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First of All with Victor Blackwell

Today: National Day Of Action: Over Voting Rights Rollback; Kamala Harris On Voting Map Fight: "We Need To Be Ruthless, Too"; ICE Detains Former Kansas Mayor After Illegal Voting Revealed; Trump Discussed Americans Jailed In China With Xi Jinping; Family Of Walter Scott Concerned About Possible Early Release Of Officer Convicted In His Killing; Meet The Seven Spelman Valedictorians Making History Together. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired May 16, 2026 - 08:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:00:27]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: First of all, when people cast their vote for a member of Congress, a state rep, any official really, they want to feel like their vote has a fair shot of electing a representative reflective of their community, of their values. And there is a fear across the south right now that basic American right is being threatened, in particular taken away from Black people.

Today there will be a nationwide day of action making that point. It stretches from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, key sites in the original fight for voting rights.

Also, today, an example of what those planning to rally are so upset about. Louisiana is holding its primary elections, including for U.S. senate, but the races for the U.S. house on the ballot will not count. The governor of Louisiana delayed those House races and House primaries will now be held on Election Day in November.

Now, this is all the result of the Supreme Court ruling that struck down the state's congressional map. That same ruling set off a mix of map changes or attempts to redraw maps across the South. And while Republicans have been acting fast, it seems that Democrats are still trying to wrap their heads around what they can do to respond.

The Supreme Court just yesterday tossed their last-ditch effort to save a new congressional map for Virginia that would have benefited Democrats.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES, (D) MINORITY LEADER: We will beat the far right extremists. We're going to win in November, and then we're going to crush their souls. As it relates to the extremism that they're trying to unleash on the American people. (END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: All right. Let's talk about all this. Janelle King is a Republican member of the Georgia State Board of Election. Harold Jones II is a Democratic minority leader of Georgia's state Senate. Welcome to you both.

And let's start here. Your reaction, Janelle, to what you're seeing across the south, this day of action, in which one of the organizers says that this is not in mourning, but it is in motion.

JANELLE KING, (R) GEORGIA STATE ELECTION BOARD MEMBER: Yes. Well, this is the first I've heard of it. You know, Black Republicans are not invited to these type of events for some reason. However, that being said, it's okay.

Everyone has the right to express their feelings. Everyone has a right to share their point of view. I'm particularly grateful that you have me here because the Black conservative conversation around this is a little different. When we talk about representation, what do we mean by representation?

Do we mean we want someone that looks like us, or does that mean that we want someone who's a Democrat? Either way, both of those things kind of isolate us because we're not looking for someone who looks like us, we're looking for someone who will represent us and represent us well and has our values. Outside of that, if it's about Democrats, then we have another problem.

The problem is that now the Black conservatives have moved from 9 percent to 12 percent. Now we're at 16 percent, and that means that we're scattered throughout the state. So, when you throw me into a minority district that's predominantly Democrat, I'm not being represented well. I'm being forced to have to choose an elected official that does not represent my values.

So I think what they're doing is creating real diversity, and I'm happy about it.

BLACKWELL: Real diversity. Senator, what do you think?

HAROLD JONES II, (D) GEORGIA STATE SENATE MINORITY LEADER: Yes, I think one of the problems is they're actually using race to actually decide these particular lines. Because what the court said was, you can basically use partisanship to decide district lines. But we understand that race is entangled with partisanship. And they said, you know, we get the fact that race is entangled partisanship, but as long as you say that it's partisanship, we'll allow you to do it.

So it's really not about a Democrat and a Republican in this situation. It really is about African Americans not being used in this way, not using race to actually stop us from being able to have vote.

BLACKWELL: And so your suggestion is, is that the redrawing of these districts is to include more white voters, not more Republican voters?

JONES: Well, I don't know what race there be, but we do know this.

BLACKWELL: Not -- not Black voters.

JONES: It would not be African American voters. We do know this. What the court said was, we get that race will be entangled with partisanship. We also understand that as soon as the court made that ruling, then all of a sudden, all of these Southern states and understand that almost half of the people, African Americans, live in southern states.

Many of the state local officials live in southern states. All of a sudden now, all of those Southern states decided they need to redistrict based on that particular ruling, which basically said, as long as you say it's partisanship, you can actually use race. And how do we know that?

In Tennessee, what happened, they cut Memphis up into three ways. And what did you have happened in Tennessee? You had the legislators actually say, I have no idea that Memphis is predominantly African American. They would ask that question because, see, their attorneys had told them, just go up there and say, you don't know what the racial demographics are. Say you're doing it for partisanship, and you'll be able to get away with it.

[08:05:20]

The Supreme Court ought to be ashamed of itself, quite frankly, that they would put us in this particular position to where we actually really use race now way more than what they were talking about before under the Voting Rights act, because there are so many different things you had to prove under the Voting Rights Act. Here, you directly can use race and hide it behind partisanship.

KING: Yes, I think I'm trying to follow where he's going with this, but I will say that there was a time when this was necessary. I mean, when we had poll tax, when we had literacy tax, I mean, tests, there was a time. I think what's happened is that we have now grown past that time period. We have more Black people that are representative of different types of political backgrounds.

I don't think that we should be chopping up any district based on anything other than the census, making sure that every district is properly represented by the number of people who live in that district, regardless of what they look like, their gender, or their political persuasion. This is how you get adequate representation. This is how you have the conversation that needs to be had.

BLACKWELL: Speaking of representation, I listened to the latest episode of the Janelle King show next week.

KING: Oh, wow.

BLACKWELL: And obviously views on the Voting Rights Act. And I hear a difference in belief on its usefulness in 2026. But I want to play something you said about how the Calais decision from the Supreme Court you believe will help Black communities. Here's what you said. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VOICE OF JANELLE KING: I think we're going to see people who were traditionally lumped into these predominantly Black districts. I believe we're going to see these same people now be redrawn into districts that are more balanced, where the leadership doesn't look like you, from the top to the bottom, from the "roota to the toota." So that we're not, you know, having all Black council, all Black commission, all Black school board, and then wondering why things are not working out in our communities.

Now you're going to get a different type of representation. You're going to be a part of the conversation. It's now time to do it right.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KING: Yes.

BLACKWELL: Janelle, I want you to tell me I'm wrong here, but what I heard you say and I listened to it several times, is that we just need to get some of these Black people off these boards or get some other people in here because then we can get it done. If we get rid of some of these all-Black commissions, all-Black school boards, then we'll get it right.

KING: Correct.

BLACKWELL: You believe that that's the case?

KING: I do. I believe that when we have representation that is, like I said, all Black, everything. You are now losing a portion of the conversation. You're only looking at everything from one perspective.

And I can use, and I could use proof of this. When you look at, let's just use Atlanta. The top half from Midtown to the top of Atlanta, the median income is $125,000. When you go from Midtown to the bottom half of Atlanta, it drops to 32,000 on the high level, 15,000 on the low. Something is happening.

And when you look at these two different areas, you have one that is predominantly represented by all Black everything. I think that what we need is a different type of perspective when you have true diversity which --

BLACKWELL: But is that -- but is that white? Is that non-Black? Because you're not connecting it --

KING: Yes. Actually -- actually, it is. It absolutely is.

BLACKWELL: So you're connecting it -- you're connecting it to race and not politics.

KING: I'm connecting it to culture. So when you look at the cultural differences, right? So what I'm saying is that when you have predominantly Black leadership that sees everything through one cultural lens, one political lens, because while we are 16 percent, we're not majority of the, of the Democrat party, Black people are mostly Democrats.

So when you look at having predominantly Democrat, predominantly Black, everything, everything is centered through one lens. Having a difference of opinion, whether it be white, Asian, Indian, whatever it is. But a different opinion, a different lens helps the conversation, expands it.

BLACKWELL: Senator.

JONES: Yes. Let me address a couple of things there. Number one, when you're playing the clip and talking about Blacks being lumped into particular areas. Understand that number one, the Voting Rights Act says that you actually prove a violation. So it's not about lumping people into anything.

A violation of African Americans' rights was actually shown. That's what happens. You show that a violation took place. And then from there, one of the remedies is that you say you actually have to remedy this by creating an African American district because of historical discrimination.

But these are court cases. There's not lumping people into anything. Secondly, the idea that because you have African American representation some kind of way makes it less is beyond offensive, quite frankly.

[08:10:09]

KING: That's not what I said at all.

JONES: And so I think that that's part of the problem that you have here. And it's interesting because you say, I don't want race to be a part of it. Yet the first thing that actually is brought up is the race of the elected officials.

But that actually goes back to what the court said. And unfortunately, still here in the south, race is still going to be a problem. Race is still an issue. And this is so -- it's so important to understand that.

It's certainly still an issue when you start talking about different discrepancies, whether it's health care, whether it's talking about income gaps, and things of that nature. Even the voting gap, quite frankly, is there from a racial standpoint.

BLACKWELL: Let me -- let me put a pause on this conversation because I want to bring in LaTosha Brown, who is a co-founder of Black Voters Matter, and she's one of the organizers of what is happening today in Alabama.

LaTosha, I wonder if you have heard this conversation that has been happening. And also, when you announced this on social media, you said that this is not in mourning, it is in motion. Fill in that framework.

All right. Obviously, having some technical issues with LaTosha. Let's continue this conversation here. And your reaction to what the senators said about there's still problems with voting?

KING: Yes.

BLACKWELL: And you said where?

KING: Yes, I would like to know. I hear these platitudes, these statements being made, but we can't specifically narrow it down to say that somehow Black people are struggling to go vote. How? Prove it to me.

Give me an example. That's all I'm asking. Because I don't struggle to go vote.

JONES: Well, one of the things actually in Georgia, we've already found out since some of these laws went in place after, after Shelby Vogt Holder, the actual turnout, turnout gap has actually increased, especially with African American men compared to white men. That is a fact.

In 2024, we actually saw that. Which actually brings real relevance to what the court was talking about in Calais.

If you remember, the court actually used data in Calais talking about that the turnout gap had been actually eradicated, and yet the turnout gap actually exists, and that's been brought forward. So, the court's own data was incorrect. And so that's some of the things we do.

But also, when you talk about the Voting Rights Act, it's not about actually -- when you talk about vote dilution, we're not talking about a person actually being able to go to a poll to vote necessarily. There are also -- we have issues there too.

What we're talking about is the fact. What we're talking about is the fact that you have vote dilution. Because when you start cracking these districts and packing these districts together and these are the reasons why I have Section 2 violations. When you do that, you have vote dilution. That is really what we talked about.

KING: It's my vote deleted. Because (inaudible).

JONES: That is really what we're -- that's what we're talking about when we talk about the actual opportunity.

BLACKWELL: Senator, let me ask you this. Do we have the Kamala Harris soundbite ready? Control room? Do we have the convalescent Harris soundbite ready?

Play it, please. Play it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAMALA HARRIS, FMR. U.S. VICE PRESIDENT. And in that no bad ideas brainstorm, we talk about what we need to do and think about doing around the Electoral College. We talk about the idea of Supreme Court reform, which includes expanding the Supreme Court. We invite a conversation about multi member districts. Let's talk about statehood for Puerto Rico and D.C. These are the

things I think that we've got to do. We've got to neutralize these red states from cheating, including blue states, expanding their maps. And all of this I think is -- look, we got to fight fire with fire. These folks are playing to win. We got to play to win, too.

And they're ruthless. And look, we are never going to violate the law or do anything unethical or immoral, but we need to be ruthless, too.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Senator, that's obviously former Vice president saying some of the things that Democrats need to do to combat what Republicans are doing across the south. That might be popular in some states, but as Democrats try to take control of the Senate, do you think John Ossoff can get reelected in November and Senator Warnock can get reelected in 2028 if Democrats are running nationally on expanding the court, multi-member districts, statehood for D.C., and Puerto Rico?

JONES: I think what Democrats can talk about nationally, very simple. We want to make sure that African Americans have a seat at the table. As far as being participatory within electoral system.

BLACKWELL: Sure, that's a goal.

JONES: That's the key thing.

BLACKWELL: These -- these are -- these strategies?

JONES: Far as like the strategy in different term.

BLACKWELL: Do you support those strategies?

JONES: As far as the strategy is concerned, those are things we can kind of work through. As far as expanding the court, I'll be quite frank with you. I'm kind of nervous about expanding the court because that takes in consideration that necessarily we're going to be in the majority where if we're not. And this court should suspend it somewhere else.

So I think, as an attorney and also just from even a strategy standpoint, be very careful about necessarily saying that. Because when you start talking about expanding the court, it may be Republicans actually expand the court. So be very careful with that.

[08:15:14]

Now, as far as electoral college, that is something that's also been discussed many times. And the fact of the matter is when you start talking about electoral college, you usually sometimes may not even see a difference if you did popular vote, electoral college. But I do think one of the key things is that it actually would bring more people into the process if you went back to popular vote.

So I think there are things that you can actually do to actually from a strategy standpoint to try to win as we're talking about. But this is actually bigger than winning and losing. And I think that's the big thing about it.

That's why all of these folks around the country are right now having these rallies. Because this isn't about winning or losing. This is even about protecting African American conservatives. Their right to vote, too. This is about protecting everything.

BLACKWELL: All right, Senator, Janelle, thank you for the conversation.

KING: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: All right. He says he voted for President Trump but was not a U.S. citizen. And now the former mayor of Coldwater, Kansas is in ICE custody.

I'll speak with someone who took over for Joe Ceballos when he resigned about how that small ruby red conservative town has been rallying to support him. Plus, if the president returned from China with tangible wins, they don't seem to include the release of Americans currently in Chinese jails. Ahead here from the families of two of those Americans who say they fear there is not much time left to save them.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:21:07]

BLACKWELL: The former mayor of small town conservative Coldwater, Kansas, is in ICE custody. Joe Ceballos is a legal, permanent U.S. resident with a green card. And when Ceballos started the process to become a citizen last year, he admitted in an interview with a federal official that he had voted.

Ceballos says that he did not know that he did not qualify to vote and that he has voted for decades, casting ballots for Republicans, including President Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you regret voting for Trump?

JOE CEBALLOS, FORMER MAYOR OF COLDWATER, KANSAS: I did.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So you -- he's asking, do you regret it?

CEBALLOS: Oh, no. No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why?

CEBALLOS: I don't think I need to answer that. I don't think I can.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Well, CNN's Holly Yan caught up with Ceballos wife Jayne, and she had more to say about their past support for Trump and what this means for their family now. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VOICE OF JAYNE CEBALLOS, JOE CEBALLOS WIFE: I'm truly shocked that Joe was arrested to begin with because he's not a criminal, he's not a rapist or a drug dealer or any of that kind of stuff. And I thought, and of course Joe as well thought that the only people they were going to go after, and all of a sudden, it's Joe. And here's this nice guy. You know, he's got a family and a little ranch and cows and horses, and now there's nothing for him.

And I still have a hard time not falling apart today because we've been together for over 32 years, and I don't know what I'm going to do without him.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Ceballos resigned his position as mayor when charges were announced, and he's maintained the support of his former constituents who the New York Times reported, have turned up at court hearings.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's Joe go. Let's Joe go. Let's Joe go.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: And he had support outside the ICE facility in Wichita this week. Britt Lenertz is with us. She's a former city council president of Coldwater who briefly took over for Ceballos as mayor when he resigned over his legal trouble. Britt, thank you for being with me.

You posted on social media. "This is absolutely absurd. Only the most heinous criminals who are a danger to America are supposed to be deported."

I'll mention there were lots of exclamation points. There's a lot of passion behind Joe Ceballos and his case. What has this meant for your small town?

BRITT LENERTZ, TOOK OVER FOR CEBALLOS AS MAYOR OF COLDWATER, KANSAS: This has been devastating for our small town. Joe has been a very pivotal figure in our community for 40 years. So the fact that they had, that they came in and removed him and put him into detention just sent a big shock through our community. It's not anything that was expected.

We thought that everything had been taken care of and handled. So it's -- it's been very devastating for us.

BLACKWELL: Yes, when you say that everything was handled. Kansas's attorney general, Kris Kobach charged him initially with voting without being qualified and election perjury last year. But then he and Ceballos, they reached a deal. He pleaded guilty to disorderly election conduct, which Ceballos attorney described as like a misdemeanor, like disturbing the peace. But it was the Trump administration that then took this a step further and took him into custody. President Trump won Comanche County by 57 percent, or I should say Kansas by 57 percent. Comanche County, where Coldwater is, by 83 percent with 83 percent of the vote, I should say. Is this causing people to reconsider their support for the president now that Tobias could be deported?

LENERTZ: That I believe there's -- there's several factors in our community where people still couldn't -- they still support Trump. But as far as the immigration goes, I believe this is making people question their decision a little bit more. We respect the law of immigration. We understand that it is needed.

[08:25:16]

But I believe there's many more factors that need to be thought about, especially whenever it comes to Joe and more people like Joe that are in the United States currently. He has been a productive citizen. He's been here since he was 4 years old. He's not here illegally. He is a legal green card holder. And the things that he had done, he stood up to his charges and faced the consequences, and he paid his fines, he's paying his dues like he's supposed to do.

And we all believe that this is not the type of heinous crime that has been portrayed as what is supposed to be the grounds for people being deported currently.

BLACKWELL: Yes. And let me stay there and end where we started your social media post. Only the most heinous criminals who are a danger to America are supposed to be deported. What do you think will be the message of this administration if Joe Ceballos is deported?

LENERTZ: That's a really good question. The way that the administration has been pushing voter fraud, I do understand that's a massive issue. But I also believe that they need to look at the circumstances of this, that while Joe was applying for his citizenship to actually become a U.S. citizen, that was already taking place.

He had been through the process and was almost completely finished with it to be able to gain his citizenship, whenever he himself had discovered that what he had done with voting was wrong. He had turned himself in. He went to the election board himself and said, hey, I did this wrong. This isn't right. I need to -- we need to take care of this.

And he stood up for himself. He turned himself in. And that's not something that a lot of people would do knowing that, you know, you're going to the possibility of facing charges, facing jail time. He did the right thing.

And I think that that's something that needs to be taken into account with this.

BLACKWELL: Britt Lenertz joining us from Kansas. Thank you so much for your time this morning. Two families whose loved ones are being held in a Chinese jail right

now are worried that time is running out to bring them home. They asked the president to bring their cases up to China's leader. Did he?

I'll speak with relatives of Dawn Michelle Hunt and Nelson Wells Jr. Next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:31:43]

BLACKWELL: As the debate continues about what President Trump actually accomplished during his trip to China this week, there's one item on his to-do list that has gotten little, if really any attention. It's the question of whether he would bring up and successfully argue for China to release Americans currently in custody.

Both Dawn Michelle Hunt and Nelson Wells Jr. have been in a Chinese jail for more than a decade. The cases are separate, but there are some similarities, both fell victim to drug trafficking scams. And the families of both say they are sick. They worry both won't survive much longer in prison.

The State Department issued a request for their release on humanitarian grounds in May of last year. There has been advocacy from members of Congress too and both families have written letters to President Trump. They asked him to bring up the cases with Xi, but has he?

Tim Hunt is Dawn Michelle's brother and Nelson Wells Sr. is a father of Nelson Wells Jr. Gentlemen, thank you for being with me. And Mr. Wells, let me start with you. The President was asked about his conversation with President Xi about Americans in prison in China. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I talked about it at length. I talked about Jimmy Lai and I talked about two other people that --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The pastors, the religious folks.

TRUMP: Yes, I talked about the pastor. I did not feel optimistic. I have to be honest with you about that one.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What about?

TRUMP: I did feel optimistic about the second one that's now under consideration, the pastor. Very optimistic, actually.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: And so it doesn't sound, Mr. Wells, like he mentioned your son's case and doesn't have much optimism. What's your reaction? NELSON WELLS SR., SON NELSON WELLS JR. JAILED IN CHINA SINCE 2014: Well, I was very disappointed. I really felt that this was a time that the President would stand up for someone like myself, as well as Tim. And we were on pins and needles the entire time.

And we felt confident that this would happen because we have dotted all the I's across the T's. We were privy to the fact that the Chinese government was interested and felt as though this would be a prime time for us to be able to get this bridge crossed. We have been working on it for quite some time.

As you know, it's been a decade, but everything seemed to start falling in place just recently in the last year and a half or so. When the embassy stepped up and put that humanitarian release in, we just felt sure that last year, that when the President had the opportunity to go to the summit or phone call, we fell short. But on this time, we felt as though we did enough.

We got the letters out. We got Congress. Our senators behind us. And we just felt that he would have the compassion and put himself in the father's shoes and say, you know, these people have served their country. They've done well by us. And I feel to believe since this is on the table and all it takes for me is just to bring their name up. Our loved ones would have been home.

So yes, disappointed, angry, upset, don't know where to go from here. So I can't express the fact that I felt as though if I was political, someone who had political power --

[08:35:13]

BLACKWELL: Yes.

WELLS SR.: -- or maybe a big time celebrity, or even if I was a billionaire, my name, Nelson Wells Sr., my son, Nelson Wells Jr., Tim Hunt, Michelle, Dawn Michelle Hunt, our names would have been on the agenda and they would have been on that flight coming home.

BLACKWELL: But Tim, what's your reaction to what you heard?

WELLS SR.: I was destroyed.

TIM HUNT, SISTER DAWN MICHELLE HUNT JAILED IN CHINA SINCE 2014: This is the first time I actually heard the sound bite that you just played. This is the first time I've heard it. And I know from our sources in Beijing that notes were passed from the U.S. side to the Chinese side, but this is the first time I've heard that sound clip. And it just, you know, I'm disappointed all over again. We've been doing this, as Mr. Wells said, for over a decade.

You get your hopes up only to have them shot down. You get them up again only to have them shot down. And my father passed in January and I wanted to bring his daughter home before he died. And I told everybody he was sick. I said, my pop's sick, help me out. Help me get my sister home. And it didn't happen. It did not happen. And I feel I let him down and it hurts. It hurts. If I had an opportunity to speak with the President, I would just tell him, you are a father. Mr. Wells is the father and my father wanted his daughter home. They should not be separated. This should not have happened in the first place. They were scammed. They've been in prison for getting scammed. I just don't know what to say to that. I really, I just don't know what to say to that.

BLACKWELL: And Tim, as I said in the introduction, there's a concern about how much time there is left for Dawn Michelle because of her health conditions. Tell me about how she's doing.

HUNT: Both Dawn and Nelson are sick. They are both sick. My sister has been in so much pain for such a long period of time that even the Chinese side wants her home. Our sources have said that the Chinese side want both Dawn and Nelson home. It's easy. They don't want them to die in prison. It's just that simple. So why they are not home is beyond me.

BLACKWELL: Mr. Wells, you wrote in your letter, you're an army veteran. I read that your wife worked for the State Department for 28 years and you wrote in your letter to President Trump, we gave our lives to service and now in retirement, our only plea is for our son to be allowed to come home before it's too late. How do those roles, your role and your wife's role play into your expectation of your government?

WELLS SR.: Well, I served 20 years and serving in the military, your family is also a part of that. When you leave and you go away, your wife has to step up and she has to be the father and the mother and the children are always separated from their love -- from their father or mother who are serving. And so they are part of the military.

They are exactly what we would call the same enlisted, unenlisted, but they have to be there. So when we go into the situation where we serve our country to the best of our ability, and then we look back and we say, well, you know, I need you now. I need you to stand up for me. I need you to speak for me because I can't speak on my own behalf. I'm powerless, I'm hopeless. So I need you now.

And I would think that anyone who knows that a person has served their country well --

BLACKWELL: Yes.

WELLS SR.: And has done their duty and will do it again, if need be, I think that you should stand in that person's corner. I think that you should be there. And the show the American people that you care about the people that serve and fight for this country.

BLACKWELL: Well, Mr. Wells, I thank you for your service. And I thank both of you for the conversation this morning. And we hope, we hope that Dawn Michelle and Nelson Jr. come home to both of you soon. Thank you for your time.

[08:39:42]

We'll take a quick break and we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Is a law that had bipartisan support meant to advance criminal justice reform now being used to help get convicted officers out of jail early? That's what the family of Walter Scott says is happening with the former officer convicted of killing him.

Michael Slager shot and killed Scott as he ran away from him following a traffic stop in North Charleston, South Carolina in 2015. You remember this story? Well, Slager pleaded guilty in 2017 to violation of civil rights by acting under the color of law. The Scott family says that Slager could be eligible for early release in 2027 under the First Step Act, the criminal reform measure passed with bipartisan support in 2018.

Jared Fishman is with us now. He's a former federal civil rights prosecutor and prosecutor of the Slager case. He's now founder and executive director of the Justice Innovation Lab. Jared, thanks for being with me. Can you explain what's being described as a loophole that could lead to Slager's early release?

[08:45:16]

JARED FISHMAN, FORMER PROSECUTOR WHO SECURED CONVICTION OF MICHAEL SLAGER: Sure, the First Step Act was set up to help first-time offenders qualify for earlier release from prison. It was not intended to apply for people who have committed acts of violence. But the way the statute is set up, the Bureau of Prisons will review who in their custody is a first-time offender and then look to see whether or not that person was convicted of any of the 60 offenses that are listed in the statute.

Because Michael Slager was convicted of a civil rights crime, that is not on that list. So even though the federal judge found that Slager had committed murder by killing Walter Scott, it is exempt through this loophole.

BLACKWELL: And so this is not the only case. In New Orleans, there's former police officer Melvin Williams. He was released last year. He was convicted of a civil rights violation that also led to a man's death. Let me read this reporting from our affiliate WVUE. The victim, Raymond Robair was beaten so badly by the NOPD's Williams with a metal baton in 2005. He suffered fractured ribs, a ruptured spleen, massive internal bleeding, died at Charity Hospital. Six years later in 2011, a federal jury convicted Williams of a civil rights violation that led to Robair's death. The jury also convicted Williams, along with his NOPD partner, Matthew Dean Moore, of lying about the circumstances of Robair's death when they brought him to the hospital and said he was suffering from a drug overdose. He was sentenced to 22 years, released after '14.

Explain how a parole board can look at this and understand the black letter of the law, but also know that these were violent crimes that were committed and then release these officers. FISHMAN: The issue is that it's not a parole board. It's going through the regular Bureau of Prisons channels. What they're doing is evaluating who in their custody is a first-time offender. Both Melvin Williams and Michael Slager check that box. The next thing they're looking to do is do they have a disqualifying conviction? They do not, because they were not convicted of murder per se. They were convicted of civil rights violations.

And so my understanding is with Bureau of Prisons is going down that list, those two people are qualified, assuming that they've done the required rehabilitative work inside prison.

BLACKWELL: And so the First Step Act passed with large majorities in Congress, 87 votes in the Senate, more than 350 votes in the House. Is there any movement behind addressing this opportunity for specifically officers, but I don't imagine it's limited to police officers who are getting early release for these violent crimes?

FISHMAN: Well, I don't believe there's any movement at this moment, apart from the pressure that the Scott family has recently been pushing to raise awareness. Ultimately, this is a statutory fix that would require Congress to act. But as far as I know, there's no one taking it forward at this point.

BLACKWELL: All right, Jared Fishman, thank you so much for being with me and explaining what's happening there with some of these convictions.

[08:48:19]

All right, it's commencement season. And coming up, I want you to meet seven Spelman graduates who are making history together this weekend.

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BLACKWELL: You know, if the headlines and the political rhetoric is draining you and it all feels demoralizing, listen, I hear you. But I also feel some hope this morning. And if you care about the future of communities of color, this story should give you some reassurance.

It's about a special graduation for students at Spelman College this weekend. The class of 2026 at this historically black women's college has not won, but seven valedictorians, each with a different major, but the same GPA, a perfect 4.0. And this morning I'm introducing the Spelman Seven.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALYSSA RICHARDSON, VALEDICTORIAN, SPELMAN COLLEGE: Hello, everyone. My name is Alyssa Richardson. I'm an honor student, presidential scholar, biochemistry major.

CORI'ANNA WHITE, VALEDICTORIAN, SPELMAN COLLEGE: And my name is Cori'Anna White. I'm a graduating senior honor student, majoring in political science, minoring in Spanish.

ALEXIS RENEE SIMS, VALEDICTORIAN, SPELMAN COLLEGE: Alexis Renee Sims. I'm a graduating senior philosophy and political science double major.

NIA-SARAI PERRY, VALEDICTORIAN, SPELMAN COLLEGE: Nia-Sarai Perry. I'm a graduating senior philosophy major.

AIYANA RINGO, VALEDICTORIAN, SPELMAN COLLEGE: I'm Aiyana Ringo, a sociology major, with a women's studies minor.

MARIAMA DIALLO, VALEDICTORIAN, SPELMAN COLLEGE: And I'm Mariama Diallo, a graduating documentary filmmaking and psychology double major.

SOPHIA DAVIS, VALEDICTORIAN, SPELMAN COLLEGE: I'm Sophia Davis. I'm a sociology and anthropology major.

PERRY: This moment feels very surreal. I think it was something that was written exactly how it was supposed to be. My sister, Cori'Anna, she said something very powerful in our first interview. She said, seven is the number of completion. And I feel like that is just so perfect.

WHITE: It brings me back to a biblical meeting. And I think about how God created the earth in six days and on the seventh day he rested.

SIMS: It's been a long, long journey for me personally getting here to graduation.

DAVIS: It was so late at night. There was nobody awake for me to tell. So I called my mom super late and luckily she was awake and we had a conversation about it. And she was so happy for me.

RICHARDSON: I actually lit up. I was very excited about it.

BLACKWELL: What does this image mean right now in our country?

DIALLO: For young women to see women that are thriving and that are educated and that are showing that, yes, you know, we can do this.

RINGO: We can always overcome and be excellent. And that's what some women do.

PERRY: My dream is to be a corporate attorney.

WHITE: I'll be going to Columbia Law and starting in the fall of 2026.

DIALLO: To get my master's and fill my MBA and my MFA.

RINGO: I'm working as a paralegal.

WHITE: A word that I would use to describe how I feel about the future is just pure hope.

[08:55:02]

RINGO: I would say grateful and empowered.

SIMS: First blessed, second fulfilled. PERRY: We are only just going to continue to break down walls and break down barriers.

RICHARDSON: I love these girls so much. And it's just really been a ride and we're going to be sisters for life.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Yes, didn't we all need that? That should make you feel good. The graduation ceremony is happening tomorrow. So Alyssa Richardson, Nia-Sarai Perry, Cori'Anna White, Sophia Davis, Aiyana Ringo, Alexis Sims, Mariama Diallo, and the class of 2026, congratulations. I see you.

And if you see something or someone I should see, tell me. I'm on Instagram, TikTok, X, Bluesky, and you can listen to our show as a podcast. First of all, it's also now streaming live and available anytime in the CNN app. For more information, visit cnn.com/watch.

Thank you for joining me today. Smerconish is up next.

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