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Katherine Jackson Back on Witness Stand; Zimmerman Helps Accident Victim; Could O.J. Get Out of Jail; New Details on Cleveland Murders; Milwaukee's Ryan Braun Suspended.
Aired July 23, 2013 - 11:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Attorneys for AEG Live spoke with reporters after testimony concluded yesterday and they said that they were able to disclose inconsistencies in Katherine Jackson's testimony and also showed that what the family is trying to do, in their words, "to try to blame someone else for Michael Jackson's drug abuse, and ultimately his death," something the family knew about for a decade or over a decade and couldn't do anything about.
On the other hand, Jackson family attorneys said -- they took a thinly veiled shot at AEG Live for their aggressive questioning, an 83-year- old woman that jurors have seen needing help getting on and off the witness stand. It's a good possibility that could backfire on AEG Live and really create some sympathy for Katherine Jackson -- Pamela.
PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Certainly, a delicate balance for the defense team.
Casey Wian, thank you.
The Iron Rattler roller coaster at Six Flags Over San Antonio has been shut down until further notice. The move is being called a precautionary measure. The Iron Rattler is similar to the Texas giant coaster at Six Flags Over Texas. A woman fell to her death on that ride last week. It's been closed while the accident investigation continues.
Pope Francis is on the second day of a historic visit to Brazil this morning, his first visit abroad since becoming the head of the Catholic Church. He was swarmed, as we see in this video, by crowds of supporters since he arrived in Rio yesterday. People chased after his car as he was being driven through the streets. As we see, security officers running alongside the car had to push them away.
An act of heroism during Tokoyo's notorious rush hour. An incredible story. A woman was getting off the train when she fell in the gap between the train and the station platform. 40 passengers and staff members joined together to push the 32-ton train car just enough to free the woman. Miraculously, she was not seriously injured.
Just so you know, celebrities have lousy days too. Check out this video. Beyonce, with her hair stuck in a fan on stage. As we see, she kept on singing until she's free from the fan. Apparently, nothing stops Beyonce.
(LAUGHTER)
Just days after being acquitted of killing Trayvon Martin, George Zimmerman helps people out of a flipped-over vehicle. You'll hear the 911 call up next, right after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: WE have not stopped talking about this. Almost as soon as the jury found George Zimmerman not guilty of taking Trayvon Martin's life, protests broke out. But now Zimmerman is back in the spotlight for an act that doesn't need any debate. Just four days later, police say Zimmerman helped pull a family from their SUV after a roll-over accident.
Here's Victor Blackwell.
CALLER ZIMMERMAN, ACQUITTED OF MURDER CHARGES: I just witnessed an accident on the off-ramp over in Sanford.
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: 5:45 Wednesday evening, a blue SUV is driving onto the highway but the driving loses control and rolls into this field.
CALLER: It looks like an Explorer. There's some people in the car right now. The vehicle is still there. It's on its side.
BLACKWELL: Glass, a mirror, a floor matt still on the scene. By the time first responders arrived, the parents and their two children were outside of the SUV safely because two people stopped to help them. One of them was George Zimmerman. All this happened less than a mile from where he shot Trayvon Martin.
(voice-over): Monday night, the story of Zimmerman as the rescuer was met with skepticism at an NAACP town meeting.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE; That's one of the most ridiculous, silly stuff I've ever seen in my life> To do anything to validate a murderer I think is wrong.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've been working with the DOJ.
BLACKWELL: Organizers announced plans to put a repeal of Stand Your Ground on the ballot in 2014.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If we lose what Trayvon Martin has brought us together to do -- we cannot wait until February and wait just for our legislators, for our governors to possibly veto this. We need to do this ourselves.
(SHOUTING)
BLACKWELL: After days of protests, calling for federal civil rights charges against Zimmerman, the Sanford Police Department has handed its evidence and files over to the Department of Justice.
As for Zimmerman, this was a brief moment in the public spotlight. Presumably, he's now back in hiding.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Victor Blackwell joins us from Sanford.
I'm glad to know the family made it out OK. Did they know the George Zimmerman who helped, who rescued them?
BLACKWELL: That's the big question. They said they're fine, no injuries. This family has said they don't want any media attention, don't want to be interviewed. I'm sure they're very grateful someone came to help them. I'm sure they would also hope it wouldn't be someone else who wouldn't bring this kind of attention to their family.
BROWN: What is Zimmerman's attorney, Mark O'Mara, saying about this?
BLACKWELL: We reached out to his defense team and they were surprised to hear it. They have actually had a meeting with George Zimmerman since that Wednesday roll-over crash, and they say he didn't mention a word about the crash.
Here's what else Mark O'Mara told our "New Day" team.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK O'MARA, ZIMMERMAN DEFENSE ATTORNEY: This is quintessentially George. This is the person I knew him to be when I found out about his past before February 12th. This is a guy who is always involved in the community, always known to lend a helping handled. And here we go, four days after the event, something that I could not have planned, but turned to be just pure George.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: But again, there's a lot of skepticism here in Sanford. At the meeting last night, there were some people that don't believe that George Zimmerman was ever there. They believe the Seminole County Sheriff's Office is trying to work P.R. for George Zimmerman -- Pamela?
BROWN: And probably nothing will change their mind.
Thank you so much, Victor Blackwell.
It is a verdict that still that is America asking tough questions about race. Anderson Cooper leads a powerful town hall conversation, "Race and Justice in America, Part 2" on CNN tonight at 10:00 eastern.
There's a chance that in the next few days O.J. Simpson could be a free man again but that all depends on a judge and a parole board. The legal challenges facing the former football star and actor, when we return.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BROWN: The last time you saw O.J. Simpson was in May when his attorneys were arguing for a new trial. Remember, Simpson is serving 33 years on a variety of charges related to a dispute over memorabilia at a Las Vegas hotel.
As our Ted Rowlands reports, O.J. Simpson could soon be walking out of a free man.
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PATRICIA PALM (ph), ATTORNEY FOR O.J. SIMPSON: I don't see any weapons.
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After almost five years, there's a chance O.J. Simpson may soon be a free man.
ATTORNEY FOR O.J. SIMPSON: I have a really good feeling. I will be so disappointed if we don't get relief because I think that he deserves it.
ROWLANDS: Simpson's attorneys, Patricia Palm (ph) and Ossie Fumo, believed the evidence they offered during a weak-long hearing this sprint warrants a new trial for Simpson, who is currently serving a 33-year sentence for his role in what prosecutors say was an arm robbery and kidnapping. Simpson's attorneys believe that O.J.'s lawyer at trial, Yale Galanter, had a conflict of interest, and they think the murders of Simpson's wife, Nicole, and Ron Goldman also influenced the trial in Las Vegas.
OZZIE FUMO, ATTORNEY FOR O.J. SIMPSON: Obviously, they did because the state throughout kept mentioning the Goldman's name, so I think it had to have an adverse effect.
ROWLANDS: The before and after pictures show how much of a toll prison has taken. There's speculation that Simpson is ill, but his attorneys say he's fine considering what he's been through.
FUMO: My personal opinion is every one year in prison takes an additional seven off your life.
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ROWLANDS: There's also speculation that Simpson seen here in "Naked Gun" wants to revive his acting career. His pension reserves are gone, spent on his Vegas defense team, according to court testimony, while acting or a reality show might bring in needed cash. His attorneys think, if he gets out, O.J. Simpson will do his best to stay clear of the limelight.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Ted Rowlands joins us in Vegas. Does O.J. Simpson have a legitimate chance of getting out of the prison?
ROWLANDS: It's always a long shot to get a new trial but his attorneys really do believe that they proved their case, and they believe when they get word -- it could happen any day -- he will be granted a new trial. If he gets a new trial, it's likely Las Vegas attoneys won't retry him, Clark County, because there's no way they could replicate what happened the first time around. At one point, they were asking for two years in prison. The odds of spending the money, almost nothing. So if he gets the retrial, he'll get his freedom.
BROWN: We'll keep an eye on it.
Thank you so much, Ted.
Now let's bring in our legal team for some more analysis, defense attorney, Danny Cevallos and Midwin Charles.
That you both for being here. Good to see you both again.
Danny, I want to piggyback on what Ted was talking about. What do you think?
DANNY CEVALLOS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: There are two things going on. One is the parole hearing, and one is the motion for a retrial. O.J. better hope for the retrial. That's his best shot. Even though the grounds are rather weak, in general when you attack the efficiency or the effective representation of your counsel, that's usually a long shot. However, in this case they have alleged that Yale Galanter was actually involved somehow in the actual case. In other words, he was -- he may have been even been present during the incident. That may take it outside the realm of normal.
However, the new trial is what O.J. is hoping for because, even if he gets granted parole, parole in this case, because of the difference between consecutive and concurrent sentences, O.J. must serve his first sentence and then, only then, if he gets paroled on one case, on one charge, does he get to start serving on the second one.
BROWN: Midwin, could prosecutors just cherry pick which charges.
MIDWIN CHARLES, ATTORNEY: I'm sure perhaps they could, with respect to the parole hearing, but what makes it difficult after time to put on a case is that witnesses forget things, they move, it's difficult to track down evidence. That's what makes it hard to retry a case years after this happened.
Remember, he was convicted in 2008, so I don't know necessarily how the prosecutors are going to do it. It may be they offer him a plea deal. One of the things his new attorney is saying is that Yale Galanter failed to bring to O.J.'s attention there was a plea deal on the table. We don't know if that's true or not, but that's one of the things his attorneys are alleging.
BROWN: Danny, at the heard, when they put in the request, it was in May. Why is this taking so long?
CEVALLOS: Any motion, any appeal on the other side, that's the second issue, the motion for the appeal based on ineffective assistance, they always take a long time. However, as Midwin said, if it is granted, if he is granted a new trial, that will inure to his benefit, number one, because witnesses forget, number two, because he may have already served or he may have served -- maxed out his sentence, and number three, look for the prosecution to give him an offer like time served or something else. They're hoping for the retrial and less excited about the parole.
BROWN: It sounds like he has good reason to hope for the retrial.
Midwin Charles, Danny Cevallos, thank you both.
Another victim identified in east Cleveland. In that disturbing story, the alleged killer is accused of kidnapping, killing and wrapping the women's bodies in plastic. The details are after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: We're just getting new details in about the alleged murders of three women found wrapped in plastic in east Cleveland. An Ohio medical examiner says he identified a second victim in this case. Officials are expected to give more details about that soon.
Let's bring in Martin Savidge.
What are officials telling you?
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The identifications are crucial. One, for the investigation but most importantly for families. They'll find out terrible news but they'll find out something.
Let me give you the proximity of where these murders took place. You can see there's a white frame house, two story, front porches, two bodies were found on Saturday, one inside the home and one in the yard. Over in this direction, you'll see there's a brown brick, low- lying garage, and that's where the first body was found on Friday.
They believe it's the work of a serial killer. They also believe they have him in custody. He's been identified as 35-year-old Michael Madison. He's been charged with three counts of aggravated murder and three counts of kidnapping, being held on a $6 million bond.
Authorities fear it's possible there could be more victims. There are more missing people here that are unaccounted for. Because of the fact they believe he was acting as a serial killer inspired by another Cleveland serial killer, Anthony Sowell, who was convicted in 2011 of murdering 11 women.
There were searches over the weekend and there could be more searches conducted today. Right now, the important thing is the second identity is being revealed. There's a third woman who remains unidentified. The coroner said their bodies were so badly decomposed he could not immediately make identifications. They continue to work on that process -- Pamela?
BROWN: So disturbing, so gruesome.
Martin Savidge, thank you.
In Milwaukie, star outfielder, Ryan Braun, is suspended for the rest of the year. We'll take a look at how this is a ground-breaking case for Major League Baseball and what other players are saying about it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Lance Armstrong is back on a bike. He's taking part in a ride that started in Iowa over the weekend. He sat down to talk about life after that Oprah interview where he came clean on taking performance enhancing drugs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LANCE ARMSTRONG, BIKE RACER: The reaction and the fall out is more than I expected but that's life. I'm a big boy. I know it was an unfortunate period in our sport. When I say period, I mean 10, 15, 20 years. Unfortunately, for me, I came right smack in the middle of that period and I participated like others did. That reality that the world has seen now is uncomfortable for many people. It's uncomfortable for me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Armstrong is wrapping up the ride across Iowa today.
The NFL wants to find out just how big a problem doping is. All players will be required to give blood samples. "USA Today" got a hold of an e-mail sent to them. The league is conducting a study to determine the normal level of growth hormone in players. It won't be used in any other way. So far, no comment from the Players Association.
In Major League Baseball, the hammer has come down on former MVP, Ryan Braun. The Milwaukee Brewers outfielder has been suspended for the rest of the season as part of the performance-enhancing drug investigation.
CNN Sports' Rachel Nichols joins me with more.
Rachel, this is a big deal, the fact he didn't test positive for drugs but this happened. How big of a deal is this for baseball?
RACHEL NICHOLS, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: It's a major deal. More than 20 players have been associated to that Miami clinic. By giving him to agree to a suspension, it sets a precedent of what they can do with the other players even if they don't have positive tests.
Look, drugs plague the world of sports. The cheaters are generally ahead of the testers. When they invent new performance-enhancing drugs, it can take years for a league to realize it and then to test for it. If you can shortcut this process, like they did with Braun, using other kinds of evidence, records, witness testimony, you can convince players to take a plea bargain. They started by threatening to suspend Braun 100 games. He accepted 65 and promised he wouldn't appeal. That's a good compromise for baseball in their fight against these drugs.
BROWN: Like you said, what does this mean for other players? ESPN said there could be other players suspended. One mentioned, Yankees star, Alex Rodriguez, what's the likelihood of him being suspended?
NICHOLS: A lot of attention on A-Rod. How much evidence do they have against him? Is it going to be enough that he feels like he can't fight it? Is he going to fight it, in which case they'll go after him with both barrels?
Yankees fans should keep in mind even, if baseball is able to enforce a major suspension, it will not let the Yankees get him out of his contract. That's ironclad. The Yankee's wouldn't him play during the suspension, there are some Yankees fan, Pamela, they are so fed up with him that would make them happy, won't be upset about it.
BROWN: It's interesting to hear the mixed reaction from Yankees fans. What are players saying about this?
NICHOLS: Early in the steroid era, we would hear players be low to criticize players, but Braun has touched a lot of nerves. He got out of a positive test by publicly attacking the guy who did the urine sample. He gloated. The Dodgers Jason Bay (ph) said watching him talk right now, it makes me sick. She said he had a signed Braun Jersey in his house. Shoemaker said he would take it down from his wall. And I've got to think he's not the only one doing that.
BROWN: There could be more fallout. This could be one of the biggest scandals in American sports history.
NICHOLS: Absolutely.
BROWN: We'll keep our eye on it.
Thank you so much, Rachel.
I'm Pamela Brown. Thank you for watching. AROUND THE WORLD is next.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: A glimpse for the new prince, that's what the world is waiting for one day after the new royal baby is born.
