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Schiavo Case; Search for Jessica; Have you Seen Cherrie?
Aired March 18, 2005 - 14:00 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: Live pictures now from outside a hospice in Clearwater, Florida. That's where Terri Schiavo, the woman at the center of a right-to-die battle, is being cared for. Developments in the story have been fast and furious over the past hour. We're covering it from Florida to Capitol Hill.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And the case of a missing 9-year-old girl. A convicted child molester being questioned. What, if anything, are investigators learning from him? We're live on the story.
PHILLIPS: From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Kyra Phillips.
HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris, in for Miles O'Brien. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM begins right now.
PHILLIPS: Vegetative say some. Fully alive say others. Many in Congress say, "We want to see for ourselves." But a Florida judge may -- we stress "may" -- have the final word.
Minutes ago, we learned the same judge who authorized the removal of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube three weeks ago today reaffirmed that rule even in light of some wildcards from Capitol Hill, subpoenas, to be exact, which apparently afford the protection of federal law to would-be witnesses.
Well, five subpoenas were delivered to Schiavo's hospice just before 1:00 p.m., expiration of a three-week stay. And they named Schiavo, along with her husband, who wants the tube removed, and three caregivers.
HARRIS: OK. The subpoenas prompted a momentary pause while lawyers and judges could huddle and things could change again at any time. Keeping track of all the twists and turns are CNN's Carol Lin in Clearwater, Florida, and Joe Johns on Capitol Hill.
And Carol, let's begin with you as you help us sort through the judge's rulings. Judge upon judge upon judge is weighing in on this now.
CAROL LIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. And everybody here at the hospice is waiting for whatever might be the final word. The final word was supposed to come about 1:00. That passed with a temporary stay on the order, as we heard that the U.S. House of Representatives subpoena had been served on the hospice and on Terri Schiavo.
U.S. attorneys have been meeting in a local courtroom in the Pinellas County Courthouse before Judge George Greer, who is very familiar with this case. He has sided with the husband and his attorneys, and several times in the past.
What we thought was going to be a routine meeting, however, it appears is not so routine after all. There was a temporary stay because they were trying to find the judge so that the judge could go over the subpoena with the U.S. attorney. And this just passed on The Associated Press, that Judge George Greer has now said that the tube should be removed.
We don't know yet, though, when that order would go into effect and -- or what intervening legal maneuverings could interrupt it. Here is what potentially could happen...
Terri Schiavo's parents have, in addition to hearing about the House subpoena from the U.S. Congress, had also filed a motion of their own in federal court. They may be able to get some relief there. So I'm sure that her parents' attorneys are working on that right now.
The hospice is being very cautious because clearly they don't want to go forward until they understand fully which court order they would be acting on. So that is where the situation stands right now. We've been hoping to hear from Terri Schiavo's parents at any moment, but I'm sure they are as much in flux as we are right now.
HARRIS: Carol, we appreciate it. That's a lot to work through. Nice job on that, Carol Lin, in Florida for us -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Now, in the U.S. Congress, meanwhile, extraordinary maneuvers and rhetoric to match. CNN's Joe Johns joins us now live on the Hill.
It's just incredible to see this back and forth among the courts and then Congress coming in. Help us make some sense of it all -- Joe.
JOE JOHNS, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, so far, five subpoenas issuing from Capitol Hill, a congressional inquiry now under way in the House of Representatives coming from the House Reform Committee. Meanwhile, of course, within the last hour a news conference just wrapping up with some key Republicans, including House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, who has called the decision to remove the feeding tube by the court barbaric, also slamming Democrats for blocking a bill that effectively would have cut off the use of removing the feeding tube. As well, DeLay is also indicating that, in his view, the interest of protecting life in this case supersedes the interest of the husband.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. TOM DELAY (R-TX), MAJORITY LEADER: In my opinion, the sanctity of life overshadows the sanctity of marriage. I don't know what transpired between Terri and her husband. All I know is Terri is live and this judge in Florida wants to pull her feeding tube and let her starve for two weeks. That is barbaric. And unless she had specifically written instructions in her hand and with her signature, I don't care what her husband says.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS: Now, there is disagreement on Capitol Hill about whether these subpoenas are the right course to take. Henry Waxman, a congressman of California, has issued a statement today.
In part, he said, "These subpoenas are a flagrant abuse of power. Congress is turning the Schiavo family's personal family tragedy into a national political farce. The committee has no business inserting itself in the middle of an excruciating private family matter."
He says the subpoenas are unenforceable, that the committee should have to get together to OK the subpoenas. And he says Congress has no authority to do this.
Back to you.
PHILLIPS: And Joe, just to quickly clarify, those subpoenas, each individual has been called not to come to the Hill, not to come before a committee there where you are, but rather everything would take place in this hospice, correct?
JOHNS: Apparently so. Now, we have to put a caveat in there also, because during the news conference what was said is that the Congress has initiated an inquiry. Apparently the inquiry has to occur at the hospice in Florida where Terri Schiavo effectively is and where all of the machines and so on are.
The question, of course, is whether a hearing proper will be held there. We have been told that a number of members of Congress are expected to go to the hospice next week. And we assume that to mean on the 25th of March, when this inquiry was, you know, written down on the subpoenas. So we have a date, we have a place, we have a time, 10:00 in the morning, and now we're trying to find out whether some of that hearing might actually go on, on Capitol Hill as well.
PHILLIPS: Joe Johns, thank you so much.
We're going to keep -- or let's keep in mind, rather, of what has happened up till now. It's a story that goes back 15 years when Terri Schiavo collapsed at her home and suffered severe brain damage. It was eight years later that her husband, Michael Schiavo, saying he represented her wishes, asked a court to allow his wife's feeding tube removed.
And then after three years of appeals by Terri Schiavo's parents, the court was indeed removed, then reinserted -- or no the court, rather, the tube, then reinserted just two days later. And then, about a year and a half later, a federal appeals court ordered the second tube removed. That occurred in October of 2003.
But then the tube was reinserted again. This time six days later. And then after a special law was passed by the Florida legislature, well, last September, the Florida Supreme Court ruled the law unconstitutional.
It's hard to keep this all going. Hopefully you're following this timeline. Then after another court order to have the tube removed, the U.S. Supreme Court refused last night to reverse the planned removal.
HARRIS: And Kyra, we've gotten -- look at this, e-mails. Just plenty of e-mails from folks on this issue without really even asking. And now we are asking who should determine Terri Schiavo's fate. Send your thoughts to LIVEFROM@CNN.com and we'll read as many time as we can. We've got to carve out some time to read your responses this hour in LIVE FROM.
PHILLIPS: Now, elsewhere in Florida, investigators hope a registered sex offender can help in their search for a missing girl. Johnny Evander Couey is a step closer to returning to the state.
CNN's Sara Dorsey is in Jessica Lunsford's home town of Homosassa Springs.
What is the latest, Sara?
SARA DORSEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, John Couey is fully cooperating with investigators, we are told, but sources are telling CNN that nothing he has said up till now will significantly move this case forward in finding Jessica Lunsford. Couey, though, has not been cleared of that title he had of "person of interest." They're still calling him that, not moved him up to a suspect and not taken that title away as of now.
What he has done is waived extradition. That means he will willingly come back to Florida on his own. That will not happen today, but the judge that handled those discussions said all day Couey was pleasant.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUDGE JOHN BAXTER, RICHMOND COUNTY, GEORGIA, SUPERIOR COURT: He came in. He was nice. Didn't look like there was anything in the world wrong with him.
I gave him all of his rights. He said he didn't want an attorney, he was ready to go back. He wanted to sign the papers and get out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DORSEY: Now, remember, Couey was named a person of interest for several reasons. One being he is a registered sex offender and was not staying where he was supposed to.
And to give you an idea how close he was staying to the Lunsford home, I'm standing here in front of the home where Jessica disappeared from three weeks ago. And if I just simply spin around, you can see this trailer back here. That was the one that John Couey was staying in, he was not supposed to be in, and that was the one when investigators went knocking, asking his family members if he had indeed been staying there, that was the family that lied to them.
So, Kyra, you can see he was staying very, very close to where Jessica Lunsford disappeared from. We do not have word yet on the items that were taken out of that home for testing. Those results have not come back. So while the talks haven't led anywhere, we are still waiting to see if there is any evidence on those items that were taken away -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Sara Dorsey, thank you so much.
HARRIS: In Georgia now, reflecting back and looking forward a week after the courthouse shootings in Atlanta, CNN officials today released a timeline of how police responded to the killings and the manhunt that followed. They say many improvements need to be made. Chief among them, getting all of the different law enforcement agencies on the same radio frequency.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF RICHARD PENNINGTON, ATLANTA POLICE DEPARTMENT: In the future, I think it's going to be important for us to look at how well we can share communications and be on the same frequency, or have the ability to get on the same frequency when emergencies of this nature occur.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Atlanta's police chief is also calling for more plain talk instead of codes among police. Those codes are different from agency to agency.
PHILLIPS: Well, she became the face of missing children across America.
HARRIS: And Cherrie Mahan photograph was mailed to homes nationwide. But what happened to her remains a mystery. We'll talk with her mother and investigators 20 years after her disappearance.
PHILLIPS: And surreal moments on Capitol Hill as baseball's heavy hitters testify about steroids in sports. What's next in the investigation?
And also ahead...
HARRIS: OK, not "Camelot," but "Spamelot." Monty Python hits Broadway in a big way. We'll show you how the debut went. That's ahead on LIVE FROM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Mark Lunsford now, the father of the missing 9-year- old, Jessica Lunsford, speaking to reporters. Let's listen in.
MARK LUNSFORD, JESSICA'S FATHER: You know we'll be doing it here out of the house on Sonata (ph). So I -- any other questions?
QUESTION: Yes, I have one more. They are saying that John Couey, this person of interest, really hasn't said anything significant as far as helping them, you know, lead to where Jessica might be. What is your reaction to that?
LUNSFORD: Look, I haven't heard anything today, other than what you guys happened to tell me right now. I've been at work. And I just got off work, and now I have to get started on this. But I at least wanted to come out and let you know what I was doing and why I won't be out here today.
QUESTION: What's your reaction to the fact that...
QUESTION: Mark, from the very beginning -- Mark, from the very beginning you have seemed doubtful that John Couey is a suspect. You say that you believe that it might have been someone that Jessica actually knew. Tell us more about the relationship and why you never really believed that John Couey was a likely suspect.
LUNSFORD: Well, because the only thing the sheriff was telling me is that he just wanted to question him. He didn't want me to get all excited about nothing. They just wanted to question him, and that's just the way I took it. And then I took it like a grain of salt and go right back to searching this weekend.
QUESTION: Do you think you've lost hope after hearing that it's not really adding up...
LUNSFORD: Well, yes, of course. Well, you know, a part -- I mean, it did get to me, but I kept a hold of it and not let it take over. And -- but, yes, I guess I did a little bit, you know? But after what you guys are telling me.
QUESTION: Tell me, after these three weeks, long three weeks for your family, just waiting for any sort of word, now hearing of Couey may be, maybe not being involved, what is your family going through right now? What are you feeling?
LUNSFORD: The only thing I'm feeling is that I just got to keep searching. I got -- you know, Jessie is pushing me, and the support from the community and everybody. The only thing I can really focus on is just keep searching and then the sheriff will do the rest.
QUESTION: Are you hopeful she's still alive?
LUNSFORD: Well, I'm very hopeful that she's alive, and I know she's going to come home.
QUESTION: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?
LUNSFORD: Yes. Well, yes, everybody pretty much knows, you know, you have to be over 18 to search. It's just part of the paper work. You know, we wouldn't want anybody out there any younger than that.
QUESTION: Have you been frustrated with the investigation so far?
LUNSFORD: I really haven't kept up with it a whole lot. I've been staying busy working and then trying to, you know, put together another search.
I mean, I don't get a whole lot of the news. I don't watch a whole lot of TV. Pretty much when I come out here I get all of it from you guys.
QUESTION: And where is Jessica's mother?
LUNSFORD: She -- as far as I know, she's somewhere in Ohio.
QUESTION: Does she keep in contact with her daughter?
LUNSFORD: Over the last eight years, she's seen her mom a couple of times. There has not been no real contact.
QUESTION: I heard something about a doll that was...
PHILLIPS: Not a lot of new information, but Mark Lunsford, the father of missing Florida girl, 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford, just coming out and talking to reporters and answering a few questions. As you know, the family had a little bit of hope once convicted sex offender John Couey was brought into custody, but now police are saying that this might not be their man and that he may not be what they thought was a pretty hot lead.
So the search continues for little Jessica, according to her father Mark. And police are continuing to follow other leads, in addition to questioning John Couey.
HARRIS: And Kyra, we're about to get some new information on the Schiavo case. Our congressional correspondent, Joe Johns, has given us a heads-up there that there are some new developments -- Joe.
JOHNS: Tony, there does appear to be a new development. What we're hearing is apparently the House of Representatives now planning to go to the mat on the issue of Terri Schiavo in Florida.
As we've been reporting all morning, the House has already issued a number of subpoenas in this case that would effectively keep the feeding tube into her body. Now that a judge there has said this removal of the feeding tube can go forward, we're being told that lawyers for the House of Representatives are expected to go to an appeals court in the state of Florida seeking either to stay the removal of the tube or also -- or else to get a temporary restraining order.
So attorneys for the House of Representatives now seeking to try to intervene in this case because the House has issued subpoenas and says it wants to look into the health care of Terri Schiavo.
Tony, back to you.
HARRIS: OK. Joe Johns, I almost want to ask you, haven't we been down this road with temporary restraining orders and the like? It seems that we've done this.
JOHNS: We certainly have. Of course, this, the House would argue, is a different reason. They're saying the reason why they want this temporary restraining order is because they've issued subpoenas, they want to talk to the hospice, they want to see how she's hooked up. They want to see Terri Schiavo, and they can use their power of inquiry to look into this matter also to hold off the removal of the feeding tube -- Tony.
HARRIS: And Joe, tell me if I'm correct or incorrect or way far afield here. It sounds like the judges are saying this is a separation of powers issue and you don't have the jurisdiction on this matter.
JOHNS: Well, it doesn't sound like they've reached that specifically yet. What I'm told happened in Florida is that very brief restrainment or temporary restraining order, if you will, that occurred earlier today was because a chief judge couldn't get a hold of the judge who was handling the case.
HARRIS: I see.
JOHNS: It took some time to get the judge who was handling the case, and then they went ahead and said the removal of the tube should go forward.
HARRIS: OK. Joe Johns our congressional correspondent. Joe, we appreciate it. Thank you.
We'll take a break. More LIVE FROM when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Missing child. For countless families across the nation, those two words mean unspeakable despair, heartache and grief. And the disappearance of Jessica Lunsford in Florida is just the latest high-profile case. But 20 years earlier, it was another girl whose vanishing sparked an intense search and made history.
CNN's Randi Kaye has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JANICE MCKINNEY, CHERRIE'S MOTHER: The last 20 years probably has been a real torture.
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Words spoken by a mother in pain.
MCKINNEY: 4:00, the bus came and we heard it and she just never came up the driveway.
KAYE: A mother overwhelmed by grief and guilt.
MCKINNEY: I should have been there when Cherrie got of the school bus and I wasn't. KAYE: February 22, 1985, Cherrie Mahan went to school and never came home.
MCKINNEY: I think that the last words that I probably told her was, you know, "Have a good day and I do love you." And that was probably as I took her down to the bus stop and she got on the bus.
KAYE (on camera): Did she tell you she loved you back?
MCKINNEY: Yes. She always told me that.
KAYE (voice-over): That day, Janice McKinney went from being the mother of a bubbly 8-year-old who loved rainbows and reading to the mother of a missing child. It was Cherrie who helped put a face on missing children nationwide. The first child ever on a "Have you seen me?" mailer delivered to homes around the country.
(on camera): What is that moment of panic like, that first moment when you realize your child has disappeared?
MCKINNEY: It's the most scariest thing. And I think my guilt started at that point, because up until that day, I was there. And if I would of been there, she wouldn't -- I wouldn't be going through this.
KAYE (voice-over): Ever since Cherrie was old enough to go to school, Janice says she walked her daughter to and from the bus stop.
(on camera): It was a day just like this one, snow on the ground, the sun shining. Cherrie got off her school bus right here. She had to go about 200 feet around that bend to get to her driveway, then another 300 feet to her front door. Investigators never found any footprints, which means Cherrie never got very far.
(voice-over): Janice called state police and tracked down Cherrie's school bus. She had to be sure Cherrie wasn't still on it.
Children on the bus told Janice and police Cherrie got off at her regular stop with other children. Those young witnesses described a blue van right behind the bus, with a snowcap mountain and a skier painted on its side. Investigators checked out hundreds of leads. No van, no Cherrie.
(on camera): Is there any indication as you walk this way how far she got?
RET. TROOPER GLENN HALL, PENNSYLVANIA STATE POLICE: No. There was no signs of any tracks or anything.
KAYE: So what does that tell you?
HALL: That apparently someone picked her up.
KAYE: Pretty quick.
HALL: Yes. KAYE (voice-over): For retired trooper Glenn Hall (ph), who worked the case from day one, there is also guilt.
HALL: I feel that maybe there is something I overlooked at the time. But I followed every lead that I got that night.
KAYE: With the case now entering its third decade, trooper Hall remains convinced a stranger abducted Cherrie, a stranger who knew the little girl's schedule and knew the area. Such crimes are rare.
Of the thousands of children each year who are officially described as abducted, the vast majority are taken by someone they know. But every year, about 100 children are taken by a stranger.
MCKINNEY: That was her dog and that was her cat.
KAYE: Janice gave birth to Cherrie when she was just 16. They grew up together, she says. This year, Cherrie would be 29. And this is what investigators think she might look like.
MCKINNEY: Well, now Cherrie could be married and have children and have graduated and, you know, I could be a grandmother.
KAYE: Cherrie's mom works two jobs, barely sleeps, anything to keep out the dark thoughts.
Five years after Cherrie was kidnapped, Janice had another child, Robert, now 15. After losing Cherrie, Janice says she didn't want to go through life without being a mother. Her son Robert is a soccer player with big plans to go away to college, something that doesn't sit so well with his mom.
MCKINNEY: He's never, ever gone anywhere without somebody. I mean, from the time he was able to walk till this day. I mean, I go to every soccer game. I stand by the door. You know, worried that somebody could come in and take him.
KAYE: Janice works hard to keep Cherrie close and her memory alive. There is an angel at the family cemetery plot. Two decades and countless tears later, Janice is still not ready to place a grave stone here.
MCKINNEY: We live in a society where we need to see something. And until I see something or hold something or know something, I can't put it to rest yet.
KAYE: Randi Kaye, CNN, Cabot, Pennsylvania.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
Aired March 18, 2005 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Live pictures now from outside a hospice in Clearwater, Florida. That's where Terri Schiavo, the woman at the center of a right-to-die battle, is being cared for. Developments in the story have been fast and furious over the past hour. We're covering it from Florida to Capitol Hill.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And the case of a missing 9-year-old girl. A convicted child molester being questioned. What, if anything, are investigators learning from him? We're live on the story.
PHILLIPS: From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Kyra Phillips.
HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris, in for Miles O'Brien. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM begins right now.
PHILLIPS: Vegetative say some. Fully alive say others. Many in Congress say, "We want to see for ourselves." But a Florida judge may -- we stress "may" -- have the final word.
Minutes ago, we learned the same judge who authorized the removal of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube three weeks ago today reaffirmed that rule even in light of some wildcards from Capitol Hill, subpoenas, to be exact, which apparently afford the protection of federal law to would-be witnesses.
Well, five subpoenas were delivered to Schiavo's hospice just before 1:00 p.m., expiration of a three-week stay. And they named Schiavo, along with her husband, who wants the tube removed, and three caregivers.
HARRIS: OK. The subpoenas prompted a momentary pause while lawyers and judges could huddle and things could change again at any time. Keeping track of all the twists and turns are CNN's Carol Lin in Clearwater, Florida, and Joe Johns on Capitol Hill.
And Carol, let's begin with you as you help us sort through the judge's rulings. Judge upon judge upon judge is weighing in on this now.
CAROL LIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. And everybody here at the hospice is waiting for whatever might be the final word. The final word was supposed to come about 1:00. That passed with a temporary stay on the order, as we heard that the U.S. House of Representatives subpoena had been served on the hospice and on Terri Schiavo.
U.S. attorneys have been meeting in a local courtroom in the Pinellas County Courthouse before Judge George Greer, who is very familiar with this case. He has sided with the husband and his attorneys, and several times in the past.
What we thought was going to be a routine meeting, however, it appears is not so routine after all. There was a temporary stay because they were trying to find the judge so that the judge could go over the subpoena with the U.S. attorney. And this just passed on The Associated Press, that Judge George Greer has now said that the tube should be removed.
We don't know yet, though, when that order would go into effect and -- or what intervening legal maneuverings could interrupt it. Here is what potentially could happen...
Terri Schiavo's parents have, in addition to hearing about the House subpoena from the U.S. Congress, had also filed a motion of their own in federal court. They may be able to get some relief there. So I'm sure that her parents' attorneys are working on that right now.
The hospice is being very cautious because clearly they don't want to go forward until they understand fully which court order they would be acting on. So that is where the situation stands right now. We've been hoping to hear from Terri Schiavo's parents at any moment, but I'm sure they are as much in flux as we are right now.
HARRIS: Carol, we appreciate it. That's a lot to work through. Nice job on that, Carol Lin, in Florida for us -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Now, in the U.S. Congress, meanwhile, extraordinary maneuvers and rhetoric to match. CNN's Joe Johns joins us now live on the Hill.
It's just incredible to see this back and forth among the courts and then Congress coming in. Help us make some sense of it all -- Joe.
JOE JOHNS, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, so far, five subpoenas issuing from Capitol Hill, a congressional inquiry now under way in the House of Representatives coming from the House Reform Committee. Meanwhile, of course, within the last hour a news conference just wrapping up with some key Republicans, including House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, who has called the decision to remove the feeding tube by the court barbaric, also slamming Democrats for blocking a bill that effectively would have cut off the use of removing the feeding tube. As well, DeLay is also indicating that, in his view, the interest of protecting life in this case supersedes the interest of the husband.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. TOM DELAY (R-TX), MAJORITY LEADER: In my opinion, the sanctity of life overshadows the sanctity of marriage. I don't know what transpired between Terri and her husband. All I know is Terri is live and this judge in Florida wants to pull her feeding tube and let her starve for two weeks. That is barbaric. And unless she had specifically written instructions in her hand and with her signature, I don't care what her husband says.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS: Now, there is disagreement on Capitol Hill about whether these subpoenas are the right course to take. Henry Waxman, a congressman of California, has issued a statement today.
In part, he said, "These subpoenas are a flagrant abuse of power. Congress is turning the Schiavo family's personal family tragedy into a national political farce. The committee has no business inserting itself in the middle of an excruciating private family matter."
He says the subpoenas are unenforceable, that the committee should have to get together to OK the subpoenas. And he says Congress has no authority to do this.
Back to you.
PHILLIPS: And Joe, just to quickly clarify, those subpoenas, each individual has been called not to come to the Hill, not to come before a committee there where you are, but rather everything would take place in this hospice, correct?
JOHNS: Apparently so. Now, we have to put a caveat in there also, because during the news conference what was said is that the Congress has initiated an inquiry. Apparently the inquiry has to occur at the hospice in Florida where Terri Schiavo effectively is and where all of the machines and so on are.
The question, of course, is whether a hearing proper will be held there. We have been told that a number of members of Congress are expected to go to the hospice next week. And we assume that to mean on the 25th of March, when this inquiry was, you know, written down on the subpoenas. So we have a date, we have a place, we have a time, 10:00 in the morning, and now we're trying to find out whether some of that hearing might actually go on, on Capitol Hill as well.
PHILLIPS: Joe Johns, thank you so much.
We're going to keep -- or let's keep in mind, rather, of what has happened up till now. It's a story that goes back 15 years when Terri Schiavo collapsed at her home and suffered severe brain damage. It was eight years later that her husband, Michael Schiavo, saying he represented her wishes, asked a court to allow his wife's feeding tube removed.
And then after three years of appeals by Terri Schiavo's parents, the court was indeed removed, then reinserted -- or no the court, rather, the tube, then reinserted just two days later. And then, about a year and a half later, a federal appeals court ordered the second tube removed. That occurred in October of 2003.
But then the tube was reinserted again. This time six days later. And then after a special law was passed by the Florida legislature, well, last September, the Florida Supreme Court ruled the law unconstitutional.
It's hard to keep this all going. Hopefully you're following this timeline. Then after another court order to have the tube removed, the U.S. Supreme Court refused last night to reverse the planned removal.
HARRIS: And Kyra, we've gotten -- look at this, e-mails. Just plenty of e-mails from folks on this issue without really even asking. And now we are asking who should determine Terri Schiavo's fate. Send your thoughts to LIVEFROM@CNN.com and we'll read as many time as we can. We've got to carve out some time to read your responses this hour in LIVE FROM.
PHILLIPS: Now, elsewhere in Florida, investigators hope a registered sex offender can help in their search for a missing girl. Johnny Evander Couey is a step closer to returning to the state.
CNN's Sara Dorsey is in Jessica Lunsford's home town of Homosassa Springs.
What is the latest, Sara?
SARA DORSEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, John Couey is fully cooperating with investigators, we are told, but sources are telling CNN that nothing he has said up till now will significantly move this case forward in finding Jessica Lunsford. Couey, though, has not been cleared of that title he had of "person of interest." They're still calling him that, not moved him up to a suspect and not taken that title away as of now.
What he has done is waived extradition. That means he will willingly come back to Florida on his own. That will not happen today, but the judge that handled those discussions said all day Couey was pleasant.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUDGE JOHN BAXTER, RICHMOND COUNTY, GEORGIA, SUPERIOR COURT: He came in. He was nice. Didn't look like there was anything in the world wrong with him.
I gave him all of his rights. He said he didn't want an attorney, he was ready to go back. He wanted to sign the papers and get out.
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DORSEY: Now, remember, Couey was named a person of interest for several reasons. One being he is a registered sex offender and was not staying where he was supposed to.
And to give you an idea how close he was staying to the Lunsford home, I'm standing here in front of the home where Jessica disappeared from three weeks ago. And if I just simply spin around, you can see this trailer back here. That was the one that John Couey was staying in, he was not supposed to be in, and that was the one when investigators went knocking, asking his family members if he had indeed been staying there, that was the family that lied to them.
So, Kyra, you can see he was staying very, very close to where Jessica Lunsford disappeared from. We do not have word yet on the items that were taken out of that home for testing. Those results have not come back. So while the talks haven't led anywhere, we are still waiting to see if there is any evidence on those items that were taken away -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Sara Dorsey, thank you so much.
HARRIS: In Georgia now, reflecting back and looking forward a week after the courthouse shootings in Atlanta, CNN officials today released a timeline of how police responded to the killings and the manhunt that followed. They say many improvements need to be made. Chief among them, getting all of the different law enforcement agencies on the same radio frequency.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF RICHARD PENNINGTON, ATLANTA POLICE DEPARTMENT: In the future, I think it's going to be important for us to look at how well we can share communications and be on the same frequency, or have the ability to get on the same frequency when emergencies of this nature occur.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Atlanta's police chief is also calling for more plain talk instead of codes among police. Those codes are different from agency to agency.
PHILLIPS: Well, she became the face of missing children across America.
HARRIS: And Cherrie Mahan photograph was mailed to homes nationwide. But what happened to her remains a mystery. We'll talk with her mother and investigators 20 years after her disappearance.
PHILLIPS: And surreal moments on Capitol Hill as baseball's heavy hitters testify about steroids in sports. What's next in the investigation?
And also ahead...
HARRIS: OK, not "Camelot," but "Spamelot." Monty Python hits Broadway in a big way. We'll show you how the debut went. That's ahead on LIVE FROM.
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PHILLIPS: Mark Lunsford now, the father of the missing 9-year- old, Jessica Lunsford, speaking to reporters. Let's listen in.
MARK LUNSFORD, JESSICA'S FATHER: You know we'll be doing it here out of the house on Sonata (ph). So I -- any other questions?
QUESTION: Yes, I have one more. They are saying that John Couey, this person of interest, really hasn't said anything significant as far as helping them, you know, lead to where Jessica might be. What is your reaction to that?
LUNSFORD: Look, I haven't heard anything today, other than what you guys happened to tell me right now. I've been at work. And I just got off work, and now I have to get started on this. But I at least wanted to come out and let you know what I was doing and why I won't be out here today.
QUESTION: What's your reaction to the fact that...
QUESTION: Mark, from the very beginning -- Mark, from the very beginning you have seemed doubtful that John Couey is a suspect. You say that you believe that it might have been someone that Jessica actually knew. Tell us more about the relationship and why you never really believed that John Couey was a likely suspect.
LUNSFORD: Well, because the only thing the sheriff was telling me is that he just wanted to question him. He didn't want me to get all excited about nothing. They just wanted to question him, and that's just the way I took it. And then I took it like a grain of salt and go right back to searching this weekend.
QUESTION: Do you think you've lost hope after hearing that it's not really adding up...
LUNSFORD: Well, yes, of course. Well, you know, a part -- I mean, it did get to me, but I kept a hold of it and not let it take over. And -- but, yes, I guess I did a little bit, you know? But after what you guys are telling me.
QUESTION: Tell me, after these three weeks, long three weeks for your family, just waiting for any sort of word, now hearing of Couey may be, maybe not being involved, what is your family going through right now? What are you feeling?
LUNSFORD: The only thing I'm feeling is that I just got to keep searching. I got -- you know, Jessie is pushing me, and the support from the community and everybody. The only thing I can really focus on is just keep searching and then the sheriff will do the rest.
QUESTION: Are you hopeful she's still alive?
LUNSFORD: Well, I'm very hopeful that she's alive, and I know she's going to come home.
QUESTION: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?
LUNSFORD: Yes. Well, yes, everybody pretty much knows, you know, you have to be over 18 to search. It's just part of the paper work. You know, we wouldn't want anybody out there any younger than that.
QUESTION: Have you been frustrated with the investigation so far?
LUNSFORD: I really haven't kept up with it a whole lot. I've been staying busy working and then trying to, you know, put together another search.
I mean, I don't get a whole lot of the news. I don't watch a whole lot of TV. Pretty much when I come out here I get all of it from you guys.
QUESTION: And where is Jessica's mother?
LUNSFORD: She -- as far as I know, she's somewhere in Ohio.
QUESTION: Does she keep in contact with her daughter?
LUNSFORD: Over the last eight years, she's seen her mom a couple of times. There has not been no real contact.
QUESTION: I heard something about a doll that was...
PHILLIPS: Not a lot of new information, but Mark Lunsford, the father of missing Florida girl, 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford, just coming out and talking to reporters and answering a few questions. As you know, the family had a little bit of hope once convicted sex offender John Couey was brought into custody, but now police are saying that this might not be their man and that he may not be what they thought was a pretty hot lead.
So the search continues for little Jessica, according to her father Mark. And police are continuing to follow other leads, in addition to questioning John Couey.
HARRIS: And Kyra, we're about to get some new information on the Schiavo case. Our congressional correspondent, Joe Johns, has given us a heads-up there that there are some new developments -- Joe.
JOHNS: Tony, there does appear to be a new development. What we're hearing is apparently the House of Representatives now planning to go to the mat on the issue of Terri Schiavo in Florida.
As we've been reporting all morning, the House has already issued a number of subpoenas in this case that would effectively keep the feeding tube into her body. Now that a judge there has said this removal of the feeding tube can go forward, we're being told that lawyers for the House of Representatives are expected to go to an appeals court in the state of Florida seeking either to stay the removal of the tube or also -- or else to get a temporary restraining order.
So attorneys for the House of Representatives now seeking to try to intervene in this case because the House has issued subpoenas and says it wants to look into the health care of Terri Schiavo.
Tony, back to you.
HARRIS: OK. Joe Johns, I almost want to ask you, haven't we been down this road with temporary restraining orders and the like? It seems that we've done this.
JOHNS: We certainly have. Of course, this, the House would argue, is a different reason. They're saying the reason why they want this temporary restraining order is because they've issued subpoenas, they want to talk to the hospice, they want to see how she's hooked up. They want to see Terri Schiavo, and they can use their power of inquiry to look into this matter also to hold off the removal of the feeding tube -- Tony.
HARRIS: And Joe, tell me if I'm correct or incorrect or way far afield here. It sounds like the judges are saying this is a separation of powers issue and you don't have the jurisdiction on this matter.
JOHNS: Well, it doesn't sound like they've reached that specifically yet. What I'm told happened in Florida is that very brief restrainment or temporary restraining order, if you will, that occurred earlier today was because a chief judge couldn't get a hold of the judge who was handling the case.
HARRIS: I see.
JOHNS: It took some time to get the judge who was handling the case, and then they went ahead and said the removal of the tube should go forward.
HARRIS: OK. Joe Johns our congressional correspondent. Joe, we appreciate it. Thank you.
We'll take a break. More LIVE FROM when we come back.
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PHILLIPS: Missing child. For countless families across the nation, those two words mean unspeakable despair, heartache and grief. And the disappearance of Jessica Lunsford in Florida is just the latest high-profile case. But 20 years earlier, it was another girl whose vanishing sparked an intense search and made history.
CNN's Randi Kaye has the story.
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JANICE MCKINNEY, CHERRIE'S MOTHER: The last 20 years probably has been a real torture.
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Words spoken by a mother in pain.
MCKINNEY: 4:00, the bus came and we heard it and she just never came up the driveway.
KAYE: A mother overwhelmed by grief and guilt.
MCKINNEY: I should have been there when Cherrie got of the school bus and I wasn't. KAYE: February 22, 1985, Cherrie Mahan went to school and never came home.
MCKINNEY: I think that the last words that I probably told her was, you know, "Have a good day and I do love you." And that was probably as I took her down to the bus stop and she got on the bus.
KAYE (on camera): Did she tell you she loved you back?
MCKINNEY: Yes. She always told me that.
KAYE (voice-over): That day, Janice McKinney went from being the mother of a bubbly 8-year-old who loved rainbows and reading to the mother of a missing child. It was Cherrie who helped put a face on missing children nationwide. The first child ever on a "Have you seen me?" mailer delivered to homes around the country.
(on camera): What is that moment of panic like, that first moment when you realize your child has disappeared?
MCKINNEY: It's the most scariest thing. And I think my guilt started at that point, because up until that day, I was there. And if I would of been there, she wouldn't -- I wouldn't be going through this.
KAYE (voice-over): Ever since Cherrie was old enough to go to school, Janice says she walked her daughter to and from the bus stop.
(on camera): It was a day just like this one, snow on the ground, the sun shining. Cherrie got off her school bus right here. She had to go about 200 feet around that bend to get to her driveway, then another 300 feet to her front door. Investigators never found any footprints, which means Cherrie never got very far.
(voice-over): Janice called state police and tracked down Cherrie's school bus. She had to be sure Cherrie wasn't still on it.
Children on the bus told Janice and police Cherrie got off at her regular stop with other children. Those young witnesses described a blue van right behind the bus, with a snowcap mountain and a skier painted on its side. Investigators checked out hundreds of leads. No van, no Cherrie.
(on camera): Is there any indication as you walk this way how far she got?
RET. TROOPER GLENN HALL, PENNSYLVANIA STATE POLICE: No. There was no signs of any tracks or anything.
KAYE: So what does that tell you?
HALL: That apparently someone picked her up.
KAYE: Pretty quick.
HALL: Yes. KAYE (voice-over): For retired trooper Glenn Hall (ph), who worked the case from day one, there is also guilt.
HALL: I feel that maybe there is something I overlooked at the time. But I followed every lead that I got that night.
KAYE: With the case now entering its third decade, trooper Hall remains convinced a stranger abducted Cherrie, a stranger who knew the little girl's schedule and knew the area. Such crimes are rare.
Of the thousands of children each year who are officially described as abducted, the vast majority are taken by someone they know. But every year, about 100 children are taken by a stranger.
MCKINNEY: That was her dog and that was her cat.
KAYE: Janice gave birth to Cherrie when she was just 16. They grew up together, she says. This year, Cherrie would be 29. And this is what investigators think she might look like.
MCKINNEY: Well, now Cherrie could be married and have children and have graduated and, you know, I could be a grandmother.
KAYE: Cherrie's mom works two jobs, barely sleeps, anything to keep out the dark thoughts.
Five years after Cherrie was kidnapped, Janice had another child, Robert, now 15. After losing Cherrie, Janice says she didn't want to go through life without being a mother. Her son Robert is a soccer player with big plans to go away to college, something that doesn't sit so well with his mom.
MCKINNEY: He's never, ever gone anywhere without somebody. I mean, from the time he was able to walk till this day. I mean, I go to every soccer game. I stand by the door. You know, worried that somebody could come in and take him.
KAYE: Janice works hard to keep Cherrie close and her memory alive. There is an angel at the family cemetery plot. Two decades and countless tears later, Janice is still not ready to place a grave stone here.
MCKINNEY: We live in a society where we need to see something. And until I see something or hold something or know something, I can't put it to rest yet.
KAYE: Randi Kaye, CNN, Cabot, Pennsylvania.
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