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Pushing Pot at Family Event; $10M for North Carolina Sterilization Victims; Mick Jagger Celebrates 70th Birthday; Wreck Victim to Be Tried for Manslaughter; Simpson: Sorry For Crimes

Aired July 26, 2013 - 14:30   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: At Nascar's Brickyard 400 this weekend, the focus should be about the finish line. But an ad at the race right before you walk in has some wondering if it crosses a line between the right and the wrong place to promote pot. It's an issue that may come up much more since, as you know, several states legalized recreational marijuana use among adults. This is the ad that fans will see on the monster screen just before entering this huge track in Indianapolis.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you're an adult who enjoys a good beer, there's a similar product you might want to know about, one without all the calories and health problem, less toxic so it doesn't cause hangovers or overdose death and not linked to violence or reckless behavior. Marijuana, less harmful than alcohol and time to treat it that way. For more information visit marijuanaissafer.org.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So that ad comes from the Marijuana Policy Project, which advocates legalizing pot. Mason Tvert is the project's communication director and also joining this conversation is Jerry Otero, a parent support specialist at drugfree.org. So gentlemen, welcome to both of you. Mason, since this is from your group, let me just begin with you. The Brick Yard 400, this is a huge, huge deal for NASCAR fans. It's one of the biggest races. Why this venue to promote your agenda?

MASON TVERT, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, MARIJUANA POLICY PROJECT: Well, we just think it's critical that the public understand that marijuana is objectively less harmful substance than alcohol. This is a large venue with a large audience, and it's one where people clearly recognize that it's OK for adults to enjoy a beer or two responsibly. You know, this is an event sponsored by beer and alcohol companies. All the teams are sponsored by beer and alcohol companies. So given that we accept that, why is it a problem for an adult to simply make the safer choice to use marijuana instead if that's what they'd prefer?

BALDWIN: Here's the thing. You know, it's a lot of adults. It's kids, too. I know NASCAR events are family friendly. So Jerry, I pivot to you because I know I looked at this study and you guys found more than 90 percent are against giving kids pot at home. These are adults. This is the survey from Washington and Colorado. You found more than 90 percent are against giving kids pot at home. More than 80 percent are for the ban of marijuana advertising. So knowing this and learning about this ad, Jerry, how do you feel about it?

JERRY OTERO, PARTNERSHIP AT DRUGFREE.ORG: Well, we're not for it. I mean, we're not that happy about it because it's a slippery slope. We feel that tracking or following the 80 percent of parents who have weighed in on the issue and -- against advertising, we think it's a slippery slope to promoting this agenda to the next step, which could lead to what we might see or say as the marlborolization of the marijuana industry. We don't want to see a Joe Camel and have to deal with that. Parents are just really up in arms about this.

BALDWIN: So, Mason, how do you respond to that, that argument, the slippery slope argument?

TVERT: Well, I don't know what parents are up in arms, necessarily, since a majority of Americans support making marijuana legal for adults. The same poll that the Partnership conducted found that more -- more parents than not think marijuana should be legal and tightly regulated, which is our goal here.

But, you know, this is -- if this organization and others accept the fact that we can have this event sponsored by Coors Light and Crown Royal Whiskey, yet they are up in arms over the notion that we're simply pointing out the relative harms of these substances.

I mean, what is wrong with pointing out that alcohol actually is toxic and does contribute to violent, reckless behavior, and marijuana doesn't? That's something that people should know. We're trying to educate people about the relative harms of these two very popular substances.

BALDWIN: I know you brought up alcohol twice and when you look at this ad, it's obviously for legalizing marijuana. It appears anti- alcohol. To quote the ad, marijuana has no calories, no hangovers. It's not linked to violence or reckless behavior. Are you saying, Mason, that it's harmless?

TVERT: No. I don't think we've ever said marijuana is harmless. Certainly like with alcohol there are some people who shouldn't use marijuana for whatever reason. We want to keep marijuana out of the hands of young people just as much as everyone else in this country, including the other guest.

It's just that we recognize that right now, 80 percent of American high school seniors say they can get marijuana easily. This is not working. Prohibition has failed. We want to regulate marijuana, treat it like alcohol and put it behind the counter where we can keep it away from young people easier.

BALDWIN: So if you're targeting this NASCAR event, my final question to you, back to you, Mason. Hundreds of thousands, 600,000 people over the course of three days, what's next?

TVERT: Well, you know, I think right now there's a great public dialogue going on in our country about the efficacy of our current marijuana laws and whether they need to change. A majority of Americans think it's time to end marijuana prohibition. BALDWIN: But location wise.

TVERT: Twenty states almost have medical marijuana laws, and hopefully, here soon Washington, D.C., as well. It's really just a matter of this current policy failing and time for a change.

BALDWIN: I'm not asking about policy, location wise, if you're targeting NASCAR -- a NASCAR event one weekend, what's next, venue wise?

OTERO: That's the point.

TVERT: Well, you know, this was a great opportunity to reach a lot of people at a good cost. Ultimately what it comes down to is that NASCAR is a -- a great venue that does recognize the ability of adults to consume alcohol responsibly. They promote that. They in some ways encourage that. These events are sponsored by beer and liquor companies.

BALDWIN: OK.

TVERT: Why is it a problem to simply have a public service announcement about the relative harms of alcohol and marijuana? It's simply not a problem.

BALDWIN: Jerry, 20 seconds. I want you to end this.

OTERO: Advertising is a -- advertising is a powerful tool. Again, you know, we're -- we follow sentiments of parents who really don't want marijuana advertised. It's just that young people are just too susceptible to these advertisements and this kind of media campaign. We're not a policy -- we're not policy experts. We are experts in helping parents understand these issues, how to educate them and hopefully give them the tools to combat further problems down the road.

BALDWIN: Mason Tvert and Jerry Otero, thank you both.

Thousands of people over almost 50 years were sterilized against their will in North Carolina. Today, state leaders approve compensation for those victims. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: North Carolina is poised to become the first state in the nation to compensate thousands of people who were sterilized against their will. CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is here. I remember when you told the story initially. This is a huge deal, as we said. This is a first in the whole country.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It is a first. This is such an unattractive and unhappy chapter in American history. A lot of people want to just put it aside. The reality is that thousands and thousands of people in this country were forcibly sterilized up until really the early 1970s. North Carolina is now saying come forward. All you people. We are going to compensate you. At least that's what the legislature wants to the tune of $10 million. It will end up being about $50,000 per person so not a huge amount, but not a tiny amount either. If the governor signs it, then it'll happen in about two years.

BALDWIN: Who were these people who were being sterilized?

COHEN: You know, they were pretty much anyone who was considered sort of -- sort of not normal. If you were blind, you could be forcibly sterilized. If you had a skin condition you could be forcibly sterilized, if you were an orphan and ward of the state, really anything. If your neighbor called the police and said I think you ought to sterilize this person, they would sterilize you. It really didn't take much. It's a really sad, sad chapter.

BALDWIN: Do you think with North Carolina being the first that other states might follow suit?

COHEN: You know, I went to North Carolina in 2011. After that went to California and I thought California would be, you know, leading the way as they do so often on these kinds of issues and they weren't. They had no plan. They weren't even really looking into this very much. So I'm not sure. North Carolina may stand alone. You know, it took ten years to do this in North Carolina.

One of their representatives' name is Larry Womble. He's been pushing this for ten years. You can see here what we're showing unfit human traits, defectiveness, feebleminded, a burden, I mean, they said this publicly. This was in scholarly journals. This was not some secret thing. It was very public. Academics, lawyers, politicians were all very much in favor of sterilizing these people. It seems so unbelievable now.

BALDWIN: So unbelievable were archaic, unreal. Thank you for the update.

Most people would like to stay young, but the "Rolling Stones" may say you can't always get what you want. Coming up next, a unique look at a rock 'n' roll legend on his 70th birthday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Happy birthday, Mick Jagger, celebrating 70 today, the man who burst on the scene as a teenager, still going strong. Jagger is performing for audiences worldwide, singing "Start Me Up," other "Rolling Stones" classics. Entertainment correspondent Nischelle Turner has his story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You think Mick Jagger will still be out there trying to be a rock star at age 50. You're sadly, sadly mistaken.

NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): That clip from "Almost Famous" was only off by 20 years and counting. Today, the legendary rock icon celebrates his 70th birthday.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Happy birthday, Mick. You know I love you.

TURNER: While many septuagenarians have eased into retirement, the Rolling Stones recently capped off a grueling tour of the United States with three high-profile homecoming dates in the United Kingdom.

JOE LEVY, BILLBOARD: Seeing Jagger perform with the stones at this point is that he looks like a 20-year-old guy with the head of a 60- year-old surgically implanted.

TURNER: Solo artists like BB King, Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan continue to tour into their 70s and 80s. But Jagger along with 71- year-old Paul McCartney is blazing a trail for rock 'n' roll front men.

MICK JAGGER, SINGER, THE ROLLING STONES: They're all entertainers, a huge longevity like Frank Sinatra and others, but there wasn't bands that have been 50 years. There's already a role model for that. Good or bad role model, I can't tell you.

TURNER: In 2003, Mick Jagger celebrated bad boy became Sir Michael Jagger when he was knighted for his services to music.

LEVY: Jagger at 20 was a counter cultural figure and something of a revolutionary artistically and politically. Jagger at 70 is a member of the establishment.

TURNER: Although he's a grandfather four times over, his charisma remains as timeless as his music. That's even made him a favorite guest on "Saturday Night Live."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, I've got a great idea. Why don't you go out and do the rooster.

LEVY: The Stones in the 1960s and in the '70s embodied a fantasy for their audience that you could live any way you wanted to. But now they embody a very different kind of fantasy, for their audience. You can keep going at 70. You cannot only be alive, but you can keep doing what you love.

TURNER: Nischelle Turner, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Coming up, O.J. Simpson asked a parole board to let him out of jail early and the whole thing is on camera. Hear why he says he shouldn't have to finish his sentence.

Plus two women run to rescue a driver involved in a traffic accident, but died while doing so. Now the driver is facing charges in connection with their deaths. We're on the case.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: I want to tell you about this unusual case out of Los Angeles. A 19-year-old driver runs over a fire hydrant, slams into a high voltage light pole. This is Southern California. Several people see the accident. They rush in to help. Two of them in water gushing from this hydrant they're electrocuted by 4,800 volts from the light pole's power line. Now the driver is charged with two counts of felony manslaughter because those people died and a judge has just ordered him to stand trial.

Monica Lindstrom is a former prosecutor. Just hearing this for the first time, have you ever heard of a case like this, Monica?

MONICA LINDSTROM, ATTORNEY: No. And when I did first read about it and hear about it, I could not believe that it was actually going forward just because it seems so tenuous. I mean, we know that if you're driving recklessly, you hit somebody else and you killed them, you could be tried for their death.

Driving recklessly you hit someone else's car, you could be on trial for the damage that was done. But you would never think that if I was driving recklessly, I hit something, someone comes to save me, but the power pole went down, lines in the water, I mean, there are so many things you just wouldn't even think of in this particular case.

BALDWIN: Because on the one side, you know, you think of the driver. It's not like the driver, who had just crashed into this pole or this hydrant, had asked these people to come help him, right? These people do it on their own volition. You know, the most unfortunate thing happens. They get electrocuted.

LINDSTROM: Yes. It's extremely sad. There's no doubt that he never thought this could happen. The way the law is written, they can charge him with vehicular manslaughter because he acted with gross negligence. He caused the accident, which caused the wires to go into the water because of the fire hydrant getting hit. He caused all these things to happen. And even though he didn't know the women were going to do this, he still caused their death.

Now, the defense is going to have to try to show, look, there were just too many things that happened to hold him responsible for it. It's unfortunate, but he could not have foreseen this would happen and you shouldn't hold him accountable for this. That's a tough argument the defense has. The state has a pretty strong case because these women would not be dead if he hadn't been acting with gross negligence.

BALDWIN: It is tragic as you say all the way around. We'll follow it and see if it goes all the way through. Monica Lindstrom, thank you.

LINDSTROM: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Graying and humbled O.J. Simpson says he is sorry for the crimes that put him in prison perhaps for the rest of his life. Here he was appeared by video feed before Nevada's Parole Board in support of his plea that he be granted parole for burglary, robbery and kidnapping convictions. Simpson is serving a 33-year sentence and would still have to serve at least four years on two other charges, even if the board rules in his favor. Describing his clean prison record, Simpson said he is a mentor to other inmates.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

O.J. SIMPSON, SERVING 33-YEAR SENTENCE: I think I -- on a daily basis I speak to more inmates than anybody. They tell me their stories. Some of them tell me their crimes. As far as burglary, which I'm here for, robbery, I should say, they've told me every kind of story you could hear. They've robbed banks. They've robbed casinos. Even one guy robbed a gun shop which I thought took a lot of guts. The difference between all of their crimes and mine is they were trying to steal other people's property. They were trying to steal other people's money. My crime was trying to retrieve for my family my own property.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: O.J. Simpson. By the way, the 66-year-old is seeking a new trial, claiming his lawyer had a conflict of interest.

We are watching the clock here and watching what's happening in San Diego because we are minutes away from an announcement, a statement, something here from the San Diego mayor, Mayor Bob Filner. You know the story. This guy is under fire from now seven women who say he made inappropriate sexual advances. He will talk live in minutes. You know we're there. We're all over it. Don't miss this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: The new Prince George is, of course, a new hit in the U.K. But how does the name George play right here in the U.S.? Tom Foreman did some checking in today's "American Journey."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The royal decision to call the new baby George is playing well in the U.K. where that name is popular with many parents, but on this side of the pond?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. Not in a million years.

FOREMAN: One expectant mom after another at New York's prenatal yoga center told us George would never make their list of baby names chosen with elaborate care.

LESLIE PALTI GUZMAN, EXPECTANT MOTHER: I think it's important. It's something you carry your whole life. That's, you know, reflects on your personality.

TUCHMAN: A hundred years ago or so, George was a hugely popular name in America. But these days, according to the Baby Name Wizard web site, it is barely on the charts despite two recent presidents named George and a movie star, too. Laura Wattenberg runs the web site based on her book.

LAURA WATTENBERG, AUTHOR, "The Baby Name Wizard": Wee've really seen a revolution in American baby names that no one wants to seem ordinary. What you hear a lot is I don't want my daughter to be one of four Jennifers in her class. While parents want kids to stand out, the kids are still perfectly happy to fit in.

FOREMAN: While some families may cozy up to pop culture names like Catness from the "Hunger Games" many others are striking a delicate balance. Choosing something not too traditional but not utterly a vanguard, nameberry.com says the most popular girls name last year were Sophia, Emma and Isabella. The most popular boys names, Jacob, Mason, and Ethan.

Here is the thing. None of these names is as popular as the most popular names once were because we are collectively choosing from a much wider pool of possibilities. Perhaps the only thing that remains constant, picking the right name is still not easy.

JAMIE PATTERSON, EXPECTANT MOTHER: If it's a boy, I have Jack Henry locked and loaded. If it's a girl I have a list 18 miles long, so I don't know.

FOREMAN: Tom Foreman, CNN.