Return to Transcripts main page

Live From...

Washington Pulling Its Ambassador From Syria; Hunt for Osama bin Laden

Aired February 15, 2005 - 13:33   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: Looking at stories now in the news, guilty, that's the verdict of the murder trial of Christopher Pittman, the teenager charged with killing his grandparents. Live pictures inside the courtroom now. As you know Pittman claimed the anti- depressant Zoloft drove him to kill. We are waiting for the judge to announcer that sentence. It could happen any moment.
It's still okay to take butane lighters on U.S. airliners, even though there is a law against it. That would be the Intelligence Reform Act, passed and signed in December, setting today, February 15th, as the date the lighter ban could take effect. But the Transportation Safety Administration says the ban is under review. We're not sure why, but there has been some concern expressed about banning items that cannot easily be detected at security checkpoints.

A big blow to two journalists at the center of the CIA leak investigation. A federal appeals court today ordered journalists Matthew Cooper and Judith Miller to testify in court or go to jail. The reporters have refused to testify before a grand jury investigating who leaked the name of covert CIA operative Valerie Plame. Authorities for both reporters say they'll ask a full appeals court to reverse that ruling.

The deadly bombing in Beirut is having major repercussions here in the U.S. Washington is pulling its ambassador from Syria for consultations among rising tensions over the assassination of Lebanon's former prime minister, the apparent target of yesterday's blast.

CNN's senior international correspondent Brent Sadler takes us on a tour of the devastation, right there in the heart of Beirut.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRENT SADLER, CNN SR. INTL. CORRESPONDENT: The fallout from the political assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri is still reverberating, not just here in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, but throughout the Middle East and far beyond.

This is where the massive explosion took place. We just pan off to my right, you can see the size of the crater here, a massive hole that has given you some sort of idea of the scale of the blast that claimed the life of Mr. Hariri and at least nine others in his armored motorcade. One of his closest colleagues, a former minister, Bethel Flahan (ph), is in hospital abroad fighting for his life with over 97 percent burns as a result of the magnitude of the blast. If I can give you some idea of the collateral damage around here, we'll pick our way through the debris. This on my left is the former renowned St. George Hotel. It still had not been rebuilt after the 15-year civil war that engulfed this country in the 1970s and 1980s. The blast was set off between the St. George hotel and another empty building that was in the process of reconstruction.

Now, as we walk through the debris here, I can see Lebanese army soldiers and now in the process of taking photographs of the blast site, looking at how this detonation was laid, how these explosives were set. It's still unclear at this stage whether or not this was a car bomb, a suicide bombing, or some sort of underground explosion. What we do know is that there were construction works going on in this area. And we do know from what the authorities are telling us on the ground that between 250 and 300 kilos, maybe about 700 pounds of explosives, were detonated, and we believe a single blast.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: That was Brent Sadler in Beirut. Almost 3 1/2 years after the 9/11 attacks, still no sign of Osama bin Laden. In hope of capturing the elusive terrorist once and for all, the U.S. is airing radio and television commercials in Pakistan, publicizing the $25 million reward for bin Laden's capture.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Who are victims of terrorism? Our fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters? Who are these terrorists and who can stop them? Only you. (INAUDIBLE) is any perpetrator of any act of global terrorism against U.S. citizens or assets, please call 0-800-23234. You can be entitled to a reward of up to $25 million for providing useful information in this regard, and you and your family would be entitled to be relocated to a safe location. Your call will be kept confidential.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Now the commercials began airing this week. The only problem, as you heard, they're not in Arabic, and many people don't have access to televisions there. So what's purpose? Joining us now, Octavia Nasr, who is our senior editor for Arab affairs. Octavia, what language is it in? That's the translated English we heard.

OCTAVIA NASR, CNN SR. EDITOR FOR ARAB AFFAIRS: Right, this is Urdu. So obviously, they are targeting a Pakistani audience that speaks Urdu in the hope that some of them, one of them, know where bin Laden is and will turn him over.

A quick call to some people, just to see what kind of reaction they have to this. No. 1, everybody forgot how much the award is. It seems the award is not going anywhere. Some people thought it was $50 million already. Something about this man tells people, and all the experts, and the people who monitor him closely and his entourage, says that the reward doesn't work. Now, taking this film we just looked at... O'BRIEN: Let's talk about that for a moment. Why is money not a motivator in this case, do you think?

NASR: Loyalty is a lot more important to the bin Laden people than the money. And the money -- if you -- I mean, you are going to be consider a traitor. People like these, you know, would rather die as martyrs, if you will, than be ashamed to say that they got money to turn someone -- he's revered. We have to understand, he is revered by many, many people. That's why he's able to hide for so long.

O'BRIEN: So the money is not a motivator, because there's this blood oath, this desire to fight to the death for Osama bin Laden. Let's take for a moment the pitch there. Does that tact, do you think, get at these people in any way, shape or form?

NASR: We will see. Obviously, we're going to watch and see if it's going to get anywhere. The interesting thing about it, we checked to see which stations in Pakistan are running it. There's one station called Geo (ph) Television. We looked it up. It's a small television station that was established in 2002. When they described their mission on the Internet, they say, "Geo informs and entertains while celebrating cultures and prompting dialogue in the spirit of live and let live." It just makes you wonder how many people who know where Osama bin Laden is are tuning in to this Geo Television and listening to these commercials.

O'BRIEN: Well, are they watching any television at all if they're hiding out in a cave in this rugged part of Pakistan. Obviously, it's a very close circle of people who actually know his whereabouts.

NASR: Obviously, yes. Otherwise he would have been captured by now. Some people believe -- most people believe that he is on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan in the Waziristan area. Now, to get to Waziristan is not an easy feat. You have to ride donkeys and travel for days before you get there. So you have satellite television -- is not readily available, let's say.

But at the same time, you have to -- you know, you look at the Islamist groups, and you look at their Web sites, for example. You see that these people are savvy. They're computer savvy. They post messages on their Web sites, pictures, videos, statements, they're quick. They all have cyberspace section on their Web sites. So where the tape is going to go and what kind of reaction it will get, we'll see.

O'BRIEN: Octavia Nasr, thank you very much. A little breaking news -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: We'll take you live to the courtroom right now. As you know, the young man, Chris Pittman, who was 12 at the time, saying that he killed his grandparents due to taking the anti-depressant Zoloft. I was told that he -- did he just take the stand and talk? Or is he going to take the stand and talk? He just talked. So we're going to listen to the judge now, then we will take the tape from just moments ago where Chris -- we heard from Chris for the first time. (JOINED IN PROGRESS)

JUDGE DANIEL PIEPER, S.C. 6TH CIRCUIT COURT: ... this case and it had always been my desire to move this case along and bring it to trial as soon as possible because of all of the competing issues in this case. I think all of ya'll did a real good job in bringing this case to trial as soon as you could, based upon the circumstances. A lot happened in this case before you got involved. And I want to thank you all for bringing it.

Certainly, there's always a concern when a case has not been moved in the way that some may want to move it and that's not offering any kind of criticism to what happened in the past. I wasn't involved so I can't speak for that. But I'm just thankful that all of ya'll got together and you were able to move this case along to where we could bring it up for trial in a fairly expedited fashion from point all of us were involved with this case.

And this case has touched upon various societal policies and considerations of both the juvenile justice system and the adult criminal court system and the concepts of punishment, deterrents, as well as rehabilitation of a juvenile. There is no doubt, as you've said, Mr. Vickery (ph), that this is a tragic case, tragic to the victims, as well as to the entire family involved, and that's always the case. This court has presided over numerous, countless murder trials. And they're all tragic, right to the very core, whether they involve a juvenile or any other type of individual, they're all tragic to this court.

And this case has called attention to the very core values of this society, about the treatment of juveniles and punishment. I do recognize the emotional aspects of this case. I do recognize the policies of the juvenile justice system and the considerations that should be shared and approached in any particular case, and possibly the moral significance of any decision by court. But this court, nonetheless, must recognize the legislative mandates pertaining to this system and those mandates that have been upheld by higher courts of this state. This court sits as trial court. This court is obligated to follow the precedent of its superior courts.

And having said that, though, I do have some discretion in sentencing -- not a lot in this matter. The options, as I understand, and you can correct me if I'm wrong, Mr. Vickery are 30 years or life. Is that your understanding?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is our understanding that those are the statutory options open to the court, your honor.

PIEPER: All right. Well, I have considered everything that has been presented to me. And it is the judgment of this court that -- as to each of these counts, the defendant receive a sentence of 30 years. Those will be concurrent to one another, not consecutive. Good luck to you. Thank you very much.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your honor, there's one additional matter.

PIEPER: Yes, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We would ask the court for bond...

KAGAN: Judge Daniel Pieper there, the judge presiding over the murder trial concerning Chris Pittman, now 15 years old. He admitted to killing his grandparents, but he said it was the anti-depressant Zoloft that made him do it. But today a jury said he's guilty of murder and now he'll serve 30 years to life in prison.

Our Elizabeth Cohen outside of the courtroom. Elizabeth, I know that we heard from Pittman just moments ago, but it happened so quickly. Do you know what he said?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, as I understand it, what he said to the judge is, I leave it in the hands of God. And I heard him crying. His family members also crying. His father, his grandparents on the other side, obviously, his sister, asking the judge for wisdom, asking the judge for mercy. His 18-year-old sister, barely able to talk through her tears. And Judge Pieper sentencing him to 30 years. Obviously, he killed two people so we're talking about two sentences, but running concurrently.

KAGAN: Just to give a little background -- once again, we've been talking this about this case, we've been talking about Chris Pittman, now found guilty of murder. But just to give viewers a little context, Elizabeth, tell us about the history of why he was on Zoloft, the background with regard to his mother, some resentment he felt about her not being around, kind of what led us to where we are today.

COHEN: Sure. Chris Pittman's mother left him when he was a baby. He was raised by his father in Florida. He had a very rocky relationship with his father. He ran away from home approximately a month before he killed his grandparents. So he ran away from home, from his father's home in Florida. He was found about 15 miles away and he was put in a psychiatric institution for treatment for about six days, where they put him on the drug Paxil. Paxil is another anti-depressant in the same class as Zoloft.

The defense tried to make the case -- they looked at nurse's notes and said, hey, the nurses said when he got to this facility that he was calm, he was obedient, he was all yes, ma'am, yes, sir. And then when they put him on the Paxil, it started to make him very agitated, he started to get angry, he started to get sort of hyper and manic, were the some of the words that they used. And he was then -- left that facility after six days.

And then very shortly, within a matter of days, his father sent him to South Carolina, and that's what Chris Pittman wanted. He wanted to go live with his grandparents. And almost as soon as he arrived in South Carolina, his mother took him to their family doctor, not a psychiatrist or a psychologist, but to the family doctor, and asked him for Paxil. And he said sure, and then he went into his cabinet, couldn't find any samples for Paxil and so instead said here's Zoloft and wrote the instructions for how much to take on the bag that he gave him the sample pack. The doctor said he told him to take 25 milligrams a day for the first six days and then up the dosage to 50 milligrams, which is how that starter pack worked. Now Chris Pittman's attorney said that Chris thought he was then supposed to double it to 100, and there was some discussion about whether or not that was true. But that was situation that he found himself in. So it all happened very quickly.

From the first time he took one of these anti-depressants until the murder, only about a month passed. So this all happened very quickly. And you heard his family begging for mercy from judge, saying this child has been through a lot, the adults in his life have let him down. He had no trouble with the law before he killed his grandparents -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: And just a little side note, Elizabeth Cohen, Zoloft's manufacturer, of course, denying any scientific evidence that Zoloft led to violence toward others. Just wanted to add that. Elizabeth Cohen there outside the courtroom, as we continue to follow this story. We're going to take a quick break. More LIVE FROM right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: All right. It's time now to focus on those Valentine's Day disappointments and disasters. It's the day no one should forget. In Corvallis, Oregon, these folks had no problem at a public kiss-in. But remember this, never kiss off Valentine's Day. Let's go to Chicago Tribune advice columnist Amy Dickinson, syndicated the world over, who's now recovering from Valentine's Day, along with her readers.

Hello, Amy, good to see you.

AMY DICKINSON, CHICAGO TRIBUNE COLUMNIST: Hey, Miles, I'm in mourning.

O'BRIEN: You're wearing black, I noticed. Now, you went -- after we talked to you yesterday, you went over across the street there to the drugstore.

DICKINSON: Right.

O'BRIEN: And it was quite a scene that unfolded before your very eyes.

DICKINSON: It was a scene like something I've never seen. OK, one aisle of Valentine's Day cards, pretty picked over, because it was about 6:00 at night. And all of these people just grabbing, grabbing, grabbing cards. It was very, very sad.

O'BRIEN: All right. So under deadline, pressure, doing something, which is better than nothing, I guess. Which leads us to our first little bit of advice from Amy, which is -- or to avoid, I should say, is don't do anything. Doing nothing...

DICKINSON: Doing nothing... O'BRIEN: ... is bad, is worse than going at 6:00 p.m. and getting the picked over card or the wilty flowers, correct?

DICKINSON: Correct. You have to do something, even for people who say, oh, it's too commercial, I love you anyway, do something. Make the coffee, bring somebody breakfast in bed, you've got to do something.

O'BRIEN: All right, what if you did the next item on the list, too little too late?

DICKINSON: Well, you know, Miles, I also went to the famous Fannie Mae chocolate shop over here in Chicago last night. Sad, sad, sad sight of 90 people crammed into that shop, men mainly, trying to buy the last morsel of chocolate. And I spoke to the very last guy in line. And I said, are you blowing it here? And he goes, no, I'm good, I'm good.

(LAUGHTER)

O'BRIEN: So denial is a very powerful thing, isn't it? I'm number 91, it's 6:00 p.m. on Valentine's Day, but I'm getting my chocolate.

DICKINSON: I'm good.

O'BRIEN: I'm good. All right. What about sort of the flip side of all this? Can you go overboard, too much too soon, all that kind of thing?

DICKINSON: Oh, yes, too much, too soon. A friend of mine told me that she once got through bouquets of flowers from three different guys on Valentine's Day.

O'BRIEN: Wow.

DICKINSON: And guess what?

O'BRIEN: Wow.

DICKINSON: They canceled each other out.

O'BRIEN: Wow. That is -- that's a little too much, isn't it?

DICKINSON: Yes, it is too much.

O'BRIEN: All right, let's keep pressing on here. We've got a little more time. First date on Valentine's Day, bad? Bad?

DICKINSON: Don't go there.

O'BRIEN: Don't go there, why not?

DICKINSON: No. You have black it out, just black it out. All you...

O'BRIEN: It's a black out day.

DICKINSON: ... single people, just black it out.

O'BRIEN: No upgrades that day.

DICKINSON: Never, never, never go on a first date on Valentine's Day.

O'BRIEN: Why not?

DICKINSON: It's too loaded. You're surrounded by smoochy people and candlelight, it's not good.

O'BRIEN: All right. And then finally, this one's good. And I don't know if this came from some letters you received or not, but you go out on Valentine's Day, you're single, you have a few adult beverages, and "let's call up sweetie pie." Bad idea, right?

DICKINSON: You start speed dialing your exes. Everybody does this, Miles.

O'BRIEN: They do, oh, really?

DICKINSON: And all I can say, is, friends don't let friends drink and speed dial. Take the cell phone away. Because you know what, Miles, I met the perfect guy today.

O'BRIEN: Who?

DICKINSON: And he's on sale, Mr. Wonderful. Listen.

TOY: You know, honey, why don't you just relax and let me make dinner tonight?

(LAUGHTER)

DICKINSON: Oh, did you hear that?

O'BRIEN: Marry that man.

DICKINSON: Perfect guy.

O'BRIEN: Amy Dickinson with "Ask Amy," Chicago Tribune and millions and millions of other papers, thank you very much, always a pleasure.

DICKINSON: Thanks, Miles.

O'BRIEN: Back with more in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All right. We're just sitting here talking about life.

O'BRIEN: Just having a little chat about our Valentines. PHILLIPS: Valentine's Day.

O'BRIEN: Coming up in our second hour of LIVE FROM, felled by the flu. Michael Jackson's potential jurors are left to cool their heels until next week. There was still a little action in the courtroom today. We'll go live to California for the latest.

PHILLIPS: And if David once slew Goliath, could this boy, also named David, bring Frankenstein to his knees? LIVE FROM gets a little scary right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com


Aired February 15, 2005 - 13:33   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Looking at stories now in the news, guilty, that's the verdict of the murder trial of Christopher Pittman, the teenager charged with killing his grandparents. Live pictures inside the courtroom now. As you know Pittman claimed the anti- depressant Zoloft drove him to kill. We are waiting for the judge to announcer that sentence. It could happen any moment.
It's still okay to take butane lighters on U.S. airliners, even though there is a law against it. That would be the Intelligence Reform Act, passed and signed in December, setting today, February 15th, as the date the lighter ban could take effect. But the Transportation Safety Administration says the ban is under review. We're not sure why, but there has been some concern expressed about banning items that cannot easily be detected at security checkpoints.

A big blow to two journalists at the center of the CIA leak investigation. A federal appeals court today ordered journalists Matthew Cooper and Judith Miller to testify in court or go to jail. The reporters have refused to testify before a grand jury investigating who leaked the name of covert CIA operative Valerie Plame. Authorities for both reporters say they'll ask a full appeals court to reverse that ruling.

The deadly bombing in Beirut is having major repercussions here in the U.S. Washington is pulling its ambassador from Syria for consultations among rising tensions over the assassination of Lebanon's former prime minister, the apparent target of yesterday's blast.

CNN's senior international correspondent Brent Sadler takes us on a tour of the devastation, right there in the heart of Beirut.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRENT SADLER, CNN SR. INTL. CORRESPONDENT: The fallout from the political assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri is still reverberating, not just here in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, but throughout the Middle East and far beyond.

This is where the massive explosion took place. We just pan off to my right, you can see the size of the crater here, a massive hole that has given you some sort of idea of the scale of the blast that claimed the life of Mr. Hariri and at least nine others in his armored motorcade. One of his closest colleagues, a former minister, Bethel Flahan (ph), is in hospital abroad fighting for his life with over 97 percent burns as a result of the magnitude of the blast. If I can give you some idea of the collateral damage around here, we'll pick our way through the debris. This on my left is the former renowned St. George Hotel. It still had not been rebuilt after the 15-year civil war that engulfed this country in the 1970s and 1980s. The blast was set off between the St. George hotel and another empty building that was in the process of reconstruction.

Now, as we walk through the debris here, I can see Lebanese army soldiers and now in the process of taking photographs of the blast site, looking at how this detonation was laid, how these explosives were set. It's still unclear at this stage whether or not this was a car bomb, a suicide bombing, or some sort of underground explosion. What we do know is that there were construction works going on in this area. And we do know from what the authorities are telling us on the ground that between 250 and 300 kilos, maybe about 700 pounds of explosives, were detonated, and we believe a single blast.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: That was Brent Sadler in Beirut. Almost 3 1/2 years after the 9/11 attacks, still no sign of Osama bin Laden. In hope of capturing the elusive terrorist once and for all, the U.S. is airing radio and television commercials in Pakistan, publicizing the $25 million reward for bin Laden's capture.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Who are victims of terrorism? Our fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters? Who are these terrorists and who can stop them? Only you. (INAUDIBLE) is any perpetrator of any act of global terrorism against U.S. citizens or assets, please call 0-800-23234. You can be entitled to a reward of up to $25 million for providing useful information in this regard, and you and your family would be entitled to be relocated to a safe location. Your call will be kept confidential.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Now the commercials began airing this week. The only problem, as you heard, they're not in Arabic, and many people don't have access to televisions there. So what's purpose? Joining us now, Octavia Nasr, who is our senior editor for Arab affairs. Octavia, what language is it in? That's the translated English we heard.

OCTAVIA NASR, CNN SR. EDITOR FOR ARAB AFFAIRS: Right, this is Urdu. So obviously, they are targeting a Pakistani audience that speaks Urdu in the hope that some of them, one of them, know where bin Laden is and will turn him over.

A quick call to some people, just to see what kind of reaction they have to this. No. 1, everybody forgot how much the award is. It seems the award is not going anywhere. Some people thought it was $50 million already. Something about this man tells people, and all the experts, and the people who monitor him closely and his entourage, says that the reward doesn't work. Now, taking this film we just looked at... O'BRIEN: Let's talk about that for a moment. Why is money not a motivator in this case, do you think?

NASR: Loyalty is a lot more important to the bin Laden people than the money. And the money -- if you -- I mean, you are going to be consider a traitor. People like these, you know, would rather die as martyrs, if you will, than be ashamed to say that they got money to turn someone -- he's revered. We have to understand, he is revered by many, many people. That's why he's able to hide for so long.

O'BRIEN: So the money is not a motivator, because there's this blood oath, this desire to fight to the death for Osama bin Laden. Let's take for a moment the pitch there. Does that tact, do you think, get at these people in any way, shape or form?

NASR: We will see. Obviously, we're going to watch and see if it's going to get anywhere. The interesting thing about it, we checked to see which stations in Pakistan are running it. There's one station called Geo (ph) Television. We looked it up. It's a small television station that was established in 2002. When they described their mission on the Internet, they say, "Geo informs and entertains while celebrating cultures and prompting dialogue in the spirit of live and let live." It just makes you wonder how many people who know where Osama bin Laden is are tuning in to this Geo Television and listening to these commercials.

O'BRIEN: Well, are they watching any television at all if they're hiding out in a cave in this rugged part of Pakistan. Obviously, it's a very close circle of people who actually know his whereabouts.

NASR: Obviously, yes. Otherwise he would have been captured by now. Some people believe -- most people believe that he is on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan in the Waziristan area. Now, to get to Waziristan is not an easy feat. You have to ride donkeys and travel for days before you get there. So you have satellite television -- is not readily available, let's say.

But at the same time, you have to -- you know, you look at the Islamist groups, and you look at their Web sites, for example. You see that these people are savvy. They're computer savvy. They post messages on their Web sites, pictures, videos, statements, they're quick. They all have cyberspace section on their Web sites. So where the tape is going to go and what kind of reaction it will get, we'll see.

O'BRIEN: Octavia Nasr, thank you very much. A little breaking news -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: We'll take you live to the courtroom right now. As you know, the young man, Chris Pittman, who was 12 at the time, saying that he killed his grandparents due to taking the anti-depressant Zoloft. I was told that he -- did he just take the stand and talk? Or is he going to take the stand and talk? He just talked. So we're going to listen to the judge now, then we will take the tape from just moments ago where Chris -- we heard from Chris for the first time. (JOINED IN PROGRESS)

JUDGE DANIEL PIEPER, S.C. 6TH CIRCUIT COURT: ... this case and it had always been my desire to move this case along and bring it to trial as soon as possible because of all of the competing issues in this case. I think all of ya'll did a real good job in bringing this case to trial as soon as you could, based upon the circumstances. A lot happened in this case before you got involved. And I want to thank you all for bringing it.

Certainly, there's always a concern when a case has not been moved in the way that some may want to move it and that's not offering any kind of criticism to what happened in the past. I wasn't involved so I can't speak for that. But I'm just thankful that all of ya'll got together and you were able to move this case along to where we could bring it up for trial in a fairly expedited fashion from point all of us were involved with this case.

And this case has touched upon various societal policies and considerations of both the juvenile justice system and the adult criminal court system and the concepts of punishment, deterrents, as well as rehabilitation of a juvenile. There is no doubt, as you've said, Mr. Vickery (ph), that this is a tragic case, tragic to the victims, as well as to the entire family involved, and that's always the case. This court has presided over numerous, countless murder trials. And they're all tragic, right to the very core, whether they involve a juvenile or any other type of individual, they're all tragic to this court.

And this case has called attention to the very core values of this society, about the treatment of juveniles and punishment. I do recognize the emotional aspects of this case. I do recognize the policies of the juvenile justice system and the considerations that should be shared and approached in any particular case, and possibly the moral significance of any decision by court. But this court, nonetheless, must recognize the legislative mandates pertaining to this system and those mandates that have been upheld by higher courts of this state. This court sits as trial court. This court is obligated to follow the precedent of its superior courts.

And having said that, though, I do have some discretion in sentencing -- not a lot in this matter. The options, as I understand, and you can correct me if I'm wrong, Mr. Vickery are 30 years or life. Is that your understanding?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is our understanding that those are the statutory options open to the court, your honor.

PIEPER: All right. Well, I have considered everything that has been presented to me. And it is the judgment of this court that -- as to each of these counts, the defendant receive a sentence of 30 years. Those will be concurrent to one another, not consecutive. Good luck to you. Thank you very much.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your honor, there's one additional matter.

PIEPER: Yes, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We would ask the court for bond...

KAGAN: Judge Daniel Pieper there, the judge presiding over the murder trial concerning Chris Pittman, now 15 years old. He admitted to killing his grandparents, but he said it was the anti-depressant Zoloft that made him do it. But today a jury said he's guilty of murder and now he'll serve 30 years to life in prison.

Our Elizabeth Cohen outside of the courtroom. Elizabeth, I know that we heard from Pittman just moments ago, but it happened so quickly. Do you know what he said?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, as I understand it, what he said to the judge is, I leave it in the hands of God. And I heard him crying. His family members also crying. His father, his grandparents on the other side, obviously, his sister, asking the judge for wisdom, asking the judge for mercy. His 18-year-old sister, barely able to talk through her tears. And Judge Pieper sentencing him to 30 years. Obviously, he killed two people so we're talking about two sentences, but running concurrently.

KAGAN: Just to give a little background -- once again, we've been talking this about this case, we've been talking about Chris Pittman, now found guilty of murder. But just to give viewers a little context, Elizabeth, tell us about the history of why he was on Zoloft, the background with regard to his mother, some resentment he felt about her not being around, kind of what led us to where we are today.

COHEN: Sure. Chris Pittman's mother left him when he was a baby. He was raised by his father in Florida. He had a very rocky relationship with his father. He ran away from home approximately a month before he killed his grandparents. So he ran away from home, from his father's home in Florida. He was found about 15 miles away and he was put in a psychiatric institution for treatment for about six days, where they put him on the drug Paxil. Paxil is another anti-depressant in the same class as Zoloft.

The defense tried to make the case -- they looked at nurse's notes and said, hey, the nurses said when he got to this facility that he was calm, he was obedient, he was all yes, ma'am, yes, sir. And then when they put him on the Paxil, it started to make him very agitated, he started to get angry, he started to get sort of hyper and manic, were the some of the words that they used. And he was then -- left that facility after six days.

And then very shortly, within a matter of days, his father sent him to South Carolina, and that's what Chris Pittman wanted. He wanted to go live with his grandparents. And almost as soon as he arrived in South Carolina, his mother took him to their family doctor, not a psychiatrist or a psychologist, but to the family doctor, and asked him for Paxil. And he said sure, and then he went into his cabinet, couldn't find any samples for Paxil and so instead said here's Zoloft and wrote the instructions for how much to take on the bag that he gave him the sample pack. The doctor said he told him to take 25 milligrams a day for the first six days and then up the dosage to 50 milligrams, which is how that starter pack worked. Now Chris Pittman's attorney said that Chris thought he was then supposed to double it to 100, and there was some discussion about whether or not that was true. But that was situation that he found himself in. So it all happened very quickly.

From the first time he took one of these anti-depressants until the murder, only about a month passed. So this all happened very quickly. And you heard his family begging for mercy from judge, saying this child has been through a lot, the adults in his life have let him down. He had no trouble with the law before he killed his grandparents -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: And just a little side note, Elizabeth Cohen, Zoloft's manufacturer, of course, denying any scientific evidence that Zoloft led to violence toward others. Just wanted to add that. Elizabeth Cohen there outside the courtroom, as we continue to follow this story. We're going to take a quick break. More LIVE FROM right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: All right. It's time now to focus on those Valentine's Day disappointments and disasters. It's the day no one should forget. In Corvallis, Oregon, these folks had no problem at a public kiss-in. But remember this, never kiss off Valentine's Day. Let's go to Chicago Tribune advice columnist Amy Dickinson, syndicated the world over, who's now recovering from Valentine's Day, along with her readers.

Hello, Amy, good to see you.

AMY DICKINSON, CHICAGO TRIBUNE COLUMNIST: Hey, Miles, I'm in mourning.

O'BRIEN: You're wearing black, I noticed. Now, you went -- after we talked to you yesterday, you went over across the street there to the drugstore.

DICKINSON: Right.

O'BRIEN: And it was quite a scene that unfolded before your very eyes.

DICKINSON: It was a scene like something I've never seen. OK, one aisle of Valentine's Day cards, pretty picked over, because it was about 6:00 at night. And all of these people just grabbing, grabbing, grabbing cards. It was very, very sad.

O'BRIEN: All right. So under deadline, pressure, doing something, which is better than nothing, I guess. Which leads us to our first little bit of advice from Amy, which is -- or to avoid, I should say, is don't do anything. Doing nothing...

DICKINSON: Doing nothing... O'BRIEN: ... is bad, is worse than going at 6:00 p.m. and getting the picked over card or the wilty flowers, correct?

DICKINSON: Correct. You have to do something, even for people who say, oh, it's too commercial, I love you anyway, do something. Make the coffee, bring somebody breakfast in bed, you've got to do something.

O'BRIEN: All right, what if you did the next item on the list, too little too late?

DICKINSON: Well, you know, Miles, I also went to the famous Fannie Mae chocolate shop over here in Chicago last night. Sad, sad, sad sight of 90 people crammed into that shop, men mainly, trying to buy the last morsel of chocolate. And I spoke to the very last guy in line. And I said, are you blowing it here? And he goes, no, I'm good, I'm good.

(LAUGHTER)

O'BRIEN: So denial is a very powerful thing, isn't it? I'm number 91, it's 6:00 p.m. on Valentine's Day, but I'm getting my chocolate.

DICKINSON: I'm good.

O'BRIEN: I'm good. All right. What about sort of the flip side of all this? Can you go overboard, too much too soon, all that kind of thing?

DICKINSON: Oh, yes, too much, too soon. A friend of mine told me that she once got through bouquets of flowers from three different guys on Valentine's Day.

O'BRIEN: Wow.

DICKINSON: And guess what?

O'BRIEN: Wow.

DICKINSON: They canceled each other out.

O'BRIEN: Wow. That is -- that's a little too much, isn't it?

DICKINSON: Yes, it is too much.

O'BRIEN: All right, let's keep pressing on here. We've got a little more time. First date on Valentine's Day, bad? Bad?

DICKINSON: Don't go there.

O'BRIEN: Don't go there, why not?

DICKINSON: No. You have black it out, just black it out. All you...

O'BRIEN: It's a black out day.

DICKINSON: ... single people, just black it out.

O'BRIEN: No upgrades that day.

DICKINSON: Never, never, never go on a first date on Valentine's Day.

O'BRIEN: Why not?

DICKINSON: It's too loaded. You're surrounded by smoochy people and candlelight, it's not good.

O'BRIEN: All right. And then finally, this one's good. And I don't know if this came from some letters you received or not, but you go out on Valentine's Day, you're single, you have a few adult beverages, and "let's call up sweetie pie." Bad idea, right?

DICKINSON: You start speed dialing your exes. Everybody does this, Miles.

O'BRIEN: They do, oh, really?

DICKINSON: And all I can say, is, friends don't let friends drink and speed dial. Take the cell phone away. Because you know what, Miles, I met the perfect guy today.

O'BRIEN: Who?

DICKINSON: And he's on sale, Mr. Wonderful. Listen.

TOY: You know, honey, why don't you just relax and let me make dinner tonight?

(LAUGHTER)

DICKINSON: Oh, did you hear that?

O'BRIEN: Marry that man.

DICKINSON: Perfect guy.

O'BRIEN: Amy Dickinson with "Ask Amy," Chicago Tribune and millions and millions of other papers, thank you very much, always a pleasure.

DICKINSON: Thanks, Miles.

O'BRIEN: Back with more in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All right. We're just sitting here talking about life.

O'BRIEN: Just having a little chat about our Valentines. PHILLIPS: Valentine's Day.

O'BRIEN: Coming up in our second hour of LIVE FROM, felled by the flu. Michael Jackson's potential jurors are left to cool their heels until next week. There was still a little action in the courtroom today. We'll go live to California for the latest.

PHILLIPS: And if David once slew Goliath, could this boy, also named David, bring Frankenstein to his knees? LIVE FROM gets a little scary right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com