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Former Hostage Hamill Returning Home; Dixon Sentence Overturned

Aired May 03, 2004 - 13:00   ET

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

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


KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Image issues for America abroad, and trouble for U.S. service members accused of abusing Iraqi prisoners, we're live from the Pentagon.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was yelling, I'm an American, I'm an American, I'm an American POW.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Details of a daring escape, and now an American, held hostage in Iraq, is on his way home for a hero's welcome.

And remembering a fallen hero, the National Football League player who gave up his career and his life in the war on terror.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, hello, everyone, I'm Kyra Phillips, Miles is off today. CNN's LIVE FROM... starts right now.

Crime and punishment, pride and prejudice, all about Iraq, it's 9:00 p.m. in Iraq and already it's been a busy week. The Sunni hotbed at Fallujah is cooling down with an all-Iraqi brigade, gearing up to intervene between insurgents and U.S. Marines. But the Pentagon says that ex-Iraqi Republican Guard general who was tapped to head up the Fallujah force, won't. Apparently he didn't pass his background check.

In the Shiite holy city of Najaf, U.S. forces are trying to tread lightly, seem an all too tempting target for the self-styled militia of a fugitive cleric. The so-called Mehdi Army bombarded the U.S. compound for hours today, but no Americans were hurt.

South of Baghdad, a U.S. soldier was shot to death while guarding a stash of weapons uncovered last night. He's the seven hundred fifty-fourth U.S. service member killed in Iraq since the war began.

And there's more fallout from the photographs that apparently document abuse and the humiliation heaped on Iraqi prisoners of war. We learned today a half dozen GIs have been hit with reprimands, a seventh has been admonished. Six more face criminal charges. With the latest on that now, I'm joined by CNN's Kathleen Koch, she's at the Pentagon -- Kathleen.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, the letters of reprimand went out to six officers, and this is serious punishment by military standards. This reprimand could essentially end their careers, block any further chance of promotion in the future. A seventh officer was given a lesser punishment, a letter of admonition.

And this morning we heard on camera here at CNN, at least, for the first time, from the general who in charge of Abu Ghraib Prison at the time that those very disturbing photos showing the alleged abuse were taken, that is Brigadier General Janis Karpinski.

She has said that the images sickened her, that found out about the incidents, however, long afterwards, though she does tell CNN she accepts some responsibility. Now Karpinski has hinted that others, including superiors, as well as military intelligence officers and those conducting the various interrogations, also share blame for some of what went on there at Abu Ghraib Prison.

The secretary of state, this morning, himself a very well- respected former military official, former chairman of the joint chiefs of staff here at the Pentagon, spoke out echoing the Pentagon's insistence that this was not a widespread problem.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: These are despicable acts and I know my colleagues in the Pentagon have got a number of investigations under way. It doesn't reflect on all of our troops. Most of our troops are doing a great job upholding the highest standards of the service and doing everything they can to help the Iraqi people who are there to help and not to hurt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOCH: A journal, however, that was kept by one of six of these military policemen who are facing criminal charges in this case does says that these instances of abuse were widespread. In this journal, the officer says -- the soldier says, however, he was very concerned about them. That he raised his concerns with his superiors on several occasions and was basically told that this is how military intelligence wants it.

And there you see a photo of Ivan "Chip" Frederick. And his attorney today has asked for a very public court of inquiry. That's sweeping process that would look from the top to the bottom, from the highest general to the lowest MP to see who exactly was to blame, who exactly was responsible for what went on behind the walls of that prison -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Now Kathleen, there have been interviews that come forward on Al Jazeera television, two names of men saying that are giving interviews saying that they, indeed, were in those pictures and have now been released from the prison. Hashim Mosen Lasem (ph) and Haydr Sabar (ph). I understand that General Mark Kimmitt has confirmed that Haydr Sabar is indeed one of the prisoners in those pictures. Can you confirm that? And also do you know if Hashim Mosen Lasem is another one?

KOCH: We have been running those names by folks here at the Pentagon, but Obviously General Kimmitt, there in Baghdad, has the best information. So is confirming that one of those men was indeed in the prison, and I would certainly go with what he said.

But again now, the Pentagon really doing its level best to get the word out that it is doing what it can to punish those who it believes are responsible and conducting numerous, very widespread investigations to make sure that this sort of thing does not ever happen again.

PHILLIPS: Kathleen Koch, live from the Pentagon, thank you.

PHILLIPS: Now to Germany which may well be Thomas Hamill's idea of heaven on Earth. A day after Hamill engineered his own rescue from almost a month in Iraqi captivity, he is being checked out, cleaned up and debriefed at the U.S. Army hospital in Landstuhl.

CNN's Chris Burns is there, too -- Chris.

CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, barely 24 hours after he freed himself from his captors, Thomas Hamill is here at Landstuhl Medical Center, but also California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has just arrived moments ago here. The two have in common that they don't want press coverage. They're keeping the cameras. Mr. Hamill arrived in a simple bus, military bus with no coverage. We just watched from the fences as he arrived here.

He's arrived here for medical testing. He was shot in the right arm during the ambush back on April 9, the ambush of that fuel convoy where others were also killed and also taken hostage. Now Mr. Hamill was kept in a building that the military released the pictures of that building where he was held hostage, where he broke through a door when he heard that a U.S. military patrol was outside looking for a broken pipeline, stroke of luck for Mr. Hamill. When he heard that he forced open a door and made a break for it.

And this is what he told the U.S. forces as they were outside.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. JOSEPH MERRILL, U.S. ARMY: He didn't wave a white flag, he came out in the field and he actually took his shirt off and waved his shirt in the air. And we -- as he got closer, we heard that he was speaking English. At first, at a distance, we thought he was an Iraqi farmer who was coming out to the trucks. As he got closer we heard that he was speaking English. And the first man who walked up to him realized immediately that it was Mr. Hamill.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNS: Now, Hamill's wife is supposed to arrive some time, we believe possibly today. She is going to be escorting her husband back to their little town of Macon, Mississippi, for a hero's homecoming. Mr. Hamill is a dairy farmer who was on hard times. He had a lot of debts. He sold his last cows and went to Iraq to work as a truck driver in the high-risk, high-paying position to pay off his debts and help his family of four. Back to you, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, pretty amazing story of courage, Chris Burns, thank you so much.

Well, back in Mississippi, Hamill's family says a miracle is nothing more than they prayed for and always expected. CNN's Mike Brooks is in Hamill's hometown of Macon, no doubt a major homecoming ceremony in the works. Hi, Mike.

MIKE BROOKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Kyra. That's what we hear from the mayor, that a homecoming is in the works. He said when he returns here, they will have a Tommy Hamill Day and they will have a parade down Main Street here in Macon.

Yesterday was a day of celebration. We were at the Hamill home, the house was draped in an American flag and there were yellow balloons all throughout the yard. Yesterday evening there was a prayer service here at the Nosbi (ph) County Courthouse where they feel their prayers had definitely been answered.

Earlier today we spoke with Jason Higginbotham, he is the cousin of Tommy Hamill, who talked about an incredible escape attempt prior to him freeing himself days ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JASON HIGGINBOTHAM, HAMILL'S COUSIN: He escaped one time, about three days earlier. And he was out in the middle of the desert and the helicopter came over and he tried to flag it down but they evidently didn't see him. And he decided, you know, he didn't have any food and water and he would more than likely die in the desert trying to make it on his own.

So -- and they were taking fairly good care of him, so he went and put himself back in captivity without them knowing. And then three days later they moved him to Tikrit and he heard a military convoy coming down the road and he pried the door open and he went and caught that one.

BROOKS: So they didn't even know he ha escaped originally?

HIGGINBOTHAM: Not that we know of.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROOKS: Kyra, they're waiting for their hometown boy to get back here to Macon so they can show him the love and show him their appreciation for what he's done over there for his country and they can't wait for him to get back home. The mayor says it will definitely be Tommy Hamill Day -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Mike Brooks, and we'll be following it, of course.

Well, here in Atlanta, black lawmakers are applauding, literally, a decision from the state's highest court involving teen sex and, some think, race. The court says an African-American honors student who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for having sex with an underage white girl should not have been charged with molestation.

CNN's Eric Philips has more about that -- Eric.

ERIC PHILIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, good afternoon. A very happy day for Marcus Dixon and his parents, Kenneth and Peri Jones, his legal guardians. He found out today that he will soon be getting out of prison, that's because the Georgia Supreme Court has decided that a decision made that he should spend 10 years in prison because of aggravated child molestation was, in fact, not the right move to make.

They've reversed that decision and instead they have just upheld a conviction based on misdemeanor statutory rape. The difference, aggravated child molestation carries a mandatory 10-year sentence, misdemeanor statutory rape carries a maximum one-year sentence.

He has already served more than a year and so his parents and his attorneys think he will be out of prison quickly. They're saying probably within a couple of weeks, perhaps up to a month.

Just to give you a short background on this case, Marcus Dixon had sex, and a jury says, consensual sex with a girl who was about to turn 16 years old. She was just a few weeks shy of her sixteenth birthday when they had sex on school ground. She says it was rape. She said a couple days later that he raped her, that it was forcible.

But after hearing testimony from both Marcus Dixon and his accuser, a jury decided that he was not guilty of rape, but they did say that he was guilty of a Georgia state law that really said that he had sex with a minor. That he was a minor -- or that he was 18 years old, rather, and had sex with a minor. And according to that law, the jurors found him guilty of that.

What the jurors did not know at that time however, was that he would have to spend 10 years in prison because of that conviction. Many of the jurors saying they were shocked when they heard the sentence. Well, today, that was reversed and he we are expecting him to be out of prison some time soon. It will be up to a trial court to decide exactly what measures will be taken from this point. But again, because he served more than a year now in prison, they're hoping that Marcus Dixon will be set free -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: It will be interesting to hear from Marcus Dixon, Eric Philips, thank you.

Straight ahead, damage control, can America overcome strong reaction in the Arab world to photos showing alleged abuse of Iraqi prisoners? We're going in-depth.

And California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger heads overseas for a mission of his own. Details ahead on LIVE FROM...

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PHILLIPS: The U.S. military takes action against soldiers connected to alleged abuses in a Baghdad prison. Six U.S. troops have been reprimanded, and another is officially admonished, that's in connection with the apparent mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners illustrated in these photographs. Six military police also face criminal charges, and investigators are looking into the possibility that military intelligence officers may have been involved.

CNN's Rula Amin has reaction in the Islamic world.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RULA AMIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The pictures were on almost every newscast in every Arab country. Grodielo (ph) works for a Beirut bank.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's horrible. It's horrible.

AMIN: Ayman (ph) sells eyeglasses in Amman (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I saw that, that was despicable, disgusting, unbelievable, inhuman, that shows how bad the Americans are.

AMIN: As an Arab, I was very provoked, says this business man, every Arab was. It's sheer humiliation. U.S. condemnation of any mistreatment helps little.

(on camera): And not just because of the abuse, but also because the pictures of Arab men, naked, kneeling and bending on all fours, touched on a sensitive chord in the conservative religious Arab culture here. Many say it was a matter of dignity.

(voice-over): Arabnet (ph) said they found some former prisoners shown in the pictures. The men said they had not told their families of the abuse, too embarrassing said one.

HAMZA MANSOUR, ISLAMIC OPPOSITION LEADER (through translator): The American administration came to protect the Iraqi citizens and restore their rights as they claim, but the hell of the previous regime seem to be better than the paradise of American administration.

AMIN: One analyst in Beirut says the pictures badly damaged U.S. efforts to sell democracy in the region.

ALI HAMIDI, BEIRUT ANALYST: These scenes perhaps of torture are not new in our region, but coming from the American, it was new.

ABDUL SALAM MALHAS, BEIRUT ANALYST: I believe that when America had the chance to show its new face, they showed it with what we have seen on the TV screens.

AMIN: Newspaper headlines read: "The prisoners candle reveals the crimes of the occupation," headlines and images that give new ammunition of those opposed to the United States and its occupation in Iraq. Rula Amin, CNN, Beirut.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, more now on what this means for U.S. relations in Muslim countries. Octavia Nasr is our senior editor of Arab affairs.

Rula Amin talked about this just being ammunition for those against the U.S.-led coalition, is this the perfect recruiting material for Osama bin Laden and all his people?.

OCTAVIA NASR, CNN SR. EDITOR OF ARAB AFFAIRS: If you read Arab press, it would definitely seem so. A lot of editorials are talking about how Osama bin Laden and his likes are now celebrating because they can use these pictures to recruit people who want nothing but kill the infidels, and what a great proof of what the infidels are doing to Iraqis, if you will, through these pictures.

These pictures are speaking volumes on Arab street. The Arab media are definitely using them over and over again with a lot of analyses, trying to put things in perspective, but, a totally different perspective from what the U.S. wants at this point, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: And now these two interviews are coming forward on Al Jazeera TV, these two men that say, hey, we were the prisoners in these pictures, we're speaking out now. When we address that question to whether these gentlemen were, indeed, prisoners or not, this is what Brigadier General Janis Karpinski had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIG. GEN. JANIS KARPINSKI, U.S. ARMY RESERVE: If they're claiming to have been in the prison, and they're claiming to be individuals in those photographs, they could very well have been declared no further value, they go through the board process and been released.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: All right, she didn't speak specifically, however, we have been able to confirm that one man definitely was in those pictures.

NASR: Right, we did get a confirmation from General Kimmitt that one of these men indeed was one of the men in the pictures, Haydr Sabar is confirmed now that he indeed is one of the men in the pictures..

He spoke to Al Jazeera and he talked about the abuses that he was exposed to in the Abu Ghraib Prison. He also led Al Jazeera to another prisoner that claims to be also one of those, not necessarily in the picture, but who was held in Abu Ghraib. They talk about abuses, they talk about being beaten up, kicked around, punched in the face and so forth. And they talk about these sexual positions in a way that one of them says, I cannot even describe, it's so humiliating for them to even admit to the fact that they were exposed to such behavior.

PHILLIPS: Now, that's Haydr in the checkered shirt. This gentleman right here, Hashim Mosen Lasem, we have not confirmed, if, indeed, he is for real or not, right?

NASR: No, we couldn't confirm that. We're working on it as you know. And in the meantime, he does talk about his time in prison, which, as we heard it on Al Jazeera, it sounds authentic because he describes what was going on. And also you have to think that the first guy, the Haydr Sabar guy, is the one who led them to the second guy based on notes that he had written and taken in prison by meeting other prisoners and so forth.

So, it seems pretty authentic. Now whether he is in the picture or not, we do not know. But one of the comments that he said in that piece that Al Jazeera filed, he says, they used to ask us to get naked and turn towards the wall and do this and do that. He couldn't even get himself to say what he was asked to do.

Now, you have to remember, this is a taboo subject in the Middle East. This guy, apparently, didn't even tell his folks or family that he was exposed to this kind of behavior. He just said, I was in jail, I was beaten up and so forth. But he never discussed with them the fact that he was made to strip naked and he was made to be put in positions like these. You just -- you have to imagine the impact that these pictures will have on a very, very conservative society that is the Arab world.

PHILLIPS: Also, we were also talking about what were these men were being held in prison for. And were they, indeed, a high threat? And when I brought that question up to General Karpinski, if they're not considered high threat, they are let go. So these might be individuals that were humiliated even for no reason. I think we should point that out.

But number two, President Bush coming forward and saying that he is urging Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to make sure the U.S. soldiers are punished for shameful and appalling acts. How is this going over in the Arab world?

NASR: It's being reported on pretty heavily, but it seems from analyzing the Arab media, it seems that it's not going down very well. People are saying, well, how come the U.S. president is apologizing now? He should really thank the press for making this case public. If it weren't for CBS filing this story on these accusers and showing these pictures, no one would have even known that these things are happening or could be happening in Iraqi jails. So in a way, they're accepting the apology. In another way, they're saying, let's wait and see how these people are going to be punished if they are found guilty.

PHILLIPS: Octavia Nasr, thank you, and let us know if you confirm that second interview on Al Jazeera.

NASR: I sure will..

PHILLIPS: Thank you.

Well, you can see CNN's full interview with Brigadier General Janis Karpinski tomorrow morning on "AMERICAN MORNING" beginning at 7:00 a.m. Eastern. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: In more news around the world, no resignation by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Sharon says he intends to continue to lead the country despite a major political feat. Yesterday his Likud Party soundly rejected Sharon's plan to pull settlements out of Gaza and parts of the West Bank.

Turkey foils an alleged plot to bomb next month's NATO summit. Sixteen summits (sic) have been detained in raids that also seized weapons, bomb-making materials and computer discs. Police say the group may be members of Ansar al-Islam, a terrorist organization linked to al Qaeda.

California's muscular leader wraps up his tour of the Middle East with a stop at Ramstein air base, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will visit wounded U.S. troops. Yesterday he spoke yesterday at the dedication of a museum of tolerance in Jerusalem. Today he lunched in Jordan with King Abdullah II.

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Aired May 3, 2004 - 13:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Image issues for America abroad, and trouble for U.S. service members accused of abusing Iraqi prisoners, we're live from the Pentagon.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was yelling, I'm an American, I'm an American, I'm an American POW.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Details of a daring escape, and now an American, held hostage in Iraq, is on his way home for a hero's welcome.

And remembering a fallen hero, the National Football League player who gave up his career and his life in the war on terror.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, hello, everyone, I'm Kyra Phillips, Miles is off today. CNN's LIVE FROM... starts right now.

Crime and punishment, pride and prejudice, all about Iraq, it's 9:00 p.m. in Iraq and already it's been a busy week. The Sunni hotbed at Fallujah is cooling down with an all-Iraqi brigade, gearing up to intervene between insurgents and U.S. Marines. But the Pentagon says that ex-Iraqi Republican Guard general who was tapped to head up the Fallujah force, won't. Apparently he didn't pass his background check.

In the Shiite holy city of Najaf, U.S. forces are trying to tread lightly, seem an all too tempting target for the self-styled militia of a fugitive cleric. The so-called Mehdi Army bombarded the U.S. compound for hours today, but no Americans were hurt.

South of Baghdad, a U.S. soldier was shot to death while guarding a stash of weapons uncovered last night. He's the seven hundred fifty-fourth U.S. service member killed in Iraq since the war began.

And there's more fallout from the photographs that apparently document abuse and the humiliation heaped on Iraqi prisoners of war. We learned today a half dozen GIs have been hit with reprimands, a seventh has been admonished. Six more face criminal charges. With the latest on that now, I'm joined by CNN's Kathleen Koch, she's at the Pentagon -- Kathleen.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, the letters of reprimand went out to six officers, and this is serious punishment by military standards. This reprimand could essentially end their careers, block any further chance of promotion in the future. A seventh officer was given a lesser punishment, a letter of admonition.

And this morning we heard on camera here at CNN, at least, for the first time, from the general who in charge of Abu Ghraib Prison at the time that those very disturbing photos showing the alleged abuse were taken, that is Brigadier General Janis Karpinski.

She has said that the images sickened her, that found out about the incidents, however, long afterwards, though she does tell CNN she accepts some responsibility. Now Karpinski has hinted that others, including superiors, as well as military intelligence officers and those conducting the various interrogations, also share blame for some of what went on there at Abu Ghraib Prison.

The secretary of state, this morning, himself a very well- respected former military official, former chairman of the joint chiefs of staff here at the Pentagon, spoke out echoing the Pentagon's insistence that this was not a widespread problem.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: These are despicable acts and I know my colleagues in the Pentagon have got a number of investigations under way. It doesn't reflect on all of our troops. Most of our troops are doing a great job upholding the highest standards of the service and doing everything they can to help the Iraqi people who are there to help and not to hurt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOCH: A journal, however, that was kept by one of six of these military policemen who are facing criminal charges in this case does says that these instances of abuse were widespread. In this journal, the officer says -- the soldier says, however, he was very concerned about them. That he raised his concerns with his superiors on several occasions and was basically told that this is how military intelligence wants it.

And there you see a photo of Ivan "Chip" Frederick. And his attorney today has asked for a very public court of inquiry. That's sweeping process that would look from the top to the bottom, from the highest general to the lowest MP to see who exactly was to blame, who exactly was responsible for what went on behind the walls of that prison -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Now Kathleen, there have been interviews that come forward on Al Jazeera television, two names of men saying that are giving interviews saying that they, indeed, were in those pictures and have now been released from the prison. Hashim Mosen Lasem (ph) and Haydr Sabar (ph). I understand that General Mark Kimmitt has confirmed that Haydr Sabar is indeed one of the prisoners in those pictures. Can you confirm that? And also do you know if Hashim Mosen Lasem is another one?

KOCH: We have been running those names by folks here at the Pentagon, but Obviously General Kimmitt, there in Baghdad, has the best information. So is confirming that one of those men was indeed in the prison, and I would certainly go with what he said.

But again now, the Pentagon really doing its level best to get the word out that it is doing what it can to punish those who it believes are responsible and conducting numerous, very widespread investigations to make sure that this sort of thing does not ever happen again.

PHILLIPS: Kathleen Koch, live from the Pentagon, thank you.

PHILLIPS: Now to Germany which may well be Thomas Hamill's idea of heaven on Earth. A day after Hamill engineered his own rescue from almost a month in Iraqi captivity, he is being checked out, cleaned up and debriefed at the U.S. Army hospital in Landstuhl.

CNN's Chris Burns is there, too -- Chris.

CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, barely 24 hours after he freed himself from his captors, Thomas Hamill is here at Landstuhl Medical Center, but also California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has just arrived moments ago here. The two have in common that they don't want press coverage. They're keeping the cameras. Mr. Hamill arrived in a simple bus, military bus with no coverage. We just watched from the fences as he arrived here.

He's arrived here for medical testing. He was shot in the right arm during the ambush back on April 9, the ambush of that fuel convoy where others were also killed and also taken hostage. Now Mr. Hamill was kept in a building that the military released the pictures of that building where he was held hostage, where he broke through a door when he heard that a U.S. military patrol was outside looking for a broken pipeline, stroke of luck for Mr. Hamill. When he heard that he forced open a door and made a break for it.

And this is what he told the U.S. forces as they were outside.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. JOSEPH MERRILL, U.S. ARMY: He didn't wave a white flag, he came out in the field and he actually took his shirt off and waved his shirt in the air. And we -- as he got closer, we heard that he was speaking English. At first, at a distance, we thought he was an Iraqi farmer who was coming out to the trucks. As he got closer we heard that he was speaking English. And the first man who walked up to him realized immediately that it was Mr. Hamill.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNS: Now, Hamill's wife is supposed to arrive some time, we believe possibly today. She is going to be escorting her husband back to their little town of Macon, Mississippi, for a hero's homecoming. Mr. Hamill is a dairy farmer who was on hard times. He had a lot of debts. He sold his last cows and went to Iraq to work as a truck driver in the high-risk, high-paying position to pay off his debts and help his family of four. Back to you, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, pretty amazing story of courage, Chris Burns, thank you so much.

Well, back in Mississippi, Hamill's family says a miracle is nothing more than they prayed for and always expected. CNN's Mike Brooks is in Hamill's hometown of Macon, no doubt a major homecoming ceremony in the works. Hi, Mike.

MIKE BROOKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Kyra. That's what we hear from the mayor, that a homecoming is in the works. He said when he returns here, they will have a Tommy Hamill Day and they will have a parade down Main Street here in Macon.

Yesterday was a day of celebration. We were at the Hamill home, the house was draped in an American flag and there were yellow balloons all throughout the yard. Yesterday evening there was a prayer service here at the Nosbi (ph) County Courthouse where they feel their prayers had definitely been answered.

Earlier today we spoke with Jason Higginbotham, he is the cousin of Tommy Hamill, who talked about an incredible escape attempt prior to him freeing himself days ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JASON HIGGINBOTHAM, HAMILL'S COUSIN: He escaped one time, about three days earlier. And he was out in the middle of the desert and the helicopter came over and he tried to flag it down but they evidently didn't see him. And he decided, you know, he didn't have any food and water and he would more than likely die in the desert trying to make it on his own.

So -- and they were taking fairly good care of him, so he went and put himself back in captivity without them knowing. And then three days later they moved him to Tikrit and he heard a military convoy coming down the road and he pried the door open and he went and caught that one.

BROOKS: So they didn't even know he ha escaped originally?

HIGGINBOTHAM: Not that we know of.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROOKS: Kyra, they're waiting for their hometown boy to get back here to Macon so they can show him the love and show him their appreciation for what he's done over there for his country and they can't wait for him to get back home. The mayor says it will definitely be Tommy Hamill Day -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Mike Brooks, and we'll be following it, of course.

Well, here in Atlanta, black lawmakers are applauding, literally, a decision from the state's highest court involving teen sex and, some think, race. The court says an African-American honors student who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for having sex with an underage white girl should not have been charged with molestation.

CNN's Eric Philips has more about that -- Eric.

ERIC PHILIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, good afternoon. A very happy day for Marcus Dixon and his parents, Kenneth and Peri Jones, his legal guardians. He found out today that he will soon be getting out of prison, that's because the Georgia Supreme Court has decided that a decision made that he should spend 10 years in prison because of aggravated child molestation was, in fact, not the right move to make.

They've reversed that decision and instead they have just upheld a conviction based on misdemeanor statutory rape. The difference, aggravated child molestation carries a mandatory 10-year sentence, misdemeanor statutory rape carries a maximum one-year sentence.

He has already served more than a year and so his parents and his attorneys think he will be out of prison quickly. They're saying probably within a couple of weeks, perhaps up to a month.

Just to give you a short background on this case, Marcus Dixon had sex, and a jury says, consensual sex with a girl who was about to turn 16 years old. She was just a few weeks shy of her sixteenth birthday when they had sex on school ground. She says it was rape. She said a couple days later that he raped her, that it was forcible.

But after hearing testimony from both Marcus Dixon and his accuser, a jury decided that he was not guilty of rape, but they did say that he was guilty of a Georgia state law that really said that he had sex with a minor. That he was a minor -- or that he was 18 years old, rather, and had sex with a minor. And according to that law, the jurors found him guilty of that.

What the jurors did not know at that time however, was that he would have to spend 10 years in prison because of that conviction. Many of the jurors saying they were shocked when they heard the sentence. Well, today, that was reversed and he we are expecting him to be out of prison some time soon. It will be up to a trial court to decide exactly what measures will be taken from this point. But again, because he served more than a year now in prison, they're hoping that Marcus Dixon will be set free -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: It will be interesting to hear from Marcus Dixon, Eric Philips, thank you.

Straight ahead, damage control, can America overcome strong reaction in the Arab world to photos showing alleged abuse of Iraqi prisoners? We're going in-depth.

And California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger heads overseas for a mission of his own. Details ahead on LIVE FROM...

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PHILLIPS: The U.S. military takes action against soldiers connected to alleged abuses in a Baghdad prison. Six U.S. troops have been reprimanded, and another is officially admonished, that's in connection with the apparent mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners illustrated in these photographs. Six military police also face criminal charges, and investigators are looking into the possibility that military intelligence officers may have been involved.

CNN's Rula Amin has reaction in the Islamic world.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RULA AMIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The pictures were on almost every newscast in every Arab country. Grodielo (ph) works for a Beirut bank.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's horrible. It's horrible.

AMIN: Ayman (ph) sells eyeglasses in Amman (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I saw that, that was despicable, disgusting, unbelievable, inhuman, that shows how bad the Americans are.

AMIN: As an Arab, I was very provoked, says this business man, every Arab was. It's sheer humiliation. U.S. condemnation of any mistreatment helps little.

(on camera): And not just because of the abuse, but also because the pictures of Arab men, naked, kneeling and bending on all fours, touched on a sensitive chord in the conservative religious Arab culture here. Many say it was a matter of dignity.

(voice-over): Arabnet (ph) said they found some former prisoners shown in the pictures. The men said they had not told their families of the abuse, too embarrassing said one.

HAMZA MANSOUR, ISLAMIC OPPOSITION LEADER (through translator): The American administration came to protect the Iraqi citizens and restore their rights as they claim, but the hell of the previous regime seem to be better than the paradise of American administration.

AMIN: One analyst in Beirut says the pictures badly damaged U.S. efforts to sell democracy in the region.

ALI HAMIDI, BEIRUT ANALYST: These scenes perhaps of torture are not new in our region, but coming from the American, it was new.

ABDUL SALAM MALHAS, BEIRUT ANALYST: I believe that when America had the chance to show its new face, they showed it with what we have seen on the TV screens.

AMIN: Newspaper headlines read: "The prisoners candle reveals the crimes of the occupation," headlines and images that give new ammunition of those opposed to the United States and its occupation in Iraq. Rula Amin, CNN, Beirut.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, more now on what this means for U.S. relations in Muslim countries. Octavia Nasr is our senior editor of Arab affairs.

Rula Amin talked about this just being ammunition for those against the U.S.-led coalition, is this the perfect recruiting material for Osama bin Laden and all his people?.

OCTAVIA NASR, CNN SR. EDITOR OF ARAB AFFAIRS: If you read Arab press, it would definitely seem so. A lot of editorials are talking about how Osama bin Laden and his likes are now celebrating because they can use these pictures to recruit people who want nothing but kill the infidels, and what a great proof of what the infidels are doing to Iraqis, if you will, through these pictures.

These pictures are speaking volumes on Arab street. The Arab media are definitely using them over and over again with a lot of analyses, trying to put things in perspective, but, a totally different perspective from what the U.S. wants at this point, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: And now these two interviews are coming forward on Al Jazeera TV, these two men that say, hey, we were the prisoners in these pictures, we're speaking out now. When we address that question to whether these gentlemen were, indeed, prisoners or not, this is what Brigadier General Janis Karpinski had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIG. GEN. JANIS KARPINSKI, U.S. ARMY RESERVE: If they're claiming to have been in the prison, and they're claiming to be individuals in those photographs, they could very well have been declared no further value, they go through the board process and been released.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: All right, she didn't speak specifically, however, we have been able to confirm that one man definitely was in those pictures.

NASR: Right, we did get a confirmation from General Kimmitt that one of these men indeed was one of the men in the pictures, Haydr Sabar is confirmed now that he indeed is one of the men in the pictures..

He spoke to Al Jazeera and he talked about the abuses that he was exposed to in the Abu Ghraib Prison. He also led Al Jazeera to another prisoner that claims to be also one of those, not necessarily in the picture, but who was held in Abu Ghraib. They talk about abuses, they talk about being beaten up, kicked around, punched in the face and so forth. And they talk about these sexual positions in a way that one of them says, I cannot even describe, it's so humiliating for them to even admit to the fact that they were exposed to such behavior.

PHILLIPS: Now, that's Haydr in the checkered shirt. This gentleman right here, Hashim Mosen Lasem, we have not confirmed, if, indeed, he is for real or not, right?

NASR: No, we couldn't confirm that. We're working on it as you know. And in the meantime, he does talk about his time in prison, which, as we heard it on Al Jazeera, it sounds authentic because he describes what was going on. And also you have to think that the first guy, the Haydr Sabar guy, is the one who led them to the second guy based on notes that he had written and taken in prison by meeting other prisoners and so forth.

So, it seems pretty authentic. Now whether he is in the picture or not, we do not know. But one of the comments that he said in that piece that Al Jazeera filed, he says, they used to ask us to get naked and turn towards the wall and do this and do that. He couldn't even get himself to say what he was asked to do.

Now, you have to remember, this is a taboo subject in the Middle East. This guy, apparently, didn't even tell his folks or family that he was exposed to this kind of behavior. He just said, I was in jail, I was beaten up and so forth. But he never discussed with them the fact that he was made to strip naked and he was made to be put in positions like these. You just -- you have to imagine the impact that these pictures will have on a very, very conservative society that is the Arab world.

PHILLIPS: Also, we were also talking about what were these men were being held in prison for. And were they, indeed, a high threat? And when I brought that question up to General Karpinski, if they're not considered high threat, they are let go. So these might be individuals that were humiliated even for no reason. I think we should point that out.

But number two, President Bush coming forward and saying that he is urging Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to make sure the U.S. soldiers are punished for shameful and appalling acts. How is this going over in the Arab world?

NASR: It's being reported on pretty heavily, but it seems from analyzing the Arab media, it seems that it's not going down very well. People are saying, well, how come the U.S. president is apologizing now? He should really thank the press for making this case public. If it weren't for CBS filing this story on these accusers and showing these pictures, no one would have even known that these things are happening or could be happening in Iraqi jails. So in a way, they're accepting the apology. In another way, they're saying, let's wait and see how these people are going to be punished if they are found guilty.

PHILLIPS: Octavia Nasr, thank you, and let us know if you confirm that second interview on Al Jazeera.

NASR: I sure will..

PHILLIPS: Thank you.

Well, you can see CNN's full interview with Brigadier General Janis Karpinski tomorrow morning on "AMERICAN MORNING" beginning at 7:00 a.m. Eastern. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: In more news around the world, no resignation by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Sharon says he intends to continue to lead the country despite a major political feat. Yesterday his Likud Party soundly rejected Sharon's plan to pull settlements out of Gaza and parts of the West Bank.

Turkey foils an alleged plot to bomb next month's NATO summit. Sixteen summits (sic) have been detained in raids that also seized weapons, bomb-making materials and computer discs. Police say the group may be members of Ansar al-Islam, a terrorist organization linked to al Qaeda.

California's muscular leader wraps up his tour of the Middle East with a stop at Ramstein air base, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will visit wounded U.S. troops. Yesterday he spoke yesterday at the dedication of a museum of tolerance in Jerusalem. Today he lunched in Jordan with King Abdullah II.

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