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Gerald Ford Admitted to Hospital; Stanley 'Tookie' Williams Executed; Family of Vanished Honeymooner Press Congress for Cruise Industry Changes

Aired December 13, 2005 - 13:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, HOST: Our top story, he succeeded the first president to ever resign from office. This hour, we're following the health of former President Gerald Ford as he's admitted to the hospital.
Our Tony Harris working the story from our newsroom -- Tony.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Kyra, good to talk to you. Here's the thing. This is a story that we've been following throughout the morning. We've been hearing rumblings pretty much through the morning hours that President Ford might be, in fact, in ill health and in the hospital. But it's not until now, Kyra, that we can confirm that the 38th president of these United States, Gerald Ford, is, in fact, in the hospital for tests.

Not sure of the problems that prompted the trip to the hospital. We can tell you that CNN's Dan Simon is on his way to the Eisenhower Medical Center -- that is in Rancho Mirage, California -- to learn what he can about Gerald Ford's condition.

The former president is 92 years old. And as you know, he is one of four living past presidents. The other three, Carter, Clinton and Bush Sr.

A bit now on the former president's past medical history. He was hospitalized in 2003, Kyra, after suffering from a dizzy spell while he was playing gulf golf in 93 -- 96-degree heat. Let you know what kind of an athlete he's always been throughout his life. He played college football in Michigan. He suffered a mild stroke during the 2000 Republican National Convention.

Just want to take a moment and read this statement that came to us from Penny Circle, the former president's chief of staff. It reads, "President Ford was admitted to Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, California. He is undergoing medical tests and will be released when they have been completed."

And there you have it, Kyra, the latest on the condition. Former President Gerald Ford in the hospital right now, the Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, California.

CNN's Dan Simon is on his way to the hospital to try to gather as much information as he can for us. And when we get that we will bring it to you right away, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Tony. We'll stay on top of the story. Thank you so much.

Well, nothing was quick about it; nothing was easy about it. But 30 plus years after Stanley "Tookie" Williams helped organize the infamous Crips, 24 years after he was convicted of four brutal murders and sentenced to death, after innumerable campaigns and appeals and, yes, nominations for Nobel Prizes, Stanley Williams is dead. He was executed at California's San Quentin Prison just after midnight local time after one final struggle, that to insert the toxic IV into his muscular arm.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVEN ORNOSKI, SAN QUENTIN WARDEN: He was trying to help them find a vein that would work for them. He gave some suggestions. He did seem frustrated that it didn't go as quickly as he thought it might.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Williams' cause caught fire because of his apparent prison transformation into an anti-gang crusader and writer of children's books. But he never apologized for those murders, because he always insisted he was president. And that fact alone apparently persuaded Governor Schwarzenegger not to grant clemency.

CNN's Chris Lawrence is at the prison. Chris, do we know who the last person was that he spent time with?

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He spent time with several people. He spent time with the Reverend Jesse Jackson yesterday. He talked with some of his advisers. He did not ask for a spiritual adviser.

You know, when you talk about this man, Tookie Williams, some people saw cold-blooded killer, a gang leader. Other people had a radically different view, saw him as an inspiration to some children. But from the witnesses who watched him die, they say he remained the same man, right up until the end.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID WOHL, CBS: Air of defiance about him, and we thought, really that -- I thought that maybe he was putting up far greater struggle than they had anticipated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAWRENCE: Now Tookie Williams had several supporters that were standing off in the back of the room witnessing this. And as the guards were preparing him for the lethal injection, several of them raised their fists in a black power salute. And the witnesses then picks up on what happened after that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN FAGAN, "SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE": Most strikingly, at the end of the execution, as those three were heading out, they yelled, "The state of California just killed an innocent man," which is the first time I've ever heard any outburst in the death chamber there.

And the folks who were there on behalf of the victims appeared -- they were stony. They were very impassive. But at the very end, when those three yelled that out, Dora Owens, the stepmom of one of his victims, began to cry.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lora.

FAGAN: Yes, Lora, I'm sorry, Lora. And that was different. That was a very emotional element of this particular execution.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAWRENCE: Yes, and supporters say they're going to keep working to prove that he was not guilty. Despite court ruling after court ruling that upheld these murder convictions, they say they're going to keep working to prove Williams was innocent -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Chris, what do you think, does this case have any long-term effect on the death penalty in California?

LAWRENCE: Well, certain things are already in the works and were happening even before this execution. This could move it along somewhat.

There's a state appointed commission that is studying the fairness of California's legal system. Specifically, how the death penalty is applied. And that committee is expected to finish in about two years. And two politicians have introduced a bill that would stop executions until the committee makes its recommendations.

Now, they expect this death to fuel that into next year and put a big push in the legislature for that, despite the fact that the majority of Californians support the death penalty.

PHILLIPS: Chris Lawrence, live from San Quentin, thank you so much.

Well, don't tell Lora Owens that Stanley Williams deserved a lighter sentence. Owens' stepson, Albert, was shotgunned in the back while lying on the floor of the convenience store where he worked as a clerk in February of 1979. Williams was linked to that crime and to the robbery/homicide of a Chinese family less than two weeks later by the same gun.

On CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING," Lora Owens rejected the idea of atonement and Williams' atonement in particular.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP))

LORA OWENS, STEPMOTHER OF VICTIM: Apologizing, asking forgiveness, that's right in atonement. It doesn't get you out of a just punishment. He had the just punishment. MILES O'BRIEN, CO-HOST, "AMERICAN MORNING": Lora, did you have a chance to think about your stepson through all this, this morning? And have you thought that this is where he wanted you to be?

OWENS: I felt like that's where they wanted me to be. I thought both of Albert and my husband. And I felt like I was doing what they would have expected me to do, what my husband asked me to do, and I've done it.

O'BRIEN: Lora Owens.

OWENS: Now I just want to get on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Remember, you can catch "AMERICAN MORNING" every morning 6 a.m. right here on CNN.

The ads are enticing and effective. Thousands of people spend thousands of dollars every year to forget their cases on a vacation cruise. But when you board one of these ships, are you giving up your personal security, as well?

Today in Washington, a House committee is taking a much closer look at reports of sexual assault, theft, and other crimes that can occur on board and who has jurisdiction to investigate and issue charges. The hearing was motivated in part by George and Maureen Smith. Her son was honeymooning aboard the Brilliance of the Seas when he vanished. Smith's parents are convinced that foul play was involved.

CNN's Kimberly Osias has more on the story.

Tell us about the disappearance of George Smith and what we know about what happened and what the parents think happened -- Kimberly.

KIMBERLY OSIAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, George and Maureen Smith are still mad, as you said, and they still have no answers in the mysterious disappearance of their son, George Allen Smith.

About five months ago, he and his new bride embarked on Royal Caribbean's Brilliance of the Sea for their Mediterranean honeymoon. He never got off. His family believes he was murdered and have posted $100,000 reward on the Web for any tips that could lead to an arrest.

They're on Capitol Hill, as you mentioned, today, pushing lawmakers for tough new laws, clamping down on the cruise industry. Passengers reported seeing blood on an overhang below Smith's cabin. It was then when he was reported missing. Authorities reported finding blood in Smith's cabin, as well as on that balcony.

For its part, Royal Caribbean tells CNN they don't know what happened to George Smith, only that he tragically disappeared from the ship. As for the Smith family, they want major industry changes and laws to prevent what happened to their son from ever happening again -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Kimberly, who kind of changes do the parents want?

OSIAS: Well, some families are saying they want to see surveillance cameras like you see on elevators, or in buildings, on those public decks, like the promenade deck where people go often after meals, walking around outside, that would alert an officer if somebody were to fall overboard.

PHILLIPS: Now, we start talking about the cruise industry. We're talking about $25 billion a year, right?

OSIAS: Major, major business, yes.

PHILLIPS: OK, a lot of money. So what do they have to say about all this, the cruise industry?

OSIAS: Yes, and it's a mushrooming business as well, Kyra. Well, they say, look, the statistics are on their side. In fact, think there were about 10 to 12 people that actually disappeared, where something happened to them, fell overboard, in the past year and a half.

And they say these cameras, are -- it's not -- they don't have to do that. It's not legislated for them to put them on the decks. And statistics, they say, are on their side. It wouldn't do a whole heck of a lot of good. It would discourage folks from actually going on cruises.

And they also point to the fact, what are they supposed to do? Be big brother and really watch people all the time? It sort points to that issue of who really is responsible. And it would take away sort of that free feeling that you get, and that's why people actually cruise, they say.

PHILLIPS: All right, Kimberly, I hear the Smith family is holding a news conference now. Let's listen in live, see what they have to say.

BRETT RIVKIN, MARITIME ATTORNEY: ... that it happens to other people. He thought it was just an isolated tragedy for himself until the awareness that has been brought by this awful tragedy and to the public. Others are becoming aware, now that there is a serious problem aboard cruise ships. And our Congress has become aware.

Today, Bree Smith will address you soon and tell you -- give you a very brief statement. She wants to say thanks to the many people that have helped the Smith family over the past several months. And to give thanks to Congressman Shays for spearheading a very needed hearing addressing the cruise ship industry.

We're going to restrict questions, because, as you all know, the actual tragedy, the facts, as we know them, and what we don't know, has been very public lately and the Smiths have been interviewed a lot about it. It's been in the media a lot. And today, yes, this is about George Smith, but it's not just about George Smith. This is about an industry, a cruise ship industry, that is the fastest-growing industry in the travel industry, that takes millions of United States passengers a year aboard their cruise ships who have shown, over the years, an arrogant attitude, at the very least, as to our laws, our U.S. laws.

They have been convicted felons with respect to pollution in the waters. They have been convicted for falsifying records about that. And they have, for year, used the fact that they are foreign registered ships and foreign incorporated companies to enjoy loopholes in our laws.

They enjoy the benefits and the protections of U.S. laws. They make their profits here in the United States, and they make lots. And they're growing faster and faster as we speak. Each year, we hear about all these new cruise ships being built and all the money they're making.

And we want to see -- and that's what we're here today, to talk about, these hearings. We want to see Congress take a close look at this industry and make some changes that, if you are in reality, a United States company, which these cruise lines, these major cruise lines are, and I've been doing cruise -- maritime work since 1983 in Miami, which is the cruise ship capital of the world. I've watched this industry grow, grow, and grow. And your major cruise line companies, none of which are United States corporations, are, in fact, in reality, U.S. businesses. That's where they are based. That's where they make their money.

For example, in this case, Royal Caribbean Cruise Line, that involves the Smith family, incorporates in Liberia. The flags of their ship are registered in the Bahamas.

Recently, as this past week, you've head of another disappearance on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship. Again, creating these jurisdictional loopholes, these jurisdictional questions. "Well, it wasn't a United States citizen. It may not have been in international waters. It may have been in Bahamian waters. We're a Liberian corporation. We fly a Bahamian flag vessel. FBI, you don't have jurisdiction over us."

We need to fix these loopholes. We need to hold the cruise line industry accountable, and that's what we want to have accomplished by these hearings. And we want public awareness to cause the public out there...

PHILLIPS: You're listening to Brett Rivkin. He's a maritime attorney. Behind him, the Smith family, George and Maureen Smith, going before Congress today. You may remember the story of their son, George Jr. He was honeymooning aboard the Brilliance of the Seas cruise lines when he vanished. Smith's parents are convinced that foul play was involved.

Kimberly Osias is monitoring this for us, as well. We'll keep you posted on what is said before Congress, if, indeed, Congress reacts. There might be changes with regard to holding this industry accountable with regard to security. That is what the lawyer and the family is looking for.

When the parents step up to the mic there, or a family members, possibly the sister of the victim from that cruise, we'll take that live and let you listen in.

Meanwhile, the family of a Canadian woman is trying to find answers in another alleged cruise ship disappearance. Jill Begora, aged 59, was last seen on Saturday. The U.S. Coast Guard says it has not been asked to continue assisting in her search.

Begora's husband reported that she was missing about 1 p.m. on Saturday, shortly after the Jewel of the Sea docked at Nassau. He says that he last saw his wife on board that ship in the morning, about 9 a.m. A spokesperson for the Royal Caribbean says the woman did not use her identification card to get off that ship. And now Canadian officials are leading the investigation.

Straight ahead, Iraqi expatriates voting around the world on a day that Saddam Hussein would probably like to forget. Remember what happened today two years ago? We'll remind you.

The news keeps coming. We're going to keep bringing it to you. More LIVE FROM straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: It's been our top story this hour. More on the condition of former President Gerald Ford as he's admitted to the hospital. Tony Harris with more in the newsroom -- Tony.

HARRIS: Yes. We can put another couple pieces together on this. First of all, let me put up on the screen the statement from the former president's chief of staff. That's Penny Circle, who wrote this memo.

And it says, "President Ford was admitted to Eisenhower Medical Center at Rancho Mirage, California. He is undergoing medical tests and will be released when they have been completed."

Now, just a short time ago, White House spokesman Scott McClellan was asked about the former president's condition. Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... admission to the hospital?

SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: No, I don't have any additional information other than what his office put out. We wish President Ford well and a speedy recovery.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think that...

(END VIDEO CLIP) PHILLIPS: And there you have it from Scott McClellan.

The former president is 92 years old. A bit of his past medical history. He was hospital his in 2003 after suffering a bit of a dizzy spell while playing golf. And you may recall that in 2000, he suffered a mild stroke during the 2000 Republican National Convention.

But Kyra, quite an athlete through all of his life. Played football, college football, was quite a star, at Michigan University. So this is where we stand right now with the information on Gerald Ford, in the hospital right now, at the Eisenhower Medical Center at Rancho Mirage, California. As we get additional information on the former president's condition, the 38th president of the United States, we'll pass that along to you.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Tony. We'll keep a close eye on his condition.

We're talking about closed airspace and closed borders. They're just some of the precautions Iraq's government is taking with two days to go until the country's parliamentary elections.

Fifteen million Iraqis are registered to vote. They'll be casting ballots under the watchful eye of thousands of police and soldiers.

Sunni Arabs, a minority once powerful under Saddam Hussein, are also expected to turn out in large numbers Thursday. They're getting extra encouragement to do so. More than a 1,000 Sunni clerics issued a fatwah, a religious edict, urging their followers to vote. Most Sunnis boycotted January's election for the transitional national assembly.

Iraq's president, Jalal Talabani, may not run for a second term. In a statement, he says the post, quote, "has not tempted me." He complains that his job is mostly ceremonial with few executive powers." He says he isn't interested in a second term unless he has authorities similar to that of Iraq's prime minister.

Thousands of Iraqi expats are already getting a chance to vote in the election. One hundred and twenty polling centers are open today through Thursday in 15 countries, including here in the United States. Brisk voting is also taking place in the United Kingdom.

CNN senior political analyst Bill Schneider was at a polling station in London earlier today. He joins me now live.

Bill, what was the mood of the voters this morning? And did a lot of people turn out?

BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: It was a celebratory mood. They were singing and dancing -- can you imagine that -- on the way to vote. It was a real celebration. They talked about their pride in voting. People were all dressed up. When people voted, others would clap and cheer and people would shout, "Iraq is great, long live democracy." for them, making a very powerful statement, just by casting their vote.

They brought their children to try to demonstrate the process, dip their children's fingers in purple ink to show them what pride they took in casting a ballot.

PHILLIPS: I was reading that you were saying that they wanted to say they were Iraqi, not necessarily they were Shiite or Kurds. They wanted to be known as one group.

SCHNEIDER: This was very much on their minds. I would ask the people I interviewed, the voters, whether they were Kurdish or Sunni or Shiite. They would all -- they would tell me what they were. They said, you know, "What I really am is an Iraqi. And I'm here today to make a statement about Iraq."

They're very concerned, very nervous about the division of the country. They don't want this election to showcase the divisions of Iraq. And they're very worried about the country disintegrating. So they were very cautious in saying, "I'm here to vote as an Iraqi. I'm voting for one Iraq."

I interviewed Arabs. I interviewed Kurds. I interviewed Shiites. They all said the same thing: "We are voting for the integrity of the country." In fact, one voter said to me a very important statement. He said, "I'm not here to vote for a person or for a party. I'm here to vote for a country."

PHILLIPS: What did they tell you about U.S. -- or not only U.S., but coalition forces in Iraq? How did they tell you about that, those that were voting today?

SCHNEIDER: I asked them how they felt about the presence of coalition forces, British and American forces in Iraq. And they said they wanted the forces to remain there as long as necessary, in order to prevent the country from disintegrating.

Most of them did not feel the country was ready to take on the security responsibilities on their own, right now. They felt the coalition forces were needed to stabilize the country.

And they're also very worried about the possibility not just of civil war but of the most dire threat they could imagine, another Saddam Hussein. These are people who suffered and sacrificed. Many lost relatives under Saddam Hussein. Death was very much on their minds. They said they wanted to come, to celebrate life, to celebrate a new Iraq.

And they were very insistent that the coalition forces needed to stay as long as necessary, so that, God forbid, another Saddam Hussein would not come to power.

PHILLIPS: Bill, any one person or one moment stand out to you? I mean, obviously, this is such an historic time. But you meet a lot of people when you're out on assignment like this.

SCHNEIDER: Yes. Well, I remember one -- one child who was brought there by his parents. A little boy, and he was wrapped up in an Iraqi flag. And his parents were showing him how much pride they were taking, casting their votes. And they dipped his finger in the ink well, and he held it up. And he looked up. And everyone clapped and cheered.

Parents were showing their children with pride what it was to cast a vote. It was a very touching moment.

PHILLIPS: He's precious. Bill Schneider, live from London, thank you so much.

Well, it's hard to believe, but it's been two years since the capture of Saddam Hussein. And who can forget the first images of the once mighty Iraqi dictator, dirty and disheveled, after months in hiding? It was a different Saddam Hussein. But two years later, he's returning to his old ways.

CNN's Aneesh Raman has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL BREMER, FORMER CPA ADMINISTRATOR: We got him.

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A major turning point for Iraq. The top of the deck of those wanted by the U.S., Saddam Hussein, caught December 13, 2003, by these U.S. troops. Shown that night just back from the raid. The former dictator, dragged from a hole, shown to the world, disheveled, being searched by medics. An image that, for Iraqis, was shocking.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): When I saw Saddam, saw American soldiers putting his hand on the beard, it was a surprise. We were not expecting it. After that video, Saddam became nothing. He was a leader, he was something before. But now we just laugh at him.

RAMAN: The anger of eight months earlier, replaced by the ridicule of a former leader, Saddam became the butt of all jokes, altered photographs passed around by e-mail, real ones, too. Saddam in British tabloids in his underwear in custody. A far cry from the controlled images of strength during his time in power.

But now the image of Saddam is changing again. From his arraignment in 2004, to the start of his trial, the defiant Saddam of old is working his way back into the Iraqi psyche, challenging what he says is an illegitimate court threatening a boycott last week because of the conditions in his detainment.

SADDAM HUSSEIN, FORMER PRESIDENT OF IRAQ (through translator): All of these days are spent with this shirt and underwear. And there's no room for us to smoke.

RAMAN: A boycott he followed through on, leaving an empty chair at the court's last session.

Anger is still the overriding Iraqi emotion when you speak of Saddam Hussein. Each day of the trial, protests called for his immediate execution.

(on camera) But Saddam is less of a joke than he was two years ago. For Iraqis, he's now as he once was, defiant, confident, at times, seemingly in control of his trial. A powerful reminder of their past and a powerful reason why many here want justice now.

Aneesh Raman, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, a major company busted for bothering you. The government cracks down on telemarketers.

LIVE FROM has all the news that you need this afternoon. Stay with us.

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