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Changing The Criminal Justice System; Kidnapped Teen Rescued; Slap Hillary Clinton Game Under Fire; Captor's Disturbing Family History; Sinkhole Swallows Part Of Report; New Twist In Hernandez Case; "Slap Hillary" Game Stirs Controversy; Eric Holder Speaks about Law Reform

Aired August 12, 2013 - 13:00   ET

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

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, thanks, guys. The NEWSROOM starts right now.

He calls it smart on crime strategy. Attorney General Eric Holder is about to talk about how it will reduce the prison population.

And new details inside the stunning rescue of 16-year-old Hannah Anderson. The hero witness who spotted her.

And we're learning more about the dark past of her kidnapper.

An online video game under fire. It invites viewers to slap Hillary Clinton across the face. The full story just ahead.

And this is CNN NEWSROOM. It's so great to have you with us on this Monday. I'm Pamela Brown in for Suzanne Malveaux.

Well, the nation's top lawyer is about to announce major changes in the way some drug offenders are sentenced. Attorney General Eric Holder says it's time to stop treating low-level drug offenders like drug kingpins. Holder is making that announcement at an American Bar Associate meeting in San Francisco. The policy changes would allow judges to give lighter sentences to those low-level drug offenders. The idea behind this is it would allow federal law enforcement to focus on big crimes. Over time, that would reduce the prison population.

So, let's bring in CNN Legal Analyst Sunny Hostin and former federal prosecutor and Justice Correspondent Evan Perez who broke this story last week. Great to have you both with us.

EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Great to be here.

BROWN: Sunny, I want to start with you here. How would this work? I think there is an important distinction that it's not just - it's not going to actually change the laws but perhaps how we handle the laws. Is that right?

SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes, it's a very important distinction to be made, Pamela, because I think some people are thinking, well, this means the sentencing guidelines are no more. And while perhaps that is where the government is going, they - the government would have to go through Congress. And we know that there's been such a log jam when Congress is involved.

So, what our attorney general is doing is he is telling the U.S. attorneys' offices all across the country, all of the federal prosecutors that rather - that when someone is arrested and they are indicting someone, they do not place on the indictment, believe it or not, the amount of drugs involved. And what that does is that means that the federal sentencing guidelines, these mandatory minimums, don't get kicked in.

Now, it seems to be a very rudimentary way of sort of going around Congress, going around further legislation but it will be rather effective because the attorney general, of course, is the chief U.S. attorney. He's the chief prosecutor of the federal government and all of the U.S. attorneys' offices will have to follow suit.

BROWN: And Eric Holder is expected to say in his speech today that we cannot prosecute or incarcerate our way to becoming a safer nation. How do you think he can convince the public that this is a good idea? There could be concern that we're - all of a sudden, we're going to see these drug offenders back out on the street in droves?

PEREZ: Well, you're right. And that's, I think, one of the reasons why they're calling it smart on crime. Look, I think, you know, over the last 30 years, it's become very difficult for politicians for the Obama administration to take on this issue. For politicians to take on this issue is always very treacherous.

So, what they're trying to do is they're trying to say that we're going to put federal resources on sort of hot spots on places like Chicago and Philadelphia where you have very big problem with violent crime. And then, we're going to leave to the state some of the nonviolent crime issues to deal with. And what they're hoping to do is to save billions of dollars, obviously, in the federal costs.

And also, at the same time, I think working with some of the conservatives perhaps reducing the amount of footprint that the federal government has on this issue.

BROWN: You mention the cut in cost. We spent $80 billion in this country just last year on the prison system here in the U.S.

So, Sunny, what kind of criteria will offenders have to meet to qualify for reduced sentences?

HOSTIN: Sure. And this is a real common sense approach, I want to mentioned, Pamela. And I think it comes from our attorney general's background. He was the U.S. attorney general -

BROWN: OK.

HOSTIN: -- in D.C. where I practiced. I was an assistant U.S. attorney in D.C. And you get to prosecute local and federal crimes there because D.C. is not a state. It's a district. And so, this attorney general is very, very familiar with these low-level nonviolent drug offenders. And he is saying, OK, we're not going to target the low-level nonviolent drug offenders. They can't have ties to large criminal organizations. They can't be the ring leader. They can't be selling drugs to children on playgrounds. No ties to gangs or cartels. They can't use guns when they are committing these crimes. Those are sort of the low-level drug offenders that you find in D.C. and all across our country are being wrapped up in these mandatory minimums. They are being sentenced to 10 years, 20 years or 30 years. And, really, it just doesn't work. Everyone knows that these mandatory minimums don't work and this attorney general, in particular, knows it because he headed the office that dealt with this kind of crime.

BROWN: So, Sunny, does that mean that the low-level drug offenders who are serving those harsh sentences right now could be released?

HOSTIN: You know, it's unclear. We haven't heard his remarks yet. It's unclear. But I think there -- that has to be addressed. Another thing that will likely be addressed is sort of these compassionate releases. You have low-level drug offenders that are older, elderly, still in prison. Perhaps mothers, perhaps -- you see, a lot of times, girlfriends of drug dealers are asked to mail a package and they have been in prison for 10, 20 years.

I suspect that there will be that sort of compassionate release program. And that will work, I think, very well because, as we've mentioned today, I mean, so many people are in prison. Our prisons are jam packed with these types of offenders. But I think another thing that needs to be done is what do you do when they get out? They have to have rehab. They have to have a job to go to. They have to have job training. So, I suspect that's all going to be a part of the policy.

BROWN: Yes, the U.S. has five percent of the world's population and 25 percent of the world's prison population. Obviously, something needs to be done. All right. Thanks, guys. And we'll check back in with you soon as we await to hear from Eric Holder out in San Francisco.

And another big story we are following right now. 16-year-old Hannah Anderson is reunited with her father today and recovering from a nightmare ordeal. Police say it was a chance encounter in the Idaho wilderness that helped save her life. We're going to have more on that in just a minute.

A hostage rescue team moved in on Saturday to save Anderson. And police say the San Diego teen was abducted by family friend James DiMaggio just over a week ago, leading to a multistate manhunt.

DiMaggio was killed by an FBI agent during the rescue. And this all happened in a remote area of Idaho's back country. And one of the key moments in the search came when crews saw this. Take a look here. Can you tell what this is? This is DiMaggio's car, a blue Nissan, hidden by brush. A colonel with the Idaho State Police tells us the car was camouflaged really well, as we can see. And it's remarkable that anyone saw it at all.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) RALPH POWELL, COLONEL, IDAHO STATE POLICE: It looks like a beaver dam without a river. It's - it was almost a structure with some pretty large limbs. But it's providence, perhaps, because in the morning, the light hit just right to catch a piece of reflection off of one of the rear red tail lamps, the lenses, and that what it took. The right place, right time, seen at the right angle because - and I realize you've shown that picture. That is a really - a covered car. So, it was just -- everything had to play into place just right in order for that to be seen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: All right. Now, more on that chance encounter that led to Hannah Anderson's rescue. Mark John is a former Idaho sheriff who was riding horseback with his wife (INAUDIBLE) and another couple last week. They talked to our Chris Cuomo this morning about seeing the teen and James DiMaggio in the wilderness last week. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARK JOHN: We came upon these -- this young girl and this older man, and they just really didn't fit very well. The expressions on her face, their demeanor just didn't fit that country. They -- it was out of place completely. And they weren't dressed for the country or the area. And then, as we road further on, we encountered the tent that they had set up which was totally out of place. It was way on top of a mountain. It looked it was a - it would make a real good lightning rod. So, we was discussing the fact that they didn't fit there, that something was wrong.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, it's interesting. You're talking about the particulars of how they set themselves up as campers. But also, one of the ladies felt there was something about Hannah. Ladies, will you speak to that? Who was it that felt that they wanted to reach out and speak to Hannah? They were sensing something. What was it?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That was me. They followed us from the top of the ridge. We rolled down into the lake and they followed us on foot. And she was sitting there and I just felt like I should go over there and kind of just see if she needed help. And Mark says, you know, maybe he had a feeling being in law enforcement for all those years and in the military, he had a feeling I shouldn't maybe do that. I did talk to him about why he was there and this far out place. And he said, she got to pick where we went last year. She wanted to go to Los Angeles and Hollywood. So, this year it was my turn and I -- that was a good explanation for me. So, -- but I did want to make kind of a contact with her. And in retrospect, I'm glad I didn't because that could have turned out terribly wrong for all of us.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Well, thankfully, we know now that everything turned out right. As we know, Hannah Anderson was rescued. Her family is now celebrating her release while also mourning the loss of her mom and little brother. Police think DiMaggio killed them before kidnapping her. And we are also learning troubling new details of DiMaggio's past. Our Casey Wian fills us in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our baby girl.

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The family of 16-year-old Hannah Anderson after fearing the worst for nearly a week.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm so glad she's safe.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Me, too.

WIAN: Before leaving for Idaho, Hannah's father texted CNN he was nervous and excited about their reunion. As the family looks forward to Hannah's future, there are new questions about her alleged kidnapper's past. James DiMaggio was described as Hannah's father's best friend, a valuable handyman, a trusted uncle figure to Hannah and her brother Ethan. But he was also the son of another troubled man also named James DiMaggio who held the 16-year-old daughter of a former girlfriend captive in 1989. Now a woman, she spoke with CNN affiliate KFMB.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I asked him not to kill us and he said, don't worry, you won't feel a thing.

WIAN: She escaped and the elder James DiMaggio went to prison. The woman attended the same high school as his son who she says told her this one day.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was walking to my locker and his son said, my dad is out and he said to let you know he'll be waiting for you after school.

WIAN: Friday on "PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT," a friend of the younger DiMaggio warned that his father's past might be influencing the son's actions.

ANDREW SPANSWICK: And what I found out is that Jim's father had committed suicide in 1998.

WIAN: To be exact, DiMaggio's father took fatal drug overdose August 10, 1998, 15 years to the day before an FBI agent killed his son in these remote Idaho woods, freeing another 16-year-old girl.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: And Casey Wian joins us now from San Diego. Casey, do we know anything more about how the shooting of James DiMaggio happened?

WIAN (live): Pamela, few details are out about that. But what we do know is that law enforcement had the two under surveillance by aircraft for several hours. We know they say they came in and rescued Hannah and then there was some sort of a confrontation with DiMaggio and he was shot dead. Beyond that, they are not giving us anymore details because this remains an active law enforcement investigation and an agent involved shooting. We are expecting a news conference though a little bit later this afternoon here at the San Diego County Sheriff's department. There will be family members of Hannah Anderson attending that news conference. Perhaps we might get some more details later today - Pamela.

BROWN: All right. Casey Wian live for us in San Diego. Thank you so much.

And moving on to Florida now. Check this out. Have you seen this? A massive sinkhole swallows part of a resort about 10 minutes from Disney World. A sinkhole which formed early this morning is 60 feet wide, 15 feet deep and it is still growing. Thirty-five guests at the summer bay resort in Lake County, Florida were forced to evacuate. They say they heard loud noises and windows cracking. Fortunately, no injuries have been reported.

And here is what we're working on for this hour. There's a new twist in the murder case against former NFL star Aaron Hernandez. Police are looking at his girlfriend for some answers.

And hitting the former secretary of state or an image of her. A new online game called Slap Hillary is coming under fire. We'll be right back. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: All but one of the U.S. diplomatic posts closed because of a terrorist threat are back open today. The one exception is in the embassy in Yemen. It will remain closed because of continued concerns about a possible attack there. Last week, as you'll recall, the Obama administration closed 19 embassies and consulates, and issued a worldwide travel alert. In a separate move, the U.S. evacuated all non-emergency workers from the consulate in Lahore, Pakistan because of a quote "credible threat." It also remains closed.

Now to a possible new angle in the murder investigation involving former NFL tight end Aaron Hernandez. Police want to know if Hernandez asked his fiancee to hide the gun that they say he used to kill his friend Odin Lloyd. Our Susan Candiotti is following this story for us. Hi Susan. Is this new development something we learned about from the search warrants in this case?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, some new documents, Pamela. We have those right now. First reported by the "Bristol Press." In part police got suspicious when they saw fiancee Shayanna Jenkins leaving the home she shared with Hernandez the day after Lloyd's body was discovered.

The court papers state the fiancee first get a cryptic message on her phone and then is seen on surveillance video leaving the home allegedly carrying something rigid covered with a piece of clothing. She puts the item in a car, according to the document, and leaves the house.

She returns to the house and does not carry anything back inside with her. The question for police is whether a gun box was underneath that clothing. The court documents also reveal police searched a storage unit in Bristol, Connecticut rented by Hernandez looking for the gun. Sources tell me the storage unit was empty. Jenkins is not charged in this case and no word from Hernandez's lawyers about this.

BROWN: Apparently Hernandez's fiancee is not the only one under scrutiny in this case. What about his cousin?

CANDIOTTI: Right. Her name is Tanya Singleton, and sources tell us she's in jail and has been for several days now, almost two weeks, charged with contempt of court for failing to cooperate with a grand jury that's investigating the murder. A grand jury is expected to deliver indictments by next week. Pamela.

BROWN: Thank you for following this story for us. We appreciate it.

A mom and dad go to court because they can't decide on their baby's last name and their little boy ends up with a new first name as well. The judge changed this baby's name from Messiah to Martin. She said only one person should be allowed to have that name and that's Jesus. The baby's mom is appealing that decision. According to the Social Security Administration, Messiah was number four among the fastest rising baby names last year.

The attorney general says the nation must be smarter on crime. Right now he's announcing how it can be done. We're going to explain how it affects you and your community right after this break. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: An online game is under fire. It invites viewers to virtually slap Hillary Clinton. Democrats and anti-violence groups are not happy about this, to say the least, but wasn't there a similar game involving Sarah Palin? Athena Jones reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Hillary Projects builds itself as the only thing standing between her and the White House. This slap Hillary game on its website is now causing an uproar. The New Hampshire based group says it wants to wage a war on Clinton's image should she run for president in 2016.

SHAUNA THOMAS, ULTRAVIOLET COFOUNDER: This is clearly meant to be funny, and that's honestly one of the worst parts about this so-called game. It's a gimmick and it shouldn't have any place in our politics. It's outrageous.

JONES: The anti-sexism group Ultraviolet says over 100,000 people have signed the online petition demanding the game be taken down. Top Democrat Nancy Pelosi tweeted "like all violence against women, it's sick." But The Hillary Project is firing back, saying liberals complaining now said nothing about this slap Sarah Palin game when it surfaced.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Athena Jones joins us now from Washington. How are Democrats responding to that question you just raised in your piece about why they did not condemn this slap Palin game?

JONES: They're not responding so far, but I can tell you that this game is still on that group's website. I reached out to them asking whether they would keep it up or take it down. And I haven't gotten a response, but I can tell you that they sent out a statement last night delineating all the reasons why Pelosi is a hypocrite for criticizing this game. Pelosi and other Democrats who they say didn't care about this kind of game when it was targeting Sarah Palin but they care about it now because Hillary Clinton may be running for president. This is the kind of thing we see these insults and jokes on both sides. This is the latest.

BROWN: There's also that ugly rodeo stunt at Missouri state fair under criticism from both Republicans and Democrats and involves President Obama. Tell us about this.

JONES: This is rather odd event that took place at a Missouri rodeo over the weekend. As you mentioned, there was a rodeo clown who wore a mask portraying himself as President Obama. He also had what looked like a broom in his backside. He was mocking the president saying I know I'm a clown. He's running around doesn't realize he's a clown. There was some revving of the audience that said Obama the clown could be stomped by a bull. An odd series of events. The rodeo association apologized for it but it angered a lot of people on both sides. We're still looking at reaction from that.

BROWN: All right, Athena Jones for us in Washington, D.C. Thank you so much.

Former presidential candidate and Tea Party darling, Ron Paul, has found a new way to stay in touch with the public. He's starting his own channel on the internet. The former Texas congressman's channel will not be free. Subscribers will have to pay $9.95 a month to gain access to his broadcasts and interviews. That's $9.95 to make that clear.

We want to check in now with Attorney General Eric Holder. He's speaking in San Francisco to the American Bar Association. about his prison reform plan. Let's listen.

(BEGIN LIVE FEED)

ERIC HOLDER, ATTORNEY GENERAL: As a nation we are coldly efficient in our incarceration efforts.

While the entire U.S. population has increased by about a third since 1980, the federal prison population has grown by an astonishing rate -- by almost 800 percent. It's still growing. Despite the fact that federal prisons are operating at nearly 40 percent above capacity.

Even though this country compromises just 5 percent of the population, we incarcerate almost a quarter of the world's prisoners. More than 219,000 federal inmates are currently behind bars. Almost half of them are serving time for drug-related crimes. Many have substance use disorders. Nine to ten million more people cycle through America's local jails each year. And roughly 40 percent of former federal prisoners and more than 60 percent of former state prisoners are re- arrested or have their supervision revoked within three years after their release, at great cost to the American taxpayers, and often for technical or minor violations of the terms of their release.

As a society we pay much too high a price whenever our system fails to deliver outcomes that deter and punish crime, keep us safe, and ensure those who have paid their debts have a chance to become productive citizens.

Right now, unwarranted disparities are far to come (ph). As president Obama said just last month, it's time to ask tough questions about how we ask strengthen our communities, how we can support young people, how we can address the fact that young black and Latino men are disproportionately likely to become involved in our justice system as victims as well as perpetrators.

We also must confront the reality that once they are in that system, people of color often face harsher punishments than their peers. One deeply troubling report released in February of this year indicates that in recent years, black male offenders have received sentences nearly 20 percent longer than those imposed on white males of similar crimes.

This isn't just unacceptable, it's shameful.

(APPLAUSE)

HOLDER: It is unworthy of our great country. It is unworthy of our great legal traditions. In response I have today directed a group of U.S. attorneys to examine sentencing disparities, and to develop recommendations on how we can address them.

In this area and in many others, in ways both large and small, we as a country must resolve to do better. The president and I believe it's time to take a pragmatic approach. That's why I'm proud to announce today that the Justice Department will take a series of significant actions to recalibrarate America's federal criminal justice system.

We will start by fundamentally rethinking the notion of mandatory minimum sentences for drug-related crimes.

(APPLAUSE)

HOLDER: Some statutes that mandate inflexible sentences. And this is regardless of the individual conduct that is as issue in a particular case, reduce the discretion available to prosecutors, judges, and to juries because they often times generate unfairly long sentences. They breed disrespect for the system.

When applied indiscriminately, they do not serve public safety. They, let's be honest, some of the enforcement priorities that we have set have had a destabilizing effect on particular communities, largely poor and of color. And applied inappropriately, they are ultimately counterproductive. This is why I have today mandated a modification of the Justice Department's charging policy so that certain low-level, non-violent drug offenders who have no ties to large-scale organizations, gangs, or cartels, will no longer be charged with offenses that impose draconian mandatory minimum sentences.