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Zimmerman Juror Speaks; What It's Like to Be a Juror; Scorching Heat on East Coast; Man Wakes Up with Amnesia, Speaking Swedish.

Aired July 16, 2013 - 13:30   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JUROR B-37 (voice-over): She didn't think it was Trayvon. She just said it could have been Trayvon's.

ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, A.C. 360: So she wasn't even sure?

JUROR B-37: No. She wanted to give everybody an absolute out of being guilty.

COOPER: But you were sure it was George Zimmerman's voice?

JUROR B-37: I was sure it was George Zimmerman's voice.

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: Everybody on the jury was? Except for that one person?

JUROR B-37: I think so. I think they were. I don't think there was a doubt that everybody else thought it was George's voice.

COOPER: I want to ask you a bunch of -- I want to ask you about some of the different witnesses. Rachel Jeantel --

JUROR B-37: Uh-huh.

COOPER: -- the woman who was on the phone with Trayvon Martin --

JUROR B-37: Uh-huh.

COOPER: -- at the start of the incident. What do you make of her testimony?

JUROR B-37: I didn't think it was very credible, but I felt very sorry for her. She didn't ask to be in this place. She didn't ask -- she wanted to go. She wanted to leave. She didn't want to be any part of this jury. I think she felt inadequate toward everyone because of her education and her communication skills. I just felt sadness for her.

COOPER: You felt like, what, she was in over her head?

JUROR B-37: Well, not over her head. She just didn't want to be there. And she was embarrassed by being there because of her education and her communication skills, that she just wasn't a good witness.

COOPER: Did you find it hard at times to understand what she was saying?

JUROR B-37: A lot of the time. Because a lot of the times she was using phrases I have never heard before, and what they meant.

COOPER: When she used the phrase "creepy ass cracker," what did you think of that?

JUROR B-37: I thought it was probably the truth. I think Trayvon probably said that.

COOPER: And did you see that as a negative statement or a racial statement as the defense suggested?

JUROR B-37: I don't think it's really racial. I think it's just everyday life, the type of life that they live and how they're living and the environment that they're living in.

COOPER: So you didn't find her credible as a witness?

JUROR B-37: No.

COOPER: So did you find her testimony important in terms of what she actually said?

JUROR B-37: Well, I think the most important thing is the time that she was on the phone with Trayvon. So you basically -- hopefully, if she heard anything, she would say she did. But the time coincides with George's statements and testimony of time limits and what had happened during that time.

COOPER: Explain that.

JUROR B-37: Well, because George was on the 911 call while she was on the call with Trayvon and the times coincide. And I think there was two minutes between when George hung up from his 911 call to the time Trayvon and Rachel had hung up. So really nothing could have happened because the 911 caller would have heard -- the non-emergency call that George had called, heard something happening before that.

COOPER: She said at one point she heard the sound of wet grass. Did that seem believable to you?

JUROR B-37: Well, everything was wet at that point. It was pouring down rain.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: By the way, Juror B-37 is not done. Tonight, more of the interview not previously aired, the interview that all of America seems to be talking about right now. Anderson Cooper's exclusive interview continues late tonight, 8:00 p.m. eastern, only here on CNN. So what's it like to be a jury member on such a high-profile case? Up next, I'll speak to someone who served on the Scott Peterson murder trial. He says life will never, never be the same.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: When they first started deliberating, half of the jurors wanted to convict George Zimmerman, the other half did not -- that's just one of the revelations from the woman known as Juror B-37. She tells CNN the all-female jury was split at the start of their deliberations. And as we all know, they ended up unanimously with a not-guilty verdict for the man who shot and killed the unarmed teenager, Trayvon Martin. Juror B-37 is unequivocal. She believes Martin was the aggressor and Zimmerman feared for his life.

We're joined by two guests, criminal defense attorney, Danny Cevallos, and a former juror, Mike Belmessieri, one of the jurors who found Scott Peterson guilty of murdering his wife, Lacy, and their unborn son in Modesto, California.

Thanks to both of you for coming in.

Danny, let me start with you.

This Juror B-37 told Anderson the first vote was far from unanimous. There were three not-guilties, hers included. But one vote for second-degree murder and two votes for manslaughter. Did that surprise you that 3-2-1 split?

DANNY CEVALLOS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: It definitely did, although you have no idea which way a jury's going to go. But what's more interesting is how with that kind of split, half and half, you have to wonder how the pendulum eventually swung towards the not-guilty verdict, how they were able to convince the other three to capitulate.

Remember, one, at least one was for the highest degree, the second- degree murder, and two for manslaughter. So in that way, at least if not a majority then, a plurality at least, were for not guilty, while the other 2-3 was sort of split on its own. I was surprised, but I would be really interested to see how each ballot went as time went on.

BLITZER: Yeah. It looks like the three who initially thought not guilty were very convincing during the course of those, what, 16 hours or so of deliberations and brought the other three to their point of view.

Mike, in the Scott Peterson trial, you guys took seven days. Was there a similar split at the beginning? And how decisions were changed, votes were changed over the course of those seven days?

MIKE BELMESSIERI, FORMER JUROR & AUTHOR: Well, yes, Wolf. The more you get into discussing the evidence and testimony and debating the value of that and credibility and what have you, things will change. When we began our deliberation, everybody wasn't in agreeance (sic) of where we were going. Nobody had an opinion that was so overriding that they didn't want to listen to the arguments and take a look at the testimony and the evidence.

So for me, it was a situation where this would be quite normal. You know, you want that actually kind of to happen because if everybody walks in and is of one opinion right away, well, obviously the -- everybody's in agreement so they must be right. And not always will that be the case. When you sit down and remove yourself from things and talk it out, then you're going to change your mind. And you're going to get a more realistic viewpoint of what happened.

BLITZER: When I heard the judge, Danny, on Friday give the jury instructions, she read 27 pages. And there was one line that really jumped out at me. And I highlighted it on our show in "The Situation Room."

Let me play that clip. This is from Debra Nelson, the judge's jury instructions to the jury.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEBRA NELSON, CIRCUIT COURT JUDGE: If George Zimmerman was not engaged in an unlawful activity and was attacked in any place where he had a right to be, he had no duty to retreat and had the right to stand his ground and meet force with force, including deadly force if he reasonably believed that it was necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or another or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: So when she said he had a right to stand his ground even though a 911 operator told him don't go out of the car, don't do certain things, yet that was not necessarily illegal. That sentence itself said to me it was going to be tough for this jury to convict him of either manslaughter or murder. But I wanted to get your sense.

CEVALLOS: Well, yeah. I mean, there's been some misunderstanding that there was an instruction on Stand your Ground. There was also the excusable and justification instructions. And overall the jury instructions as a whole were somewhat confusing. We know that, because the jurors had to ask questions about them and they weren't certain on manslaughter. Ultimately, though, we're really only left with what this juror tells us because, at the end, they just came back and said not guilty. They don't need to say not guilty and here are our reasons why.

But you're absolutely right, that additional instruction allows -- it just gives them another avenue to hang their hat on. And in this case, it looks like they did.

BLITZER: These six women, Mike, of the jury, what can they expect, given the publicity of this trial, down the road? What will their lives be like in the weeks and months to come?

BELMESSIERI: Well, I can tell you what my life was like. The minute I left the safety, if you will, of protection of the sheriff's office, the media was all over me. So they could probably certainly expect that.

But the disheartening part about what happened to us -- and remember ours was a popular verdict, according to many, if there is such a thing. But our jurors were threatened with bodily harm and worse. So, you know, there's a lot of people in this world who just are troubled. So they make these threats. And are they real? I believe that the ones I received were real. So they can expect that, probably, especially one where such passion is involved. I mean, there's so much emotion involved in this case. And we need to step back and take a look at what these jurors had to do and their decision based on just the facts, the evidence in the case, they decided were overwhelmingly not guilty as opposed to guilty. None of us are there.

BLITZER: Yep.

BELMESSIERI: None of us were in that deliberation room. None of us understand the reasons that they made these decisions, much like no one knows why we made our decision. It just -- in our case, it was a popular verdict. In this case, it may not be as popular.

BLITZER: Let's hope --

(CROSSTALK)

BELMESSIERI: So they can understand a great change.

BLITZER: I certainly can understand why this one juror, B-37, decided she didn't want her face shown. She wanted to do it in shadow, as you say. And so far, the other five jurors, they are not saying anything, because clearly they are all worried about some negative reaction. And there could be some crazy people out there, for all we know, and they have to be worried about what's going on.

BELMESSIERI: Right.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: All right. We're going to leave it there.

Mike, we'll continue this conversation down the road. Unfortunately, we have to leave it on that note.

Mike Belmessieri, thanks very much.

Danny Cevallos, as usual, thanks to you as well.

Let's hope the best for these six women of the jury.

It's a scorcher out there if you live on the east coast. Up next, we're going to tell you if there's any relief in sight from this dangerous heat wave.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: It's going to be a sweltering day from Boston to Baltimore, right here to Washington, D.C. as well. Heat advisories are up for parts of the northeast and Mid-Atlantic States as temperatures climb well into the 90s. Most places will feel like it's in the triple digits. And the heat stretches as far as Michigan. Worse yet, these conditions could last for days.

Anna Coren is sweating it out in New York. Chad Myers is at the CNN Weather Channel.

First to you, Anna.

What are people doing to cope in New York?

ANNA COREN, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Wolf, I can tell you, a couple hours ago I said the temperatures were bearable. Well, it is anything but. The heat is now stifling. As you say, it's reached the mid-90s here, but I can literally feel the heat off the pavement. And with the humidity, it definitely feels like it's in the triple digits.

I have no idea what these people are doing in Times Square. They're obviously cueing up for tickets to a theater. They desperately want to see a play, a Broadway show, but you can see they are fanning themselves.

This lady here, she is from New York.

How would you describe the heat?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Very, very hot. Totally hot and we're crazy to be out here. Drink lots of water.

COREN: Very good advice. How are you going to escape the heat today?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Going to see a Broadway play in the air- conditioned room. Hopefully, I can get tickets.

COREN: Fantastic.

OK. There you go, air-conditioning. People are going to escape the heat with the air-conditioning.

Power companies however, Wolf, have said that there are power shortages. So they're asking people to conserve on electricity. That's going to be a very difficult thing to do considering air- conditioning units will be working overtime as people do try to escape the heat -- Wolf?

BLITZER: Anna Coren in New York for us.

Thank you, Anna.

Let's go to Chad.

How long is this heat wave going to last, Chad?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: All the way through Friday. And it's always, don't do what we do, do what we say, because that would be the worst thing you can do is go out and stand in the heat, stand out in the sunshine.

Those numbers that we always talk about, Wolf, you know 100, 105, those are temperatures that are in the shade. It feels like 98, Atlantic City, 102 in Fredericksburg, but that is in the shade. And the pets feel that. Kids feel that too. Make sure the pets have plenty of water and certainly shade. If you can stand on the shady side of the street, today's the day to do that, because I was just in New York a couple days ago, heat index 102 and it was brutal. In the sun, it was even -- it felt like 115. You had the black asphalt radiating heat, the sun coming down on and then it's dangerous if you don't have a lot of water.

Take your time today, and be a little patient with all of the people that have to work outside. Workers, city workers, police, even the guys that are moving your bags at the airport, they're out in the heat working for you -- Wolf?

BLITZER: They certainly are.

Good advice from Chad, as he always gives our viewers.

Thank you.

Some first graders in Missouri are learning a little bit more than math and English. A new law allows public schools to teach gun safety to 6-year-olds.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: White House Press Secretary Jay Carney just speaking out on the president's views of racial profiling. All of this coming in the aftermath of the not-guilty verdict in the Zimmerman trial. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAY CARNEY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: On the issue of laws -- and, again, I think I need to note without reference to this specific case -- you know, the president's views on issues like racial profiling have been well known. It's something that he worked on in the state Senate in Illinois. But when it comes to this case, which obviously the Justice Department is continuing to look into, we're not going to get out ahead of that and we're not going to comment on any particulars.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: And as you know, we're standing by. Later this afternoon, we'll be hearing from the attorney general of the United States, Eric Holder.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: The new law passed in Missouri encourages teaching gun safety to the sixth graders. The Eddie Eagle Program will teach students how to respond should they encounter a firearm. The program advises, "stop, don't touch, leave the area, tell an adult." But some parents who don't own guns have protested, saying they don't want the school teaching anything about firearms to their kids. A study by the American Academy of Pediatrics found that gun safety programs for children were ineffective and may even increase gun handling by children.

South Florida landmark that stood since the 1960s came tumbling down this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(EXPLOSION)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Series of explosions happening.

(EXPLOSION)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There goes the first boiler, the second boiler.

(EXPLOSION)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The third boiler.

(EXPLOSION)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: This demolition is as visual art. Obviously, endlessly fascinating to watch. A lot of us have seen this in Florida over the years, but you're seeing the largest power plant demolition ever in the state of Florida. The Port Everglades Power Complex, the first to be imploded with the 7500-ton boilers, one by one. Next the core, 350 feet-tall stacks. This will clear the way for a new state-of-the-art power plant fueled by natural gas.

A man wakes up in a California hospital and doesn't know who he is. He can speak only Swedish, even though he hasn't lived in Sweden in 30 years.

Elizabeth Cohen takes a closer look at the medical condition that may have caused his extreme amnesia.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Four months ago, police found this navy veteran unconscious in a southern California Motel 6. On him, a U.S. passport and his veteran's I.D., identifying him as Michael Boatwright. But when he woke up in the emergency room, he had never heard of Michael Boatwright. He said his name was John and he spoke only Swedish. He couldn't explain why he had five tennis rackets in his luggage or who the woman was in this photo found with him. His whole past, a blank.

"Walk in my shoes for one day and you'll experience the nightmare of a lifetime," he told the newspaper.

A hospital social worker helped Boatwright set up this Facebook page, and she discovered he lived in Sweden in the 1980s and ran a consulting company. He lived in China, too, teaching English. On the school website, was this photo and Boatwright's own essay, revealing he was married to a Japanese wife and had a 12-year-old son.

So why was he in southern California? He told CNN the clues suggest he's a tennis coach. He had arrived during tennis tournament season. His diagnosis? Boatwright is in what is called fuge state, brought on trauma.

DR. AARON ANDERSON, NEUROLOGIST, EMORY UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL: Stressful events, life-changing events, family deaths or loved one's death, recent travel or major accident.

COHEN: For now, Boatwright is at Desert Regional Medical Center. They'd like to send him home as soon as they learn where home is.

(on camera): This story has played big in the Swedish media. And now some Swedes are coming forward saying, hey, I knew this man in the 1980s. Plus, according to "The Desert Sun," there's a woman in Louisiana who says she's Michael Boatwright's sister -- Wolf?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Elizabeth Cohen, thanks very much for that.

That's it for me. I'll be back, 5:00 p.m. in "The Situation Room."

Brooke Baldwin takes it from here -- Brooke?

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: For weeks, Americans debated what the jurors were thinking in the George Zimmerman trial, and now we know. You're about to hear a juror's candid revelations about the legal teams, about the turning point, and why this decision left them in tears.

I'm Brook Baldwin. The news is now.