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Pakistan Honor Killings Spark Criticism; Pakistan Colonel Heads Massive Refugee Camp; 2005's Courtroom Highs and Lows

Aired December 29, 2005 - 10:30   ET

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

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: And now a story difficult for many of us in the West to believe and understand. A father calmly recounts how he slit the throats of his three young daughters and their older stepsister. He said he did it all to salvage his family's honor. It happened in Pakistan.
Joining us now to talk about the story is the former prime minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto. She is on the phone from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

Madame Prime Minister, thank you for joining us.

BENAZIR BHUTTO, FORMER PAKISTAN PRIME MINISTER: I'm pleased to be able to contribute to this very important story.

KAGAN: Have you been following it from the United Arab Emirates, what has taken place in your home country?

BHUTTO: Yes, I have been following the story where a father killed his stepdaughter because he suspected her of having an adulterous relationship, but his suspicion was not based on any fact. A human rights commission found that the daughter had simply left her husband because she was not happy. For a father to kill an unhappy daughter and to kill three other minor children is just a terrible crime that has taken place and our government must do something to stop these honor killings.

KAGAN: These other three girls, aged eight, seven and four. The father said he slit their throats, as well, because he was afraid they would do the same thing that their sister had and that he was just trying to bring honor back on his family. How do you explain that?

BHUTTO: It just shows the level of illiteracy that we have in Pakistan and I would like to see more money go into education. It also shows that our people somehow are hearing these tribal notions of honor. There is great dishonor in killing innocent people. Every single religion, including Islam, says you should not kill the innocent. But unfortunately, we have a lack of education facilities and we are spending too much on non-developmental expenditure. We need to reverse the tide.

KAGAN: This man has been arrested, Madame Prime Minister, but unfortunately, he is just one of hundreds of people who would do a crime like this. What do you think would be the chances of him being convicted and punished in any way in Pakistan? BHUTTO: I don't believe the chance are very high of a conviction. When the human rights agencies or the press or the political parties take up the issue of honor killing, an arrest is made. But as soon as public attention dies down, the person is usually freed.

So I believe the government needs to spend more on investigative procedures to secure convictions in Pakistan. And I also believe that the government needs to do something about building homes for families, for women, for wives and daughters; that they need a refuge.

Too few complaints are actually made because the female members are financially weak. They're dependent on the father or the husband. So even when there is a threat to their lives, they find they have nowhere to go to. So I would urge General Musharraf's regime to spend more on education and to spend money on building homes for women who need refuge.

KAGAN: Well, it is a tragic story in a place where many see women as property. Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister of Pakistan. Thank you for being with us on the phone from the United Arab Emirates today.

BHUTTO: Thank you.

KAGAN: Well, this story out of Pakistan as well. The country is still reeling from a powerful earthquake that struck more than two and a half months ago. Those at the epicenter of the quake now face the crisis of surviving the harsh winter.

CNN senior medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta visited Pakistan's largest refugee camp, where a colonel is leading the fight to save thousands of lives. It's a story first seen on CNN's "ANDERSON COOPER 360."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On October 9th, just one day after the earthquake, Colonel Ahmad Faraz straight to the epicenter. When he arrived, the Allai Valley was a bloody, muddy, broken mess. Amid criticism that the Pakistani army was too slow to act, Faraz and a small group of troops are assigned to turn Allai Valley into a safe refuge for tens of thousands of people.

The valley is in northwest Pakistan. It is among the most remote and difficult to reach places in all of Asia. To understand what was happening to the people here meant paying the colonel a visit. We started by car. Bone crushing hours in a small van.

(on camera): So we are traveling through the mountains here near a place called Bahd (ph), one of the worst hit areas by the earthquake and you can't escape it. It's inescapable all around us that the devastation by the earthquake. All these buildings.

(voice-over): And impossible to travel by car to areas higher up in the mountains. Landslides have destroyed many of these ancient roads beyond repair.

A helicopter was the only way to get to the colonel. Though these mountains look desolate, hundreds of thousands of people live here. Tens of thousands have already died. Many of them children.

Many more are still alive, but profoundly vulnerable. After surviving untreated injuries, dehydration, starvation and outbreaks of disease, there is now a good chance untold numbers could freeze to death.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And, you know, first they are saved and then families and then again and again. I think in the fifth week, fifth week of this camp, I have 16,000 people. And still people are coming.

GUPTA: Many of the people have never left their small plots of land. Getting them to come to the safety of this camp meant thinking like they do. That means Colonel Faraz and the private aid agencies working here are caring for not only for these people but also for their livelihood.

(on camera): A lot of these people would not come out of the mountains to camps like this unless they bring the animals with them. Their livestock. That is the livelihood. And so many places -- we heard this over and over again, they treat the livestock better than their own children in some ways. They're not only members of their family but they are also a significant source of income and what this organization has done save the children, USAID actually create a place not only to keep the animals warm and safe from the element but also to provide them food.

And that was a big incentive to actually allow those families come down here. They continue to come. Make no mistake. There has been a long deep distrust of the military by the mountaineers. Yet they still line up because they believe in Faraz.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look how organized they are.

GUPTA: Yeah.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can talk with them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Thank you.

GUPTA: He says thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you. He is helping this tent village. Thank you very much.

GUPTA: They're learning Urdu, the official Pakistani language. And the camp is working. This is the largest refugee camp in Pakistan. We saw absolutely no violence or looting. In fact, as soon as I met the colonel, I was reminded of another military leader who changed the tenor of the relief effort in New Orleans. General Russell Honore.

GENERAL RUSSELL HONORE, U.S. NATIONAL GUARD: Put those weapons down. You're delivering food.

GUPTA: Both men have proved a critically important point about relief. Money and resources alone won't promise success. Effective relief depends on strong leadership.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is this? What is this?

CROWD: Chin.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is this?

CROWD: Nose.

CROWD: Eyes.

CROWD: Eyebrows.

GUPTA: Turns out, saving lives wasn't Faraz's only agenda. He wanted to tackle something much more profound. He hopes this tragedy can help bring Pakistan into the 21st century, learning new languages and changing the culture.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Sanjay. OK. She will tell you the national anthem.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

So this is -- this is the children. This is what I want to show you. The people. Look at their faces. Everybody is happy.

GUPTA: Of course, you are just seeing a small slice of the relief in Pakistan. And surely, not everyone is happy. Forty-five- year-old Reyaz Mohammed (ph) was injured in the earthquake. He began having fits or seizures. The volunteer nurses who will alone see more than 200 patients today are at a loss.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Fifteen minutes ago, and I see one just now like this.

GUPTA: Everyone is recruited to help.

(on camera): This is a big problem around here. You are seeing patients that have no history. Their CAT scans, all their records were actually destroyed by the earthquake. They show up here, as this gentlemen did, with a seizure and nobody knows what to do in this case.

You can just drink this?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah. That's good.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK?

GUPTA: Tastes pretty good.

(voice-over): Colonel Faraz knows he can't take care of Mohammed and many of the sick and needy in Pakistan. But he will do what he can to provide clean water, warm tents and basic hygiene. Most of the people here use toilets before?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Never seen any -- I mean, surely, it's a clean area. No smell.

GUPTA: Right. There is no smell.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sixteen thousand people. It's a very big community.

GUPTA: He dreams of much more.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think we are going to have a toilets and bathrooms in the tents. This is going to be the metropolitan city, not Islamabad.

GUPTA: This is going to be a metropolitan city?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.

GUPTA (voice-over): Given the need and suffering here, Colonel Faraz is determined to make it possible.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Allai Valley, Pakistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And you can see more stories like these on "ANDERSON COOPER 360," weeknights 10:00 Eastern right here on CNN.

A flat note for the Harlem Boys Choir as New York City offers them a take it or leave it deal. We'll talk about what those changes might mean.

Plus, a look back at the year's memorable courtroom moments. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

KAGAN: Big changes on the Supreme Court, and a domestic diva enters the big house. It was a year of sometimes stunning legal stories. Joining us to discuss some of the year's high points in and around the courtroom is Kendall Coffey, a former U.S. attorney. He joins us from our Miami bureau.

Kendall, we should call these the Coffeys, like the Emmys or the Grammys.

KENDALL COFFEY, FMR. U.S. ATTY.: Well, there's no academy for legal commentators, but we'll call them the Coffeys for now.

KAGAN: OK, we need some (INAUDIBLE) music.

First of all, in the category of best defendant, you say it was Martha Stewart. Why?

COFFEY: Absolutely. And also maybe best comeback. Look at the fact that she did what almost nobody does. Remember, everybody who can stay out of jail while they're doing their appeal does so. Who in their right mind wants to be in prison. She did just the opposite. She actually served her time while appealing her crime. What's the result? Her business survives, her career thrives, the public forgives her and she's back in show business, bigger, better than ever.

KAGAN: Best performance at a confirmation hearing going to the new Chief Justice John Roberts.

COFFEY: I mean, it's hard to be a star at a Senate hearing, but this guy did a fabulous job, which by the way, Daryn, I think actually made it tougher for Harriet Miers, who wasn't a terrible nominee, but Roberts is a really hard act to follow. Big question, will Judge Sam Alito be able to follow the same script as Roberts, or is he going to he have somewhat rougher sailing as we look ahead to January.

KAGAN: Yes, and that gets started in just a week or so.

Best press conference?

COFFEY: well, talk about a tough mission for a prosecutor. Appointed by the Bush administration, Patrick Fitzgerald in the CIA leak is investigating some of the most significant people in the Bush administration. He does it the old-fashioned way, no leaking, no spinning, lots of tenacity, lots of integrity, a no, just the facts ma'am only press conference, very impressive. Great example of how prosecutors are supposed to do their job.

KAGAN: All right. I seem to remember a lot of leaks coming from that investigation, but we'll save that for another time.

Best reason why a defendant should not testify, Robert Blake.

COFFEY: Well, you know, we're always second-guessing defendants when they don't take the stand and get convicted, like a Martha Stewart, but the reason defendants usually don't take the stand. A lot of times they're guilty.

A lot of times even if they're not guilty, they've been involved in something that isn't so pretty, and sometimes, Daryn, they're just not very lovable. Robert Blake doesn't take the stand in his criminal case, he's acquitted. He does take the stand in his civil case. He's hammered for $30 million. A big reason why people should listen to their lawyer and let their lawyer do the talking in the courtroom.

KAGAN: All right, Kendall, thank you. Those were the beauties, and we thank you for those. You're going to stick around for the next hour when we look at the uglies and the not so beautiful.

COFFEY: Thank you.

KAGAN: Thank you, Kendall. More Coffeys are coming ahead. We'll look at the legal low-lights in 2005. That will be in about an hour from now, right here on CNN LIVE TODAY.

Also ahead, a medical mystery that has landed a brother and a sister in the hospital over the holidays. We'll have their story just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Music lover, this next story is for you, the CD appears headed the way of vinyl and eight-track tapes. That's because more and more consumers are discovering instant gratification in digital downloads.

According to Nielsen figures, buying and downloading music online soared 150 percent this year, accounting for about 330 million sales. CDs are still the dominant music format, with some 600 million units sold by retailers in 2005, but the trend is clearly in the download's favor.

CD sales this year slipped seven percent from the previous year. The top-selling titles for 2005 were Kelly Clarkson's "Breakaway," Mariah Carey's "The Emancipation of Mimi," and 50 Cent's, "The Massacre." I'll keep trying to work on that one.

(MARKET REPORT)

KAGAN: Well, speaking of money, many of your are vowing to save more of it in 2006, and we want to help you achieve that New Year's resolution. So, in today's "Long View," "Money" magazine's Walter Updegrave has tips on how you can save more money.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WALTER UPDEGRAVE, SENIOR EDITOR, "MONEY": Everything is geared towards spending. Easy credit, credit cards. And so our mentality for the most part is geared toward immediate gratification. And so in some ways, it's difficult to get over that if you save. If you're looking for places in your budget to kind of cut back, start with the big things. Your mortgage. Is it possible for you to refinance your mortgage to kind of cut that payment?

Another tip is for people to try to use their credit card less. There's a lot of research that shows that people spend less when they're dealing in cash. Another thing to consider is any time you get a raise, try and put at least a portion of that away in savings.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Bottom line, try to live below your means. Good luck with your New Year's resolutions to save money.

Well, sick from E. coli from a meal they ate in their own home. Ahead, we'll look at this dangerous bacteria and its particularly harsh effect on children.

And remember the Alaska Airlines jet that depressurized in mid- air earlier this week? Well, the same thing happened again, same airline, same kind of plane, even the same flight number. That story is just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: More than five dozen Americans die each year from E. coli infections, specifically a very bad strain that's called 0157H7. Now, the numbers may seem small, but the losses are great for each family.

CNN's Keith Oppenheim introduces us to a family struggling during these holidays, in a story that aired first on "ANDERSON COOPER 360."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the small city of Effingham, Illinois, it is Christmas Day.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is it time to go to (INAUDIBLE) house yet?

OPPENHEIM: Tina and David Lustig are playing with their two oldest kids, 10-year-old Charlie and 7-year-old Michael. On the mantle, two stockings hang for their youngest, Claire and Christopher. They're not home. They're both in a hospital, fighting for their lives.

TINA LUSTIG, MOTHER: Like the doctors said, you know, surely, you can't -- this can't happen to two children in the same family. And -- but it did.

OPPENHEIM: Two-year-old Christopher and his 4-year-old sister, Claire, got sick from a potentially deadly strain of E. coli bacteria known as O157:H7. It's a strain that can be picked up from unpasteurized milk or unpurified cider. But it's most often found in ground beef that hasn't been thoroughly cooked.

T. LUSTIG: I have made Hamburger helper, but I don't undercook anything, because I'm a bad cook, unfortunately. And...

(LAUGHTER)

OPPENHEIM (on camera): But you don't -- so, you don't really have an idea of...

T. LUSTIG: No.

OPPENHEIM: .. how they got it.

T. LUSTIG: No.

OPPENHEIM (voice-over): On December 2, Christopher became sluggish. There was blood in his stool.

DAVID LUSTIG, FATHER: I told Tina, I said, you know, I haven't heard him talk. He hasn't talked in -- in -- all day.

OPPENHEIM: Doctors diagnosed Christopher with a condition called hemolytic uremic syndrome, or HUS, where the toxins of the E. coli strain cause red blood cells to rupture and kidneys to fail. He was taken to Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital in Saint Louis, where he received dialysis.

Then, 10 days after he was diagnosed, his sister, Claire, started to show the same symptoms. She, too, was diagnosed with HUS. While it's common for siblings or playmates of E. coli-infected children to get exposed, it is uncommon the infection would progress to the point that both kids would get critically ill.

DR. ROBERT LYNCH, CARDINAL GLENNON CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL: Very unusual. It's scary enough with one. To have both kids affected in this way is a -- a catastrophe.

OPPENHEIM: Just as Claire was admitted to the same hospital, Christopher became unresponsive.

D. LUSTIG: His head was, like, locked to the right. And his eyes were locked to the right. And he wouldn't -- you would talk to him and he wouldn't look at you. His eyes wouldn't follow you.

OPPENHEIM: Christopher had a stroke, always a potential danger with HUS.

T. LUSTIG: I felt like, in that room, in intensive care, that death was in the corner and just going to come out and take over.

D. LUSTIG: yes.

T. LUSTIG: It was all I could -- I -- and people say, I don't know how you do it. I don't know how -- well, I wasn't doing it that night. I wasn't...

OPPENHEIM (on camera): You were breaking down?

T. LUSTIG: Yes. I was breaking down. I wasn't any -- any source of strength for anybody at that point.

OPPENHEIM: In the following days, Claire and Christopher's condition stabilized. At the same time, doctors and health officials still don't know the original source of the E. coli infection.

But, so far, there have been no other cases reported. Authorities believe the Lustig case is isolated. Still, for the children, there are questions about their recovery, particularly for Christopher, who may suffer permanent neurological damage.

T. LUSTIG: I'm worried that he won't walk again and that he won't...

D. LUSTIG: Won't talk.

T. LUSTIG: Won't talk.

D. LUSTIG: Won't see.

T. LUSTIG: And won't see.

OPPENHEIM: In the meantime, all David and Tina can do is go to the hospital and hope, as the new year approaches, both of their children will get a second chance.

Keith Oppenheim, CNN, Effingham, Illinois.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Tune into "ANDERSON COOPER 360" weeknights, 10:00 Eastern, 7:00 Pacific here on CNN.

Let's check in on other stories making news coast-to-coast.

The boys choir of Harlem has avoided eviction from the New York Public School that it calls home. The choir is $5 million in the red. It's been rocked by a sex abuse scandal. City education officials have agreed to let the choir remain where it is, but only as an after- school activity.

Near Lake Tahoe, investigators are looking into whether a storm in the Sierra Nevada had anything to do with a plane crash. The private Learjet from Twin Falls, Idaho, crashed and burned as it tried to land at an airport yesterday. Both people in the plane were killed.

And in Seattle, you probably recall the Alaska Airlines jet earlier this week that developed a hole in its fuselage and suddenly lost cabin pressure while in flight. Well, yesterday, the pilot of another Alaska Airlines jet reported a whistling sound from a cockpit window while flying into Seattle from Las Vegas. The plane was checked out and no problem was detected.

There are highs and there are lows, and then there's rock bottom. And this past year, we may have hit that with a bride who got some cold feet and then got herself in some big trouble. Our look back at the courtroom dramas of 2005 continues next hour.

Also ahead, the story of a three-legged cat who could teach us all a thing or two about life.

The second hour of CNN LIVE TODAY begins right now.

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