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Accused American Soldier Back in U.S.; 911 Calls Released in Trayvon Martin Shooting; Rutgers Student Found Guilty in Webcam Spying Case

Aired March 17, 2012 - 12:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Good to see you. Have a great day. We've got a lot straight ahead. And we're going to kind of continue on with some of the top stories that you had earlier today.

The American soldier accused of killing civilians in Afghanistan, well, he is now in solitary confinement at a military correction facility in Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas. He was transported there from Kuwait late yesterday. And the Army is now confirming that his identity is 38-year-old Staff Sergeant Robert Bales.

He is a decorated combat veteran, who once spoke out against the killing of civilians in a war zone. Sergeant Bales' identity had been withheld for six days because of the Pentagon's concerns about his security and that of his family.

CNN's Athena Jones is live now for us out of Washington. So, Athena, what more do we know about Bales, his state of mind before his recent deployment to Afghanistan?

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly, as you mentioned, he's 38 years old. He's the father of two young children. He had deployed to Iraq three times, was on his fourth deployment to Afghanistan when this shooting rampage that he's accused of occurred.

But if you talk to his lawyer and we've heard from his family, his neighbors and friends, they all say that he's a family man, a loving husband and they are shocked by hearing this news that he's accused of this. Let's listen to what his friend and his neighbor had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He had such a big heart, too, because he was in the financial world as a financial adviser. And I know he couldn't even take that, like losing people's money when the market went down, and so he felt that he needed something bigger in his heart and his mind and his soul. So that's why he went into the military in general, you know, to help people.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was super fun to hang around with, kind of the life of the party kind of guy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: And so this is what we're hearing so far. Now his lawyer, John Henry Brown, who's a Seattle-based lawyer, has said that he has talked about the fact that not only was this his fourth deployment, Bales' fourth deployment, the family did not expect him to have to go and be deployed again after those three tours.

He was injured during his service in Iraq, having had a traumatic brain injury and even losing part of his foot. And so the family didn't think he'd have to be deployed again, but he had to go to Afghanistan in December. When they found out that he did, they were disappointed.

We know also that his lawyer has indicated that these mental health issues could come up as part of the defense of Staff Sergeant Bales, but we're still hearing more as it comes out about what may have caused this rampage that he's accused of.

WHITFIELD: All right, Athena Jones in Washington, thanks so much for that.

So in Afghanistan, outrage over the shootings is pouring out into the streets.

(VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: But in a verbal way, not violently. Villagers yelling, "Down with America," burning an effigy of the accused soldier. They want Staff Sergeant Bales to be returned to Afghanistan to face charges.

President Hamid Karzai says the shootings have taken a serious toll on diplomatic relations with the U.S.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HAMID KARZAI, PRESIDENT OF AFGHANISTAN: The Afghan investigation team did not receive the cooperation that they expected from the United States. Therefore, these are all questions that we'll be raising, and raising very loudly. It is by all means the end of the rope here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Joining us live from Washington, CNN foreign affairs report reporter, Elise Labott.

So, Elise, you know, is the U.S. State Department kind of trying to stay out of the legal case, the legal proceedings as it involves Sergeant Bales? Or will it try in some way to help facilitate some of Afghanistan's requests, like they want some Afghan witnesses to be able to testify.

ELISE LABOTT, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think in short, Fred, they're going to stick to their lane, which is the diplomatic lane, and they're going to leave this to the Pentagon, the Defense Department, because as we've been discussing, the uniform code of military justice will dictate how this sergeant -- Staff Sergeant Bales is tried, and there are particular rules in this. Basically it's a Pentagon show.

WHITFIELD: And whose idea was this? Was it the U.S. military who said we need to go ahead and try Sergeant Bales in the U.S., or did the State Department play a role at all by trying to make a case, or help make the case that Afghanistan was making, that perhaps there's a way to try him overseas?

LABOTT: Well, I don't think any of this has really been worked out yet. I mean, some military officials are saying there's nothing to preclude him from being tried in Afghanistan. Let's be clear, when we say tried in Afghanistan, we don't mean tried by the Afghan justice system, we would mean that the U.S. military would just move the trial over to Afghanistan.

But I think that, again, they're really leaving this up to the military and how they decide they want to proceed. Certainly they want to take into account the Afghans' concerns that justice be served.

There are also a lot of particular rules about whether witnesses can be introduced, whether witnesses can be introduced, Afghan witnesses can be introduced, because if the prosecution uses Afghan witnesses, then of course the defense will need to question them as well. So those kind of questions are still being worked out.

Again, nothing to say as they have in the past that he couldn't be actually tried in Afghanistan. But you know, as we've been talking about, this agreement that governs U.S. military in Afghanistan, when the fall of the Taliban happened, U.S. and Afghanistan had agreement that these soldiers had immunity from Afghan law and would be processed according to the U.S. military justice system.

So this agreement is in effect. I don't see the U.S. going back on that. They don't want to leave their military up to a trial of the Afghan system, which, Fred, even though they are starting to build accountability rule of law, Afghan justice system considered very weak and corrupt.

WHITFIELD: All right, Elise Labott from Washington, thanks so much for that.

All right. New details this morning in the shooting of that unarmed Florida teenager from 9-1-1 calls the night it happened. Trayvon Martin was shot and killed last month by a neighborhood watch captain for a gated community. Well, now we are hearing seven different calls, beginning with one from alleged shooter and neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

GEORGE ZIMMERMAN, NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH CAPTAIN: Something is wrong with him. Yep. He's coming to check me out. He's got something in his hands. I don't know what his deal is.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you following him?

ZIMMERMAN: Yes. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. We don't need you to do that.

ZIMMERMAN: OK.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: A short time later, calls started coming in from neighbors who say they heard a fight and someone screaming and then this.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So you think he's yelling help?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right. What is your --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's gunshots.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You just heard gunshots?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How many?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just one.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Zimmerman's father is also speaking out in a letter to the "Orlando Sentinel" newspaper. He criticized what he calls the media's portrayal of his son, George, as a racist. He said that, quote, "could not be further from the truth," end quote.

As for Trayvon Martin's parents, they say they are outraged that Zimmerman has not been arrested and they feel betrayed by the Sanford police department.

About 200,000 Honda Civic hybrid owners are getting up to $200 in a class action settlement. A San Diego judge gave final approval yesterday to a settlement between the Japanese automaker and drivers who say their cars didn't get the promised gas mileage.

And Jason Russell, the director of the "Kony 2012" video, does not have a drinking or drug problem. At least that's what his family is saying. He was hospitalized for what was described as exhaustion.

San Diego police picked Russell up Thursday after receiving reports of a man screaming and running through the street in his underwear.

This is video of Russell during a CNN interview just last weekend. He is on the right, wearing that red t-shirt there. Russell is a founder of the nonprofit group Invisible Children. The group's film about Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony has been viewed 80 million times on YouTube. All right, we'll take you on the campaign trail to see where the GOP presidential candidates are stumping today.

Also, a landmark ruling in the Rutgers cyber spying case. Our legal guys will be weighing in on that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Right now to politics and a look at the delegate math that's become key in the Republican presidential race. Mitt Romney is leading with 498, Rick Santorum 239, Newt Gingrich 139 and Ron Paul 69.

Romney is in Puerto Rico at this hour before tomorrow's primary. He is saying that he will be willing to help the island get statehood if they want it, and, of course, he talked about both English and Spanish being important there, a topic that landed Senator Santorum in hot water earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FORMER GOV. MITT ROMNEY, R-MASS., PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think selecting the words of your governor, Spanish is the language of Puerto Rico's heritage, English is the language of opportunity. I would hope that young people would learn both languages, but particularly English.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Rachel Streitfeld filed this report from Puerto Rico just a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RACHEL STREITFELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're outside a market in Puerto Rico where Mitt Romney is going to speak with voters here. Something to remember, these voters here living in Puerto Rico cannot vote in the general election.

However, the candidates, both Mitt Romney and rick Santorum have spent a lot of time here campaigning, turning out some enthusiastic audiences. We have to remember every delegate counts in this extended primary calendar. Both candidates are trying to get to that magic number of 1,144 delegates and the 20 delegates here in Puerto Rico certainly can add to that total.

There's also a large Hispanic population here, clearly, and that population is going to have a lot to say in the November election. So while Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum speak to voters here, Puerto Rican voters in the U.S. are listening to what they're saying, following it closely.

It's not all work, though. We did have a wild night last night. Mitt Romney was speaking at a political rally, and it was unlike anything I've ever seen. I'm still having trouble hearing out of both of my ears after that. There was music blaring, politicians dancing on stage, people dancing in the audience. Mitt Romney, we did not see him dance, but he did clap to the music, mostly on rhythm, and the night ended with fireworks. So he's been able to sneak in a little bit of fun down here on this quick trip to Puerto Rico.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, Rachel Streitfeld, thanks so much. Romney will be campaigning in Illinois later on today.

All right. In this program note, join me every Sunday afternoon at 4 o'clock Eastern time for a special hour dedicated to the presidential contenders in this 2012 election.

All right. Straight ahead, new video of that tornado that barreled through Henryville, Indiana.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Top story straight ahead. We'll also take a closer look at the aftermath of the Rutgers suicide case. A former student was found guilty of hate crimes for using a webcam to spy on his roommate's sexual encounter. The roommate killed himself days later. We'll take a closer look at how that verdict could affect the issue of privacy and social media.

In fact, it wasn't really hate crimes, he was found guilty instead of invasion of privacy. Sorry for that correction.

All right. Meantime, we've got some dramatic images of that deadly tornado that barreled through Indiana earlier this month. Take a look right now and you can see how this kind of underscores the force of nature.

That was a school gym in Henryville, you saw it with the lights on, right? Then suddenly you see it's very dusty there. That is the tornado coming through there, blowing through at 175 miles an hour, leaving behind nothing, just kind of the skeleton of what was that gym. At least 13 people died in Indiana and many were left homeless in that town.

All right, we know people are still trying to recover from those storms, and, of course, we are hoping that they are able to rebuild as best they can. Let's check in with our Reynolds Wolf now and get an idea.

When we see these images, it really does kind of underscore the power of nature. A lot of times people feel like they can just ride out a storm --

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: -- but when you see images like that, you -- that really does emphasize you've got to find that safe place. REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Oh, you're absolutely right. You know, you mentioned winds of 175 miles an hour. We're talking about the equivalent of a category 5 hurricane. I mean, just brutal stuff. You're absolutely right.

I mean, we think we can ride them out, but the best place you can be if you happen to be in a situation like a tornado of that magnitude or any tornado is to be underground. Keep in mind, though, that most tornados are relatively weak. They don't last that long and they really don't cause a whole lot of damage, but you have those exceptions.

And, of course, what happened there, and that is in parts of the Midwest, certainly, part of one of the exceptions. Very quickly, let's show you what we have in Tampa today. A great deal of warm air that we have that's building up into the central and eastern part of the U.S.

We have -- is we have a big ridge in the east and the center of the U.S. Out to the west we have a trough. A lot of cold air that's coming in from the north. This situation got a lot of moist, muggy air that's coming in from parts of the Gulf of Mexico.

Back of mind, with daytime heating, could give us a chance of some severe storms across, especially parts of the mid-Mississippi valley, maybe even into the Ohio Valley before the day is out. And I would say between the hours of 3:00 pm and 6:00 pm would be your best opportunity to deal with a strong storm, so we'll certainly stay on top of that throughout the day.

Fred, back to you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Reynolds, appreciate that.

All right. A New York mother of four accused of running a high-end brothel is trying to get out of jail. We'll tell you what her legal team is willing to do to help her. And you'll hear from our legal guys straight ahead.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

WHITFIELD: But first, a lot of people talking about this right now and asking these questions. Is it worth it to invest in a college degree and how to pay for it. Senior business correspondent Christine Romans asks the experts in today's "Smart is the New Rich."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: So you can't afford to go to college, but you can't afford not to, either. A Pew Research Center study finds typical college graduates made $650,000 more over their working lives than their peers who only finished high school.

And a college degree, a bachelor's degree or higher, has an unemployment rate of 4.2 percent, half that of high school grads.

Anthony Carnevale is director of the Georgetown University Center on Education in the Workforce. Ali Velshi is CNN's chief business correspondent and host of "YOUR MONEY."

Tony, is college worth it?

ANTHONY CARNEVALE, DIRECTOR, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY CENTER ON EDUCATION: It is, but it all depends on what you take. College in general is not worth it so much anymore. It's college in particular that you have to think about.

ROMANS: Ali, it has to be an investment. You have to think of it as an investment. You can have all this student debt. You're not going to be guaranteed a job coming out and you have to be training for the right job.

ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: That's correct. So you have to decide what undergraduate you're going to take that's going to pay you, unless you plan to be independently wealthy or have your parents finance you or marry rich.

At that point, you have to decide whether you need further education or whether you need further vocational education. If you're going to go for a degree beyond a bachelor's degree, then go to college for three years and go into that degree as opposed to four years. Lots of places allow you to accelerate.

But the bottom line is while it may be expensive, we need to make sure we don't confuse that with valuable. It is expensive and it is valuable.

ROMANS: Tony, how do we make college more affordable for everyone?

CARNEVALE: The only way I think we can do that, because we don't have the money to buy all the college education we need, is we, again, to need to urge people to know what the outcome will be, how they'll do to know before they go whether the degree will get them a job or not.

ROMANS: And the degree that will get them a job, Tony, now is STEM, isn't it? Science, technology, engineering and math?

VELSHI: Right, there are -- there are some exceptions. There are jobs that are degrees that will get you employed, but they won't pay very much, and for some people, that's OK. Some of these professions are things people want to do.

The mistake you need to not make is going for something that's not going to get you a job and that's not going to pay well, that was just something you chose because somebody told you to. There is research in there. Tony makes that point. People can research. If you're going to school, you should be smart enough to get on Google and figure out what it takes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: And no more spending three or four years trying to find yourself. It's too expensive at 20 grand a year to do that. Anthony Carnevale, Ali Velshi, thanks so much. For "Smart is the New Rich," I'm Christine Romans. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The attorney for a former Rutgers student convicted in that webcam spying case is vowing to appeal. Dharun Ravi was found guilty on all counts, including spying on his roommate's sexual encounter with another man. That roommate, Tyler Clementi, killed himself days later. Miguel Marquez reviews the case.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Guilty or not guilty?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Guilty.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A clean sweep for the prosecution. Dharun Ravi guilty on all counts. Ravi never took the stand on his own behalf. Instead his defense used the police interrogation video to prove he meant no harm, highlighting the fact he never recorded Clementi, nor did he put the encounter online.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We go to a computer, and we turn it on. At the corner of the screen we see there -- we barely (inaudible) back. It was like obvious that they were being intimate or whatever. So we closed it immediately, and like I just felt like we were -- really uncomfortable and like (inaudible) guilty that I saw that.

MARQUEZ: Ravi's defense argued he only turned on his camera because he didn't trust Clementi's visitor and was worried about theft.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, the guy that walked in, like, the reason I was a little weirded out is because he came in. I said hey. He didn't acknowledge me at all, he just sat on the bed, on Tyler's bed and just didn't say anything. So I left the room. And I was kind of getting like a little creeped out and worried about what was happening, because I had other valuables in there.

MARQUEZ: But prosecutors painted a very different picture, successfully arguing Ravi targeted his roommate because of his sexual orientation, setting up his computer to spy on Clementi, then telling friends via Twitter about what he saw, even daring everyone to watch when Clementi asked to use the room privately a second time.

Perhaps devastating to Ravi's claim that he wasn't anti-gay, his friend and one-time co-defendant, Molly Wei, who cut a deal with prosecutors, testified Ravi was uncomfortable with Clementi's sexuality.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What the defendant's reaction? How was he acting?

MOLLY WEI, RAVI FRIEND: Just shocked and kind of surprised at what he saw, freaking out a little.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Doesn't say to --

MARQUEZ (voice-over): And as evidence of intimidation, prosecutors hammered the jury with a tweet Ravi sent. Quote, "Roommate asked for the room till midnight. I went into Molly's room and turned on my webcam. I saw him making out with a dude. Yay."

At the time Clementi, quickly aware of the tweet, requested a room change and checked Ravi's Twitter feed dozens of times to see if more would follow. Days later, the shy 18-year-old jumped off the George Washington Bridge. His last communication, a Facebook post. "Jumping off the GW Bridge. Sorry."

Ravi wasn't charged with the death and his defense acted he acted childishly, but isn't homophobic. They pointed to text messages Ravi sent Clementi the night he took his own life, writing, "I've known you were gay and I have no problem with it. In fact, one of my closest friends is gay, and he and I have a very open relationship.

"I just suspect you were shy about it, which is why I never broached the topic. I don't want your freshman year to be ruined because of a petty misunderstanding."

We don't know if Tyler Clementi ever saw that text -- Miguel Marquez, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: So the verdict is sure to have profound impact on the issue of privacy and social media. Let's bring in our legal guys.

Avery Friedman, a civil rights attorney and law professor, good to see you, coming to us from Cleveland.

And Richard Herman, a New York criminal defense attorney and law professor joining us from Las Vegas. Good to see you as well.

OK, so Avery, you first. This is a new law being exercised, and the outcome certainly will have far implications, especially as it pertains to privacy and the use of the Internet. In what ways do you see?

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Well, I think in a number of ways. The Ravi conviction is a profound and watershed decision, but it turned on a New Jersey law. While it will raise the national consciousness, I think there are very serious issues for the appeal.

Number one, the law basically was enacted, that is the ethnic intimidation hate law, to go after like neo-Nazis and extremist groups. And the prosecutors went forward on this because of what Ravi did.

And what's confusing here to me was if Tyler Clementi, Fredricka, would not have committed suicide, would we have ever seen this prosecution in the first place? And I think the answer is probably not.

WHITFIELD: Even though the fact that Tyler Clementi took his own life, going off the George Washington Bridge, Richard, very little of that end of this case found its way into the unfolding of this trial. They kept it very separate. RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, I'm sure that -- yes, I'm sure the judge admonished the parties that he didn't want to turn this into that type of prosecution, and it was not. I mean, let's face it, Ravi was not charged with the death of Clementi.

But Avery is right, this statute, Fred, is really suspect. And I'll tell you, here Ravi -- I mean it's a tragedy. It's a tragedy all around this case. But this Ravi is facing a serious 10 years to 15 years if the judge stacks the sentences of prison time. He's an 18- year-old kid. There was no expectation, no reasonable expectation or no propensity that -- on behalf of Clementi that he would jump off the bridge.

Who would ever expect someone to do that? I mean even after he was offered an opportunity to change his room, Clementi declined. And you can't -- I mean Ravi, to be like, wow, what's going on. When he looks into his room and sees his roommate with a 32-year-old man in his room on three separate encounters, come on.

But the problem for the jury -- and one of the jurors was interviewed afterwards, Fred, and they said, listen, the fact that Ravi did it a second time, that's what put them over the edge. Had it been one filming, they probably wouldn't have gone after him, probably would not have convicted him. But the offer here was no time, community service, Fred. That was the offer.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: I'm sure -- I'm sure his legal team is now regretting having not taken advantage of that plea deal.

And real quick on that last note you want to make, Avery.

FRIEDMAN: Yes, but you know what, there were some arguments in this case. The question I think that's going to go in the court of appeals is do you have to hate somebody in order to be convicted of a hate crime, or is it merely that you're motivated to do something because someone is disabled or minority or gay?

WHITFIELD: OK.

FRIEDMAN: And I think that's really what the focus is going to be among the issues in the court of appeals.

WHITFIELD: OK. Real quickly, this other case that's caught a lot of people's attention, this in your backyard, Richard, when you're in New York, that is, and this involving the case of an alleged New York City madam, Anna Gristina, 44 years old, apparently being accused of running a high-end brothel.

But what makes this case particularly interesting is now her attorney, Peter Gleason, is saying in exchange for her spending any more time in Rikers, I'm willing to put up for collateral my $2 million apartment.

No, there was no previous relationship between them. The judge is going to consider whether this woman, who is considered a flight risk, should indeed stay at his $2 million apartment in New York. Very strange arrangement, is it not, Richard, for an attorney to feel that close to their client, to want to put everything on the line while the case is unfolding? Hasn't gone to trial yet, by the way.

HERMAN: Yes, it's very -- quote, "very strange." But this case is strange, Fred. She's only charged with one count of prostitution. I mean it's a D felony. Clean history, no criminal history. All of a sudden, there's a $2 million bail on her. And they're claiming she's facing serious prison time.

The problem here is -- not the problem, but I think what's happened is this has been an investigation ongoing for a year to two years. There have been wire taps and recordings. They have gone after -- they have two of her three -- three or four of her high-class whatever you want to call them, they have gone in and they're working with the authorities right now.

WHITFIELD: OK.

HERMAN: They think they have the money -- they think the have the money launderer. There's going to be more charges brought here. It's coming down.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: -- tip of the iceberg. OK. Well, Avery, yes, real quick because --

(CROSSTALK)

FRIEDMAN: One charge -- all right. Just one charge, bottom line, five millions in (ph) investigation, one charge, that's it. For a lawyer to offer property, I think, violates ethics rules. I can't imagine a judge would ever, ever permit that.

WHITFIELD: OK. All right. . We're going to see more of you two gentlemen in about 20 minutes. We'll talk about another extraordinary case, this involving a polo tycoon in Florida accused of drunk driving and leaving the scene of a fatal accident. His lawyers are claiming that his vehicle malfunctioned. And that's at the root of this case. We'll see you again in 20.

And the shooting rampage in Afghanistan is raising new questions about Ft. Lewis-McCord, the military base where the suspect was assigned. A live report from there straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A look at our top stories this hour.

A series of explosions rocked the Syrian capital of Damascus. Syria's state-run television reports at least 27 people were killed. Witnesses say government buildings and the air force intelligence headquarters were hit. State TV blames terrorists for the attacks.

And at this hour, people are outside the White House, protesting the violence in Syria. We'll keep you posted throughout the afternoon.

A 91-year-old former Nazi death camp guard has died in Germany, John Demjanjuk. His death has been confirmed by a police spokesman. He was sentenced to five years in prison last year for assisting in mass murder. He was extradited from Ohio three years ago, where he retired as an autoworker.

And we're also learning more information about the American soldier accused of killing 16 civilians in Afghanistan. The Army is now confirming his identity as 38-year-old Staff Sergeant Robert Bales. He is now in solitary confinement at a military correction facility in Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas. He was transported there from Kuwait late yesterday.

Bales is a decorated combat veteran, who once spoke out against the killing of civilians in a war zone. In January, he was deployed to Afghanistan with a Stryker brigade combat team from Joint Base Lewis- McCord in Washington State.

CNN's Casey Wian now is on the base right now. He's joining us live. So, Casey, how are people there reacting to the news that Sergeant Robert Bales is suspect?

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, last night after his name came out, we went to his former neighborhood, which is a very nice neighborhood, very picturesque, near a large lake, visited his house and visited with some of his neighbors.

Many of the folks in his neighborhood, surprisingly enough, said they did not know Mr. Bales or Sergeant Bales or his wife, but those who did really expressed a lot of shock.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE BERLING, SAYS HE KNEW SGT. ROBERT BALES: He had such a big heart, too, because he was in the financial world as a financial adviser. And I know he couldn't even take that, like losing people's money when the market went down, and so he felt that he needed something bigger in his heart and his mind and his soul. So that's why he went into the military in general, you know, to help people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: Now, that was a high school friend, I believe, of Staff Sergeant Bales, that his neighbors here in the Washington State area, we spoke to one woman who didn't want to be identified, but her backyard backs up to his house, and she said that, up until about four or five days ago, lights were always on in the house and then for the last four or five days, no lights in the house.

That's obviously because his wife and two children were moved here to Joint Base Lewis-McCord for their own protection. Also should point out some interesting information, Fredricka, that we've just learned. The house was actually put up for sale for $229,000.

And according to real estate websites, the house was put up for sale on Monday, the day after the shooting happened in Afghanistan -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And so apparently, Casey, there have been a string of other incidents involving soldiers from that base. Any real correlation here or any comparisons being made?

JONES: Well, we don't know. We certainly know that his attorney is going to try to make some of those comparisons. Those are the indications that we've had, in terms of our conversations with that attorney.

But what we can tell you is last year, for example, another staff sergeant from this base convicted of murder of three Afghan civilians, and in that case, the evidence showed that he actually cut off the fingers of some of those murder victims as souvenirs.

Twelve soldiers from this base last year committed suicide, much higher than normal. Also, there's been an investigation about how PTSD cases were treated on this base, so those are obviously things that the defense is going to look at in this case, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Casey Wian, thanks so much for that update.

A man is facing eviction from his apartment, but not because he didn't pay. He claims it's because of his weight. We'll talk to our legal guys next about this Connecticut case.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A polo tycoon in Florida is accused of drunken driving and leaving the scene of a fatal accident. Our legal guys are back on this one, Avery Friedman in Cleveland and Richard Herman in Las Vegas.

All right, gentlemen, this is a very fascinating case because it's gone from the case of a, you know, famous and wealthy polo tycoon, looking at many years in jail if convicted, to now he's saying that he was the victim, that there was a malfunction perhaps in his Bentley, and that's what happened when these two cars collided.

Richard, you first.

HERMAN: Sixteen mind erasers which are Kahlua and vodka tonic through a straw, that's how much he drank that night before this collision, where his Bentley pushed the decedent's vehicle 100 feet. And then he took off and never realized he was in an accident.

Three hours later his blood alcohol was 0.177, more than three times the legal limit -- three hours later, Fred. This guy is seriously looking at 20 years in prison on this. He's going to go down hard and do a lot of prison time here.

WHITFIELD: So, Avery, you know, it's interesting, this 48-year-old John Goodman, at first it seemed a lot of attention was being played on him trying to protect his assets by adopting his girlfriend.

And now the case, while the jurors got a chance to see the mangled, you know, remnants of his Bentley and the young man's, you know, Hyundai Sonata, and they were able to see that this Sonata was you know, pretty crushed and understandably this young man never had a chance.

How impactful will seeing these vehicles up close and personal be for these jurors?

FRIEDMAN: Well, the prosecution actually brought the two vehicles out on a flatbed so the jury could take a look at them. It is devastating. And the information about alcohol, hydrocodone, the fact that he didn't call for an hour, bottom line, yes, he's transferred his assets to his new daughter, his girlfriend and his other children.

That's been settled by the way. So that's not even an issue any more. And I agree. I think we're looking at a conviction. We're looking for it next week.

WHITFIELD: All right. And apparently Scott Wilson, he was driving that Hyundai, was going maybe about 43 miles per hour, and Goodman's car was going somewhere like 63 miles per hour. There was a stop sign on one, but not on the other.

FRIEDMAN: And tight through the stop (inaudible).

WHITFIELD: Yes, a nasty impact.

All right. Thanks so much on that one. So let's move to Connecticut now. And this is a case of a young man, who's 600 pounds, and the apartment complex has been saying we've been complaining for a couple of years now that there's damage to this unit, damage to the staircase leading up to the unit.

And the apartment complex is almost certain, it says, that it's the result of this young man, who weighs 600 pounds, and they have been trying to evict him for some two years now, this 25-year-old New Haven man.

So is this a case of discrimination or can an apartment complex evict someone because of what they believe is damage caused by their use, Richard?

HERMAN: Fred, when he takes a step and he goes through the floor, OK, let's put that aside one second here. The claim -- the claim violations of the lease were that he had more people living in the apartment, which violated the lease, and he had pets in the apartment, which violated the lease.

Those are grounds for eviction. The landlord has been trying to two years to give this time -- to give this guy time to move out, to relocate. They don't want to move anywhere, they want to stay put. This guy is going to get evicted. It's coming down the pipe (sic). It's over. He violated the lease.

FRIEDMAN: No, he's not. No, he is not.

(CROSSTALK) WHITFIELD: And, Avery, will they (inaudible) be able to do that? Can they -- can they say that because there's this violation of this agreement, too many people in the house, too many pets, that stand alone is the reason for his eviction?

FRIEDMAN: Yes.

There are other tenants who are not obese that have the same circumstances. Let me tell you something, the landlord is going down under the Fair Housing Act. This law has been around for 22 years. And I hope Joey and his mom move forward on this.

If the landlord is smart, they're going to leave this guy alone. The Fair Housing Act protects Joey and 54 million other Americans from getting pushed around like this, and it is really a shame. The state court judge didn't do it, the federal judge will, believe me.

WHITFIELD: All right --

FRIEDMAN: He's staying, he's not going anywhere.

WHITFIELD: All right. Avery, thanks so much. I'm sure they're hoping they have got the luck of the Irish of your green today.

FRIEDMAN: So do you, wow! You look more Irish than --

WHITFIELD: I decided to pull out the only green thing I have. All right, and --

(CROSSTALK)

FRIEDMAN: We would be remiss -- Fred, we would be remiss not to mention my school from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Lehigh University shocked the world and beat Duke! They beat Duke!

HERMAN: It's only the top 32. Forget about it.

FRIEDMAN: Beat Duke! Four-time national champions.

HERMAN: Forget about it.

FRIEDMAN: Lehigh, Bethlehem.

HERMAN: Let it go, let it go.

FRIEDMAN: We're going to have to take this segment to the green room. All right. Avery and Richard, thanks so much. Appreciate it. Good to see you guys. All the best in your brackets.

All right, so this case is another case that we've talked about extensively. I guess I could have asked them to weigh in on this, too. Ex-Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. Case closed? He made his way to Colorado earlier this week, now serving his 14-year sentence at a federal prison. But per usual, he didn't go without a peep.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) FORMER ILLINOIS GOV. ROD BLAGOJEVICH: That's the thought that breaks my heart, the people out there that might think that I broke some hearts (ph). This is a process that's still ongoing. So the decision went against me and (inaudible) and now I have to bear some of the burdens (inaudible) future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Rod Blagojevich, parting words before serving time.

All right. Coming up, we'll look at some video that's gone viral on the Internet. Take a look right now, you'll understand why, oh, so cute, a lonely gorilla and her new best friend at the zoo.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, so we'd love to be able to show video that says ahh or makes you want to ahh. Right?

Did this do this to you, Reynolds?

WOLF: No.

WHITFIELD: No? No compassion in there? (Inaudible) animal lover?

WOLF: Yes, I am, but you have to show the video and I can explain.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: We're going to show the video of the gorilla and the bunny. Sounds like the title of a children's book, but it's not.

WOLF: A weird children's book, yes.

WHITFIELD: -- actually happened at a zoo, right, in Pennsylvania. You want to tell the story?

WOLF: Well, yes. Samantha the gorilla had been alone several years. She's too old and she's too weak to be with other gorillas, so zookeepers came up with the idea, they gave her a pet rabbit. That's part of the story. Second part is the rabbit's name, Panda. Yes, it's --

WHITFIELD: I know, makes a whole lot of sense. It's because of the colors, of course.

WOLF: But they're friends, aren't they?

WHITFIELD: Yes. Well, I guess. It looks like the bunny is happy hopping around, but the gorilla is kid of passive there.

WOLF: But we don't know if they're friends. We're just saying that they are. And look at her. She's sitting there with her arms folded. That could be a vaunted death rabbit and we'd have no idea, (inaudible) for blood and she's just kicking back. WHITFIELD: We're going to hope the zookeepers knew what they were doing and they decided there was companionship that was needed there, and that's what they produced. How's that?

WOLF: Works for me.

WHITFIELD: Let's hope, let's hope.

WOLF: Yes, keeping those good thoughts.

WHITFIELD: That's good. All right. . Well, the zookeepers are trying to help save the animals. And we have got story coming up about a woman who's saving children in a very big way, saving more than 100 kids from a life behind bars. Meet this week's CNN Hero coming up next.

WOLF: That's a cool story.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Right now in Nepal, innocent children are growing up behind bars. This week's CNN Hero decided to give them a better life by sacrificing her future for theirs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PUSHPA BASNET, CNN HERO: In Nepal, when parents have been arrested by the police and the children don't have a local guardian, some children go to prison with the parents. Before (inaudible) I visited the jail, I was starting my bachelor in social work. I saw a small girl, who just grabbed my shawl and she just gave me a smile. It was really hard for me to forget that.

My name is Pushpa Basnet, and my mission is to make sure no child grows up behind prison walls. In 2005, I started a daycare where the children can come out from the jail at morning and they can go back to the jail at the afternoon.

We have children who are from 2 to 4, and they have coloring, reading, starting five days a week. We started resident in home in 2007. Currently, we have 40 children living out here, mostly about 6 years old.

I don't get a day off, but I never get tired. The children all call me Mamu. It's a big family, with lots and lots of love.

When I started this organization, I was 21 years old. People thought I was crazy, but this is what I want to do with my life. I'm giving them what a normal child should have. I want to fulfill all their dreams.

(END VIDEO CLIP)