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Lawyer Files Complaint about Secrecy in Michael Jackson Trial; Cheney Defends Gitmo Policies; Hospitals Endanger Patients with Medical Mistake; Jury Selection Begins in "Mississippi Burning" Case

Aired June 13, 2005 - 15:00   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.


MILES O'BRIEN, HOST: The verdict vigil continues in Santa Maria, California. Crowds of reporters, fans, and curious observers standing by while the Michael Jackson jury continues its deliberations.
CNN's Rusty Dornin joins us with the very latest -- Rusty.

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, the keyword is "standing by and waiting."

Yes, the jury has been deliberating more than 31 hours. Sources close to the case tell us this morning they continued to here about a read back of testimony from the accuser. Now, that began on Friday afternoon and apparently continued into this morning.

A lot of the legal analysts, a lot of the attorneys are very upset as, of course, so are other journalists, but we have not been hearing directly from the court about these read backs, what are in them. The only thing we heard about was last Monday there was some kind of question asked, but we heard no details about it.

In fact, there's been a memorandum filed with the court, with an attorney for the media, saying that at the final stage of this case, that it is intolerable and unconstitutional that so much of this has been cloaked in secrecy.

So we'll have to wait and see if the court is going to make any changes about that.

Meantime, of course, outside the courthouse the fans gathered. It was a ruckus day on and off during the morning when you have these confrontations between some folks who are here for religious reasons and the -- and the Michael Jackson fans. They often get into fights, altercations. The police have to break them up. Things are very calm now. There hasn't been any chanting going on for quite awhile.

Also we are -- outside Neverland, also, there are fans that are waiting there and really holding vigil, hoping to see something of the superstar, should there be any word of a verdict or should he even, perhaps, leave the area.

We presume he's at Neverland, although we have not heard from anyone that that is true. It's about a 40-minute drive from Neverland to the Santa Maria Courthouse. He has one hour to get here once the judge and the court calls and tells him that there is a verdict.

So as you said, we are standing by, awaiting any word from the court on how the jury is doing -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Rusty, I feel sorry for you. You're in a vacuum there. The judge won't even let you know what the jurors are asking. The spokesperson for Michael Jackson has been fired. Jesse Jackson isn't saying any more. Mesereau says no more talk.

Into this vacuum tends to flow not necessarily the best information. It must be difficult right now to do your job.

DORNIN: Especially -- especially when you have 2,000 journalists internationally, you know, too much time on their hands, not enough information officially, as you said, coming down, tends to promote, shall I say, speculation on behalf of some folks. So you'll get anxiety ripples that sort of go through the media camp. Those are quelled and something else comes up.

So you know, just too much time on our hands at this point and not enough real information that we can use that's coming out right now that we can report on.

O'BRIEN: And we -- we should tell our viewers, though, you won't see the speculation here. You might hear it elsewhere.

DORNIN: That's right.

O'BRIEN: Stick with us; we won't -- we're not going to run with those rumors.

DORNIN: No. Absolutely.

O'BRIEN: All right, Rusty. Thank you very much.

Let's go to Aruba now, where the search for Natalee Holloway is hitting the two-week mark. Efforts underway to free two of the five men held in connection with her disappearance. Both are security guards who worked at the hotel near the one that Holloway was staying at when she vanished on the 30th.

The teen's mother is telling the Associated Press she believes they are innocent and should be released. Aruba's government's spokesman says that may happen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUBEN TRAPENBERG, ARUBAN GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN: We don't get the details from the investigation, from what we think may be the case that these three gentlemen are pointing the finger to these guys. So if they have an alibi, they can substantiate where they've been, they may be released at some point. But that's still ongoing. Today their lawyer, I have heard, may come with a special appeal so that their case can be considered.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Three other young men are also being held in connection with the disappearance. A senior police source telling CNN one of them has made some kind of confession, but other officials deny that claim. We're trying to sort that one out.

So what is going on at Gitmo? New criticism for the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as "TIME" magazine" outlines interrogation tactics used against one detainee.

U.S. officials say the prisoner, Mohammed al-Kahtani, planned to be the 20th hijacker for the 9/11 attempts. Now the logbook of his interrogation details some of the treatment al-Kahtani received during that questioning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADAM ZAGORIN, "TIME" MAGAZINE: They employed sleep deprivation, various techniques of humiliation. What do I mean by that? We have the log saying he was asked to bark like a dog. A female interrogator violated his personal space to the point where he threatened to commit suicide at one point.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Now, in response the Pentagon issued this statement, saying, "The Defense Department remains committed to the unequivocal standard of humane treatment for all detainees, and Kahtani's interrogation plan was guided by that strict standard. The very fact that an interrogation log exists is evidence his interrogation proceeded according to a very detailed plan, which was conducted by trained professionals in a controlled environment, with active supervision and oversight." End of that quote.

On Capitol Hill, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle denouncing the alleged interrogation tactics, but the Defense Department is also finding some staunch support. At the White House the administration insists there are no plans to close the Guantanamo Bay facility.

CNN's Suzanne Malveaux is there.

Hello, Suzanne.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, hello, Miles.

There's really a robust debate that is taking place within the Bush administration whether or not Gitmo is now becoming a political liability, whether or not it's even worth it to keep it open.

We heard from Vice President Dick Cheney today who said there is absolutely no reason to shut it down. He says that these alleged instances of abuse are isolated cases, that the U.S. government is being as transparent as is possible.

Now today at a journalism awards ceremony, Cheney said that those who are calling for its closure are against the U.S.-Iraq policy anyway, saying that it's partisan. He is not convinced that this is damaging U.S. credibility.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: From the standpoint of safety and security of Americans and American troops in combat, it seems to me we have an obligation to treat these individuals as we have been treating them, and that is as enemy combatants.

They're well cared for at Guantanamo. They are properly housed and properly fed. They've got the medical care and treatment they need. Their religious needs are -- are met with.

And, in fact I think, say, if we didn't have that facility at Guantanamo to undertake this activity, we'd have to have it somewhere else. Because they're a vital source of intelligence information. They've given useful information that has been used in pursuing our aims and objectives in the war on terror.

And so I think whatever one's views might be with respect to Guantanamo, that, in fact, the track record there is, on the whole, pretty good and that this is an essential part of our strategy of prevailing and winning in the ongoing war on terror.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Now, over the weekend, we heard from prominent republicans, however, who said that this was an image problem for the United States. That, at best, we heard from Senator -- well, Senator Lindsey Graham as well as Senator Chuck Hagel.

Earlier today, I spoke with Democratic Congressman Charlie Rangel, who was here at the White House. He says that he believes this cuts across partisan lines, and he expressed what his greatest concern about Gitmo was.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. CHARLIE RANGEL (D), NEW YORK: As a former combat soldier in Korea, I just want you to know that there's no question in my mind that every American that's fighting is worried to go death how they're going to be treated because of the way the enemy believes that we're treating their prisoners.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Reporter: Now, President Bush last week was asked whether or not he would consider clothing Gitmo. The president said, of course, they're keeping all of their options open.

There were a lot of questions about that, whether or not there was sort of a split within the administration over that. But we heard from the press secretary, Scott McClellan, saying essentially that everyone is on the same page, that Gitmo will remain open. They are taking a close look at this. They believe that the government has been as transparent as possible -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Suzanne, the vice president today at the National Press Club said that Guantanamo and the whole issue there does not hurt the U.S. image overseas. Does the administration really believe that, or do they just not care?

MALVEAUX: Well, they certainly care about their image overseas. I mean, that's very important to them.

But one thing that's happening within the administration, if you talk to insiders here, they will acknowledge privately that they are concerned about that, that they are concerned, at the very least. There's a perception problem; at the very least, there's a public relations problem that needs to be fixed.

O'BRIEN: Suzanne Malveaux at the White House, thank you very much.

The Supreme Court weighing in on a number of issues today, overturning the conviction of a back Death Row inmate in Texas who appealed on grounds the jury in his case was unfairly stacked with whites, and a ruling on the California standards for proving jury bias are too strict.

But the high court declined to intervene in the case of Jose Padilla. Padilla, you may recall, is accused in a dirty bomb plot. He's being detained as an enemy combatant. His case is currently under review by a lower court. We should remind you, he's a U.S. citizen.

Stay tuned to CNN, 24/7, for the latest most reliable information about your security.

Two North Carolina hospitals are under fire for a mix-up that regulators say put thousands of patients in immediate jeopardy. The centers for Medicare and Medicaid services say about 3,800 patients were operated on last year with surgical tools mistakenly washed in -- get this -- hydraulic fluid. It happened at two hospitals affiliated with Duke University.

Reporter Ed Crump from our CNN affiliate, WTVD, with details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED CRUMP, WTVD REPORTER (voice-over): The surgical instrument washing snafu started here at the Duke Health Raleigh Hospital. Susan Kennedy heard about it when she came to visit a friend who had just had surgery.

SUSAN KENNEDY, HOSPITAL VISIT: It was kind of alarming, you know, that you could get that kind of mix-up.

CRUMP: The mix-up started at the Raleigh facility when an elevator maintenance crew dumped used hydraulic fluid in empty detergent containers. Another contractor later hooked up one of those containers to a surgical instrument cleaning system here. Another container was taken to Durham Regional Hospital and hooked up there, as well.

KENNEDY: It's a comedy of errors. I mean, that's just -- I mean, you couldn't even plan that and made it pull off that well, I don't think.

CRUMP: Kennedy knows this isn't the first time Duke has made a medical error. The most highly publicized happened in February of 2003, when teenager Jesica Santillan was given the wrong heart and lungs in a transplant procedure and later died.

Then in June of that year a baby was burned during a surgical procedure. Two months later another baby was also burned, this time by hot air in an incubator.

All three incidents happened in Duke's main hospital and were reported to agencies that monitor health care. But Duke officials say they were never sanctioned and that the health system has a clean record.

KENNEDY: It's alarming that, even with as much publicity as been put on some of the stories, that there haven't been any charges.

CRUMP: Susan Kennedy says she'll impose her own sanctions.

KENNEDY: It certainly makes me second guess if I were to have surgery in the future.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: We've all heard horror stories about mistakes at hospitals. In the first part of a two-part series on dangerous hospitals, CNN's Randi Kaye examines the case of one woman who went in for surgery, days later died an agonizing death.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Last November, Mary McClinton checked into Virginia Mason Hospital in Seattle for a procedure to correct a brain aneurysm. She never checked out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nineteen days of terror for my mother.

KAYE: The aneurysm procedure was successful and Mary McClinton, in good health, otherwise, according to her family, was expected to recover and live for years. But right after the surgery, a fatal error.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One simple procedure of marking what you're about to inject into a person would have prevented this whole thing, 30 seconds or less to write down what's toxic, what is not.

KAYE: A technician was supposed to inject a harmless marker die for X-rays into Mary's leg, but instead of injecting dye, the technician inadvertently injected antiseptic skin cleanser, chlorhexidine, toxic when injected into the body.

(on camera) Do you speak to her after the surgery?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Basically, she could talk and I talked to her for all of 30 seconds, because of the pain she was in. It was -- I mean, I heard a lot of screaming, to the point where she actually dropped the phone, and the nurse picked it up and told me that I'd have to call her back.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: You can see Randi Kaye's full report on dangerous hospitals tonight on "PAULA ZAHN NOW," 8 p.m. Eastern, 5 Pacific, right here on CNN.

An apology from the U.S. Senate today for something that happened 100 years ago. Details on that ahead.

And the crime scene is more than 40 years old, but three Mississippi civil rights killings are getting a fresh examination today in court. We'll have details on that straight ahead.

ANNOUNCER: You're watching LIVE FROM on CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: In the summer of 1964, the killings of three young civil rights workers made headlines and made Philadelphia, Mississippi, infamous. Now almost 41 years to the day after those deaths, the murder trial is getting underway.

CNN's Ed Lavandera is in Mississippi as the jury selection begins on a remarkable trial -- Ed.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Miles.

Well, jury selection begins today in the murder trial of Edgar Ray Killen. This is the first murder trial that's been held here in the state of Mississippi in regard to the deaths of these three civil rights workers that were killed here, as you mentioned, almost exactly 41 years ago.

A handful of the suspects in this case were brought up on federal civil rights violations back in the '60s, but no one was ever brought to trial for murder until now.

Edgar Ray Killen is now 80 years old. Many of his friends and supporters say he's too frail and old to be going through something like this, and many people around here have said that they don't understand why this is being brought up now.

But the prosecutor in this case say that there's enough evidence, and people have talked since then to bring this trial against Mr. Killen to the courthouse here in Philadelphia, Mississippi. And they say there's enough evidence to convict him, but Killen's attorney says that's not the case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Constitution says you're entitled to a jury of your peers. His peers have passed. It's been three generations. There's a different peer now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAVANDERA: Mr. Killen says he is innocent and has maintained his innocence and so has his family members, who have come here to support his, as well.

Now, the prosecutor here in Philadelphia walking a very fine line, if you will, trying to prosecute a murder case that he says he's trying to try like any other. But at the same time he knows that the weight of history is watching him closely.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I understand, you know, the historical significance of it. You can't miss that. But I've tried real hard to look at it just like any other case and tried to put together the evidence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAVANDERA: Now, jury selection is expected to last another two to four days.

There are great lengths that the judge here in this case is going to, to make sure that Mr. Killen is comfortable. Back in March he was in a tree accident. A tree limb fell on top of him and broke both of his legs. Many of his friends also say that he's frail and older in many other ways, as well.

So court will actually break every two hours, so that Mr. Killen can get up, stretch his legs, go through physical therapy or whatever he might need to make him feel comfortable. So both sides here acknowledging that the court is going to great lengths to make sure that Mr. Killen is comfortable.

Meanwhile jury selection continues, and as I mentioned, this case could take up to two weeks to complete -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Ed, what about these reports that an imperial wizard of the Ku Klux Klan showed up to offer support and actually walk alongside Killen?

LAVANDERA: Well, that was the way the court day started here in Philadelphia. When Mr. Killen arrived this morning, he was approached at his car by a man who identified himself as a -- as a member of the Ku Klux Klan from Georgia who had come here to support Mr. Killen.

When we turned around and asked Mr. Killen's attorney about the significance of this, because he had just spent about 30 minutes talking to reporters before going into the courthouse, trying to make the case that talk of the Ku Klux Klan here was insignificant and irrelevant. But unfortunately, the gentleman, before going into the courthouse, had handed a reporter one of his business cards, and it had the Ku Klux Klan logo all over it -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: All right, Ed Lavandera. Thank you very much.

Quite a juxtaposition of civil rights news. The U.S. Senate is preparing to issue a formal apology. Senate Resolution No. 39 officially expresses remorse for the Senate's failure to pass a law to stop lynchings. It's estimated more than 4,700, most of them black, died in lynchings between 1882 and 1968. Among those slated to be on hand for today's floor vote, Doria Dee Johnson. She is the great- great granddaughter of a black South Carolina farmer who was killed by a white mob nearly 100 years ago now.

Safety defects force a U.S. automaker to hit the recall button. We'll have all the details in our check of business news next.

And the Tour de France it's not, definitely not. Why dozens of cyclists, bared their birthday suits in London.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: The infamous French Spider-Man is adding another notch to his webbed belt. Over the weekend Alain Robert, scaled one of Hong Kong's famous skyscrapers, sans safety gear or ropes. Once he got to the top, the 43-year-old daredevil said the view was simply "fantastique." That was pretty bad.

All right. Using the bare necessities to protest a crude obsession. Naked cyclists braved London traffic over the weekend, using pedal power, hoping to bring attention to overdependence on fossil fuels, instead underscoring their overdependence on greasy pub food.

Well, Ford, they used to say quality was job one, Susan Lisovicz. Maybe it's job four.

(STOCK REPORT)

O'BRIEN: All right, Susan. Looking forward to that.

I don't know about you, but I feel like some Candy. Candy Crowley up with the "INSIDE POLITICS."

Hello, Candy.

CANDY CROWLEY, HOST, "INSIDE POLITICS": Hey, Miles.

Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, should the U.S. detention center there stay or go? The question is becoming a hot political issue.

Also why does California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger want to hold a special election? And what impact will that election have on his political future?

"INSIDE POLITICS" begins in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired June 13, 2005 - 15:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, HOST: The verdict vigil continues in Santa Maria, California. Crowds of reporters, fans, and curious observers standing by while the Michael Jackson jury continues its deliberations.
CNN's Rusty Dornin joins us with the very latest -- Rusty.

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, the keyword is "standing by and waiting."

Yes, the jury has been deliberating more than 31 hours. Sources close to the case tell us this morning they continued to here about a read back of testimony from the accuser. Now, that began on Friday afternoon and apparently continued into this morning.

A lot of the legal analysts, a lot of the attorneys are very upset as, of course, so are other journalists, but we have not been hearing directly from the court about these read backs, what are in them. The only thing we heard about was last Monday there was some kind of question asked, but we heard no details about it.

In fact, there's been a memorandum filed with the court, with an attorney for the media, saying that at the final stage of this case, that it is intolerable and unconstitutional that so much of this has been cloaked in secrecy.

So we'll have to wait and see if the court is going to make any changes about that.

Meantime, of course, outside the courthouse the fans gathered. It was a ruckus day on and off during the morning when you have these confrontations between some folks who are here for religious reasons and the -- and the Michael Jackson fans. They often get into fights, altercations. The police have to break them up. Things are very calm now. There hasn't been any chanting going on for quite awhile.

Also we are -- outside Neverland, also, there are fans that are waiting there and really holding vigil, hoping to see something of the superstar, should there be any word of a verdict or should he even, perhaps, leave the area.

We presume he's at Neverland, although we have not heard from anyone that that is true. It's about a 40-minute drive from Neverland to the Santa Maria Courthouse. He has one hour to get here once the judge and the court calls and tells him that there is a verdict.

So as you said, we are standing by, awaiting any word from the court on how the jury is doing -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Rusty, I feel sorry for you. You're in a vacuum there. The judge won't even let you know what the jurors are asking. The spokesperson for Michael Jackson has been fired. Jesse Jackson isn't saying any more. Mesereau says no more talk.

Into this vacuum tends to flow not necessarily the best information. It must be difficult right now to do your job.

DORNIN: Especially -- especially when you have 2,000 journalists internationally, you know, too much time on their hands, not enough information officially, as you said, coming down, tends to promote, shall I say, speculation on behalf of some folks. So you'll get anxiety ripples that sort of go through the media camp. Those are quelled and something else comes up.

So you know, just too much time on our hands at this point and not enough real information that we can use that's coming out right now that we can report on.

O'BRIEN: And we -- we should tell our viewers, though, you won't see the speculation here. You might hear it elsewhere.

DORNIN: That's right.

O'BRIEN: Stick with us; we won't -- we're not going to run with those rumors.

DORNIN: No. Absolutely.

O'BRIEN: All right, Rusty. Thank you very much.

Let's go to Aruba now, where the search for Natalee Holloway is hitting the two-week mark. Efforts underway to free two of the five men held in connection with her disappearance. Both are security guards who worked at the hotel near the one that Holloway was staying at when she vanished on the 30th.

The teen's mother is telling the Associated Press she believes they are innocent and should be released. Aruba's government's spokesman says that may happen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUBEN TRAPENBERG, ARUBAN GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN: We don't get the details from the investigation, from what we think may be the case that these three gentlemen are pointing the finger to these guys. So if they have an alibi, they can substantiate where they've been, they may be released at some point. But that's still ongoing. Today their lawyer, I have heard, may come with a special appeal so that their case can be considered.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Three other young men are also being held in connection with the disappearance. A senior police source telling CNN one of them has made some kind of confession, but other officials deny that claim. We're trying to sort that one out.

So what is going on at Gitmo? New criticism for the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as "TIME" magazine" outlines interrogation tactics used against one detainee.

U.S. officials say the prisoner, Mohammed al-Kahtani, planned to be the 20th hijacker for the 9/11 attempts. Now the logbook of his interrogation details some of the treatment al-Kahtani received during that questioning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADAM ZAGORIN, "TIME" MAGAZINE: They employed sleep deprivation, various techniques of humiliation. What do I mean by that? We have the log saying he was asked to bark like a dog. A female interrogator violated his personal space to the point where he threatened to commit suicide at one point.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Now, in response the Pentagon issued this statement, saying, "The Defense Department remains committed to the unequivocal standard of humane treatment for all detainees, and Kahtani's interrogation plan was guided by that strict standard. The very fact that an interrogation log exists is evidence his interrogation proceeded according to a very detailed plan, which was conducted by trained professionals in a controlled environment, with active supervision and oversight." End of that quote.

On Capitol Hill, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle denouncing the alleged interrogation tactics, but the Defense Department is also finding some staunch support. At the White House the administration insists there are no plans to close the Guantanamo Bay facility.

CNN's Suzanne Malveaux is there.

Hello, Suzanne.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, hello, Miles.

There's really a robust debate that is taking place within the Bush administration whether or not Gitmo is now becoming a political liability, whether or not it's even worth it to keep it open.

We heard from Vice President Dick Cheney today who said there is absolutely no reason to shut it down. He says that these alleged instances of abuse are isolated cases, that the U.S. government is being as transparent as is possible.

Now today at a journalism awards ceremony, Cheney said that those who are calling for its closure are against the U.S.-Iraq policy anyway, saying that it's partisan. He is not convinced that this is damaging U.S. credibility.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: From the standpoint of safety and security of Americans and American troops in combat, it seems to me we have an obligation to treat these individuals as we have been treating them, and that is as enemy combatants.

They're well cared for at Guantanamo. They are properly housed and properly fed. They've got the medical care and treatment they need. Their religious needs are -- are met with.

And, in fact I think, say, if we didn't have that facility at Guantanamo to undertake this activity, we'd have to have it somewhere else. Because they're a vital source of intelligence information. They've given useful information that has been used in pursuing our aims and objectives in the war on terror.

And so I think whatever one's views might be with respect to Guantanamo, that, in fact, the track record there is, on the whole, pretty good and that this is an essential part of our strategy of prevailing and winning in the ongoing war on terror.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Now, over the weekend, we heard from prominent republicans, however, who said that this was an image problem for the United States. That, at best, we heard from Senator -- well, Senator Lindsey Graham as well as Senator Chuck Hagel.

Earlier today, I spoke with Democratic Congressman Charlie Rangel, who was here at the White House. He says that he believes this cuts across partisan lines, and he expressed what his greatest concern about Gitmo was.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. CHARLIE RANGEL (D), NEW YORK: As a former combat soldier in Korea, I just want you to know that there's no question in my mind that every American that's fighting is worried to go death how they're going to be treated because of the way the enemy believes that we're treating their prisoners.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Reporter: Now, President Bush last week was asked whether or not he would consider clothing Gitmo. The president said, of course, they're keeping all of their options open.

There were a lot of questions about that, whether or not there was sort of a split within the administration over that. But we heard from the press secretary, Scott McClellan, saying essentially that everyone is on the same page, that Gitmo will remain open. They are taking a close look at this. They believe that the government has been as transparent as possible -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Suzanne, the vice president today at the National Press Club said that Guantanamo and the whole issue there does not hurt the U.S. image overseas. Does the administration really believe that, or do they just not care?

MALVEAUX: Well, they certainly care about their image overseas. I mean, that's very important to them.

But one thing that's happening within the administration, if you talk to insiders here, they will acknowledge privately that they are concerned about that, that they are concerned, at the very least. There's a perception problem; at the very least, there's a public relations problem that needs to be fixed.

O'BRIEN: Suzanne Malveaux at the White House, thank you very much.

The Supreme Court weighing in on a number of issues today, overturning the conviction of a back Death Row inmate in Texas who appealed on grounds the jury in his case was unfairly stacked with whites, and a ruling on the California standards for proving jury bias are too strict.

But the high court declined to intervene in the case of Jose Padilla. Padilla, you may recall, is accused in a dirty bomb plot. He's being detained as an enemy combatant. His case is currently under review by a lower court. We should remind you, he's a U.S. citizen.

Stay tuned to CNN, 24/7, for the latest most reliable information about your security.

Two North Carolina hospitals are under fire for a mix-up that regulators say put thousands of patients in immediate jeopardy. The centers for Medicare and Medicaid services say about 3,800 patients were operated on last year with surgical tools mistakenly washed in -- get this -- hydraulic fluid. It happened at two hospitals affiliated with Duke University.

Reporter Ed Crump from our CNN affiliate, WTVD, with details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED CRUMP, WTVD REPORTER (voice-over): The surgical instrument washing snafu started here at the Duke Health Raleigh Hospital. Susan Kennedy heard about it when she came to visit a friend who had just had surgery.

SUSAN KENNEDY, HOSPITAL VISIT: It was kind of alarming, you know, that you could get that kind of mix-up.

CRUMP: The mix-up started at the Raleigh facility when an elevator maintenance crew dumped used hydraulic fluid in empty detergent containers. Another contractor later hooked up one of those containers to a surgical instrument cleaning system here. Another container was taken to Durham Regional Hospital and hooked up there, as well.

KENNEDY: It's a comedy of errors. I mean, that's just -- I mean, you couldn't even plan that and made it pull off that well, I don't think.

CRUMP: Kennedy knows this isn't the first time Duke has made a medical error. The most highly publicized happened in February of 2003, when teenager Jesica Santillan was given the wrong heart and lungs in a transplant procedure and later died.

Then in June of that year a baby was burned during a surgical procedure. Two months later another baby was also burned, this time by hot air in an incubator.

All three incidents happened in Duke's main hospital and were reported to agencies that monitor health care. But Duke officials say they were never sanctioned and that the health system has a clean record.

KENNEDY: It's alarming that, even with as much publicity as been put on some of the stories, that there haven't been any charges.

CRUMP: Susan Kennedy says she'll impose her own sanctions.

KENNEDY: It certainly makes me second guess if I were to have surgery in the future.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: We've all heard horror stories about mistakes at hospitals. In the first part of a two-part series on dangerous hospitals, CNN's Randi Kaye examines the case of one woman who went in for surgery, days later died an agonizing death.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Last November, Mary McClinton checked into Virginia Mason Hospital in Seattle for a procedure to correct a brain aneurysm. She never checked out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nineteen days of terror for my mother.

KAYE: The aneurysm procedure was successful and Mary McClinton, in good health, otherwise, according to her family, was expected to recover and live for years. But right after the surgery, a fatal error.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One simple procedure of marking what you're about to inject into a person would have prevented this whole thing, 30 seconds or less to write down what's toxic, what is not.

KAYE: A technician was supposed to inject a harmless marker die for X-rays into Mary's leg, but instead of injecting dye, the technician inadvertently injected antiseptic skin cleanser, chlorhexidine, toxic when injected into the body.

(on camera) Do you speak to her after the surgery?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Basically, she could talk and I talked to her for all of 30 seconds, because of the pain she was in. It was -- I mean, I heard a lot of screaming, to the point where she actually dropped the phone, and the nurse picked it up and told me that I'd have to call her back.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: You can see Randi Kaye's full report on dangerous hospitals tonight on "PAULA ZAHN NOW," 8 p.m. Eastern, 5 Pacific, right here on CNN.

An apology from the U.S. Senate today for something that happened 100 years ago. Details on that ahead.

And the crime scene is more than 40 years old, but three Mississippi civil rights killings are getting a fresh examination today in court. We'll have details on that straight ahead.

ANNOUNCER: You're watching LIVE FROM on CNN, the most trusted name in news.

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O'BRIEN: In the summer of 1964, the killings of three young civil rights workers made headlines and made Philadelphia, Mississippi, infamous. Now almost 41 years to the day after those deaths, the murder trial is getting underway.

CNN's Ed Lavandera is in Mississippi as the jury selection begins on a remarkable trial -- Ed.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Miles.

Well, jury selection begins today in the murder trial of Edgar Ray Killen. This is the first murder trial that's been held here in the state of Mississippi in regard to the deaths of these three civil rights workers that were killed here, as you mentioned, almost exactly 41 years ago.

A handful of the suspects in this case were brought up on federal civil rights violations back in the '60s, but no one was ever brought to trial for murder until now.

Edgar Ray Killen is now 80 years old. Many of his friends and supporters say he's too frail and old to be going through something like this, and many people around here have said that they don't understand why this is being brought up now.

But the prosecutor in this case say that there's enough evidence, and people have talked since then to bring this trial against Mr. Killen to the courthouse here in Philadelphia, Mississippi. And they say there's enough evidence to convict him, but Killen's attorney says that's not the case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Constitution says you're entitled to a jury of your peers. His peers have passed. It's been three generations. There's a different peer now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAVANDERA: Mr. Killen says he is innocent and has maintained his innocence and so has his family members, who have come here to support his, as well.

Now, the prosecutor here in Philadelphia walking a very fine line, if you will, trying to prosecute a murder case that he says he's trying to try like any other. But at the same time he knows that the weight of history is watching him closely.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I understand, you know, the historical significance of it. You can't miss that. But I've tried real hard to look at it just like any other case and tried to put together the evidence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAVANDERA: Now, jury selection is expected to last another two to four days.

There are great lengths that the judge here in this case is going to, to make sure that Mr. Killen is comfortable. Back in March he was in a tree accident. A tree limb fell on top of him and broke both of his legs. Many of his friends also say that he's frail and older in many other ways, as well.

So court will actually break every two hours, so that Mr. Killen can get up, stretch his legs, go through physical therapy or whatever he might need to make him feel comfortable. So both sides here acknowledging that the court is going to great lengths to make sure that Mr. Killen is comfortable.

Meanwhile jury selection continues, and as I mentioned, this case could take up to two weeks to complete -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Ed, what about these reports that an imperial wizard of the Ku Klux Klan showed up to offer support and actually walk alongside Killen?

LAVANDERA: Well, that was the way the court day started here in Philadelphia. When Mr. Killen arrived this morning, he was approached at his car by a man who identified himself as a -- as a member of the Ku Klux Klan from Georgia who had come here to support Mr. Killen.

When we turned around and asked Mr. Killen's attorney about the significance of this, because he had just spent about 30 minutes talking to reporters before going into the courthouse, trying to make the case that talk of the Ku Klux Klan here was insignificant and irrelevant. But unfortunately, the gentleman, before going into the courthouse, had handed a reporter one of his business cards, and it had the Ku Klux Klan logo all over it -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: All right, Ed Lavandera. Thank you very much.

Quite a juxtaposition of civil rights news. The U.S. Senate is preparing to issue a formal apology. Senate Resolution No. 39 officially expresses remorse for the Senate's failure to pass a law to stop lynchings. It's estimated more than 4,700, most of them black, died in lynchings between 1882 and 1968. Among those slated to be on hand for today's floor vote, Doria Dee Johnson. She is the great- great granddaughter of a black South Carolina farmer who was killed by a white mob nearly 100 years ago now.

Safety defects force a U.S. automaker to hit the recall button. We'll have all the details in our check of business news next.

And the Tour de France it's not, definitely not. Why dozens of cyclists, bared their birthday suits in London.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: The infamous French Spider-Man is adding another notch to his webbed belt. Over the weekend Alain Robert, scaled one of Hong Kong's famous skyscrapers, sans safety gear or ropes. Once he got to the top, the 43-year-old daredevil said the view was simply "fantastique." That was pretty bad.

All right. Using the bare necessities to protest a crude obsession. Naked cyclists braved London traffic over the weekend, using pedal power, hoping to bring attention to overdependence on fossil fuels, instead underscoring their overdependence on greasy pub food.

Well, Ford, they used to say quality was job one, Susan Lisovicz. Maybe it's job four.

(STOCK REPORT)

O'BRIEN: All right, Susan. Looking forward to that.

I don't know about you, but I feel like some Candy. Candy Crowley up with the "INSIDE POLITICS."

Hello, Candy.

CANDY CROWLEY, HOST, "INSIDE POLITICS": Hey, Miles.

Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, should the U.S. detention center there stay or go? The question is becoming a hot political issue.

Also why does California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger want to hold a special election? And what impact will that election have on his political future?

"INSIDE POLITICS" begins in just a moment.

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