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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Pistorius Gets Five Years for Homicide; Isolation Ends for Dozens in Dallas; Virginia Suspect Indicted in 2005 Rape and Attempted Murder; Kidnapped School Girls to be Released?
Aired October 21, 2014 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DIANA MAGNAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And there are many, many people in this country who feel that he shot four doors -- four bullets into that toilet door, knowing that there was very little escape for whoever was behind it, and that he should serve time in jail for that. And she hasn't come to her conclusion yet, John, but I feel that that is also what she will, in the end, sentence.
BERMAN: No doubt. You brought up some very good points. She made clear that the South African prison system can handle Oscar Pistorius. She's made clear that other cases that are somewhat similar, where there was no prison time, are very different than the Pistorius case and in some ways, Pistorius's offenses are worse than these other cases where there was no prison time.
She did say the loss of life cannot be reversed, however, and she said nothing she does today will change the fact that a life was lost.
And Diana, you know, we are, as I said, waiting to hear the final word right now in following this line of reasoning.
DIANA MAGNAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the question whether this really will -- find closure for the family of Reeva. And it was interesting to hear her describe Reeva as a young girl full of hope, so close to her family. Again, putting the victim in the center of all of this which I think is so important, as has been a criticism of the trial all along that only really in the last week of sentencing did this image of Reeva Steenkamp come into the court in that very emotional testimony of her cousin Kim Martin.
And I think what is important here is that the judge's sentencing will depend on how she assesses the degree of negligence. And in this summary that she has been giving for the last hour or so, she said that he is guilty of gross negligence. So given the fact it is completely up to her discretion whether she gives him correctional supervision, community service and house arrest or a jail term, given that, the fact that she uses this term gross negligence, which suggests that she is going for a much more punitive approach -- John.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Diana, you know, she mentioned the high degree of responsibility that someone who is a gun owner and someone who is trained in the use of firearms and actually wants to be a collector of firearms --
BERMAN: Let's dip right back in for a second because I think she may be getting close to a sentence.
JUDGE THOKOZILE MASIPA: For the accuse and hope for his reformation. In Bracket C, as has been summoned, 1994, Tsonga, 1-SACR 584, (A), 588-J to 589-B, closed brackets.
I am mindful, however, of the fact of the true message has nothing to do with weakness or modeling sympathy for the criminal, but it is an element of justice.
In bracket CS-V 1972, Volume 3, SA-611, A in brackets, 614.
In respect of the conviction in count three, I have taken into account that no one was hurt, though the offense is a serious one, especially in the setting of the restaurant. I do not believe that the degree of negligence in respect of this count that is count three, justifies a sentence of direct imprisonment.
Mr. Pistorius, please rise.
The following is what I consider to be a sentence that is fair and just both to society and to the accused. Count one, culpable homicide. The sentence imposed is the maximum imprisonment of five years imposed in terms of Section 2761-I of the Criminal Procedure X number 51 of 1977.
Two, on count two, the contravention of Section 120, Subsection 3-B of the Firearms Control Act number 60 of 2000, the sentence imposes three years imprisonment wholly suspended for five years on condition that within the period of suspension, the accused is not found guilty of the crime where there is negligence involving the use of a firearm.
Paragraph three, the sentence in count one and the sentence on count two shall run concurrently.
You may be seated, Mr. Pistorius.
Is there anything I need to know before the court adjourns?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, my lady. I've indicated to the court that I want to raise the court on the accused being unfit. I had a look at Section 103 of the act.
MASIPA: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Section 103 automatically, as soon as the accused is convicted.
MASIPA: Which act are we talking about?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Arms and Ammunition Act. Section 103 of that act.
BERMAN: This was the sentencing phase of the Oscar Pistorius trial.
We just heard Judge Masipa issued a sentence and we believe Oscar Pistorius was just given five years in prison for culpable homicide. He stood to hear the sentence and after a trial filled with lots of emotion was relatively emotionless for the sentencing itself. But I understand it is five years in prison for culpable homicide.
ROMANS: The judge saying a non-custodial sentence. What the defense had wanted would send the wrong message to the public. But she also said a long sentence would lack an element of mercy.
There was a second violation there. A firearms violation, count two, that she read. That is three years in prison. That was -- the sentence for that, however, that is suspended and those two sentences, those two sentences are to be done concurrently. So five years in prison for Oscar Pistorius.
BERMAN: Which in some cases is more than some people thought. I mean, there had been a suggestion the maximum -- not guidelines because there are no specific sentencing guidelines, but the far end of what the sentencing would be will be 15 years. So five years is less than that, although you could hear people saying he would get no prison time.
ROMANS: Oscar Pistorius has now sat down. He was told to stand to hear the -- this five-year prison sentence against him. He wiped his eyes after the judge hands down that jail term.
I want to go to Diana Magnay. We're still watching these proceedings, Diana.
This is -- the judge had been giving little mile markers over the past hour or so that prison was likely. Are you there, Diana, outside the courtroom?
MAGNAY: So five years imprisonment is what the judge has handed down on the count of culpable homicide. And then on the secondary firearms charge, she said that she didn't think that that was appropriate for an actual prison term. She's given him three years imprisonment, wholly suspended for five months -- or five years. And that these two sentences will run concurrently.
And I think it's important to note that these five years imprisonment are then wholly up to the Correctional Services Department, of course, to see on good behavior further down in that sentence that he's serving whether they will let him out earlier.
But a jail time sentence for Oscar Pistorius. Not as long as the prosecution was looking for. Gerrie Nel, dubbed the pit bull, said he wanted at least a 10-year jail term. But certainly nothing as lenient as the three years correctional supervision, i.e., community service, house arrest, that the defense team were arguing for. So this is the summary in such a long period that the whole of South Africa or indeed the world has been watching.
The question now is whether Gerrie Nel, the prosecutor, will be satisfied with this verdict or will decide to take the matter to Bloemfontein, which is the Appeal -- Supreme Court of Appeals, and whether the defense will also try to appeal this verdict. Back to you.
BERMAN: You know, it is a prison term for now one of the most well- known celebrities in South Africa. A hero to so many. And this is the conclusion of more than a year of so much drama in the courtroom. To see it all unfold right now. It's really extraordinary.
ROMANS: Interesting, too, the judge saying that the shots into that small bathroom where Reeva Steenkamp was killed. The shots, it was very clear someone shooting into that room knew.
BERMAN: Yes.
ROMANS: Whoever was behind that door was not going to survive.
BERMAN: No, this judge clearly thought that Oscar Pistorius committed a crime and that society demanded that he be punished for it. And that punishment required time in prison. And that is what is now happening for Oscar Pistorius. You are seeing them rise in the courtroom as the proceedings conclude.
We'll keep our eye on that. We'll have more news in just a moment.
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BERMAN: What a morning in the South African courtroom. Oscar Pistorius just sentenced to five years in prison for culpable homicide in the shooting death of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
Now he was also given a three-year sentence on a firearm charge. That sentence suspended or really will serve them concurrently. But the headline here is five years in prison for Oscar Pistorius. He has already been taken out of the courtroom to a holding cell to await transfer to a prison. This is the culmination of a year and a half now of legal proceedings in South Africa.
And the headline again, Oscar Pistorius going to prison.
ROMANS: And the judge said that a non-custodial sentence letting him, you know, serve under house arrest. That would send the wrong message to the public. She said a long sentence would lack an element of mercy. But five years is what she gave him. The violence and the negligence of him shooting through that doorway and killing Reeva Steenkamp. Five years in prison.
BERMAN: We will have much more on this as it develops. We're going to check back in with our people right outside the courtroom to see what's going on there.
But first, there are new developments and new guidelines this morning in the fight against Ebola. The CDC, which has taken a beating in recent days over its handling of the Ebola crisis, announced new guidelines for healthcare workers. These guidelines focus on personal protective equipment or PTT -- PPE, I should say. Advising more and better hands-on training. Protective equipment worn so no skin is exposed and health care workers partnered up so someone observes every step involved in putting on and taking off the protective suits.
The new guidelines are as monitoring ends for dozens of people who had contact with the first Ebola patient in Dallas, Thomas Eric Duncan.
CNN's Alina Machado is there with more on that part of the story.
ALINA MACHADO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christine and John, the number of people who are being monitored is expected to decrease as more people reach the end of their 21-day monitoring period without showing symptoms. So far at least 43 people have been cleared here in Dallas County. These are people who had direct contact with Thomas Eric Duncan before he died, and this group includes five children who will be returning to school today for the first time in weeks.
There is some concern, though, here about how these children are going to be received, especially those who are related to Louise Troh, Duncan's fiancee. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUDGE CLAY JENKINS, DALLAS COUNTY: As a parent, I'm extremely concerned for Louise's middle-school son. Middle schoolers are some of the most ferocious and scary animals on the planet. And to be dropped into a pool of middle schoolers after all that he's been through, I need your help, parents. I need your help to treat that young man with the kind of love you'd want your own child treated with.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACHADO: We are expecting Dallas County officials to give us an update later this morning on the people who are still being monitored -- Christine and John.
ROMANS: All right, Alina Machado, thank you for that.
The administration's new Ebola czar, Ron Klain, officially starts his new job on Wednesday. And when he sits down at his desk, he's got -- well, it's got a daunting landscape he'll face. Klain is being derided by Republicans as simply a political operative. But others on Capitol Hill are calling him tough. They say he's a good manager.
Well, the number of Ebola cases in three West African countries continues to spiral. Nearby Senegal and Nigeria have both now been declared Ebola free. In Spain, doctors expect to give nurse's aide Teresa Romero Ramos the all-clear today if another blood test comes back negative for Ebola.
Meanwhile in Dallas, the second health care worker to be exposed, be diagnosed with the disease, Amber Vinson, she has hired an attorney as she disputes the CDC's claim she boarded a plane against CDC advice.
Texas Governor Rick Perry is set to visit UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas later today. He's going to discuss the state's Ebola preparedness and response with reporters.
Stay with CNN. We're going to have more on that event as it happens this morning. BERMAN: While police in Charlottesville, Virginia, work to identify
human remains found in the search for University of Virginia student Hannah Graham, the man being held in connection with her disappearance, Jesse Matthew, has now been charged in the 2005 case involved in the alleged abduction, rape and attempted murder of another woman.
CNN's Jean Casarez following all these developments for us.
JEAN CASAREZ, CNN LEGAL CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, we were here Monday afternoon in Charlottesville, Virginia, when suddenly we hear that an indictment has been returned in Fairfax City, Virginia, north of here against Jesse Matthew. Well, this is in regard to a 2005 sexual assault of a young 26-year-old woman who was walking home from the grocery store and was taken, grabbed and dragged and then sexually assaulted.
Well, prosecutors say that person is Jesse Matthew. And they have alleged three charges here. Number one, attempted capital murder. Number two, abduction with the intent to defile. And number three, sexual assault. Well, there is a living victim in that case that can I.D., that can testify in court. And that is very different from this case here in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Because here, crime scene investigators continue to process a makeshift grave where there are skeletal remains. Once that processing is done and it may not be until near the end of the week, but it will then be the job of the chief medical examiner in Richmond, Virginia, to, number one, identify those remains, and number two, try to determine the cause and manner of death. Very difficult tasks with a very difficult crime scene -- John, Christine.
ROMANS: All right. Jean Casarez, thank you for that -- Jean.
We're going to have more coming up on Oscar Pistorius' sentence. Five years in prison for killing Reeva Steenkamp.
And Nigeria says it has negotiated a cease-fire with Boko Haram. More than 200 kidnapped school girls will be set free. So why has the militant group refused to confirm this deal?
All the details straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BERMAN: The Nigerian government insists that more than 200 kidnapped school girls could be released this week. That after Nigerian officials allegedly signed a cease-fire with the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram. The terror group is not commenting on the deal, though, and even launched bloody attacks on two villages last weekend.
Still, government officials in Nigeria says they will continue negotiations with Boko Haram despite the apparent cease-fire breach if in fact there was a cease-fire at all.
Standing live for us in the Nigerian capital of Abuja, CNN's Isha Sesay.
So what is the situation, Isha?
ISHA SESAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, John. Well, here's what we know. Speaking to a senior Nigerian government official, this isn't quite a done deal as yet. They are still trashing out details and talks which are ongoing in nearby Chad. Talks being mediated by the Chadian President Idriss Deby.
Those talks under way, but what is note worthy, John, is that the Nigerian government telling us yesterday by this official that they are willing to do whatever it takes to get these girls back. The same official also stressing that indeed these girls will be released this week. A great deal of confidence, a great deal of optimism.
It is worth pointing out that for those involved in the long campaign to get these girls back home, they say they are greeting all of this with cautious optimism -- John.
BERMAN: I think until those girls are home and until Boko Haram says that they are on board with the cease-fire and the release, I think everyone is taking this with a grain of salt and a great deal of trepidation.
Isha Sesay for us in Abuja. Thanks so much.
ROMANS: All right, 54 minutes past the hour. The next package you send or receive is going to cost you more. We're going to get an EARLY START on your money next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: All right. Happy Tuesday morning. Let's get an EARLY START on your money. This morning U.S. stock futures slightly higher. The market seems to have returned to calm at least for now. Watching Apple shares, they are up 2 percent before the bell. Apple sold 39 million iPhones last quarter. Had a really strong sales.
Chipotle shares moving lower this morning. The fast casual chain reported growing sales, growing profit, but it warned of higher food costs. The CEO said by the way millennials are looking for high quality food that Chipotle offers in shedding traditional fast food. We've seen that again and again. And the trend has been true for McDonald's recently.
We're going to hear from McDonald's later this morning.
The Fed official overseeing Wall Street says it may be time to break up the big banks. The New York Fed president William Dudley met with bank executives behind closed doors yesterday. He told the Wall Street (INAUDIBLE) excessive risk taking or risk being downsized. Dudley proposed changing the way bonuses are given out, to encourage ethical behavior including charging senior management for regulatory fines.
Deducting regulatory fines from their bonuses. BERMAN: That's an interesting idea.
ROMANS: From their pay. Yes, and locking up their bonuses and pay for 10 years so that they can go back and claw back their pay. Pay those fines out of that instead of bank profits. That puts a lot of -- that sends a big message to the shareholders. BERMAN: Indeed.
ROMANS: All right. Sending packages through UPS is getting more expensive. UPS will increase rates for services in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico by almost 5 percent. The hike will take effect on December 29th. So after Christmas it won't be applied to your holiday shipping. UPS will also start charging for shipping based on the size and weight of a package instead of just the weight.
Rival FedEx announced similar changes last month. Those FedEx changes take effect in January. The rate hike comes as fuel prices have been steadily declining.
BERMAN: All right. EARLY START continues right now.
