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Robert Roberson Spared Minutes Before Execution; New 911 Call from Moments Before Liam Payne's Death; Voting After Helene's Aftermath. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired October 18, 2024 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:00]

DAVID URBAN, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Bob Casey's running an ad in Pennsylvania saying I'm for Donald Trump. Cats and dogs sleeping together. Chuck, it's terrible.

CHURCK ROCHA, PRESIDENT, SOLIDARITY STRATEGIES: We're going to win. David, be good. We're going to win.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: David Urban, Chuck Rocha. Always nice to see you both. David, next time you don't get to do that.

URBAN: Nice hat, Chuck. Every time you go in for just one more. Thank you, guys. Good to see you.

Coming up here, on a much more serious note, spared just minutes before his execution, the co-founder of the Innocence Project, Barry Scheck is with me next to talk about what is next now for a Texas death row inmate who continues to maintain he did not kill his daughter.

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[10:35:00]

HILL: Texas death row inmate Robert Roberson avoiding execution with just minutes to spare. His supporters gathering outside the Huntsville building where Roberson is being held, praying for the news that would eventually come. Just over an hour before he was set to be executed, the Texas Supreme Court delayed it.

Roberson was convicted for the 2002 death of his two-year-old daughter. His attorneys, though, say a diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome more than 20 years ago was wrong, and also point to new evidence which shows his daughter died from accidental and natural causes.

The Innocence Project, a national organization dedicated to exonerating those who've been wrongly convicted and wrongly incarcerated, taking up Roberson's case and joining his fight for clemency, and joining me now is the co-director of the Innocence Project, Barry Scheck, who is also, of course, a well-known DNA expert who worked on the O.J. Simpson murder trial, another high-profile case. Barry, it's really good to have you here this morning. This has been -- there is so much attention on this case, and it has really been a little bit of a whirlwind. When the news came down last night, were you expecting it?

BARRY SCHECK, CO-DIRECTOR, INNOCENCE PROJECT AND DNA EXPERT: I don't know. I don't know what to expect. I was actually hoping that the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals would have stated and reconsidered the case, but they didn't.

This is extraordinary. We have this committee, a jurisprudence committee of the Texas Legislature that's bipartisan. And they have gone into this case. They held a hearing on Wednesday for all the world to see, and you can go online and look at it now. It should be taught in every law school across the country and every legislative tutorial. They went into this case in extraordinary detail, really smart lawyers. They brought in experts. They brought in the district attorney who, to their consternation, was not really aware of a lot of the evidence. And they really demonstrated that Robert Roberson is an innocent man.

It -- of course, the shaken baby diagnosis is unreliable science, as they used it in his case. And ironically, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals last Friday decided a case called Rourke, which is now the leading case in the country, saying that many of the lynch pins of the shaken baby diagnosis do not have an adequate scientific basis and, you know, shouldn't be used in the way they were in Robert's case.

But more importantly, in a way, they also focused on how the baby Nikki really died, which is that she had pneumonia, right? Number one. Number two, they gave her drugs, Phenergan and codeine and -- that stopped her respiration.

And number three, that this idea that there were multiple impacts here as opposed to one short fall are provably wrong with CT scans and an analysis of the medical records. And so, there's proof of actual innocence that they brought out. And then, they made this most amazing move, is that they went to the courts and they said, we want Robert to come testify here as a witness and you can't execute him. Otherwise, he can't be a witness.

And the Supreme Court of Texas said that the judge who issued an injunction to stop that execution did not abuse discretion. And there has to -- there's -- we're in uncharted borders legally in Texas,

HILL: It is uncharted in a number of ways, including the fact the league detective who testified for the prosecution is now a minister and has joined supporters who are fighting to spare Roberson's life. He spoke out last night. Here's a little bit of what he had to say.

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BRIAN WHARTON, FORMER DETECTIVE WHO LED ROBERSON INVESTIGATION: We all know he's innocent. We've been fighting this fight for a while and trying to get a fair hearing. I'm relieved, but I'm also still concerned because, like I said, I've not seen or heard the details about what just happened. So, I know we're not out of the woods yet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Not out of the woods yet. There is still a lot to happen, right? There was a subpoena to testify. Where do you see this going in the coming days?

SCHECK: Well, the Supreme Court of Texas basically said, look we have a separation of powers question, right? That is -- there's no precedent. It's uncharted waters. So, they asked the judge who issued that injunction in the first place to spell out exactly what the legal issues are.

[10:40:00]

But they also, in this opinion, indicated that when you have this kind of clash, the separation of powers, clash between the legislature, the executive and, you know, in some instances, the judiciary, one of the ways, whether it's in the federal government or state governments, you try to resolve it, that the parties themselves step back from the precipice and find a way to resolve it. And they were calling for that.

And now, there is no execution date set. And this would be a good time for everybody to go back and take a look at the evidence that was put forward in that hearing, showing that Robert is innocent and demonstrating the scientific problems with his case.

HILL: Right. Well --

SCHECK: And I think that that hearing should be studied by everybody.

HILL: Barry Scheck, really appreciate you taking the time to join us this morning. We will, of course, be continuing to follow this very closely. Thank you.

SCHECK: Thank you.

HILL: Just ahead here, what new 911 calls reveal about the moments before Liam Payne's deadly fall.

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[10:45:00]

HILL: This morning, we are learning more about the death of former One Direction member, Liam Payne, just before he fell off the third floor of his hotel. The staff there called 911 concerned about the singer's welfare.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Well, we have a host who is overwhelmed with drugs and alcohol, and well, even when he's aware, he breaks things up. He is tearing the whole room apart and, well, we need someone to be sent, please. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): That is, under the influence of alcohol and drugs. Yes, sir?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): That's right. And we need someone to be sent to us urgently, because, well, I don't know if the guest's life is at risk. He is in a room that has a balcony and well, we're a little afraid that he'll do something that puts him --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: The concern there, you know, expressing concern that the guest's life is at risk. Noting, Lisa -- my colleague Lisa France, joined me now, noting that there's a balcony in that room. What more have we learned this morning?

LISA RESPERS FRANCE, CNN ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: Erica, this is, of course, still being investigated, but we do know a little bit more. Authorities there are saying that they believe that the popular singer was in his room alone at the time. They also believe that this is possibly the effect of an event involving substance abuse due to some of the things that they found in his room. And also, there was a finding that he appeared to potentially have been unconscious or semi- conscious at the time of the fall and they're saying that because of the way that his body was found, he didn't assume a position of someone who knew they were falling and went to protect themselves.

So, there's just a little bit more that we know now, Erica. But of course, this is an ongoing investigation. There's an incredible amount of scrutiny due to how famous he was and how beloved he was. Erica.

HILL: Yes, absolutely. And just across the board, it is just heartbreaking and tragic. And we know he leaves behind his son as well. Lisa, appreciate it. Thank you.

FRANCE: Thank you.

HILL: Coming up here, voting in Hurricane Helene's aftermath. Up next, I'll speak with the Executive Director of North Carolina's State Board of Elections to show us how people in some of the hardest hit areas who are still determined to cast their ballots, how they'll be able to do so.

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HILL: We are keeping track, so you don't have to, 18 days now until Election Day. In many areas, though, voting is already underway. In fact, so far, more than 8.8 million ballots have been cast nationwide. In the crucial State of Georgia, almost 900,000 people have voted after polls opened there on Tuesday. And in North Carolina, 353,000 people turning out to vote yesterday. That was the first day of its early in-person voting. And also, a little bit better than what they saw in terms of numbers for the first day of the 2020 election.

The state, of course, is still recovering from the widespread devastation left by Hurricane Helene. Joining me now, Karen Brinson- Bell, who's the Executive Director of North Carolina's State Board of Elections. It's good to have you here. This is a pretty impressive turnout for day one. Were you expecting that it would best those numbers from previous years?

KAREN BRINSON-BELL, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NORTH CAROLINA STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS: We were optimistic that it would. 2020 was a record for us on the first day of in-person early voting, and now, we've broken that record. There seems to be a real energy in North Carolina, not just because of the presidential race, but because in North Carolina, we will have a new governor, a new attorney general, a new lieutenant governor, new members of Congress. So, this is a really critical election in North Carolina.

HILL: Yes, there's certainly a lot going on in the Tar Heel State. One of the challenges for a number of voters, of course, who were impacted by Hurricane Helene is where they could go vote. So, I know that there have been new locations, new hours approved by the Board of Elections for hurricane victors. Can you tell us a little bit more about those changes that needed to be made?

BRINSON-BELL: So, the state board and the legislature did give flexibility to these counties. But I think what is just so commendable is that in the 25 federally designated counties affected by Helene, we had planned for 80 early voting sites. And yesterday, all 100 counties open for early voting, and in those affected counties, we had 76 of the planned 80 sites open, and that is just remarkable.

HILL: That is pretty impressive. And in terms of getting that word out to voters in the area, are there early numbers in terms of how that worked out? Because there are still challenges for so many people in those areas, as we know.

BRINSON-BELL: There are challenges and we have really worked to make sure that we have those early voting sites open. We are working towards Election Day, and it looks like the vast majority of the Election Day sites will be open. They may look different, but they will be open for those voters. And we're getting word out now through an advertising and public service announcement campaign, both in print, radio, TV -- actually, not tv because those have all been taken up by candidates, but nonetheless, we're getting the word out.

But I will say, I was onsite in Asheville, North Carolina, Buncombe County, one of the hardest hit by Hurricane Helene, and the early voting site where I went to was stationed with the disaster relief distribution. And so, people were getting their water, they were getting a hot meal and they were going and getting in line to vote.

[10:55:00]

So, we had lines yesterday, even before the opening of the early voting sites. I know in Haywood County it was 30 degrees, and yet, people were still standing in line even after being affected by Hurricane Helene. So, we are seeing people -- this is a way, I think, they can get back to normalcy and also have a say in the leadership that'll guide them through possibly another disaster. HILL: Karen Brinson-Bell, appreciate you joining us this morning.

BRINSON-BELL: Thank you.

HILL: Coming up here, it's the First Amendment, stupid. A Florida judge not mincing words in the fight over a pro-abortion right to add airing in the state. Those details, ahead.

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