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Oklahoma Aftermath; Jodi Arias Jury Deadlocked
Aired May 24, 2013 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: And here we go, hour two, welcome back to continuing coverage here with the aftermath of this EF-5 tornado that absolutely, as you can see, ripped through this suburb. I'm Brooke Baldwin.
For the very first time since Monday's storm, people who live in this disaster zone can come and go as they please without actually having to go through the checkpoints.
Police and National Guard have been manning some of the openings of the neighborhoods because they want to make sure they want to keep out looters. They're checking for I.D.s very, very closely. There has been still -- I should tell you, there is police presence around. We have seen more police going through this neighborhood.
And homeowners are being encouraged not to stay after dark. They're here. They're walking through with a lot of insurance companies today to see if their homes are a total loss or not and then how much money they can then get in return.
As recovery here gets under way in earnest, the people of Moore are taking the time today to remember their loved ones and neighbors who did not survive. Four people killed in Monday's tornado are being remembered at funerals and laid to rest today.
They include two of the smallest victims. Take a look with me; 8- year-old Kyle Davis was in the third grade at Plaza Towers Elementary School. We're told by family and friends that Kyle loved soccer and monster truck exhibitions. This was Kyle.
And now to 9-year-old Nicolas McCabe who was into LEGOs, loved country music. Nicolas was among the children who died huddled inside the Plaza Towers school. A public memorial honoring all of the tornado victims is set for this evening, not too far away actually from where I am standing here, the First Baptist Church of Moore.
And this weekend, Memorial Day weekend, the president of the United States will be traveling here to Moore to visit this city Sunday. And time and time again, we are hearing -- let me stress this -- despite the loss of life, incredible stories of heroism amid the devastating tornado, the EF-5 tornado that wrecked so much of this town.
CNN's Nick Valencia uncovered one of those stories today.
You have been here all week. You have talked to so many people, as have I, but the story about the 12- and a 13-year-old, 13-year-old hero.
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, 13-year-old hero.
BALDWIN: I love this, yes.
VALENCIA: Middle school hero, 13-year-old boy saves the life of his 12-year-old classmate. She's getting swept up by the tornado, Brooke. She's off the ground. He grabs on to her hand, grabs on to the locker to keep her from blowing away. The story speaks for itself.
We just caught up with him a little while ago at Highland East Middle School, just an incredible tale.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Then lights went off. You can hear it hit the building, like loud as heck. And then it comes, takes off our roof. She -- I see her start to go up. I jump on her, lay on her and then grab on to the bottom of these lockers that were inside the ground. And then once it's over, I push her out of the way. And then all the debris starts to hit me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can't believe you're actually in there and actually got out and he helped me.
VALENCIA: Did you feel like you were going to get -- did you feel like you were going to get sucked away?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. I felt like the wind around me was, like, going in circles and everything and the ground wasn't underneath me anymore. And he held on to my hand and kept on top of me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I thought of her as my family. What would I do if they started to go up? Didn't think. Just did it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VALENCIA: And these are the selfless tales, Brooke, that we're hearing from the residents here.
BALDWIN: My goodness.
VALENCIA: Yes. You can't even put it into words.
BALDWIN: How are they feeling today?
VALENCIA: They're feeling pretty lucky to be alive.
BALDWIN: Yes.
VALENCIA: In fact, that was first time they had been back to the middle school since it happened. We asked them, why did you come back? They said, we wanted to see what we survived and how we survived.
And Dylan (ph) just sort of looked off into the distance and he said, I can't believe I survived this. He was almost swept away. He says he feels like a hero because he doesn't know that many people that would risk their own life to save the life of someone else.
BALDWIN: Yes. So many people are still sort of incredulous and walking around and then it's definitely sinking in here, day five. It's sinking in, the reality.
VALENCIA: It's a resilient community.
BALDWIN: Incredibly resilient.
Nick Valencia, thanks for sharing that one story of so, so many we have been hearing here in Moore.
And I should tell you, a huge part of the recovery effort here in town, it's the people themselves. It is the volunteers, some of whom are Okies, as they call themselves, some of whom are from out of town. They're rolling up the sleeves. They're putting on the gloves, grabbing buckets and tools and pitching in to help clear the mess that this EF-5 tornado left. They're also stopping to comfort tornado victims.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Day by day, we are going to get through this. But we ask in Jesus' name, amen.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Met a couple of those volunteers today, a young woman who just moved to Oklahoma to Norman because her husband is a meteorologist, of all things, right, and her mother, who is from Raleigh, North Carolina, happened to be visiting her daughter in Norman when the tornado hit and she has not left since. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEBBIE VAN HOUTEN, VOLUNTEER: I was supposed to leave yesterday, fly out. But then this tornado hit, and I normally help with Samaritan Purse. And I knew that they were en route here. And you have to sign up for it to get part of it. So I registered.
So while I'm waiting, I heard through her church that they were working out here, doing this type of stuff, so I wanted to help. And as we say, be Jesus' feet and hands so -- to help people. And that's what we're looking for right now is people that need help and want it.
BALDWIN: So, you should be in North Carolina back home right now?
VAN HOUTEN: Yes.
BALDWIN: Instead, you're standing amid all of this, helping these people who have clearly lost everything.
VAN HOUTEN: Yes.
BALDWIN: What will you be doing today?
SHELLEY LEVIN, VOLUNTEER: So far, we have done a lot of cleaning up, the yards and things like that, but basically we're just trying to find people who will -- who need help, and we can go in, clean stuff up, get rid of debris, maybe help fix some things, but mostly just getting rid of all the junk.
VAN HOUTEN: Yes, we got chain saws and so forth too to be able to help with that. But right now, it looks like most of the trees are down in this area. There's not much. It is leveled.
LEVIN: Yes.
BALDWIN: One of the things that has really struck me being here all week is just the spirit of Oklahomans, the Okie spirit that they talk about.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: People here who have lost everything have offered us water.
LEVIN: Wow.
BALDWIN: You know? It's -- they're giving. Are they able to receive? Do you know what I mean? Are they taking your help?
(CROSSTALK)
LEVIN: The big problem we're running into is the insurance companies are telling them, wait, so they can assess the damage. So, today, we have had a lot of people say, not yet, which is kind of sad because you look around and see this and then we can't do anything about it yet.
(CROSSTALK)
LEVIN: But there are some people who have accepted the help and said, oh, thank you so much, and then said, of course, can we give you water, can we give you Gatorade, anything? So...
VAN HOUTEN: Or we just say, can we pray with you, because you know it is not just the physical aspect, too. It is the emotional loss that these people have gone through.
BALDWIN: Absolutely.
VAN HOUTEN: So, our heart goes out to them. It is a terrible thing that's happened here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: So mom and daughter there, a lot of people coming in to help, including some folks you may not recognize and perhaps this guy to my right, who you might. He and his brothers have sold millions of albums around the world. They have starred on the Disney Channel.
Joe Jonas here with the Jonas Brothers.
Good to see you.
JOE JONAS, MUSICIAN: Good to see you too.
BALDWIN: Welcome to Oklahoma.
JONAS: I'm glad to be here. I'm glad to help out in any way I can.
BALDWIN: You're here with Convoy of Hope.
JONAS: Convoy of Hope. My brothers and I have worked with Convoy of Hope for a while now, since 2009. And they have done amazing stuff around the world and disaster relief right when things happen, so the fact that hopefully today we're able to help out and in the next two days we're going to be helping with the debris and some of the cleanup of what's been going on.
BALDWIN: You're a Texas boy.
JONAS: Yes, I'm a Texas boy originally.
BALDWIN: Originally. So, you have seen on a much smaller scale...
JONAS: Yes, a very small, small scale. And just even taking a glimpse, it is devastating. It's very sad.
So it is a little bit encouraging to see how many people are around just helping with whatever they can. And it is kind of a beautiful thing to see people coming together.
BALDWIN: It is awesome.
JONAS: Yes.
BALDWIN: You just got into town like a half-second ago. So, you haven't had a chance to really get around yet.
JONAS: Right after we're done, I'm going to be helping cleanup with Convoy, So, looking forward to working with some of the people there.
BALDWIN: What do you make of this, just looking at all of this, these homes, gone?
JONAS: Yes. It is heartbreaking. And just to see personal items that probably meant so much to them and hearing that you only have minutes to leave your house, I can't even imagine. And it is a heartbreaking thing to watch.
And like I said, I'm just looking forward to being able to help out.
BALDWIN: Tell me what exactly in the next two days -- you will be here for two days with Convoy of Hope -- what will you be doing? JONAS: I kind of came here a bit blind, wanting to just -- whatever I can do. And so obviously being able to raise awareness and getting people involved and helping them understand how easy it is to help out themselves, whether if it is to donate money.
You can go to ConvoyofHope.org or even come down here. It's a short flight. It is kind of surreal to know that this could be so close to where we all live.
BALDWIN: Right.
JONAS: So the fact that you can hop on a plane or drive down and help out and whether with Convoy of Hope or someone else, and that's why I'm here.
BALDWIN: What's your impression of the Okies so far, Joe Jonas?
JONAS: Very warmhearted people.
BALDWIN: Yes.
JONAS: It seems like they -- they're very -- they accept any help they can get and they're also hard workers. It looks like they have already have done so much and so much to do. So...
BALDWIN: Let's say it again, ConvoyofHope.org.
JONAS: ConvoyofHope.org.
BALDWIN: If you want to learn more.
Final question to you for the fans. So you're here for a couple of days. You guys are, bam, right back on tour, June 1?
JONAS: Yes, some time in June -- July.
BALDWIN: July.
JONAS: Yes.
BALDWIN: OK.
JONAS: As of right now, just try to help out as much as we can.
BALDWIN: OK. Joe, thank you very much.
JONAS: Thank you.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: Best of luck to you. I think it is awesome you're here in town.
JONAS: Thank you.
BALDWIN: So, coming up, we are going to cover many, many more stories here out of Moore, Oklahoma.
Coming up, though, a story you absolutely have to see, though. A teen spent her childhood homeless in and out of shelters, but she just gave her speech as valedictorian. It's an amazing story. We will share that for you coming up next.
Also, a 9-year-old girl confronts the CEO of McDonald's about his menu -- his response coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: McDonald's meals are definitely not making one kid very happy.
She is 9-year-old Hannah Robertson seen right here, in a Web video. She challenged Mickey D's CEO during the company's annual shareholder meeting yesterday. So, she told CEO Don Thompson -- quote -- "I don't think it's fair when big companies try to trick kids into eating food that isn't good for them." She then ended by asking him -- quote -- "Don't you want kids to be healthy so they can live a long and healthy life?"
Well, Thompson reportedly thanked her for her comments and says McDonald's doesn't sell junk food.
As high school seniors here in Moore, Oklahoma, get ready to graduate tomorrow, the next story should definitely inspire them.
I want to introduce you to Chelesa Fearce. She is 17 years of age. She's the valedictorian of her class at Charles Drew High School in suburban Atlanta. She overcame enormous obstacles to achieve this incredible honor. You see, Chelesa and her family were homeless for years, living in shelters and hotels, even at one point in time their car. But she studied. Boy, did she study each and every night by a tiny light from her cell phone and last night it all paid off.
Here she is, giving the valedictorian speech at her high school graduation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHELESA FEARCE, VALEDICTORIAN, CHARLES DREW HIGH SCHOOL: Mahatma Gandhi once said, live as if you are to die tomorrow and learn as if you are to live forever. We have toiled long and hard to get to this point, but the reward has been plentiful.
We are Titans. Titans are immortal beings of incredible strength, size and stamina. We embody resilience, determination and strong will. Antaeus was a Titan was undefeated because every time he got knocked to the ground, he only got stronger. I know I have been made stronger.
I was homeless. My family slept on mats on the floor and we were lucky if we got more than one full meal a day. Getting a shower, food and clean clothes was an everyday struggle. But like Antaeus, I let the fall be my strength. We are the true Titans. We are the ones who have made sacrifices to get to this point. Our administration, faculty and staff have been the swords, shields and sandals that have helped us on this tedious journey, but we are the Titans who have stepped up to the challenge and we will continue to meet such challenges.
Gandhi also said, be the change that you want to see. Be an advocate for change. Be an example for others to follow. Be courageous and change the world. Stand up against the violence that has taken some of our peers. Stand up and take charge of your education. Stand up and face hunger and poverty. No matter what hardships you may face, remember that you are and will forever be a Titan.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: You go, girl. By the way, the mascot of Chelesa's high school she just mentioned is the Titan. She just referenced that in her speech. Her hard work earned her a 4.46 grade point average And she scored 1900 on her SAT. Good luck to her.
Months of testimony, hours of deliberations, but the jury deciding if Jodi Arias should live or die still could not reach that much-needed unanimous decision, so the entire ordeal taking an emotional toll on almost everyone involved, including the judge.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUDGE SHERRY STEPHENS, MARICOPA COUNTY, ARIZONA, SUPERIOR COURT: Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the participants in this trial, I wish to thank you for your extraordinary service to this community. This was not your typical trial.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Next, why the emotions and what the jury foreman now has to say about this case.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: All right, welcome back. I'm Brooke Baldwin here live in Moore, Oklahoma.
We will take you back to our special coverage here in just a moment.
But, first, Jodi Arias has another chance to stay alive. The jury deadlocked yesterday on whether Arias should get the death penalty or spend the rest of her life in prison for murdering her ex-boyfriend, Travis Alexander.
Here is the jury foreman talking about this whole ordeal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL ZERVAKOS, JURY FOREMAN: We couldn't allow ourselves to be emotional on the stand. We couldn't allow ourselves to show emotion, although I'm sure some came through. And I'm very, very proud of my peers, my jurors that were with us, because they did a fantastic job of holding it together.
Different story once we got back into the jury room. It was a gut- wrenching thing that we had to go through. And everybody had to make their own decision.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Want to bring in CNN legal analyst Sunny Hostin once again, joining me from New York.
And the real question, Sunny, is how in the heck do you find a jury impartial, right? You would almost have to be under a rock. Whether you wanted to be aware of the Jodi Arias coverage or not, you have to be under a rock to not know what's been going on. How do they do that?
SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: You know, I think that it is go to be difficult. I don't think it is going to be impossible.
You're talking about finding a jury, another jury now for this penalty phase. So, the prosecution sort of gets another bite at the apple, assuming that the prosecution will go forward with the death penalty and there is no deal. I think the juries do a really good job, Brooke.
And I think this jury did a really good job. I think that was clear when you heard from the foreperson. Bottom line is people may have in the community and everywhere else really heard about this case, but that doesn't mean that they can't push aside what they heard and still be impartial.
I think we find fair juries day in and day out in our system. But let me say this. And I think people are sort of -- many people are disagreeing with me -- I think that this case is ripe for some sort of plea deal. We found out about that in the Gosnell trial in Philadelphia. He was convicted of first-degree murder and then immediately made a deal, taking the death penalty off the table and pleading to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
I can't imagine that that is something that Jodi Arias wouldn't take. It makes perfect sense in a case like this. Why put Travis Alexander's family through this again? I think it is time to put it to rest.
BALDWIN: That's all I keep thinking about, is the family. You see the family members sitting in this courtroom, as I would, tears running down their faces.
We will see. Maybe, maybe you will be right. But this has been emotional, not just for the family, not just for the jurors, but for the judge as well. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHENS: Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the participants in this trial, I wish to thank you for your extraordinary service to this community. This was not your typical trial.
You were asked to perform very difficult responsibilities.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Sunny, you're a former federal prosecutor. You have been in your share of courtrooms. Have you ever seen a judge like that get emotional?
HOSTIN: I have not. It does happen. Judges are people too. But certainly I was a bit surprised.
We didn't see the judge. Maybe she had something stuck in her throat, maybe something...
BALDWIN: I don't think so.
HOSTIN: She was carefully choosing her words. But it is a bit unusual, I think, for a judge to become emotional, because the judge is really supposed to sort of lead the tone, I think, in the courtroom.
And this judge in particular has taken a lot of hits I think from people in the legal community, saying that she didn't keep a tight enough courtroom and allowed such a lengthy trial for something that probably could have been tried much quicker. So perhaps it is just this particular judge. This is who she is.
BALDWIN: We will see. Here we go again.
HOSTIN: Yes.
BALDWIN: This summer, we will see how the next round plays out. Sunny Hostin, thank you.
HOSTIN: Thanks, Brooke.
BALDWIN: Coming up next, I have talked with a lot of survivors here in Oklahoma, obviously, a lot of folks grieving. They're confused. They're lost. But this next interview is one that absolutely took my breath away. Please do not miss this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JACKIE SING, SURVIVOR: I don't know what to say. I'm just -- help me, lord. Help me, God.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Here in Oklahoma, I have talked to many, many survivors of Monday's tornado. Many of them, they don't know what's next. They don't know where they will live. They don't know what they will do when the cameras and all this debris are both gone. Folks who call Moore home have been brutally honest with me. But of all the people I have talked to this week, there is one interview that absolutely without a doubt took my breath away. And I have gotten so much feedback from you that I just wanted to play it one more time.
You're going to hear from a man. His name is Jackie Sing. His home is still standing, sort of. You will see that the walls are there. The interior is best described as hit or miss. The tornado hit a lot, but it also missed some of the items that are most important to Jackie Sing as he shows me.
We walk in his home here and the first thing that he shows me on his mantle, look at that, faith. The faith sign on the mantle didn't move an inch after this EF-5 tornado hit, and also the peach cobbler that his wife cooked Monday didn't move either. But there may be one thing inside this home that the tornado touched the most, and that is the man, Jackie Sing.
I want you to watch what he told me when he got very, very candid as we were standing in his backyard.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SING: Me and my wife, we talked about it. It's -- the word surreal, the word surreal does not sum this up. It's beyond that.
It's -- I don't know if the lord has it that way, that you have all these feelings in your body that he's waiting to open up that can and let you feel them. But I think there's a lot of emotions in our life that we don't understand until things like this happen and you're actually affected.
You can see it on TV all day. But until you actually feel the experience, it's a life-changing event.
BALDWIN: So your life is forever changed.
SING: Yes.
BALDWIN: You have been here all your life.
SING: Yes.
BALDWIN: Will you be rebuilding? Not that you have to rebuild, but will you be -- will you stay here? Will you fix it up? This is your neighborhood?
SING: I love Moore. I have -- I don't have a fear of tornadoes. I have a healthy respect for their awesome power. God created them for -- sometimes for five minutes, I will be thinking, I'm going to live here. I love this place. I want to rebuild.
The next five minutes, I feel horrible, like I need to move away. And looking at my kids' emotions and my wife's emotions, I don't know right now.
BALDWIN: How are your kids, 13 and 14 years old? How are they handling this?
SING: They are handling it very hard. It's very difficult for them. And I hope going to school today, they have opened the schools for two hours -- I hope that they will find some relief talking to their friends.
And I can't describe how I feel. And I have heard of the people on the west side of town that have nothing. I can't imagine what it's like to have -- just see a slab. And it's the strangest feelings. I can't describe them. It's different.
I'm 41-years-old, and the first 41 years of my life are behind me. This is what's next, the next chapter. And I think it is going to make us stronger because the Lord is our refuge and our strength. That's all I have to stand on right new.
I almost wish I was on that side of the street and everything was gone and they were over here because of their brand-new babies, I mean.
