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One Shot, Gunman Dead In School Shooting; 15-Year-Old Girl Hurt In School Shooting; Huge Snowstorm Aims For Northeast; Mega Jackpot Soars To $550 Million; Survival Techniques During Mass Shootings; Iran Holds American Rogue Spy?; North Korea Says Leader's "Scum" Uncle Executed; Looking For Answers After Newtown Tragedy; DUI Teen Kills Four People, Gets Probation; Iran: Second Launch Of Monkey Into Space
Aired December 14, 2013 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. I am Martin Savidge in for Fredricka Whitfield. Here are the top stories that we are following right now in the CNN NEWSROOM. The Colorado teenager open fires at a school and then kills himself, and nobody knows why. We will tell you what police are doing to try to find the answers.
Snow and lots of it, that's what tens of millions of people are now getting hit with today. A thousand mile area from Kansas to Maine is in the storm zone.
And no winner in Mega Millions lottery means that jackpot is going to get even megaier, if that's the word. We will tell you the astounding size of the prize and when you may have the next chance to win it.
Hello again, everyone. I am Martin Savidge.
ANA CABRERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Ana Cabrera. Good afternoon. We start today here in Centennial, Colorado. This town is trying to recover, trying to find some sense after a very terrifying school shooting here less than 24 hours ago. Right now, a 15-year-old girl is in critical condition. She was shot here at Arapahoe High School by a classmate. The 18-year-old gunman is dead after shooting himself. He has been identified as Carl Pierson.
Police say he walked into school with a shotgun yesterday afternoon. Now today investigators are still searching the school. They are also expected to search his home and another home to try to figure out what possibly could have motivated this attack. We have learned that Pierson was on the debate team at the high school. And witnesses tell me he came to the school looking for the debate coach yesterday afternoon.
Now the sheriff says they believe based on some preliminary investigation at this point that there had been a disagreement between the student and this coach and that the shooting might have been an act of revenge, although details again are still coming out. We do know the person who he was targeting was notified, was notified, was quickly rushed out of the school, and that was really intentional.
They hoped by sending the teacher out of the school that that would also draw the shooter out. Instead, the gunman opened fire and hit a 15-year-old girl. Witnesses tell our affiliate the girl screamed. She said there was a shooter. Another girl with her came rushing down the stairs. We checked with the hospital this morning, they can only say the 15-year-old female student is in critical condition.
Obviously a terrifying situation for all of the students, people still shook up this morning as we have been talking with them. Listen to how one student describes moments after the shooting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We didn't know what was going on. We heard shouting. I heard the shooting was in the hallway just outside of the gym and we heard the door, someone was trying to get in, checking if it was locked. We didn't know what was going on, no one was notified of anything. I think that was the scariest part.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: Again, one student shot, the suspect dead, but these scenes bringing back chilling memories of another shooting that wasn't far from here, Columbine High School. I remember when students were walking out with their hands up, police making sure there weren't any other threats. Arapahoe High School is actually less than 10 miles from Columbine High School, now more than a decade apart these two tragedies.
Hearts all around the country are heavy today, not of course just for the community here in Colorado but this terrible shooting came just one day before the one year anniversary of the Sandy Hook shooting. That anniversary is today. This morning the president and first lady, they lit candles for each of those victims from the Newtown shooting at the White House this morning.
Of course, 20 children and six adults were killed at that shooting last year. We remember the victims of Newtown and remember the victims of Columbine, and of course, everybody thinking about that one survivor of the shooting here today who is still fighting for her life, a 15-year-old girl currently in the hospital.
Martin, I know there's a lot of talk this morning, talk about gun control now top of mind as well for a lot of folks.
SAVIDGE: Brings it all back. Ana, thank you very much.
Now to that huge snowstorm that's causing misery for people in the Midwest today. Take a look at this, from the town that I love, Cleveland, right? I think so. This storm is part of what is a thousand mile stretch going all the way from -- well, started in Missouri, and is heading east and it's bringing snow, freezing rain, and it is leaving a headache for a lot of folks in its path.
Our Jennifer Gray is in Chicago where it is hovering around freezing. Jennifer, where exactly is this storm going to move once it leaves the windy city?
JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, it is already on a track to the northeast. New York City, Boston already seeing snow, all part of the same system. We have been standing in Grant Park since about 5:00 this morning. Look how deep the snow is. We have gotten about four inches here in Chicago. The plows just came through and wiped off these sidewalks, they also put a lot of salt on the roads and on the sidewalks as you can see, so they are keeping the streets and sidewalks clear.
And it is in pretty good shape, at least for the downtown area. I know bridges and overpasses, definitely going to be a slow go here in Chicago and surrounding areas. Temperatures are going to stay below freezing until Thursday, and they have been below freezing since December 7th. That's almost a two week span here where we have temperatures at or below freezing.
Chicago already above their snowfall, average snowfall for the month of December as well, just an unusual year in December in Chicago. This storm system, like I mentioned before, is making it to the east coast. If we have radar, we can show that. It is going to continue to push off, New York City, Boston, getting snow tonight through tomorrow morning. It should be pushing out of the area by tomorrow.
But this is just a huge swathe of snow, covers about a thousand miles, east, west. So it will track up the coast tonight into tomorrow, and we're looking at snowfall totals inside New York City up to 7 inches possibly. Boston could see 8 inches to 10 inches. Then some of the outlying areas, including upstate New York could see amounts even higher. The good news is it is going to get out of the way by the end of the day Sunday, but it is leaving a blanket of the white stuff -- Martin.
SAVIDGE: Jennifer, that is good news. It is happening on a weekend when not so many people are out and about unless you're enjoying it. Thanks very much.
Well, you only need to know two numbers. One, what it cost to play Mega Millions, that's a buck, and $550 million. That's how much you could win when the next drawing is held Tuesday night. The odds are extremely long. Don't let me fool you. The dream of winning has a lot of us feeling very lucky.
Jennifer Mayerle joins me now. A lot of people are going to be standing in line wanting to buy that next winning ticket.
JENNIFER MAYERLE: Absolutely. You know, ticket sales were brisk when it was $425 million. You can only imagine what the lines going to be like now that it jumped to $550 million. When you think about that number and put it in perspective to more than a half billion dollars, it is incredible.
SAVIDGE: What a stocking did you ever that would be. To me, it is a mind boggling, but it comes at a perfect time. What are the odds of winning?
MAYERLE: You know, the odds are pretty tough, one in 259 million. There's no big winner last night. There were nine $1 million winners. That's the second place prize, so 1 million, not too shabby. SAVIDGE: But it would be painful, five numbers.
MAYERLE: And you don't get the mega ball. Yes, that would be tough. So those winning numbers for folks, 19, 24, 26, 27, and 70, that Mega ball was 12, again, we said that chance of winning, 1 in 259 million. But it didn't seem to deter people from buying tickets, taking a shot at the jackpot. If you don't match a number, disappointment can follow very easily, as in the case of some of these folks.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MAYERLE: Do you usually buy a lottery ticket?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. It is Friday the 13th, I am going wild.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is always nice to dream. I enjoy the what if before the big game. We could take trips here and there. It is all about that really.
MAYERLE: What would you do with the money?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would share it with CNN.
MAYERLE: I am going to hold you to that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The 400 that much million, that's a lot of money.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MAYERLE: I wish he had won. That would be nice if he shared it here.
SAVIDGE: Somehow I don't believe that.
MAYERLE: Looking ahead to next week, things to look for. Tuesday, that's the next drawing. You have until Tuesday to buy a ticket, $550 million. It's the fourth largest jackpot ever, second largest in Mega Millions history. The biggest one you may remember last year was split by three people, $656 million, so a lot of money on the table for folks.
SAVIDGE: People dreaming of a green Christmas. Jennifer, thanks very much.
It is a story that stirred outrage across the country. You probably heard this. A teenage boy from a wealthy family drives drunk, kills four people, and then gets no jail time. All because the judge believes the boy has a case of "affluenza." The legal guys weigh in on this controversial case just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CABRERA: Welcome back to Colorado. I'm Ana Cabrera again in Centennial, Colorado where a student walked into this high school behind me, Arapahoe High School, and started shooting, and then killed himself, that shooting just a day before the one year anniversary of the Sandy Hook killings, bringing back horrifying memories and feelings for so many people.
In the past few years, unfortunately there have been several other tragedies, similar tragedies. Just mentioned Newtown, Connecticut, there was also the Aurora theatre shooting here in Colorado just a little over a year ago. Virginia Tech was the worst school shooting in U.S. history about five years ago, and the 1999 Columbine High School massacre, which really triggered all the conversation about this kind of an issue that happened not far from Arapahoe High School, also here in Colorado.
So the big question today is why, and perhaps just as important, what kind of lessons can we take away from these situations and apply moving forward. We have a special guest with us, the author of "Mass Shootings, Six Steps To Survival." John Matthews is joining us now from Dallas. John, were really appreciate your time with us this morning.
JOHN MATTHEWS: Well, thank you, Ana.
CABRERA: John, I know you're also the executive director of the Community Safety Institute. So lots to talk about, but first, let's start about your reaction when you heard about yesterday's shooting.
JOHN MATTHEWS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, COMMUNITY SAFETY INSTITUTE: Well, honestly, I really wasn't surprised and with the anniversary of Sandy Hook being today, I almost expected that someone would commit one of these numbers of shootings that we've had, active shooter incidents, school shootings, mass shootings in the U.S. over the last five to seven to 10 years, I really wasn't surprised and with the anniversary of sandy hook being today, I almost expected that someone would commit one of these horrific acts in school. They follow patterns and trends and look at the events like Virginia Tech, columbine, with the anniversary being today, honestly, I wasn't surprised.
CABRERA: But yet there's so much that's been done in schools and law enforcement training to try to prevent these situations, to try to be in better position to address situations as they come up. Why are we seeing this trend, do you think?
MATTHEWS: Well, we've done a great job, yes. Law enforcement, active shooter training, we saw that yesterday, entering the school, being there within 5 minutes of the initial call. We've done a great job in law enforcement in rehearsing, practicing, training in schools. We have lockdown procedures in place. We saw that yesterday.
Ana, the positive thing is today we're not talking body counts, we're talking lives saved. It is unfortunate we had an injury yesterday, but look at all of the lives that were saved because of our school plans, lockdown procedures, and our active shooter response by law enforcement. We've made tremendous progress in the last several years.
CABRERA: Let's talk a little about what we know of the crime itself here that happened yesterday. We know the gunman walked in, didn't try to conceal his shotgun that he brought into the school. We know there were Molotov cocktails also found. What do some of those details tell us about the situation that happened here?
MATTHEWS: Well, it is fascinating to me, first that he wore what's described as tactical gear or attire. That shows me the offender was what we call in law enforcement costuming, putting on costume or uniform to commit the act. That shows intent, planning, preparation. Even more disturbing is the Molotov cocktails, because again, that's another indicator this was not an individual that woke up yesterday morning, was angry at a teacher, went to school to confront them.
This is somebody that planned, that prepared, that thought about this, that assembled the Molotov cocktails, so this is someone that was not just going to hurt one teacher, but a lot of people because he had multiple weapons.
CABRERA: John Matthews, I wish we had more time to talk. We really appreciate your insight into what happened here and the many tragedies unfortunately that we covered over the years. Again, John Matthews, the author of the book "Mass Shootings, Six Steps To Survival." We appreciate your time.
MATTHEWS: Thank you.
CABRERA: Another thing I want to mention, martin, before I toss it back, Colorado had new gun control measures passed just in the past legislative session, of course there was a lot of talk after the Newtown shootings about what could be done to prevent mass shootings to prevent horrible tragedies, particularly involving young people. Yet nobody seems to have the answer yet. Again, that's part of the discussion as we move forward today as well -- Martin.
SAVIDGE: Right. There was a lot of political back lash because of it. Ana, thank you very much.
After denying it for years, the CIA now admits that an American held by Iran is a spy. That admission could put him in greater jeopardy. We'll explain.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SAVIDGE: This was an interesting development this week. It turns out that the American allegedly held as a spy in Iran is, in fact, a spy, a rogue agent. The story outing may have put his life in greater danger and it comes as Iran is getting tough on foreign intelligence operations. The country's semi-official news agency says that Iranian security officials arrested a man they say was spying for Great Britain. Here is Jim Sciutto.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please help me get home.
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is Robert Levinson, pleading with Washington for help three years after he disappeared in Iran.
ROBERT LEVINSON: Thirty three years of service to the United States deserves something. Please help me.
SCIUTTO: He hasn't been seen or heard from since. Now new information that when he went missing, he was working undercover for the CIA, a point the agency and White House publicly denied for years, today again refused to confirm, though carefully.
JAY CARNEY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Bob Levinson was not a U.S. government employee when he went missing in Iran.
SCIUTTO: However, documents and e-mails first reported by AP detailed the CIA's connection to Levinson's 2007 trip to Iran's Kish Island. It was a rogue operation his lawyer tells CNN, spying on Iran's nuclear program and Hezbollah under direction from a group within the CIA. Outing him in effect as a spy has heightened concerns for his safety, but after nearly seven years of imprisonment and interrogation, even his family concedes it is likely whoever is holding him already knows of his CIA ties. Iran never acknowledged holding Levinson. Asked about him by Kristy and a.m. on power in September, he said he didn't even know his name.
HASSAN ROUHANI, IRANIAN PRESIDENT: First you mention a person I never heard of. Mr. Levinson. We don't know where he is, who he is.
SCIUTTO: U.S. officials continue to raise his case with Tehran at every level.
JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: I personally raised it with the Iranians, of course, we will try to continue to seek his release and return to the United States.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCIUTTO: Security experts raising hard questions about whether this was an intelligence operation gone too far, in particular sending someone with known past in the FBI into unfriendly territory as Iran doubts that Robert Levinson should have been there in the first place. Jim Sciutto, CNN, Washington.
SAVIDGE: There was an amazing bit of family drama that played out on television this week, and it wasn't reality television, it was shocking news out of the country of North Korea. The man many believe was the second most powerful person in the country was executed by his nephew, the Korean leader, Kim Jong-un.
The state media says that the uncle was executed because, quote, "He was a despicable human scum, worse than a dog," unquote. This development raises new questions about Kim Jong-Un. He has only been in power for two years. Paula hancocks has the back story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A young man in mourning walks alongside his father's coffin. Two years later, five of seven men walking with him have been fired or executed, on orders of Kim Jong-Un. JASPER KIM, ASIA PACIFIC GLOBAL RESEARCH CENTER: I think in early days, he was kind of a boy leader. Now he is basically a man leader, and a man leader, I say that purposely because North Korea is a patriarchal society. His audience are 60, 70-year-old males with a military background, but he has to earn their respect.
HANCOCKS: Little known of the man introduced by his father in 2010. Partly educated in Switzerland, so exposed to the western world, many dared to hope he would drive change in the isolated nation. But then came the rocket launches and nuclear tests, like his father before him, Kim Jong-Un proved impervious to international criticism. The country's top military man was fired last year. The top political man executed this week.
MOON CHUNG-IN, YENSEI UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR: I don't think it is a brutal act of Kim Jong-un, more a product of power struggle within North Korean court.
HANCOCKS: Putting his personal stamp on leadership is putting it mildly. He replaced almost half the major figures in power during his father's reign, according to the unification ministry in Seoul. He showed a more personable side, often smiling on camera, appearing to relish admiration that surrounds him. Then there's Dennis Rodman, an unlikely friendship between dictator and basketball star.
DENNIS RODMAN: He has to do his job, but he's a very good guy.
HANCOCKS: Tell that to two American citizens arrested recently, Korean War veteran, Merrill Newman was released after filming a coerced apology for war crimes he says he never committed. And tour guide, Kenneth Bae, still held after more than a year. Apology from Bae not enough to secure his freedom. Kim Jong-un is a leader who's certainly grown in confidence, but not in the way the west was hoping.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SAVIDGE: A terrifying scene that unfolded in Colorado and seems hauntingly familiar. Students rushing out of the school, hands over their heads. What police know about the school shooter and the victim?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CABRERA: Welcome back. It is the bottom of the hour, 12:30 in the east, 10:30 in centennial, Colorado. I am Ana Cabrera as we continue to follow our top story today. Police say an 18-year-old brought a gun to this school yesterday and opened fire, shooting a student before killing himself. Here is what we know this morning here in Colorado.
The student has been identified as Carl Pierson. That's the suspect. Police are searching his home today, still processing the scene at the school, which is why there's yellow crime scene tape. They're also processing another house he had access to. Investigators say when he came to the school he was searching for a specific teacher, but ended up shooting a 15-year-old girl before turning the gun on himself. That girl is still in critical condition at the hospital today. The sheriff says Pierson was looking for the debate team coach and there may have been some sort of disagreement before the shooting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHERIFF GRAYSON ROBINSON, ARAPAHOE COUNTY, COLORADO: The gunman came into the school and immediately asked for the location of a very specific teacher and he named that teacher by name. When the teacher heard that this individual was asking for him, the teacher exited the school immediately. And my opinion, it was the most important tactical decision that could have been made.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: Again, sheriffs say that teacher exited the school. That was very intentional. They were hoping if the teacher left or the debate team coach that that would draw Pierson, the gunman, out of the school as well. Again, unfortunately he opened fire and hit another student that was in that vicinity, we understand, a 15-year-old girl. At one point there was indication there may have been another student who was hurt. Good news about this is that nobody else was hurt. The other student who was involved had some blood on her shirt.
Other students had panic attacks. A few people were taken to the hospital to be checked out, but other than that 15-year-old girl, who our thoughts and prayers are with this morning, nobody else was physically hurt, and Martin, a lot of experts we have been talking to say that's thanks to a lot of the training and protocols put into place here at the school, the drills that they do to prepare for situations like this.
Training that law enforcement has done, active shooter type situation that prepared them for this situation that happened here yesterday and allowed them to make sure that they had everything ready to go and prevent anybody else from getting hurt and nobody else died -- Martin.
SAVIDGE: They move in quickly now. Ana, thank you very much.
It has been one year since a gunman killed 26 people in Newtown, Connecticut. And even now there are families still trying to find out why it happened. We'll have that next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CABRERA: As the investigation continues into what happened here in Colorado yesterday, it was exactly one year ago today a similar tragedy forever changed the lives of so many families in Newtown, Connecticut. There a gunman, Adam Lanza walked in and killed 26 people, 20 of them children. No one could understand why he did it. And a year later, families are still looking for answers. Our Anderson Cooper talked to some of them.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was sure she was going to walk out. I didn't understand the magnitude of the situation until about 2:00 in the afternoon.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was at work, and I was driving back, and I'm calling her, and asking her for information. I'm like why am I getting better information off AM news radio than I am from you? You're standing right there. I was about a mile from Newtown, when they came out and said 20 children had been killed, six adults and it struck me. Thank God it was only a mile from there because if I had been driving on 84, I would have run the car off the road because it was such a disturbing moment.
KAITLIN ROIG-DEBELLIS, TEACHER, SANDY HOOK ELEMENTARY: Eventually, a knock came. It was a police officer and I unlocked the door, and there was SWAT team. I grabbed two of my students' hands. A swat member grabbed a hand or two and we fled out the back of the school.
ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, CNN'S "AC360" (voice-over): Kaitlyn Roig- Debellis and her 15 first graders all survived. Three of the five first grade classrooms escaped unharmed that day and the other two, a different story.
JACKIE BARDEN, DANIEL BARDEN'S MOTHER: They finally said, if you're in this room and you're waiting, there is, you know.
MARK BARDEN, DANIEL BARDEN'S FATHER: Your loved one is not coming back.
COOPER: Among the 20 children and six educators who died that day.
JEREMY RICHMAN, AVIELLE RICHMAN'S FATHER: I think there is not a minute, not a second of any day that goes by where somewhere in my head I'm thinking I don't have my daughter, Avielle. She's gone. That's always in my head.
JENNIFER RICHMAN, AVIELLE RICHMAN'S MOTHER: It's every second of every day that she's not with me, and that's enough.
JEREMY RICHMAN: Literally, days after we lost her, we said we have to do something. It's just in our nature.
JENNIFER RICHMAN: It may have even been that very day. I remember asking why would somebody walk into the school and kill my child? I need to know that answer. I have to have that answer.
COOPER (on camera): Do you think there is always a why?
JENNIFER RICHMAN: Because we don't know the answer doesn't mean there isn't a cause.
JEREMY RICHMAN: Yes.
COOPER (voice-over): Even before Avielle's funeral, her parents set on a mission to honor her by searching for answers. They weren't the only ones. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We can't go back in time, but we can take what we've learned and honor our daughter by doing something with it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are kind of faced with do you want to do something, or do you want to do nothing? There was no question.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CABRERA: Tonight at 8:00 Eastern, CNN has a special on the Newtown tragedy. You can watch Anderson Cooper's full report honoring the children, "Newtown One Year Later." We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SAVIDGE: A wealthy Texas teenager admits he was drunk driving when he plowed into and killed four people, left two others severely injured. The judge gave him only probation, no prison time. Now we're hearing 911 calls that came in that horrible night and learning more about the defense strategy, blaming the teen's actions on his privileged upbringing or something called "affluenza." Our Alina Machado has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALINA MACHADO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ethan Couch's attorneys argue he is the product of what's been called "affluenza," living a life of privilege with parents who never taught him bad behavior has real consequences. The 16-year-old admitted to drinking alcohol the night he caused a chain reaction crash that killed four people and severely hurt two others in Tarrant County.
His sentence ten years of probation not the 20 years of prison prosecutors asked for. The teen's defense and the judge's lenient sentence have sparked outrage. His victims' loved ones are stunned.
MARLA MITCHELL, DAUGHTER KILLED: He will be feeling the hand of God, definitely. He may think he's gotten away with something, but he hasn't gotten away with anything.
ERIC BOYLES, WIFE AND DAUGHTER KILLED: The wounds that it opened only make the healing process that much greater and much more difficult.
MACHADO: Eric Boyles lost his wife and daughter that night in June.
BOYLES: We had over 180 years of life taken, future life, not 180 years lived, but 180 future years of life taken, and two of those were my wife and daughter.
MACHADO: Poly and Shelby Boyles were Brianna Mitchell, a 24-year-old whose car has a flat tire. Brian Jennings, a youth pastor, stopped to help when Couch's vehicle slammed into them. All four were killed.
UNIDENTIFIED 911 DISPATCHER: How many people are injured, do you know?
UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: One, two, three, multiple. I don't even know how many.
MACHADO: Three hours after the crash, Couch blood alcohol was .24, three times the legal limit in Texas. The term "affluenza" came from a psychologist put on the stand by the defense who reportedly said couch was brought up to spend money instead of saying sorry if he hurt someone, and that he never learned that sometimes you don't get your way. The judge opted for probation and therapy over prison time.
SCOTT BROWN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Taking him away from his family and teaching him to be a responsible citizen, that's a consequence.
MACHADO: For families of the victims, that's simply not enough.
BOYLES: Money always seems to keep Ethan out of trouble. This was one time I did ask the court for justice and that for money not to prevail. And ultimately today I felt like money did prevail.
MACHADO: Alina Machado, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SAVIDGE: There are so many issues to talk about with this particular case. A lot of people are furious this kid won't serve any time in jail. Let's bring in the legal team right now. Avery Friedman, a civil rights attorney and law professor in Cleveland, and Richard Herman, a New York criminal defense attorney and law professor. He joins us from Las Vegas. Gentlemen, great to see you both. I would be more jubilant if it wasn't for the seriousness of this case.
AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: That's right, Marty. That's right.
SAVIDGE: Let me ask you this, Richard. Affluenza, it is a defense put out there. I might describe it as spoiled brat disease to put it in more common English, but what is your take on this and do you buy this as a legitimate defense?
RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Marty, I think if I was the judge in this particular case, I would ask the jury to strike all testimony from this psychologist. Affluenza is not a medical term, it is a made up fiction that was used in this case. Judge Gene Boyd got a case of dumb affluenza for buying into the testimony of Dr. G. Dick Miller. This is preposterous, Marty.
Can you imagine if I had a young, poor black boy in the Bronx with a history of alcohol abuse, who stole liquor that night, drove a car three times over the legal limit, and killed four people, do you think that this person would get Newport Beach, California or would they try him as an adult and give him incarceration?
SAVIDGE: That's a good point.
HERMAN: It is preposterous.
SAVIDGE: This was in fact a juvenile case. This was not done in adult court and probably that was the first victory the defense may have won, that this was tried as a juvenile.
FRIEDMAN: Well, that's right. I understand the reaction, it is a visceral one. When you think deeply, put the vengeance issue aside, you need to look at this. I am a former juvenile court probation officer, served on the bench, I understand, if you can save the life of a young person, try to rehabilitate them, and I think that's what was going on. That doesn't make him accountable. I am in agreement on one thing, Marty, that is there is no such thing as affluenza.
It is like poor-fluenza. The fact children don't have values and frankly, they have to be accountable. I don't agree with the resolution, but I do agree if you can save Ethan Couch and get him straight end out, that is the goal of juvenile justice. I think that's what Judge Boyd was trying to do here.
SAVIDGE: Richard, I should point out one of the things is the defense says this young man going to be under the thumb of the court for ten- years probation. If he had been a juvenile, once he turns 18 two years from now, he could be out without that legal overhang.
HERMAN: That's the crux of what the defense argued. You give him 10 or 20 years in prison, in two years, he is eligible for parole. That means he is eligible. Doesn't mean, he will get it. Listen, this is really an outrageous resolution here for a young man, three times the blood alcohol, seven kids in the car, four children death, seven injuries, it is outrageous. The judge blew the deal here. I don't know what she was doing. To try to prevent him from associating with his family --
FRIEDMAN: What are you going to do with him?
HERMAN: It's not going to be enforced he can't be with his family. That's an illegal decision, illegal, will not be upheld.
FRIEDMAN: If it were illegal, it would be appealed. That's not right.
HERMAN: It is going to be.
FRIEDMAN: Court can maintain jurisdiction. That's the question. What's the alternative to this?
HERMAN: I think the judge overstepped bounds.
FRIEDMAN: The judge is retiring. But she should have -- the judge is retiring.
HERMAN: You can't make believe affluenza defense, what is that? It is preposterous. What is that? That's garbage. That's garbage defense. Maybe the judge got a few dollars in this case, we don't know what happened here, this is ridiculous.
FRIEDMAN: My goodness.
SAVIDGE: How could you claim the judge got paid off here?
HERMAN: I don't know, I say perhaps. You never know. It is a state court case. You just never know.
FRIEDMAN: That's a very inappropriate thing to say.
SAVIDGE: Richard, I do agree with the point that you put forward, had this been an inner-city youth versus a youth of privilege, we would not be arguing as we are.
HERMAN: Exactly.
SAVIDGE: Avery, would you go with that?
FRIEDMAN: I agree with that.
SAVIDGE: I would say justice is not always the same. We know that. That's not a surprise. Richard Herman, Avery Friedman, you know what, it is great to see you both.
HERMAN: Nice to see you, Marty.
SAVIDGE: Nice talking with you.
FRIEDMAN: Great to see you, too, Marty.
SAVIDGE: We'll be back in touch. They're always with us, those two on the noon hour talking all things legal.
Next in the NEWSROOM, there's a new anchor man about to make an incredible come back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The thing god put Ron Burgundy on earth to do, have salon quality hair and read the news.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAVIDGE: I will tell you that I was the model for Ron Burgundy with the photos to prove it. But that's another story. He is welcomed back by CNN brothers. Find out how it went next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SAVIDGE: China's newest spacecraft landed on the moon. The rover doing the work is called "Jade Rabbit." People in China got to vote on the name. It will be on the moon three months, studying the lunar crust.
And in a different voyage to space, Iran sent this monkey into orbit. They say it is the latest step to sending humans into space. They say it was a 15 minute mission and that the monkey returned safely. The U.S. says it can't confirm the launch and the State Department worries that Iran's space program could in fact be tied to the development of long range ballistic missiles.
A new film hits the big screen next week, it is about legendary news anchor and his big come back. My colleagues, Wolf Blitzer, Chris Cuomo, and Anderson Cooper tell us what they think of this anchor man.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF BLITZER, HOST, CNN'S "THE SITUATION ROOM": Ron Burgundy.
CHRIS CUOMO, ANCHOR, CNN'S "NEW DAY": What hasn't been said about Ron Burgundy.
ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, CNN'S "AC360": He's a news legend.
BLITZER: One of the most influential anchors in broadcast history.
CUOMO: On camera, he is the best. But off camera, a bit of an --
BLITZER: A major -- when we were coming up in the late '70s, Ron Burgundy got the lead anchor position at KVWN because his mustache was slightly bigger than mine. People found comfort in a mustache man delivering the news. I love my beard but I would trade it for that mustache in a heartbeat.
COOPER: When I first graduated from college and started reporting, I was doing my best Ron Burgundy impression, everyone was, the mustache, the whole persona.
BLITZER: Burgundy and I hit the national spotlight about the same time. Today he has the most awards of any anchor, some of them honestly I think belong to me because they're literally mine. He just took them off my shelf right in front of me and acted like I didn't see it.
CUOMO: The first job I had was as an intern for Ron Burgundy. They were the worst years of my life. He didn't trust any of the local dry cleaners so he made me learn how to dry clean. I had to buy a specialized machine, keep it in my studio apartment. COOPER: When I started "Anderson Cooper 360," Ron's shadow still loomed over the show. There was a cardboard cutout of him in the studio blocking one of our lights. He had it in his contract it could never be removed, huge pain in the --
BLITZER: He was always the first to break big stories. That's because a lot of the times he caused them.
CUOMO: I heard he suggested building a wall in Berlin just so he could deliver the news when it was knocked down.
BLITZER: Before Mike Tyson fought Evander Holyfield, Ron told him in the locker room, I am quoting, "Boxing isn't just about your fists, it's about your mind and your teeth." God, I wish I had thought of that.
CUOMO: For three years I thought I had a huge story about an affair between Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan. Turned out my insider source was Burgundy pretending to be Deep Throat. He deep throated me for years. It was really humiliating.
BLITZER: To this day, he calls me Wolf Blister. COOPER: He calls me Stoopy Andrews. It is not funny. It doesn't sound like my name.
CUOMO: Won't call me anything. He refuses to acknowledge me as a human being.
BLITZER: Ron Burgundy literally tried to poison me.
CUOMO: So I'm celebrating the premier of "NEW DAY" at this news bar for anchors in midtown, Ron comes in all cocky. He walks to the back, goes into the bathroom, nothing really happens after that. That's the end of that story.
BLITZER: Where do you even buy poison?
CUOMO: We have all done regrettable things to get where we are today. He's just done them better.
COOPER: That's what makes him who he is. He is the most legendary news anchor in history.
BLITZER: Real actual poison.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
