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Americans Freed in Iraq; Rage in Afghanistan Over Massacre; Indiana Students, Tornado Survivors, Were Lucky; Severe Weather Watch in Mississippi River Valley; 911 Call Records Released in Florida Teen Shooting
Aired March 17, 2012 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello everyone, Don Lemon here. Thank you so much for joining us on CNN.
We're going to begin with this hour with some breaking news and it's out of Iraq. A United Nations officials telling CNN now that Americans said to have been held captive for months has been handed over to United Nations office in Baghdad. Held captive for months and now handed over to the United Nations office in Baghdad. We have little information on this story. We are just getting some of the details coming in now. And they are streaming in moment by moment. But we are told the man was handed over to the U.N. by the movement led by the radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Two political leaders in al-Sadr's movement says, the man's name is Randy Michael, again, his name is Randy Michael. That's according to two leaders in al-Sadr's movement there.
They say he was held for the past nine months and that he was, quote, "captured in battles." U.S. officials have not confirmed this information to CNN. However, Pentagon officials says, there have been no, no active duty military personnel missing in Iraq. It's an interesting story with lots of twists here. And we are going to continue to follow this story and bring you the very latest information as it comes in to CNN. So, make sure you stay tuned.
Meantime, new details paint a very clear, much clearer picture of the soldier accused of a brutal massacre in Afghanistan. But the portrait of staff Sergeant Robert Bales seems to be incomplete at this point. It doesn't explain how or why a decorated combat veteran could carry out such a grisly rampage.
We want to go down to CNN's Dan Simon, he is standing by for us outside Joint Base Lewis-McChord where Bales was stationed. So, Dan, we know about the incident. We know that they are investigating but we are starting to learn more about Bales. What are you hearing?
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, of course the focus is whether or not there were any clues or warning signs that may have caused Bales to go on this unthinkable rampage. Speculation of course is rampant that Bales may have suffered some deep emotional problems after having been deployed to four tours in battle, three in Iraq and of course, one in Afghanistan. His newly-hired attorney tells CNN that Bales suffered a serious brain injury in 2010 when his vehicle hit a roadside bomb. That lawyer says that the day before the alleged rampage, Bales watched a fellow soldier get severely injured. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN HENRY BROWNE, BALE'S DEFENSE ATTORNEY: What I heard from the military lawyers who are working on this case with me, who I'm very impressed with, that another soldier at this base was brutally attacked the day before this incident and actually had his leg shot off right in front of my client.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SIMON: The military moved Bales and his wife -- military moved Bales' children and his wife to a sacred home behind me, to a secluded home for their own protection and safety. He is a father of two. He actually put his home up for sale, which is about 20 minutes away from here, the day before the shooting. And we spoke to several neighbors who live in that area. They describe him as a patriot and someone seemingly incapable of carrying out such carnage. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CASSIE HOLLAND, BALES' NEIGHBOR: I was completely blown away. Yes, I was devastated, heartbroken. I mean, completely shocked. I would describe him, he was super fun to hang around with. Kind of the life of the party kind of guy. Super loving, friendly to everybody he met, great with his kids. I just -- I don't see how this has happened.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SIMON: Well, in 2002, Bales had a brush with the law when he was accused of assaulting an ex-girlfriend. According to the "Wall Street Journal," that case was dismissed though after he underwent some anger management counseling -- Don.
LEMON: Let's talk more about the procedure here. Seeing him in court for the first time, when do you think that will happen?
SIMON: We are told that he has to a magistrate sometime in the next seven days. And Don, you know, one thing that's also worth pointing out here, is that Bales joined the military shortly after 9/11. His wife was apparently upset that he had not been promoted. We don't know if his wife will have the opportunity to see him in court. But we know that she was upset that he didn't get a higher ranking. She felt that he had been slighted for all his years serving the military. He joined the military again after 9/11. And she was also wanting to see the family relocate, maybe somewhere to Hawaii or Italy. And obviously, that didn't happen.
LEMON: All right. Dan Simon with the very latest on this, Don. Thank you very much. Stand by. I'm sure we'll be getting back to you. The killings has stirred up a hornet's nest in Afghanistan. Victims' family members are pleading with the government. They aren't asking for compensation. But as our Sara Sidner explains to us now, they aren't likely to get what they do want.
SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Family members of Sunday's massacre and village elders from Kandahar spoke to Afghan parliamentarians today and telling much of the same story they did to Mr. Karzai, the president of Afghanistan on Friday. Now, these family members are asking for justice. They say, they don't want compensation, but instead they would like to see the suspect tried right here in Afghanistan. Meantime, another protest broke out in Jalalabad, the second one in a week. That protest where protestors were screaming "Death to America," they also asked that the suspect be tried using Islamic rule as opposed to what they call foreign justice. That is not likely to happen. The soldier has been sent back to the United States. And there is an agreement in place between the U.S. and Afghan government on how to deal with cases such as these. And there is something in place that governs that and the U.S. is going by that, which likely means that soldier will not be tried here. He certainly will not be tried in the Afghan judicial system. Sara Sidner, CNN, Kabul, Afghanistan.
We can talk some politics now. The republican presidential hopefuls are out and about on this St. Patrick's Day. Rick Santorum has seven events scheduled today across Missouri and Illinois and he didn't hold back this morning and his criticism of Mitt Romney.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: In the case of government, he gives away that issue. He puts forward the bill for the model for Obama-care and advocated that at the federal level, and then denied that he did it. Not only was his policy bad, you can't trust him to tell the truth about what he advocated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: On his part, Mitt Romney wrapped up a quick swing through Puerto Rico today, then headed for Illinois. Romney said he is optimistic about a win in tomorrow's Puerto Rico primary, Illinois will hold its primary on Tuesday.
The uprising in Syria strikes the capital of Damascus or does it? The two car bombs kill more than two dozen. But some are saying the attacks may have been staged.
And also this hour --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: He just said he shot him. Yes, the person is dead laying on the grass. Oh, my God.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: A story we have been following on this program. A teenager shot to death while walking in a Florida gated community. The admitted shooter, the head of a neighborhood watch program claims he did it in self-defense. But do 911 calls back him up? That story, later this hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: We're going to talk to Syria now, where violence struck the stronghold of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's stronghold today. Twin car bombs killed at least 27 people near government facilities in Damascus, that's according to state TV. The government says, both bombs were the work of terrorists. But the opposition activists insist the government planted the bombs to distract the media from the ongoing protests. At least 97 people were wounded in the blast.
Opposition activists are now describing an atrocity they discovered in Homs last Thursday. I must warn you, this video is very difficult to watch. They said they found 32 children and two women tortured and brutalized. One woman was so severely injured, at first activists believed she was dead. Even the children were said to be tortured, beaten their fingers, cut off and some were shot. They were sent to clinics for treatment. Half have been returned to relatives since most their parents were killed in the massacre in Homs.
We must mention, CNN can't confirm the authenticity of this incident or verify whether it did occur. Make sure you go to CNN crews, we're going to go with CNN crews as they move around inside Syria, it is a behind the scenes look at the excitement, the dangers and the heartbreak seen through the eyes of a journalists. A CNN present special, "72 Hours Under Fire" airs tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.
In Pakistan, the President Zardari tried to give his annual speech to parliament today. But his critics kept getting in the way. Cries of "End the Corruption" and "Stop the Lies" echoed through the chamber while Mr. Zardari was at the podium. Opposition law makers eventually walked out. Pakistan's parliament is getting ready to consider a measure outlining how the country will handle relations with the U.S.
In England, a soldier fainted information during a visit by the duchess of Cambridge today. It was a former Kate Middleton's first solo, military ceremony handing out sprigs of shamrocks to the first battalion Irish guards. It was too much for these guards may as you can see, though he recovered quickly, yes, it takes a while to live down the embarrassment he suffered right there.
Convicted former Nazi death camp guard John Demjanjuk is dead. The 91-year-old died at home in elderly -- in Germany. Last year, a German court found him guilty of assisting in a mass murder at the Nazi death camp located in Poland. Demjanjuk consistently denied the charges, he was in the process of appealing that verdict.
The man whose viral video made the Ugandan war lord a household name had a public breakdown yesterday in San Diego. Witnesses say, Jason Russell, they saw him naked on the sidewalk yesterday making bizarre motions. Russell has been in the spotlight after his documentary "Kony 2012" about the brutalities by Joseph Kony. Received close to 80 million views.
Phil Blauer from our affiliate KFMB describes what people saw Russell doing. A warning, some of the language here is graphic.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHIL BLAUER, KFMB REPORTER: This copy of the Police Department's computer dispatch log details what witnesses were reporting regarding a white male in his 20s running around in the street in his underwear. One person told officers he thinks the man must being on something. And says, he is now naked, masturbating and screaming. A cell phone caller tells police, the man is banging his hand on the ground, screaming, incoherent and has been stopping traffic.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Russell's family released this statement. Jason has never had a substance abuse or drinking problem. And this episode wasn't caused by either of those things, but yes, he did some irrational things brought on by extreme exhaustion and dehydration. Russell is now in the hospital. Police did not charge him.
Many of us have friends and loved ones in the military. And we have seen the effect combat can have on our veterans. But new research says, just being in the service, that is enough to have a long-term impact on our soldiers, even those who don't see combat. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: We go a little bit more in-depth now of a tragedy in an Afghan village. Villagers there are demanding the return of an American soldier who's accused of gunning down 16 civilians. He is now in a military facility here in United States in Kansas. Reports say, staff Sergeant Robert Bales, when on the shooting rampage killing nine children, four women and three men. And we don't know what was going through Bale's mind as he allegedly slaughtered his victims, many of them while they were sleeping. But we do know combat takes a toll on our military. And even those who don't see combat feel the impact of serving in the armed forces.
Joining me now, human behavior expert, Dr. Wendy Walsh. So, Wendy thank you so much for joining us. I want you to tell me about this new research which suggests that being in the military, any military, can change personalities.
DR. WENDY WALSH, HUMAN BEHAVIOR EXPERT: You know, fascinating results. This from the university or Washington University in St. Louis. A six-year study where they looked at personality types before entry and then a different stages along the six-year process. And they found that military training is one of the few things that can actually change personality. Unfortunately, it makes them less agreeable. Less cooperative. More perfectionist. Can cause problems in their personal relationships or problems with co-workers.
LEMON: Is that from the military? Because there are some types. I mean, is it just the military? There are some types of people who are attracted to this kind of lifestyle. And not all of course but some more aggressive personalities may already gravitate toward military service, maybe to be a police officer or something more aggressive profession.
WALSH: Yes. It was clear that people who were attracted to that kind of service tended overall to be a little more aggressive and a little more competitive than others. But that's different from this disagreeableness. They scored really low on these charts. In fact Don, I have a very good friend and we have joked for years, she is a former marine. And I always say, you're such a perfectionist and why are you criticizing everything? Of course she is usually right, by the way. But she is great to hang out with. Because she'll make sure everybody is straight and inline, trust me.
LEMON: Yes. Your spoken to me about her, your kids and her kids are very good friends.
WALSH: Yes. We travel a lot and she keeps us inline.
LEMON: A lot of people with military experience though come back, they go on to become industry leaders or members of the Congress. I mean, and they don't have the same sort of behavior as you see happening to many other members of the military. I mean, take Colin Powell for example. Look at how high he rose in government.
WALSH: Well, here is the positive side of the kind of personality change that happens through military service. Is that because you're not worried about being agreeable, in business you're quite comfortable making unpopular decisions all in the name of business profitability. And you don't have to worry about getting along. If you're a leader, you know how to lead. That's why so many great military veterans succeed so much in business. Unfortunately, we are seeing more and more that it's affecting their private relationships.
LEMON: So, according to these researchers, how long can these effects last on a veteran?
WALSH: That's the question we don't know. This study lasted six years. And there was follow-up for a few years later. But you know, the most amazing thing for psychologists here is they thought pretty much personality was fixed. You know, you are who you are by the time you're a teenager and that's the way it is except for some things that happen maybe with the aging brain. But now, we are seeing that an environmental experience like military training where they almost wipe the slate clean and tell you how to walk, and talk, and dress and behave can actually alter personality.
LEMON: Dr. Wendy, thanks as always. We appreciate it.
WALSH: Good to see you.
LEMON: A stunning new video of a tornado that destroyed an Indiana town a couple of weeks ago. I want you to watch as it dismantles a high school gym. We'll show you more in just a few minutes. But first, how is your NCAA tournament bracket? Mine took a very big hit last night. We'll going to walk you through it and see how I'm going against other CNN anchors especially Fredricka Whitfield. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: March madness. Living up to the hype. Two major upsets last night remind us why the NCAA basketball tournament is so much fun. Could be a heartache to watch, as well. But first, let's look at what happened earlier today. Vice President Joe Biden was in the House when Syracuse advanced as expected over eight seed Kansas State. The orange, the number one seed in the East. But last night made a mess of everyone's brackets, including mine. And we'll going to talk with our very own Fredricka Whitfield. She stuck around to talk about brackets. Look at mine. I don't need mine any more. It's like I'm done.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, OK, yes, you did have duke going all the way. Sorry.
LEMON: Are you laughing at me?
WHITFIELD: No. I'm not laughing because, well, you'll end up -- my stuff is not very impressive.
LEMON: I know.
WHITFIELD: But that's OK.
LEMON: Let's look at -- would you like to look at the leader board?
WHITFIELD: Please. That's why I'm here.
LEMON: Ms. Baldwin is on top.
WHITFIELD: All right.
LEMON: Ms. Phillips is number two.
WHITFIELD: Go girl.
LEMON: Well, I mean, are there any guys on here?
WHITFIELD: Oh my gosh.
LEMON: Randi, Soledad, Suzanne, and I'm right there. Finally.
WHITFIELD: Hey, you're right in the middle. That's all right.
LEMON: Well, I can say, I'm leading among the CNN male anchor, right the dude.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
LEMON: John King, isn't he a big basketball guy?
WHITFIELD: Wolf Blitzer is a big basketball guy.
LEMON: Well, Wolf has supposed to go to watch it.
WHITFIELD: I mean -- with college ball. He's all about the NBA. LEMON: Wolf was supposed to go to the Washington Wizards game last night here on the hawks but he didn't show up because it was his mom's birthday. Happy Birthday.
WHITFIELD: You know, moms is number one, all the time.
LEMON: That's right. Always. All right. So, Fred, where are you?
WHITFIELD: I'm at the bottom. Isn't that sad?
LEMON: Ohh.
WHITFIELD: But I'm at the bottom, but I have potential to rise.
LEMON: What?
WHITFIELD: Because I still have some teams in there who are still in play.
LEMON: OK. I know. I know. Let's see.
WHITFIELD: Like Vanderbilt.
LEMON: There you go. OK? So, there you go.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
LEMON: And then you have -- who do you have to win?
WHITFIELD: OK. Vanderbilt.
LEMON: You have Vanderbilt.
WHITFIELD: A deal. And I have Marquette which is playing right now.
LEMON: OK.
WHITFIELD: So, Marquette is still, you know, there is potential. So, while I'm at the bottom now, I have room to climb.
LEMON: How do you know that?
WHITFIELD: I love potential.
LEMON: You know nothing about the game.
WHITFIELD: I know nothing about the game. I was talking philosophically. I'm about the climb.
LEMON: It was very interesting because...
WHITFIELD: Yes. And you had no potential. That is what your producer said in my ear. That was not coming from me. That was coming from her but it is true.
LEMON: Well, you know why? Because -- both transparency. I know very little about the NCAA tournament. And one of my producers Jason Reed, he did my brackets. And guess what, Jason?
WHITFIELD: Oh, so you had help.
LEMON: You're in big trouble.
WHITFIELD: Oh, wow! OK. All right. All right.
LEMON: Say again, Tom? Would you say it?
WHITFIELD: Mine is my creation. It's not impressive.
LEMON: Tom did my bracket last year. He said I'm not doing it this year because you kept calling me out on the air.
WHITFIELD: Too much pressure.
LEMON: Too much pressure.
WHITFIELD: Oh, no, OK.
LEMON: Well, Fred. I hope you go back up to the top of the leader board. Let's see.
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: All right. Well, that will be fun. I judge mine.
LEMON: You could win.
WHITFIELD: I still have potential.
LEMON: You still have potential. I think Fred is going to end up somewhere atop. But good going there, Miss Baldwin.
WHITFIELD: Yes, really they are doing well. I figure I have, you know, I can't fall any further. So, that's all right for me. All I can do is make my way up.
LEMON: You're a good sport.
WHITFIELD: Have fun.
LEMON: Thanks for sticking around.
WHITFIELD: Thank you. Thanks for having me.
LEMON: March madness is breaking out across the country. Watch every game live on TBS, TNT, TruTV and CBS. And if you're away from the TV, no words you can catch all the action online at NCAA.com/March madness. And you can go to CNN.com, I think slash brackets or something like that and then you can find out how we're doing here at CNN.
Coming up, the latest effort by the Obama administration to cool down the firestorm over contraception coverage. And a network aimed for kids is calling for parents to watch one of its programs. The reasons why straight ahead here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: It's right at the half hour right now. We want to look at our headlines.
The Army has identified the soldier accused of the massacre of 16 civilians in Afghanistan as Staff Sergeant Robert Bales. We've learned Bales played football and graduated at a high school near Cincinnati. Records show he faced a criminal assault charge in 2002. He's been described as a loving husband and father. Bales has been transferred to Ft. Leavenworth in Kansas. Afghans are demanding Bales face justice in Afghanistan.
A United Nations official is telling CNN an American said to have been held captive for months has been handed over to the United Nations office in Baghdad. We are told the man was handed over to the U.N. by the government, by the movement led by the radical cleric, Muqtada al Sadr. They say the man's name is Randy Michael, and that he was held for the past nine months and he was, quote, "captured in battles." But a Pentagon official says there have been no active-duty military personnel missing in Iraq. We'll continue to follow it.
The Obama administration is trying to defuse the controversy over its new mandate requiring religious institutions to provide free contraceptive coverage. Under its rules, church-run hospitals, universities and charities won't have to pay for the coverage. Instead, the administrator of the insurance policy will. And students at religious universities can get free contraceptive coverage through their insurance providers.
Some Indiana students are finding out just how lucky they are. This is an EF-4 tornado slamming right into their school. It happened about two weeks ago in Henryville, Indiana. Watch how the tornado destroyed a front hallway. A miracle that no one was hurt. About 80 students and staff were there when this hit.
Jacqui Jeras is here to talk about that and more.
Jacqui, that video is amazing.
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It is.
LEMON: Every week we see more and more coming out of this. Luckily, nobody was hurt.
JERAS: I know. And it's hard to believe. Those students were released from the building, sent out in buses. The bus driver says, hey, wait a minute, we've got this warning. They brought them back to the school. To think all those kids were in there. There are parts of the school that are safe and parts that aren't safe. As you say in that, gym equals unsafe. The larger the span the roof is, the more unsafe the building can be because there is more space and surface for winds to lift that off. If anybody had been in there, certainly they would have been hit by that debris.
LEMON: Literally. Look at that.
JERAS: Yes. So winds estimated around 170 miles per hour with that tornado. You can't see any rotation with these storms, but you can see how furious it is a just how strong those winds are. Like we said, in a tornado, that's kills you in these situations is not the tornadoes, but debris that flies with it. All this happened, by the way, about 20 seconds.
(CROSSTALK)
JERAS: That was it. 20 seconds, yes. Your life changes in an instant.
LEMON: Wow. What else weather-wise we have going on?
JERAS: We've got to watch out for the threat of severe weather. A little concerned about that. Today the risk area, small, just in the middle Mississippi River Valley. Today is not a big tornado day. We could see damaging winds around 60, 70 miles per hour and large hail with these thunderstorms.
Tomorrow, our weather pattern changes pretty significantly. We've got an upper-level system that's coming in from the west. What's going to be happening as that heads toward the plain states, our winds will be turning with height and accelerating with height. That makes the atmospheric conditions favorable for more attorneys. It's a slow- moving system, Don Sunday, Monday, maybe beyond that, we'll see active weather in the plains.
LEMON: Be careful, right?
JERAS: Yes.
LEMON: Thank you, Jacqui.
JERAS: Sure.
LEMON: We appreciate it.
Now to a case of an R-rated movie many kids say they need to see. "Bully" is all about its name, and now there's a campaign to get its rating change.
CNN's Kareen Wynter has he story.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT: I feel nervous going to school. I like learning, but I have trouble making friends.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Lee Hirsch also knows how hard it is to fit in. As a boy, the filmmaker says he was relentlessly beaten up and picked on. That's why he wanted to make a movie like "Bully." LEE HIRSCH, FILMMAKER: For someone that's a victim of constant and frequent bully, it is akin to torture. You start to connect the suicides.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was told he was worthless, to go hang himself.
WYNTER: But Hirsch's fight to help 13 million kids hit a speed bump.
HIRSCH: We were given an R-rating, which is a total blow. It's simply not an R film.
WYNTER: The MPAA's R-rating is for racy language. The group defends this and all its ratings, saying, "We are parents who ask ourselves the same important question during every screening, what would you want to know about this film before I allow my child to see it"?
But this is what Katie Butler wants parents to know.
KATIE BUTLER, STUDENT: If kids see this movie, it could save their lives.
WYNTER: The Michigan teen, who says she was tormented for being gay, started a petition on change.org to have the R-rating changed to PG- 13.
BUTLER: The kids being bullied needs to see it because it lets them know they're not alone. The kids who are the bullies also need to see the movie because they can see the direct repercussions of their actions.
WYNTER: More than 300,000 people -- parents, teachers, pastors, even 19 members of Congress -- have signed in support, as well as a growing list of pop culture icons, including Justin Bieber, Ellen DeGeneres and Drew Brees.
DREW BREES, NFL QUARTERBACK: It's so tragic to see some of our young people taking their own life because their self-esteem was beat down by bullies.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A boy 11 years old, believed to have been desperate enough to take his own life.
BREES: This is how bullies treat people and this is what people say. Kids need to see it.
WYNTER: For children who have seen the film, Hirsch says the response has been remarkable.
HIRSCH: We have had thousands of kids writing in. This movie has given them confident and made them feel like they belong and they're not alone. On the flip side, there's been lots of kids that have written in and said that I am stepping up to bullying.
WYNTER: Once again, the movie is stepping up against the MPAA, hosting a screening for members of Congress, and hoping to clear a path to the film for teenage viewers before it hits theaters on March 30th.
UNIDENTIFIED BOY: All it takes is for one person to step up.
Kareen Wynter, CNN, Hollywood.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: I want to tell you that CNN's sister network, the Cartoon Network, has its own initiative that targets bullying. It's called "Stop Bullying, Speak Up." It airs at 5:30 p.m. eastern on the Cartoon Network. Earlier this week, on Wednesday, there was a screening in Washington, D.C., at Stewart Hopson (ph) Middle School. I got to do that -- moderate that with Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. Again, that airs tomorrow, 5:30 eastern on the Cartoon Network, "Stop Bullying, Speak Up." For more information, go to stopbullyingspeakup.com.
Up next, a young teenager shot to death while walking in a gated Florida community. The admitted shooter, the captain of a neighborhood watch, claims he did it in self-defense.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CALLER: He just said he shot him. Yes, the person is dead, laying on the grass.
DISPATCHER: Just because he's lying on the grass --
CALLER: Oh, my god.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: That is just one of several 911 calls just released. Do they back up the shooter's story? We're talking about this story with our legal expert, Holly Hughes.
But first, the cost of going to college keeps rising with student loan debt. People are starting to wonder if college is worth the money.
CNN's Christine Romans takes a look at it in this week's "Smart is the New Rich."
(SMART IS THE NEW RICH)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: We're going to go hear the 911 tapes because it tells the story of a killing in a Florida neighborhood that everybody considered safe and secure. The victim, a teenager. The admitted shooter, a neighborhood watch captain.
CNN's David Mattingly has more on this story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DISPATCHER: 911. Police, fire of medical? CALLER: Police, I just heard a shot right behind my house.
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Shock, confusion and fear -- you can hear it in the voice of every caller in the final moments of Trayvon Martin's young life.
CALLER: He just said he shot him. Yes, the person is dead, laying on the grass.
DISPATCHER: Just because he's lying on the grass --
CALLER: Oh, my god.
MATTINGLY: Seven 911 calls in all, beginning with this one from neighborhood watch captain, George Zimmerman.
GEORGE ZIMMERMAN, NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH CAPTAIN: These (EXPLETIVE DELETED), they always get away.
MATTINGLY: That's Zimmerman's first impression, watching Trayvon Martin walking alone, acting strangely.
ZIMMERMAN: This guy looks like he's up to no good or he's on drugs or something.
MATTINGLY: Zimmerman says Martin comes toward him.
ZIMMERMAN: Something's 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.
MATTINGLY: Less than a minute later, Martin is running away. Zimmerman gets out of his car.
DISPATCHER: Are you following him?
ZIMMERMAN: Yes.
DISPATCHER: OK, we don't need you to do that.
ZIMMERMAN: OK.
MATTINGLY: But then, just a few minutes later, there is another call.
DISPATCHER: 911. Do you need police, fire or medical?
(SHOUTING)
CALLER: Maybe both. I'm not sure. There's just someone screaming outside.
MATTINGLY: In the background, listen for the sound of a fight and a panicked voice yelling for help.
DISPATCHER: Is it a male or a female?
(SHOUTING) CALLER: It sounds like a male.
(SHOUTING)
DISPATCHER: You don't know why?
CALLER: I don't know why. I think they're yelling help. I don't know. Send someone quick, please. God.
(SHOUTING)
MATTINGLY: 10 seconds later, the shrieking continues, then a gun shot.
(SHOUTING)
DISPATCHER: So you think he's yelling help?
CALLER: Yes.
DISPATCHER: All right. What is your --
(GUNSHOT)
CALLER: There's gunshots.
DISPATCHER: You just heard gun shots?
CALLER: Yes.
DISPATCHER: How many?
CALLER: Just one.
MATTINGLY: The identity of the person pleading for help is in dispute, as well as the number of gunshots. But there is no doubt the calls captured the sounds of a deadly end to a tragic encounter.
David Mattingly, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: It is really a tragic story. We are going to look into the shooting of this young man a little bit more from a legal perspective now.
Criminal defense attorney, Holly Hughes, is here.
Holly, you heard the 911 tapes. Has it changed your mind on what's happening here?
HOLLY HUGHES, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY & FORMER PROSECUTOR: No. It gets me more revved up, Don. I don't know why this man has not been arrested.
LEMON: That's the first thing you said, why hasn't he been arrested. And you're a former prosecutor.
HUGHES: Exactly. I'm a defense attorney. Now, I can look at a situation and say every report that's come out has told us this young man was unarmed. We hear the tapes. What did the police dispatchers say to George Zimmerman? Do not follow him. "We don't need you to do that." He's given strict instructions to stop following this young man. Leave him alone. The police will investigate. Instead, he continues to follow him and this poor child ends up dead.
LEMON: Everyone is saying, people are saying, well, we don't know who it is on the 911 call who is screaming for help. But after the shots, there are no more cries for help.
HUGHES: Ask yourself this. One guy's got a gun and one guy doesn't have a gun.
LEMON: A bag of Skittles.
(CROSSTALK)
HUGHES: Who do think is yelling for help. Come on. This young man goes to the store to buy Skittles for his little brother? Next thing we know, he's shot dead because he looks suspicious. What does that mean really?
LEMON: I'm going to ask you then, you worked these cases, why hasn't he been arrested?
HUGHES: I would love to know. I have no idea.
LEMON: You don't know?
HUGHES: I have no idea. I cannot think of why he has not been arrested. Because, typically, sometimes, if it's a whodunit, you don't want to arrest too fast because of a Speedy Trial Demand. But here, we know whodunit.
LEMON: What I'm getting at is, you think there is something fishy about it? One was armed, one wasn't.
HUGHES: Right.
LEMON: To you, it's one-plus-one equals two.
HUGHES: Exactly.
LEMON: Is there something fishy going on, if you believe something --
(CROSSTALK)
HUGHES: It doesn't pass the smell test. It stinks to high heaven. This is the same man, mind you, the defendant I'm talking about, Zimmerman, who had charges against him dropped when he committed violence against the police. He knows somebody.
LEMON: This neighborhood watch captain, Holly, he had a gun. And none of this would have happened if he had not approached Trayvon Martin. You said he was told by the 911 operator not to approach. How much will that play into it? Isn't that a big factor where they said, hey, we told you not to do it and now you've done something --
(CROSSTALK)
HUGHES: It goes to intent. Every crime, you have to have two things, an action and an intention. This shows the intent of Zimmerman, the defendant, the shooter. He's not a defendant yet. Excuse me. I misspoke. He should be a defendant but he's not yet. That shows you his intent. He was looking for a fight. He went after this young man even after the 911 dispatch said, do not follow him.
LEMON: The poor family. I saw them on CNN this weekend. It's heartbreaking.
HUGHES: It is heartbreaking. You would think that.
LEMON: Let's hope they get to the bottom of this.
HUGHES: I hope they do.
LEMON: Thank you, Holly. We appreciate it.
HUGHES: Thank you.
LEMON: Just ahead, an amazing story of self-sacrifice. A star player nearly lost his chance at a baseball career when a serious illness threatened his life. That's when his coach stepped in.
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(HUMAN FACTOR)
LEMON: Thank you, Dr. Gupta.
A pub, a party and an ice-cold Guinness. Everybody's feeling a little Irish today, even the president. We'll tell you how he avoided getting pinched.
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LEMON: Right now, in Nepal, innocent children are growing up behind bars. This week's "CNN Hero" decided, at the age of 21, to give them a better life, sacrificing her future for theirs. Meet Pushpa Basinet.
(CNN HEROES)
LEMON: Thank you. And remember "CNN Heroes," all chosen from people you tell us about. If you know someone like Pushpa Basnet who is making a difference, go to CNNheroes.com. Your nomination could help them help others.
We want to check headlines right now.
The Army sergeant accused of the civilian massacre at Afghan woke up in prison at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, this morning. Robert Bales hasn't been charged yet. The Army has 120 days to take him to trial. He's accused of killing 16 men, women and children in a remote Afghan village a week ago.
Today, protesters took to the streets in Afghanistan, angry that Bales has been taken out of the country. They want him tried there by Islamic law.
A United Nations official is telling CNN an American said to have been held captive for months has been handed over to the U.N. office in Baghdad. And we're told the man was handed over by the movement led by radical cleric, Muqtada al Sadr. They say the man is Randy Michael. That he was held for the past nine months and that he was, quote, "captured in battle." But a Pentagon official says there's been no active-duty military personnel in Iraq.
President Obama is enjoying St. Paddy's Day. He raised a pint of Guinness this afternoon at a popular bar in Washington. The commander-in-chief wore a moss-colored jacket to avoid getting pinched. That's a St. Paddy Day's tradition for not wearing green. The president does claim some Irish roots. You may recall he visited his great, great, great grandfather's home in Ireland last year.
I'm Don Lemon at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. I'll see you back here at 7:00 p.m.
"THE SITUATION ROOM" with Wolf Blitzer -- with Candy Crowley, I should say, begins right now.
