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Juror: Zimmerman Justified in Killing; New Film Depicts Shooting of Unarmed Man; World Still Waiting for Royal Baby
Aired July 17, 2013 - 10:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Thanks so much for staying with me. I'm Carol Costello. Checking our "Top Stories" its 30 minutes past the hour.
Cuban officials say there was no problem aboard the ship that was stopped by officials in Panama. This ship is flying under the flag of North Korea was en route from Cuba when authorities discovered a cache of weapons including nine missiles, two anti-aircraft systems and two MIG jets all hidden under bags and bags of brown sugar.
Cuba's foreign ministry says they are just obsolete defensive weapons and that they were going to North Korea for some repair. But here is the rub. U.N. sanctions banned North Korea from importing or exporting weapons.
The magazine is an icon in the music industry so is "Rolling Stone" is giving the rock star treatment to an accused terrorist. This morning, "Rolling Stone" is facing an online fire storm for this cover boy shot of a doe-eyed Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. He was accused of carrying out the Boston marathon bombing along with his brother who was later killed during a police shootout.
The comedian and CBS correspondent Mo Rocca asked "Who knew "Rolling Stone" was the magazine for dreamboat terrorist cover boys? Should rename it Tamil Tiger Beat." And that was one of the more mild tweets.
In Florida, there is a battle growing over whether or not the state's controversial "Stand Your Ground" law should be eliminated. Protesters plan to visit the governor's office every single day to get rid of it. Last hour I spoke to the state lawmaker who co-sponsored the law who doesn't think there's a problem with "Stand Your Ground".
DENNIS BAXLEY, FLORIDA STATE REPRESENTATIVE: Well I think we want to empower law-abiding citizens to defend themselves from violent attack. We actually have a shared goal with our critics. We would like to see a reduced number of victims of violent crime and unfortunately I think this is a distraction.
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COSTELLO: Attorney General Eric Holder is coming out against those laws too saying "Stand Your Ground" tries to fix something that was never broken.
Florida teenager Trayvon Martin as you well know is dead and the juror who acquitted the shooter say she stands by the not guilty verdict no matter how unpopular it is among many people. George Zimmerman she says was justified when he fire that gun. Here are more of her comments in her exclusive interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper.
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ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, "AC360": George Zimmerman obviously did not testify but his testimony essentially was -- was brought in through the trial through those videotapes. A number of videotapes that he walked police to the reenactment of what he said happened. How important were those videotapes to you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't really know because, I mean watching the tapes, you can -- there's always something in the back saying is it -- is it right, is it consistent, but with all the evidence of the phone calls and all the witnesses that he saw, I think George is pretty consistent in what -- and told the truth basically. I'm sure there were some fabrications, enhancements, but I think pretty much it happened the way George said it happened.
COOPER: Would you have liked to have heard Zimmerman testify? Would you have liked to have seen him on the stands so he could have be cross-examined?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think it would have been any -- been any different. I don't -- I don't think he -- I think he -- he would have told the story the same exact way.
COOPER: So you don't think him being on the stand and being crossed examine would have made any difference.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't it would have, I really don't.
COOPER: Do you think the state overcharged by going for second degree murder. Do you think if they had gone into it, started off the opening statement, saying manslaughter, it might have made a difference in terms of the end result?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It wouldn't have made a difference if they would have given us the same paperwork they gave us. They gave us the laws and we went by the laws. And that's how we found him innocent. They would have given us manslaughter and everything that was attached to it. It would have come out the exact same way.
COOPER: And did the jurors -- did you all get along well? I mean was there conflict? Was there -- how did the -- the deliberation process, how is it being together this long?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Deliberation was -- it was tough. We all pretty much get along. It's hard sometimes to let other people, talk at, you know, one time and then have somebody else talk instead of adding your comments to whatever they were saying, trying to help figure out what we were trying to figure out. At times I thought we might have a hung jury because one of them said they were going to leave and we convinced them, no, you can't leave, you have to do this, you've been in this too long to walk out now.
COOPER: They were going to leave for personal reasons, family reasons.
When you lay your head tonight on the pillow, in your heart and in your head, you are 100 percent convinced that George Zimmerman in taking out his gun and pulling the trigger did nothing wrong.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm 101 percent that he was -- that he should have done what he did except for the things that he did before.
COOPER: You mean he shouldn't have gotten out of the car. He shouldn't have -- pursued Trayvon Martin but in the final analysis, in the final struggle --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When the end came to the end.
COOPER: He was justified.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was justified in shooting Trayvon Martin.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: We're also hearing from some of the other jurors who returned that not guilty verdict and they are backing away from the blunt words you just heard from Juror B37.
Here's the statement from four of her five fellow jurors, quote, "We, the undersigned jurors understand there's a great deal of interest in this case but we ask you to remember that we are not public officials and we did not invite this type of attention into our lives. We also wish to point out that the opinions of Juror B37 expressed on the Anderson Cooper show were her own and not in any way representative of the jurors listed below."
The jurors identified themselves only by their jury pool numbers and not by their names.
A young unarmed black man shot and killed by a cop. Now it's documented in the movie "Fruitvale Station". We'll talk to the director about the movie and the striking similarities to the Trayvon Martin shooting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Get off the train now. Put that phone down.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you still on the train? Why can't you tell me what's going on? What is the problem?
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(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COSTELLO: An unarmed young black man was shot and killed by a police officer, an incident sharing eerie similarities with the shooting of Trayvon Martin, 22-year-old Oscar Grant died New Year's Day in 2009 after the shooting at a San Francisco area train station.
Now it's the basis for a new movie called "Fruitvale Station" which documents the day he died. A dramatic look at how this all unfold with a fight on a crowded train and an officer who mistook his gun for a taser.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get off the train now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Put that phone down.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you still on the train?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're still at Fruitvale.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why can't you tell me what's going on? What is the problem?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What did he do?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my gosh.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Joining me now is the director of "Fruitvale Station" Ryan Coogler. Thank you so much for coming in.
RYAN COOGLER, DIRECTOR, "FRUITVALE STATION": Thank you so much for having me.
COSTELLO: And we should say this young man's name. It's Oscar Grant. He died that night. So for people unfamiliar with his story can -- in a nutshell, can you tell me what happened?
COOGLER: Yes. Oscar Grant was a 22-year-old Hayward resident, Hayward in the Bay Area. He was a father. He had a 4-year-old daughter. Had a girlfriend, he had a mom, he had a family. He and his friends went to San Francisco on a BART train to see New Year's Eve fireworks. And on his way back there was an altercation on the train and he and his friends were pulled off the train and detained on the Fruitvale platform which is a station in Oakland. And while he was being apprehended he was shot and killed by one of the police officers.
COSTELLO: And he was unarmed.
COOGLER: Yes.
COSTELLO: And the police officer -- why did the police officer say he shot Oscar?
COOGLER: His defense claim was that he mistook his gun for his taser.
COSTELLO: So here we are and you know a lot of people in the black community are angry over Trayvon Martin's death. And your movie is coming out. And we hear a lot about differences in culture and that there are two cultures in this country. And they can't understand one another. And that's why tragedies like this happen.
In your mind is that it? Is it as simple as that? Although that's not that simple, right?
COOGLER: I don't think it's -- and I think it's more complex and now I mean I think -- and as far as my prayers go out to Trayvon Martin's family as well as all the young people who are losing their lives in our environment in this country which is rampant. It was never our intention to promote the film on the -- on the heels of this case. It was very coincidental how it coincided but I think it speaks to the rampant -- to the rampant factor of how often young people are dying, you know, in this fashion.
And I think that it is a matter of perspective, you know what I mean? I think a lot of times it's a dehumanization factor. You know what I mean. And how people see -- how people see people who they have intimate contact with, you know it so happen to the young African- American males, oftentimes the way they're presented in the media is through nefarious names you know what I mean; being up to no good, to doing things that are destructive, you know.
COSTELLO: So that officer that night assumed that Oscar's taser was a gun simply because he was black.
COOGLER: No, no. I didn't say that.
COSTELLO: So tell me why though.
COOGLER: I don't know why, there is only one person that can answer that question. There is only person that can talk about that. You know my film was about me as a filmmaker it was about this man's life you know what I mean and the people that -- the he mattered to, you know, and what their relationship was at the time and why his life mattered to them.
So it's -- the film is basically about those relationships and about the human factor of his life and the people that are left behind when things like this happens.
COSTELLO: Many people -- and I just want to draw some kind of parallel to you film and I don't know if there is one so you tell me. We heard from one of the jurors in the Trayvon Martin case saying it was really Trayvon Martin's fault per se that he was killed that night because he chose to turn and fight. If he had just gone home, nothing would have happened.
Are there similarities to how Oscar died on that train platform?
COOGLER: To be honest with you the biggest thing is the dissimilarities. And there's one -- there's one huge dissimilarity. The fact in the Bay Area when this happen, it happened in front of the people and people recorded the situation how it turned out for Oscar. So it wasn't one person's word against a dead person. They made everybody witness to with that footage. So that was the biggest -- that was the biggest difference coupled with the fact that the person that took Oscar's life was a law enforcement officer you know, and in Trayvon it wasn't.
You know but there's more dissimilarities between -- between these situations. And there are -- and there are similarities to be honest with you. You know Oscar -- we have to clear you know people from the Bay Area there to film what happened to him. In Trayvon nobody was there to film it.
COSTELLO: So he had a lot of witnesses. Trayvon had one, George Zimmerman, right? Per se.
COOGLER: Yes it's elementary. Yes obviously he was.
COSTELLO: What do you want people to learn from your film?
COOGLER: Well it's not -- it's not, I'm not trying teaching (inaudible) --
COSTELLO: But films speak messages, right?
COOGLER: We I think that -- for me our message was about humanity, it's a film about humanity. And I hope that people can take on that what it means to be human. And the film is about relationships and about a guy who is struggling with things, as himself.
So I hope that people can recognize a little bit of their struggle in Oscar and recognize a little bit of their relationships in Oscar's relationships and be able to relate to him through that, you know. And I hope people can come away with it with a little bit of perspective, you know, and what it's like to be somebody like Oscar and somebody like Oscar has a lot in common with them no matter where their background is.
COSTELLO: Ryan Coogler, thanks so much. I know the film opens here in Atlanta Friday, but it's open in other parts of the country.
COOGLER: Yes, open in some other parts of the country (inaudible) we did a roll out as weeks go on.
COSTELLO: Thank you so much for being here. We appreciate it.
COOGLER: Thank you.
COSTELLO: We appreciate it.
We're still on royal baby watch. Yes, I'm drastically changing the subject, I know. The duchess has not delivered her new bundle yet but her family is on standby. We'll take you to Buckingham Palace next.
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COSTELLO: I love that music for some reason, I don't know why.
The world's still on pins and needles waiting for the newest addition to the British Royal family. A royal source telling Kate was due last Saturday which means the baby is now four days late. Not a very comfortable waiting game for an expectant mom but in this case it means more time for bookies taking bets on what Will and Kate will name their little bundle of joy. Let's bring in CNN royal commentator, Katie Nicholl. She's at Buckingham Palace. It could happen at any moment now.
KATIE NICHOLL, CNN ROYAL COMMENTATOR: It could happen at any moment. Everyone is on red-hot alert -- red-hot being the opposite face because the sun is shining down on us here. Beautiful weather, everything is in place. The birthing suite at the Mary Lindo wing is ready. There's just no baby at the moment.
COSTELLO: So what is the royal birth plan? I need to know.
NICHOLL: Ok. So the royal birth plan is actually quite simple. We're told that the duchess wants a natural birth. She's going to be having it in a suite on its own private level and the Lindo Wing of St. Mary's Hospital. She's got her gynecologist on 24/7 call, an assistant gynecologist, midwife -- everything really is in situ and all ready. And it's just a case and any mother will tell you that you just cannot predict this one and typically first babies can be late. And if the due date of the 13th was correct, as you say, she's now four days over.
So (inaudible) Duchess of Cambridge and anything else that might bring labor on because I can only imagine that she must be getting pretty, pretty uncomfortable. This isn't fun, this heat. People aren't sleeping at night. And when you're carrying that much weight, it's tough work.
COSTELLO: Well, the Queen won't be in the room for the birth, will she?
NICHOLL: No. The queen won't be in the birth room. We know that William very much wants to be there. He's with Kate at their house at Kensington Palace at the moment. They'll be there together although there is some speculation that (inaudible) might be in the birthing room. She is on call to be there. Whether or not she's going to be there we'll just have to wait and find out. But William, very much the modern father, very much the hands-on husband, he wants to be there and be part of it.
COSTELLO: Anyone who shares -- whenever this day happens -- anyone who shares a birthday with the royal baby gets a special gift. What is that?
NICHOLL: They get a very special gift. They're going to get a silver one-pound coin. Our pound coins over here are gold but this is a limited edition one and it's silver. If you want to buy one, you can but you have to be prepared to part with 60 pounds to get one pound back. But if you're lucky enough to be born on the day of the royal baby, you'll be sent one from the palace which is a rather special memento for anyone that's going to share this lucky baby birthday.
COSTELLO: I love that. Thank you very much Katie. Katie reporting from Buckingham Palace this morning.
NICHOLL: Thank you.
COSTELLO: You're welcome. If you want more on the royal baby watch "Will and Kate Plus 1" this special we're airing on CNN -- that is July 18th at 10:00 p.m. Eastern.
Coming up in the CNN NEWSROOM, want more cell phone data -- well, there's a way you can talk and text more for free. We'll tell you next.
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COSTELLO: All right. Let's head to Washington. This is a live picture from inside the White House. Soon President Obama will take his place behind that podium. He'll be talking mostly about Richard Cordray, who was finally the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Finally, I say. He was confirmed in a last-minute deal on Tuesday but he's actually been running the agency for a very long time.
Of course many people are hoping President Obama will address the verdict of the George Zimmerman case. We'll be listening -- we'll be watching when the President takes his place behind that podium. Of course, we'll take you back to Washington then.
55 minutes past the hour. Time to check our top stories.
The penalty retrial for Jodi Arias is set for September. That's when a new jury will be selected to decide if Arias will be sentenced to death or life in prison. On May 8, Arias was found guilty of murdering her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander, but the jury couldn't agree on life in prison or the death sentence.
The man accused of trying to extort money from Paula Deen has pleaded not guilty. Thomas George Paculis was arrested earlier this month. According to the FBI he e-mailed Deen's lawyers threatening to reveal true and damning information if Deen didn't pay him $250,000. Paculis contacted Deen's lawyer after a deposition in which she admitted to using the N word which was later made public.
What a moment last night at the Major League all-star game in New York. Bottom of the eighth inning, the American League up 3-0, and then this. Oh, an emotional moment. Future hall of famer Mariano Rivera entered the game to a standing "o" from fans and players from both teams. Ribera who's retiring after this season called the moment special and priceless.
And in typical form he pitched the 1, 2, 3 inning and he was named the game's most valuable player. The American League won the game 3-0, making it three years losing streak. Thank you, Jim Leyland.
COSTELLO: Want to download a song to your smart phone or tablet? Watch a commercial first. At least that's what Boston based company, (inaudible) was hoping you'll do. The start of (inaudible) customers to pay for data use in exchange for watching ads, taking surveys or otherwise devoting time to advertisers. Acuto says customers can used the earned data credited immediately or store them when they earn usage limits.
That's it for me. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me today "NEWSROOM" it continues after a quick break.
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MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Michaela Pereira, I'm in for Ashleigh Banfield this week. We want to start you off this hour with some quick headlines. Ariel Castro back in court today. We want to show you a live picture out of Cleveland.
