a third of the games. So we've got some time left. The commissioner was very adamant to say, no, I did not make that threat. Clearly, some progress has got to be made. But I think the urgency might be exaggerated a little bit.

LEMON: Jon, now I want to go to this biography that I am just starting to read. It's by Jeff Pearlman, called "Sweetness: The Enigmatic Life of Walter Payton." Jon, S.I. is running an excerpt this week. What's in there that's going to surprise your readers?

WERTHEIM: Well, there's some allegations of an extramarital affair, which probably doesn't surprise many people, seeing we're dealing with athletes. But Walter Payton, the figure of dignity, "Sweetness" was his nickname. There may have been some mental health issues, some drug abuse issues, and it's truly at odds this public portrait. and I think that's what's causing some of the controversy.

LEMON: I'm glad you mentioned some of that, because the book describes the former Chicago Bears star as being a womanizer of sorts, abusing pain medication, as you said, you just mentioned. Was any of this known in sports circles when he was playing?

WERTHEIM: Well, I think, talking to Jeff Pearlman, the author, what's remarkable was how little of this was reported. I think a big difference as to what happened when he was playing, and what we see, even the most decorated Hall of Famer, Walter Payton, great image, even he has trouble with this transition from being a star to retiring and then being a, quote, unquote, "civilian." That's what a lot of this book is about. That even these NFL players, in particular, have these great careers, even they can really struggle with this transition. And I think a lot of book is about that, how hard it is to go from being a star to your average citizen.

LEMON: It's tough when, for so long, people had put him up on a pedestal and everyone, in the end, is just human. He died of cancer in 1999, 45 years old. That's really young. But it sounds like, and correct me if I'm wrong, that his life just kind of fell apart after he retired?

WERTHEIM: Yes, I think that's really the revelation of the book. And that's something that hadn't been particularly reported. And I think really the takeaway here is, you know, it's professional athletes. It's great when the going's good. But, boy, in the grand scheme of things, it can be a pretty brutal career. And that transition from playing to not playing, even someone of Walter Payton's stature, if someone like that can really struggle with that transition.

LEMON: Jon Wertheim, of "Sports Illustrated," and he's the author of the book, "Scorecasting."

Thank you, sir. Much appreciated.

WERTHEIM: Thanks, Don.

LEMON: And make sure you join us next hour when I talk with Jeff Pearlman, the author of the new biography, "Sweetness: The Enigmatic Life of Walter Payton." That's at 7:00 p.m. eastern right here on CNN.

Former Vice President Dick Cheney praises a weekend move by President Obama. That story, just ahead.

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LEMON: All right. We're excited to welcome Erin Burnett to CNN next week. Her show, "Out Front," debuts Monday at 7:00 p.m. eastern. On "Reliable Sources," Howard Kurtz asked her about her new gig and moving from exclusively reporting on business to a new show.

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HOWARD KURTZ, CNN HOST, "RELIABLE SOURCES": By doing a more general show here on CNN, are you giving up your business brand? You're so closely identified with being a mark reporter. You worked at Goldman Sachs. It's taken you a lot of years to gain that credibility. Is that a difficult transition for you? ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST, "OUT FRONT": Well, I think the first answer to that is, it's still important for me, in the sense that the election -- the economy is the most important issue in the election. And I believe, in general, that money and where money is going and who is getting money is central to every story. And I think --

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KURTZ: You're not walking away from that?

BURNETT: No. And I think that's an important angle we can bring to all stories. But a lot of the things that I love in terms of the foreign reporting and some of the issues that I really care about that have a financial aspect, but also a much broader aspect, which I did at CNBC, but wasn't really the core of what they did, is now the core. So I think it's a perfect fit.

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LEMON: Erin Burnett, "Out Front," debuts Monday night, at 7:00 p.m., right here on CNN. Her first interview, an exclusive with Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.