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CNN Live Today
BTK Arraigned on Murder Charges; New Iraqi Cabinet Sworn In; Jury Selection Begins in England Case; Runaway Bride Hires Attorney
Aired May 03, 2005 - 10:00 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.
JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Greg Waller walking in now. Let's listen to what's going on inside the courtroom.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, at this time comes on before the court, the case captioned state of Kansas Plaintiff versus Dennis L. Rader, Defender, Case No. 2005-CR498. This matter comes on for arraignment. Are the parties ready to proceed?
NOLA FAULSTON PIERCE, KANSAS STATE ATTNY.: The state is ready to proceed, Your Honor. For the record, districts attorneys Nolan Faulston Pierce vying for the state of Kansas with Deputy District Attorney Kim Parker, Deputy District Attorney Kevin O'Connor, and Assistant District Attorney Aaron Smith.
JANA MITCHELL, KANSAS DEPUTY PUBLIC DEFENDER: Your Honor, Dennis Rader appears in person and by counsel, chief public defender Steve Osberg, Sarah McKinnon, Assistant Public Defender, and myself, Jana Mitchell, Deputy Public Defender. And we're ready to proceed, Your Honor.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, let us proceed at this time. Then what is the defendant's announcement?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your honor we have received a copy of the information. We will waive a formal reading. At this time, the defendant would stand mute as to plea, and asks the court to enter the appropriate plea and set the matter for trial.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very well. On the defendant's standing mute, the court will enter a plea of not guilty. I'll set this matter for a jury trial on June 27, 9:00 in the morning. Thank you very much.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Your honor, at this time the state has a motion.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You may proceed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, your honor.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN CO-ANCHOR: While we wait for the state to -- well, let's listen in.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... signing the original and three copies of a notice of intent to request a separate sentencing proceeding. At this time, may I approach the clerk of the district court?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You may.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, Your Honor.
KAGAN: Some housekeeping items there in the judge's courtroom in Wichita, Kansas. BTK suspect and now defendant, Dennis Rader, as expected pleading not guilty. The judge in the case setting a trial date for June 27, under the Speedy Trial Law. However, most people watching this case do not expect the trial to begin that soon. It could be as long as one year until Dennis Rader goes on trial for 10 counts of murder.
Our Jonathan Freed is on the scene there outside the courtroom.
Jonathan, what can you add?
FREED: Well, Daryn, I can tell you that it's not entirely surprising that we're hearing a plea of not guilty today. And there are a couple of reasons for that. No. 1, even if Mr. Rader had suggested to his clients, as some people are discussing here, that he might want to change his plea down the road, entering a plea of not guilty today does not preclude him from doing that. In fact, what it would do in the very least, buy him and his defense team some time to figure out what they might want to do.
Now, under the Speedy Trial Law, the trial had to be set within 90 days. As you said, it's June 27 at 9:00 a.m. The district attorney, who I've been in touch with here recently, does not expect this trial to begin October, say at the absolute earliest. And as you pointed out, it could even be as much as a year from now.
This is a case, Daryn, that spans three decades. We're talking about 30 years' worth of evidence. And the public defenders that have just been handed this case a couple of months ago have a mountain of material to go through. Police and prosecutors, of course, have had a long time to keep up-to-date and to keep updating what they have. So it would not be surprising to anybody here if the trial date keeps getting pushed back; if indeed the plea of not guilty stands as it is.
KAGAN: All right. Jonathan Freed in Wichita, Kansas, thank you.
Let's bring in our legal analyst Kendall Coffey to give us more contexts about what we're seeing and hearing this morning.
Kendall, are you surprised by the not guilty plea?
KENDALL COFFEY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: It's amazing. Even though there may have been a confession, even though there's overwhelming evidence, plea not guilty. It's the only thing that's going to happen in a situation like that. And what's so strange here is he's really got nothing to lose. Apparently he doesn't face the death penalty because all these...
KAGAN: Now, let's explain why that is in terms of how the death penalty works in Kansas and when the law was passed.
COFFEY: Well, evidently the last homicide attributed... KAGAN: Kendall. Kendall, hold on. Let's listen to what the state is saying.
FAULSTON: And this document has been prepared by the state. And it requests that upon conviction or adjudication of guilt, on the crime of first degree murder of Dolores Davis, based on the finding of premeditated murder, that the state does intend to request that in a separate sentencing proceeding that we determine whether or not the issue be required to serve a mandatory sentence of imprisonment, in term of 40 years.
This is based on a law called the Hard 40. The state has alleged that there were aggravated circumstances that you committed the crime in order to avoid or prevent a lawful arrest, and No. 2, that you committed the crime in a specially heinous, atrocious or cruel matter. And that the term "heinous" means especially wicked or shockingly evil. "Atrocious" means outrageously wicked, vile, cruel including pitiless or designed to inflict a high degree of pain and indifference or enjoyment in the suffering of others.
We've also reviewed all the mitigating circumstances in this crime, and we find that there are no mitigating circumstances. This has been signed by me. It's also has been certified by the clerk of the district court, Susan Tanner. It's also been filed with the court (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
And I have a certificate of service showing it's been personally served on you, Sir. And I'm giving you this document today. And I'm going to give a copy directly to your counsel. And now you have been served, Sir. Thank you very much.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you. Mm-hmm.
KAGAN: Well, that was unusual. Explain to us what we saw there. That was Nola Faulston, the district attorney speaking directly to the defendant, Dennis Rader. I've never seen something like that happen in the court before.
COFFEY: Well, it is unusual. And something I'm sure in terms of identifying some of the aggravating, the horrific circumstances in legal terms, was something that doesn't occur every day. Obviously she wanted to set forth the additional basis. And it's something no doubt that the surviving family members of the victims wanted to hear. That this is going to be a maximum effort.
But what we're talking about a minute ago, Daryn, is one of the great ironies of this case. Because you've got a serial killer, some of which were absolutely perpetrated in the most cruel manner imaginable. And yet, the worst he is facing is a life sentence.
KAGAN: Mm.
COFFEY: And that's going to be something that immediately has everybody, as you were starting to ask, why. And the reason is the last of the homicides attributed to the BTK killer other he cured in 1991. Kansas did not pass a Death Penalty Law until 1994. And under the Constitution, you can't retroactively increase the punishment for a crime that took place before 1994 law.
KAGAN: Another thing that is happening in this case is more crimes are being added, accredited to the BTK killer. In fact, the case that Nola Faulston, the D.A. was talking about was the case of Dolores Davis. She was abducted from her Park City home back in January of 1991, found strangled two weeks later. That is one of two additional cases that have been added to Dennis Rader's list of crimes since he was arrested.
Let's bring in -- go back to Wichita and bring in Jonathan Freed and to talk about who else was in that courtroom this morning. Many family members of victims -- Jonathan.
FREED: That's right, Daryn. There were about a dozen -- that's right, Daryn. There were about a dozen family members who came in earlier today. And we understood that they wanted to arrive together to send a signal of a show of support. And also to lend support to each other. Not everybody wanted to be in that courtroom, and wants to be in the courtroom.
But a select group of them do because they feel it's really going to give them a deeper connection to what's going on. And they are desperate for any degree of closure that they can get after three decades of fear and not knowing, and wondering if this would ever come to a head.
KAGAN: All right. Jonathan Freed in Wichita, Kendall Coffey in Miami, thank you to both of you.
We'll have much more on this story straight ahead, including a chat with a profiler about what we may learned from the BTK case.
Right now, we move on to Iraq. A search for a missing U.S. pilot has been temporarily suspended due to a sandstorm. The Navy says two Marine Corps F-18 jets, also known as Hornets, collided during a routine mission. The body of one of the pilots has been found. Excuse me. The crew of the USS Carl Vincent lost contact with the planes late last night. Officials say there was no indication the planes were brought down by hostile fire.
Insurgents have stepped up attacks with the forming of a new Iraqi government five days ago. Those cabinet ministers were supposed to be sworn in the last hour. A slight delay happening in Baghdad.
Let's go to Baghdad and CNN's Ryan Chilcote with the latest.
Ryan, any indication about why that's being held up?
RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, well. It looks like it's about to begin, actually, Daryn. There's an individual at the podium now, all the guests have gathered. This all taking place at the convention center inside of the what's called the International Zone or what was formerly known as the Green Zone here. It looks like this swearing in ceremony is going to get going any moment now.
What we don't know, of course, is whether the entire cabinet will be sworn in. That's our expectation. But it could be just a partial cabinet, because at least officially, the prime minister hasn't announced who is going to get seven of the 36 posts. When we announced the government on Thursday, seven of the 36 posts were still vacant. So, we're going to have this swearing in ceremony. We're not sure whether it's going to be the entire government or just part of the government.
But we do expect at some point today, the prime minister to name the individuals who will get the seven remaining posts. And that includes some important ones, like the post of the defense minister here in Iraq. And also some of the deputy prime minister positions. And we also fully expect some of those jobs to go to Sunni Arabs, who have largely been outside of the political process here. We expect the Sunni Arab to get the job of defense minister. We expect a Sunni Arab to get one of those deputy prime minister posts.
And the whole idea there is that the government is trying to build a government of national unity, to include some of the Sunni Arabs here who have felt outside of the political process. To try and involve as many people as they can and as many of the disparate factions here into the political process -- Daryn.
KAGAN: All right. Ryan, we're going to have you kind of hang out with us. And we're going to wait until process actually gets start and bring you back when we're watching that. Thank you.
The sentencing phase for a former Abu Ghraib prison guard begins this hour. Lynndie England pleaded guilty Monday to abusing detainees.
Our Susan Candiotti is covering the case from Fort Hood, Texas.
Susan, good morning.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn. The first thing that will happen today is for a jury to be seated. Nine people will be selected to decide how severe or how lenient a penalty Lynndie England should receive. The diminutive Army reservist from rural West Virginia arrived in court this morning, again surrounded by her legal team. And for the second day in a row, they were silent.
Now, once a jury is selected, the military plans on calling only one witness. This would be England's team leader in Iraq. Now, in the past, at a grand jury proceeding, Matthew Bollinger has testified that Lynndie England who was a clerk, not a prison guard, used to sneak out in the middle of the night to go to the prison to visit her then boyfriend, Specialist Charles Graner.
Now, speaking of England's ex-boyfriend, is he also listed on the defense witness list, one of six people they might call. They are also planning to call on an expert who will testify, they say, about Lynndie England's state of mind, as well as learning disabilities to try to use that as a mitigating factor in deciding her sentence.
As to her sentence, remember, she faces a maximum of 11 years in prison. And during her guilty plea yesterday, Lynndie England pleaded guilty to seven counts, all involving photographs of abuse that we have all seen and seen around the world, of what happened at Abu Ghraib prison.
The judge asked England about why she posed in those photos and she told them, "It was wrong," and that she did it because of peer pressure. In her words, "I had a choice," she said. "But I chose to do what my friends wanted me to." "Why did her friends do it," the judge asked? She said, "For their own amusement."
Now, there is a secret plea deal on the table here that's been agreed upon. Sources tell us it's for a little more than two years. So if the jury comes back with something higher, whenever they would say, would be ignored, we are told. If it's lighter than that, then it would work to her benefit -- Daryn.
KAGAN: All right, we'll be checking back with you. Susan Candiotti, live from Fort Hood, Texas. Thank you.
We're going to go inside the mind of an accused killer. Still to come, I'll talk with an expert about what might trigger someone's darker side. And what could cause anyone to kill. And are there things she would like to you know about the BTK killer? Those questions and more straight ahead.
Plus, the fiance of the runaway bride is ready to forgive and forget. More details in that case coming up.
And later, backing a pickup truck into a Costco? Well, that's bad enough. But making off with stolen goods, well, that's a whole different story.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: Details for you now on the case of the runaway bride. Jennifer Wilbanks has hired an attorney, as she faces the possibility of both criminal charges and civil liabilities.
Charles Molineaux has the latest. He is in the Atlanta suburb of Duluth.
Good morning.
CHARLES MOLINEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn. And of course, it was one week ago today that this entire drama began. Now, the Duluth City Council is planning meetings with the city attorney to talk about the possible lawsuit against the runaway bride, to recoup some of the big bucks the city spent on the search for her that, of course, turned out to be a wild good chase.
Meanwhile, the district attorney here in Gwinnett County, Georgia is talking about criminal charges. He says after doing something like she did, there should be consequences.
This has, of course, has been a hellacious ride for Jennifer's fiance, John Mason. His family says he and Jennifer have been together a lot since her return, talking things through. And that he still wants to marry her. That is even after police revealed she bought her bus ticket out of town a full week before she disappeared, and touched off an intense search in the city of Duluth. Which cost at least $60,000 and counting.
Gwinnett's district attorney says Wilbanks didn't commit any crime when she took a bus across country to Albuquerque, and then told her family a phony story about being kidnap. But when she told the Duluth police chief on the phone the same story, that was a crime. And for that, she can be prosecuted.
Investigators talked with her yesterday and said she was emotional and remorseful, but did not apologize for what she put two families and this community through. Now, Mason's father says he hopes she will.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLAUDE MASON, JOHN MASON'S FATHER: I just don't think she understands the full thrust of what's gone on. They've tried, from what John has said, they've tried to tell her, and it hasn't sunk in yet. They would, after that, maybe an apology would surely be forthcoming, I think.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOLINEAUX: And he says he would actually like to be hearing from Jennifer himself, as well.
Now, the district attorney says his office has determined that, in fact, there is a legal ground for criminal charges to be pressed against Jennifer Wilbanks. But that no decision has been made yet on whether any actually will be presented. He says that the investigation continues, that all the evidence is being gone over. And a decision will be made, as he put it, within weeks, not months -- Daryn.
KAGAN: All right. Charles Molineaux in Duluth, Georgia. More from you in a little bit.
Right now, we want to show some pictures from Iraq, live pictures here. It is the swearing in of the government. This has been held up because they had to come up with the final members of the cabinet; trying to find a balance of power between Shiites, and Sunnis, and Kurds. But it does look like the in-going Prime Minister Ibrahim al Jaafari has found that balance. And they're going square in and get going. And hopefully get moving toward a new constitution in Iraq. More from Ryan Chilcote just ahead on that.
Now, back to the U.S. President Bush back on the road to promote his Social Security plan. Still to come, we're going to look at how soon some Americans think those changes do need to be made.
Plus, the first lady takes center stage. We sit down with her to find out how does she do it. How does she juggle her schedule and the limelight? Our Dana Bash has that for us straight ahead. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: History being made in Iraq today, as they swear in the new cabinet ministers, the new government. Our Ryan Chilcote is standing by in Baghdad to tell us what we're seeing and the significance -- Ryan.
CHILCOTE: Daryn, the process really unfolding before our eyes. This will be the first democratically elected government in Iraq to be sworn in half a century. Really a momentous case. We've already heard from one individual at the podium, calling this an historic day, important step in Iraq's move towards democracy.
What we don't know is whether the whole government will be sworn in or whether just part of the government will be sworn in. Remember that the prime minister last week when he announced the government, still hadn't decided who would get seven of the 36 jobs, including some of the important ones. We expect to get that announcement, who will get those remaining jobs today. Perhaps even during the ceremony, that's one of the things we're going to be listening very carefully to.
We also expect that the majority of the jobs will go to Sunni Arabs. Sunni Arabs have largely been outside of the political process since the elections of January 30. Many of them stayed away from the polls. Some people because they didn't feel like it was important to take part in the process. Others because they were intimidated from going to the polls.
In any case, the Shiite majority government has been trying to include them; at least they pretend to try to include them. And there is an expectation that they will get five of these remaining seven jobs, including the job of defense minister -- Daryn.
KAGAN: All right, Ryan. We will be checking back with you. Ryan Chilcote, live from Baghdad.
We'll get more from Iraq in just a bit. Right now, let's focus on things happening here in the U.S.
President Bush kicking off a new leg at a campaign blitz for his Social Security reforms. Right now, he is en route to a Nissan manufacturing plant in Canton, Mississippi. That would be the 24- state on his tour. Mr. Bush says he's taking his proposal to create private accounts directly to the people. Tomorrow, he visits the Latino Small Business Conference in Washington D.C.
And now a sampling of public views on Social Security, according to the latest CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll. When asked about when major changes are needed in the program, 45 percent said it's needed within the next year or two. Thirty-six percent said within the next 10 years. Sixteen percent say those changes are not needed within the next decade.
The poll also asked who do you trust more on Social Security? Forty-six percent said Democrats, 36 percent said Republicans. Talk about taking a bite out of crime, look what happens when a police dog is loose -- whoa! At the scene of a crime. That story is straight ahead. I think that suspect gets the idea. Yes.
On the day that a suspected serial killer enters a plea, we're going to talk about what motivates such crimes. A criminal profiler joins us just a little bit later.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: We're coming up on the half hour. Good morning once again, I'm Daryn Kagan. Here a look now at what's happening now in the news.
Just moments ago, Iraq made a significant move toward democracy. Cabinet ministers for the new government were sworn in. Still uncertain whether some remaining seats in the cabinet will be filled today. Last Thursday, lawmakers approved all cabinet seats that had been nominated by the prime minister. But seven posts remained opened including the key position of defense minister.
An American climber has tried to scale Mt. Everest. Michael O'Brien and his brother, Christopher, were trying to become the first U.S. brothers to reach the summit. Officials in Nepal say that Michael O'Brien slipped and fell in a crevasse
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Aired May 3, 2005 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Greg Waller walking in now. Let's listen to what's going on inside the courtroom.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, at this time comes on before the court, the case captioned state of Kansas Plaintiff versus Dennis L. Rader, Defender, Case No. 2005-CR498. This matter comes on for arraignment. Are the parties ready to proceed?
NOLA FAULSTON PIERCE, KANSAS STATE ATTNY.: The state is ready to proceed, Your Honor. For the record, districts attorneys Nolan Faulston Pierce vying for the state of Kansas with Deputy District Attorney Kim Parker, Deputy District Attorney Kevin O'Connor, and Assistant District Attorney Aaron Smith.
JANA MITCHELL, KANSAS DEPUTY PUBLIC DEFENDER: Your Honor, Dennis Rader appears in person and by counsel, chief public defender Steve Osberg, Sarah McKinnon, Assistant Public Defender, and myself, Jana Mitchell, Deputy Public Defender. And we're ready to proceed, Your Honor.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, let us proceed at this time. Then what is the defendant's announcement?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your honor we have received a copy of the information. We will waive a formal reading. At this time, the defendant would stand mute as to plea, and asks the court to enter the appropriate plea and set the matter for trial.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very well. On the defendant's standing mute, the court will enter a plea of not guilty. I'll set this matter for a jury trial on June 27, 9:00 in the morning. Thank you very much.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Your honor, at this time the state has a motion.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You may proceed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, your honor.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN CO-ANCHOR: While we wait for the state to -- well, let's listen in.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... signing the original and three copies of a notice of intent to request a separate sentencing proceeding. At this time, may I approach the clerk of the district court?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You may.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, Your Honor.
KAGAN: Some housekeeping items there in the judge's courtroom in Wichita, Kansas. BTK suspect and now defendant, Dennis Rader, as expected pleading not guilty. The judge in the case setting a trial date for June 27, under the Speedy Trial Law. However, most people watching this case do not expect the trial to begin that soon. It could be as long as one year until Dennis Rader goes on trial for 10 counts of murder.
Our Jonathan Freed is on the scene there outside the courtroom.
Jonathan, what can you add?
FREED: Well, Daryn, I can tell you that it's not entirely surprising that we're hearing a plea of not guilty today. And there are a couple of reasons for that. No. 1, even if Mr. Rader had suggested to his clients, as some people are discussing here, that he might want to change his plea down the road, entering a plea of not guilty today does not preclude him from doing that. In fact, what it would do in the very least, buy him and his defense team some time to figure out what they might want to do.
Now, under the Speedy Trial Law, the trial had to be set within 90 days. As you said, it's June 27 at 9:00 a.m. The district attorney, who I've been in touch with here recently, does not expect this trial to begin October, say at the absolute earliest. And as you pointed out, it could even be as much as a year from now.
This is a case, Daryn, that spans three decades. We're talking about 30 years' worth of evidence. And the public defenders that have just been handed this case a couple of months ago have a mountain of material to go through. Police and prosecutors, of course, have had a long time to keep up-to-date and to keep updating what they have. So it would not be surprising to anybody here if the trial date keeps getting pushed back; if indeed the plea of not guilty stands as it is.
KAGAN: All right. Jonathan Freed in Wichita, Kansas, thank you.
Let's bring in our legal analyst Kendall Coffey to give us more contexts about what we're seeing and hearing this morning.
Kendall, are you surprised by the not guilty plea?
KENDALL COFFEY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: It's amazing. Even though there may have been a confession, even though there's overwhelming evidence, plea not guilty. It's the only thing that's going to happen in a situation like that. And what's so strange here is he's really got nothing to lose. Apparently he doesn't face the death penalty because all these...
KAGAN: Now, let's explain why that is in terms of how the death penalty works in Kansas and when the law was passed.
COFFEY: Well, evidently the last homicide attributed... KAGAN: Kendall. Kendall, hold on. Let's listen to what the state is saying.
FAULSTON: And this document has been prepared by the state. And it requests that upon conviction or adjudication of guilt, on the crime of first degree murder of Dolores Davis, based on the finding of premeditated murder, that the state does intend to request that in a separate sentencing proceeding that we determine whether or not the issue be required to serve a mandatory sentence of imprisonment, in term of 40 years.
This is based on a law called the Hard 40. The state has alleged that there were aggravated circumstances that you committed the crime in order to avoid or prevent a lawful arrest, and No. 2, that you committed the crime in a specially heinous, atrocious or cruel matter. And that the term "heinous" means especially wicked or shockingly evil. "Atrocious" means outrageously wicked, vile, cruel including pitiless or designed to inflict a high degree of pain and indifference or enjoyment in the suffering of others.
We've also reviewed all the mitigating circumstances in this crime, and we find that there are no mitigating circumstances. This has been signed by me. It's also has been certified by the clerk of the district court, Susan Tanner. It's also been filed with the court (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
And I have a certificate of service showing it's been personally served on you, Sir. And I'm giving you this document today. And I'm going to give a copy directly to your counsel. And now you have been served, Sir. Thank you very much.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you. Mm-hmm.
KAGAN: Well, that was unusual. Explain to us what we saw there. That was Nola Faulston, the district attorney speaking directly to the defendant, Dennis Rader. I've never seen something like that happen in the court before.
COFFEY: Well, it is unusual. And something I'm sure in terms of identifying some of the aggravating, the horrific circumstances in legal terms, was something that doesn't occur every day. Obviously she wanted to set forth the additional basis. And it's something no doubt that the surviving family members of the victims wanted to hear. That this is going to be a maximum effort.
But what we're talking about a minute ago, Daryn, is one of the great ironies of this case. Because you've got a serial killer, some of which were absolutely perpetrated in the most cruel manner imaginable. And yet, the worst he is facing is a life sentence.
KAGAN: Mm.
COFFEY: And that's going to be something that immediately has everybody, as you were starting to ask, why. And the reason is the last of the homicides attributed to the BTK killer other he cured in 1991. Kansas did not pass a Death Penalty Law until 1994. And under the Constitution, you can't retroactively increase the punishment for a crime that took place before 1994 law.
KAGAN: Another thing that is happening in this case is more crimes are being added, accredited to the BTK killer. In fact, the case that Nola Faulston, the D.A. was talking about was the case of Dolores Davis. She was abducted from her Park City home back in January of 1991, found strangled two weeks later. That is one of two additional cases that have been added to Dennis Rader's list of crimes since he was arrested.
Let's bring in -- go back to Wichita and bring in Jonathan Freed and to talk about who else was in that courtroom this morning. Many family members of victims -- Jonathan.
FREED: That's right, Daryn. There were about a dozen -- that's right, Daryn. There were about a dozen family members who came in earlier today. And we understood that they wanted to arrive together to send a signal of a show of support. And also to lend support to each other. Not everybody wanted to be in that courtroom, and wants to be in the courtroom.
But a select group of them do because they feel it's really going to give them a deeper connection to what's going on. And they are desperate for any degree of closure that they can get after three decades of fear and not knowing, and wondering if this would ever come to a head.
KAGAN: All right. Jonathan Freed in Wichita, Kendall Coffey in Miami, thank you to both of you.
We'll have much more on this story straight ahead, including a chat with a profiler about what we may learned from the BTK case.
Right now, we move on to Iraq. A search for a missing U.S. pilot has been temporarily suspended due to a sandstorm. The Navy says two Marine Corps F-18 jets, also known as Hornets, collided during a routine mission. The body of one of the pilots has been found. Excuse me. The crew of the USS Carl Vincent lost contact with the planes late last night. Officials say there was no indication the planes were brought down by hostile fire.
Insurgents have stepped up attacks with the forming of a new Iraqi government five days ago. Those cabinet ministers were supposed to be sworn in the last hour. A slight delay happening in Baghdad.
Let's go to Baghdad and CNN's Ryan Chilcote with the latest.
Ryan, any indication about why that's being held up?
RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, well. It looks like it's about to begin, actually, Daryn. There's an individual at the podium now, all the guests have gathered. This all taking place at the convention center inside of the what's called the International Zone or what was formerly known as the Green Zone here. It looks like this swearing in ceremony is going to get going any moment now.
What we don't know, of course, is whether the entire cabinet will be sworn in. That's our expectation. But it could be just a partial cabinet, because at least officially, the prime minister hasn't announced who is going to get seven of the 36 posts. When we announced the government on Thursday, seven of the 36 posts were still vacant. So, we're going to have this swearing in ceremony. We're not sure whether it's going to be the entire government or just part of the government.
But we do expect at some point today, the prime minister to name the individuals who will get the seven remaining posts. And that includes some important ones, like the post of the defense minister here in Iraq. And also some of the deputy prime minister positions. And we also fully expect some of those jobs to go to Sunni Arabs, who have largely been outside of the political process here. We expect the Sunni Arab to get the job of defense minister. We expect a Sunni Arab to get one of those deputy prime minister posts.
And the whole idea there is that the government is trying to build a government of national unity, to include some of the Sunni Arabs here who have felt outside of the political process. To try and involve as many people as they can and as many of the disparate factions here into the political process -- Daryn.
KAGAN: All right. Ryan, we're going to have you kind of hang out with us. And we're going to wait until process actually gets start and bring you back when we're watching that. Thank you.
The sentencing phase for a former Abu Ghraib prison guard begins this hour. Lynndie England pleaded guilty Monday to abusing detainees.
Our Susan Candiotti is covering the case from Fort Hood, Texas.
Susan, good morning.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn. The first thing that will happen today is for a jury to be seated. Nine people will be selected to decide how severe or how lenient a penalty Lynndie England should receive. The diminutive Army reservist from rural West Virginia arrived in court this morning, again surrounded by her legal team. And for the second day in a row, they were silent.
Now, once a jury is selected, the military plans on calling only one witness. This would be England's team leader in Iraq. Now, in the past, at a grand jury proceeding, Matthew Bollinger has testified that Lynndie England who was a clerk, not a prison guard, used to sneak out in the middle of the night to go to the prison to visit her then boyfriend, Specialist Charles Graner.
Now, speaking of England's ex-boyfriend, is he also listed on the defense witness list, one of six people they might call. They are also planning to call on an expert who will testify, they say, about Lynndie England's state of mind, as well as learning disabilities to try to use that as a mitigating factor in deciding her sentence.
As to her sentence, remember, she faces a maximum of 11 years in prison. And during her guilty plea yesterday, Lynndie England pleaded guilty to seven counts, all involving photographs of abuse that we have all seen and seen around the world, of what happened at Abu Ghraib prison.
The judge asked England about why she posed in those photos and she told them, "It was wrong," and that she did it because of peer pressure. In her words, "I had a choice," she said. "But I chose to do what my friends wanted me to." "Why did her friends do it," the judge asked? She said, "For their own amusement."
Now, there is a secret plea deal on the table here that's been agreed upon. Sources tell us it's for a little more than two years. So if the jury comes back with something higher, whenever they would say, would be ignored, we are told. If it's lighter than that, then it would work to her benefit -- Daryn.
KAGAN: All right, we'll be checking back with you. Susan Candiotti, live from Fort Hood, Texas. Thank you.
We're going to go inside the mind of an accused killer. Still to come, I'll talk with an expert about what might trigger someone's darker side. And what could cause anyone to kill. And are there things she would like to you know about the BTK killer? Those questions and more straight ahead.
Plus, the fiance of the runaway bride is ready to forgive and forget. More details in that case coming up.
And later, backing a pickup truck into a Costco? Well, that's bad enough. But making off with stolen goods, well, that's a whole different story.
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KAGAN: Details for you now on the case of the runaway bride. Jennifer Wilbanks has hired an attorney, as she faces the possibility of both criminal charges and civil liabilities.
Charles Molineaux has the latest. He is in the Atlanta suburb of Duluth.
Good morning.
CHARLES MOLINEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn. And of course, it was one week ago today that this entire drama began. Now, the Duluth City Council is planning meetings with the city attorney to talk about the possible lawsuit against the runaway bride, to recoup some of the big bucks the city spent on the search for her that, of course, turned out to be a wild good chase.
Meanwhile, the district attorney here in Gwinnett County, Georgia is talking about criminal charges. He says after doing something like she did, there should be consequences.
This has, of course, has been a hellacious ride for Jennifer's fiance, John Mason. His family says he and Jennifer have been together a lot since her return, talking things through. And that he still wants to marry her. That is even after police revealed she bought her bus ticket out of town a full week before she disappeared, and touched off an intense search in the city of Duluth. Which cost at least $60,000 and counting.
Gwinnett's district attorney says Wilbanks didn't commit any crime when she took a bus across country to Albuquerque, and then told her family a phony story about being kidnap. But when she told the Duluth police chief on the phone the same story, that was a crime. And for that, she can be prosecuted.
Investigators talked with her yesterday and said she was emotional and remorseful, but did not apologize for what she put two families and this community through. Now, Mason's father says he hopes she will.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLAUDE MASON, JOHN MASON'S FATHER: I just don't think she understands the full thrust of what's gone on. They've tried, from what John has said, they've tried to tell her, and it hasn't sunk in yet. They would, after that, maybe an apology would surely be forthcoming, I think.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOLINEAUX: And he says he would actually like to be hearing from Jennifer himself, as well.
Now, the district attorney says his office has determined that, in fact, there is a legal ground for criminal charges to be pressed against Jennifer Wilbanks. But that no decision has been made yet on whether any actually will be presented. He says that the investigation continues, that all the evidence is being gone over. And a decision will be made, as he put it, within weeks, not months -- Daryn.
KAGAN: All right. Charles Molineaux in Duluth, Georgia. More from you in a little bit.
Right now, we want to show some pictures from Iraq, live pictures here. It is the swearing in of the government. This has been held up because they had to come up with the final members of the cabinet; trying to find a balance of power between Shiites, and Sunnis, and Kurds. But it does look like the in-going Prime Minister Ibrahim al Jaafari has found that balance. And they're going square in and get going. And hopefully get moving toward a new constitution in Iraq. More from Ryan Chilcote just ahead on that.
Now, back to the U.S. President Bush back on the road to promote his Social Security plan. Still to come, we're going to look at how soon some Americans think those changes do need to be made.
Plus, the first lady takes center stage. We sit down with her to find out how does she do it. How does she juggle her schedule and the limelight? Our Dana Bash has that for us straight ahead. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: History being made in Iraq today, as they swear in the new cabinet ministers, the new government. Our Ryan Chilcote is standing by in Baghdad to tell us what we're seeing and the significance -- Ryan.
CHILCOTE: Daryn, the process really unfolding before our eyes. This will be the first democratically elected government in Iraq to be sworn in half a century. Really a momentous case. We've already heard from one individual at the podium, calling this an historic day, important step in Iraq's move towards democracy.
What we don't know is whether the whole government will be sworn in or whether just part of the government will be sworn in. Remember that the prime minister last week when he announced the government, still hadn't decided who would get seven of the 36 jobs, including some of the important ones. We expect to get that announcement, who will get those remaining jobs today. Perhaps even during the ceremony, that's one of the things we're going to be listening very carefully to.
We also expect that the majority of the jobs will go to Sunni Arabs. Sunni Arabs have largely been outside of the political process since the elections of January 30. Many of them stayed away from the polls. Some people because they didn't feel like it was important to take part in the process. Others because they were intimidated from going to the polls.
In any case, the Shiite majority government has been trying to include them; at least they pretend to try to include them. And there is an expectation that they will get five of these remaining seven jobs, including the job of defense minister -- Daryn.
KAGAN: All right, Ryan. We will be checking back with you. Ryan Chilcote, live from Baghdad.
We'll get more from Iraq in just a bit. Right now, let's focus on things happening here in the U.S.
President Bush kicking off a new leg at a campaign blitz for his Social Security reforms. Right now, he is en route to a Nissan manufacturing plant in Canton, Mississippi. That would be the 24- state on his tour. Mr. Bush says he's taking his proposal to create private accounts directly to the people. Tomorrow, he visits the Latino Small Business Conference in Washington D.C.
And now a sampling of public views on Social Security, according to the latest CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll. When asked about when major changes are needed in the program, 45 percent said it's needed within the next year or two. Thirty-six percent said within the next 10 years. Sixteen percent say those changes are not needed within the next decade.
The poll also asked who do you trust more on Social Security? Forty-six percent said Democrats, 36 percent said Republicans. Talk about taking a bite out of crime, look what happens when a police dog is loose -- whoa! At the scene of a crime. That story is straight ahead. I think that suspect gets the idea. Yes.
On the day that a suspected serial killer enters a plea, we're going to talk about what motivates such crimes. A criminal profiler joins us just a little bit later.
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KAGAN: We're coming up on the half hour. Good morning once again, I'm Daryn Kagan. Here a look now at what's happening now in the news.
Just moments ago, Iraq made a significant move toward democracy. Cabinet ministers for the new government were sworn in. Still uncertain whether some remaining seats in the cabinet will be filled today. Last Thursday, lawmakers approved all cabinet seats that had been nominated by the prime minister. But seven posts remained opened including the key position of defense minister.
An American climber has tried to scale Mt. Everest. Michael O'Brien and his brother, Christopher, were trying to become the first U.S. brothers to reach the summit. Officials in Nepal say that Michael O'Brien slipped and fell in a crevasse
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