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Pope John Paul II Using a Feeding Tube; Dramatic New Twist Overnight in Fight Over Terri Schiavo

Aired March 30, 2005 - 07:00   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.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news on the pope's health. The Vatican announcing in the last hour Pope John Paul II is using a feeding tube in his recovery from throat surgery.
A dramatic new twist overnight in the fight over Terri Schiavo. Is a federal appeals court now giving her parents a new glimmer of hope, even as they make their own direct appeal?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Please, please give my child back to me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: And the life of Johnnie Cochran. His legal mind and flair for the dramatic made him a powerful force. Celebrity clients made him a legend. His legacy on this AMERICAN MORNING.

ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.

HEMMER: We have reached the middle part of the week. It's Wednesday, and a busy one, too. Good morning. Soledad is out this week. I'm Bill Hemmer.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Carol Costello, in for Soledad this morning.

HEMMER: A number of developing stories already today. More on the pope and Terri Schiavo in a moment here. Also, remembering Johnnie Cochran, the famed attorney dying on Tuesday. We'll talk to Barry Scheck, teaming up with Cochran in the O.J. Simpson trial, as well as other countless cases during his career.

COSTELLO: Also this morning, a legal dispute over your breakfast. We'll talk to a woman suing three cereal companies, saying the boxes are misleading. Does she have a legitimate complaint? We'll take a look at that.

HEMMER: Jack, what's happening?

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Death sentence in Colorado got tossed out because the jurors consulted a Bible during their deliberations while trying to decide on whether the convicted person should receive life in prison without parole or be executed. They voted for death, and the judge threw the sentence out. We'll take a look. HEMMER: All right, Jack, thanks for that.

Breaking news first from Italy about the health of Pope John Paul II. Now Vatican officials say he has started getting nutrition from a nasal tube. More now from our Vatican analyst, John Allen, on the phone in Rome.

And, John, tell us how significant is this development on his condition?

JOHN ALLEN, CNN VATICAN ANALYST: Good morning, Bill.

Well, I think it is another sign of the seriousness of the health problems facing John Paul II. Now, we should stress that when we say feeding tube, of course, that immediately brings to mind images of the Terri Schiavo situation. And that does not describe the condition of John Paul II. The Vatican is indicating that he remains fully lucid and attentive to the business of the church, and that in general, his recuperation is continuing.

But obviously, the same problems with his throat that have produced his inability to speak in recent days have also meant it is extremely difficult for him to swallow. And therefore, he is virtually unable to eat either solid or semi-solid food, and that has resulted in a progressive loss of weight. And to try to counteract that, the Vatican has announced this morning that his physicians have placed a nasal tube through which nutrition is being administered into the pope, in the hope that this will be lead to a gradual recuperation of his energy.

HEMMER: They announced it after his public appearance in St. Peter's Square today. But do we know when the procedure was completed, John?

ALLEN: No, the Vatican has not given us that information. Now the pope obviously this morning at 11:00 a.m. Rome time when he appeared at the window was not wearing a tube, so we presume that this is being done intermittently. That is, he is probably not wearing it all the time. And as we say it was of course not in place this morning, therefore we presume that at least the decision to do this probably was made sometime late morning Rome time. But the Vatican officially has not told us that.

They also have not confirmed much talk that has been in the local press that the pope might have to go back to the hospital sometime in the near future for a sort of checkup for the other tube, that is, the throat tube that's in place because of the tracheotomy. That also has not been confirmed by Vatican officials as of this morning.

HEMMER: All right, breaking news from the Vatican. John Allen is on it from Rome, Italy. Thanks -- Carol.

COSTELLO: And there are new developments in the Terri Schiavo case this morning. A federal court of appeals has agreed to consider a petition by Schiavo's parents to have her feeding tube reconnected. There's no word on whether the court will actually hear the case. Elizabeth Cohen is at the 11th Circuit Court in Atlanta. Bob Franken is at Terri's hospice in Pinellas Park, Florida.

But let's start with you, Elizabeth.

Elizabeth, this is the same court that the parents appealed to before, they rejected the appeal, and yet they're back. So what's going on here?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, well, Carol, this time, Bob and Mary Schindler say that the petition is different. In this petition here, they say that in the past, the federal court of appeals here in the 11th Circuit in Atlanta only looked at the procedural issues involved in this case. They say now that the court ought to be looking at the facts involved in this case. And they say that the evidence is clear. They say that Terri Schiavo would want to be kept alive in the state she's in. However, state courts in Florida have found over the years that she would not want to be kept alive. Friends and family testified that she had said that she would not want to be kept alive in such a state on artificial life support -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Elizabeth, has there been any reaction from Michael Schiavo and his attorney to this appeal?

COHEN: Right, they have not petitioned, made any kind of a petition or made any kind of movement in the court yet. In fact, apparently, his lawyer, George Felos, just found out about this new petition from the Schindlers very late last night, when CNN contacted him.

COSTELLO: Elizabeth Cohen, live in Atlanta, thanks.

Now to Bob Franken.

Bob, we're going into day 13 since Terri's feeding tube was removed. What are you hearing about her condition?

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, her condition, by all accounts, is deteriorating. And this order that has been requested of the court will be an emergency order. And time is urgent now. They would need a temporary restraining order, and need it quickly, or pretty much everybody agrees that she would die, and of course any legal questions would become moot.

The tension here continues a little bit more high than it has been. There was another arrest this morning. A man tried to take water on to the property. And of course the police will not allow that. When, however, officers tried to tell him to leave, he slapped away the arm of a policeman, so he'll not only be charged with trespassing, we're told, but some variation of assault on a police officer.

Now this comes after more emotion last night from the mother of Terri Schiavo, Mary Schiavo, saying to the husband, Michael Schiavo, who has two children with another woman, that it is time to turn Terri Schiavo's fate over to them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MARY SCHIAVO, MOTHER OF TERRI SCHIAVO: Michael and Jody, you have your own children. Please, please give my child back to me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRANKEN: The court action now raises the desperate feelings of the family to a glimmer of home, Carol, just a glimmer -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Bob Franken, many thanks to you -- Bill.

HEMMER: Renowned attorney Johnnie Cochran has died. He died Tuesday of a brain tumor in Los Angeles. He was 67 years old. Cochran is being remembered today as a brilliant lawyer and a humanitarian.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHNNIE COCHRAN, ATTORNEY: If it doesn't fit, you must acquit.

HEMMER: Johnnie Cochran may be best known for the O.J. Simpson case, the so-called trial of the century, but it could never define him. His legal career spanned four decades, a journey to justice, as he called it, that began as an L.A. prosecutor, telling Larry King back in 1999 why he loved being a lawyer.

COCHRAN: Because it gives you an opportunity to do interesting things, gives me an opportunity to, you know, represent people who are injured, gives me an opportunity to represent people who I believe are innocent, gives me an opportunity if I wanted to go into politics, or whatever. So for young kids out there, it's a great career.

HEMMER: Cochran was fond of saying an injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, and those who knew him knew he meant every word. Sean "P. Diddy" Combs was one of his clients.

SEAN "P. DIDDY" COMBS: He fought for my innocence. He fought for my freedom. And this is the type of person he was. He stood for justice, integrity. He was such a man of grace, and he looked into my eyes. He heard my story. He saw I was innocent. And when he believed in you, he would go all the way for you.

HEMMER: Perhaps his proudest moment was getting Geronimo Pratt freed from prison in 1997. The former Black Panther served 27 years for a murder he did not commit.

To family, friends, and colleagues, Johnnie Cochran's legacy goes well beyond the law.

BEN BRAFMAN, CO-COUNSEL ON SEAN COMBS CASE: I think he'd like to be remembered as an honest man, as a kind, generous citizen. I don't think Johnnie would want to be remembered simply as a brilliant lawyer. I think he was much more than that, and I think that's what he would like to be remembered as, a wonderful human being.

(END VIDEOTAPE) HEMMER: Attorney Barry Scheck knew Johnnie Cochran well. He was a member of the Simpson defense team, and the two later became law partners. Barry Scheck is my guest now from Boston.

Good morning to you.

BARRY SCHECK, COCHRAN'S FRIEND & LAW PARTNER: Good morning, Bill.

HEMMER: I understand the first time you met him was when he hired you to come on board the Simpson defense team. Tell us about that meeting.

SCHECK: Well, the first time I met Johnnie was during that. But interestingly, the first case we talked about involved a man named Geronimo Pratt, who was a Vietnam veteran and a member of the Black Panther Party, who was accused of committing a murder in Los Angeles. And Johnnie represented him, and Pratt was convicted in 1972. And Johnnie was convinced he was innocent. It was a very big cause case. I knew more about the Geronimo Pratt case than Johnnie Cochran at that point. And he said, he's innocent, we're going to get him out. And years later, with the lawyer Stewart Hanlan (ph), a group called the Centurion Ministries, 27 years later, they did prove that Geronimo Pratt was innocent. They got his conviction reversed and won a settlement, a generous one, from the federal government. He never gave up, and that was really -- you know, in a way, that was the most important case to him.

HEMMER: Do you think he wanted to be known as the attorney for O.J. Simpson in the end?

SCHECK: You know, it's something he accepted. Before O.J. Simpson, Johnnie Cochran was a legendary civil rights lawyer. He won the Leonard Debtwiler (ph) case, Ron Settles (ph), people in Los Angeles know what I'm talking about. One involved the chokehold that was finally outlawed with the Los Angeles Police Department. He changed the face of civil rights litigation in America before O.J. Simpson.

And then after O.J. Simpson, he continued doing the same thing. The Abner Louima case, the New Jersey profiling case, with the state troopers we did. I mean, Johnnie was incredible, and that was where his heart was.

HEMMER: We saw him here through television, we saw him in the court of law. He appeared to have a smoothness about him, the way he carried himself. Did you pick up on that same thing when you interacted with him?

SCHECK: Well, it was impossible not to pick up on that, and what was amazing was that one on one, in real life, in every circumstance, he was even more charming, and genuine and sincere. And the process for me, every time, is that we would meet somebody, whether it was the United States attorney or, you know, just any kind of person that you'd meet on the street or in a service capacity, and they got to talk with Johnnie. They were always disarmed. He always defied their expectations from the media, because he really was a loving, decent, sincere guy that just charmed people, because he was charming.

HEMMER: Do you remember the last contact you had with him, Barry?

SCHECK: Yes, I do, the visit with him out in Dale Adam (ph), Los Angeles about a month ago, and some telephone calls at the holidays, and you could tell that he was having trouble.

HEMMER: Barry, thanks for your time, and thanks for sharing with us today.

SCHECK: Thank you, Bill.

HEMMER: Barry Scheck in Boston.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: New details this morning on that deadly Minnesota school shooting spree, clues that may have linked a second teenager to the killings. We'll talk to one of the local reporters covering the story.

HEMMER: Also, a former Boy Scout official accused of an unthinkable crime. Details on his alleged connection to child pornography, in a moment.

COSTELLO: Plus controversy in cereal. A mother sues companies over their new lower sugar brands. She will explain her case, just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: A bit later this morning, a former high-ranking Boy Scouts of America official is scheduled to appear in federal court. Douglas Smith Jr. junior is charged with possessing and distributing child pornography. Prosecutors say they expect him to plead guilty. Smith retired from the Boy Scouts in February, after a 39-year career with the organization, based in suburban Dallas, Texas. He once directed a national task force protecting children from sexual abuse. If convicted, Smith could face up to 20 years in prison.

COSTELLO: New details about the gunfight at Red Lake High School are coming out today. "USA Today" reporting police shot teenage gunman Jeff Weise twice before he killed himself. Sheriff's deputy talks about Weise firing blindly into schoolrooms, and says, quote, "The entire school was covered with blood and there were bullet holes everywhere." Lewis Jourdain, the son of the tribal leader, has been arrested, and this morning's "Star Tribune" reports details of how Weise and Jourdain supposedly planned these attacks by computer.

Howie Padilla of the "Star Tribune" is in Red Lake right now.

Good morning.

HOWIE PADILLA, "STAR TRIBUNE": Hey, how are you guys doing?

COSTELLO: Fine.

You know, we heard again and again that Jeff Weise acted alone, he had no friends, he'd even been taken out of school to study at home. And now a plot, an alleged accomplice, Lewis Jourdain. How close were these boys?

PADILLA: Well, people are telling us now that they were both pretty close friends, and you would see them together all the time, sometimes in the library, sometimes out in the cafeteria. Also they were describing Lewis Jourdain also as a kind of a loner that would often dress together. They were in a group, apparently they called themselves The Darkers, they called themselves, not quite goth, but not quite far from it is what people are telling us.

COSTELLO: Yes, go into the group more, The Darkers, what was their schtick? What did they believe in, or not believe in?

PADILLA: I think we're still trying to find some of that out. I mean, a lot of it is they wore the trench coats. I think we're hearing that Jeff Weise was fond of wearing combat boots, and was a little bit different, and things like that. So just a little bit in what's normal these days, but not quite your average, everyday student, even for, you know, anyone's sake.

COSTELLO: So supposedly, these boys were planning this via computer. Do you know details of the plan?

PADILLA: I don't. The only thing that we're hearing is that they'd been planning it for about a year, and that possibly Jeff had done it maybe at a different time than what was planned is what's being alleged out there.

COSTELLO: The allegation also that Lewis Jourdain wanted to be involved. What more can you tell us about that?

PADILLA: We haven't come up with anything. You know, as you probably know, his father, Chief Jourdain, the tribal chief, Jourdain, has not said a lot. What he did was basically defend his son. So we haven't heard a whole lot about what exactly Lewis's part, or what he wanted it to be. The one thing people said is as soon as he heard the gunfire in the library, he was in the library at the time, and as soon as he heard the gunfire, before seeing Jeff, he was what people have said, freaked out, and said, "It's Jeff, it's Jeff."

COSTELLO: You're talking about Jourdain's father. He is the Red Lake tribal chairman, as you said. He says, and I'm going to quote what he said. He said, "I know my son, and he is incapable of committing such an act. I strongly believe my son will be cleared of this evidence."

But as you said students in the library that day said Jourdain freaked out. He yelled "Jeff" before the gunman was even seen by anyone, and he also sent Instant Messages to other friends in school, supposedly about the shooting. Did Jourdain's father even know his son really, or what he was up to? PADILLA: Well you know, it's interesting, that was one of the things that we've been talking -- we here out here in Bimiji (ph), and out on the Red Lake Indian reservation, some of the reporters covering, have been talking about, and because you know, he went to last week very strongly, saying this is a chance for us to -- we need to really know our youth, and we need to take some responsibility. And I think he feels like he really did. I think the statement, the way he -- it is said, is pretty strongly in him coming out in defense of his son. It really says something of him, saying I know my son, and I know he wouldn't do this, he is incapable of this. I think he's trying to put another level, as another level of affirmation to the statement.

COSTELLO: Howie Padilla of the "Star Tribune," joining us live this morning, thank you.

PADILLA: Thank you.

HEMMER: About 20 minutes now past the hour. In a moment here, Disney finalizing its split with two of the most powerful men in showbiz. Andy has that next here, "Minding Your Business" on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Welcome back, everyone.

To Hollywood now, news of another big breakup out there. Andy Serwer "Minding Your Business," first check this morning.

Good morning.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning. This is not Brad and Jennifer, by the way. It's the Walt Disney Company and Miramax have decided to call it quits. Miramax founded 26 years ago by the famously fiery brothers, Bob and Harvey Weinstein. Disney bought the company in 1993. And I think it's safe to say that Miramax produced more cutting edge and creative films than any other studio in Hollywood history. I don't think that's an overstatement -- "Aviator," "Gangs of New York," "Shakespeare in Love," "Pulp Fiction," "Crying Game," "English Patient," "Sex, Lies and Videotape." And they also really branded their content. I mean, you really sort of knew if it was a Miramax film. Pretty successful business for Walt Disney over the years.

Let's take a look at the numbers -- 53 Academy Awards in those years since 1993, 11 movies over $100 million. Disney keeps their library of 550 films. The company was named after the brothers' parents, Miriam and Max, but Disney keeps the company name. The two brothers going to go start their own company. And if you think about Bob Iger coming in and running this company now and what he's got to deal with, Michael Eisner was unable to maintain a relationship with Miramax an also with Pixar, and so now Bob Iger has this on his table, not having those two businesses anymore.

HEMMER: Good luck. CAFFERTY: Eisner couldn't maintain a relationship with his secretary.

SERWER: I don't think that's an overstatement either.

CAFFERTY: No, it's not. He absolutely didn't get along with anybody.

SERWER: No, he didn't.

COSTELLO: It's time for the Cafferty File.

CAFFERTY: "Question of the Day," a Colorado supreme court has thrown out a death sentence verdict, after jurors consulted a Bible during their deliberations. Instead, Robert Harlan, this dirtbag who raped and killed a waitress and permanently paralyzed the woman who tried to save her in 1994 will serve life in prison, of course, on the taxpayers' dime. According to defense lawyers, several jurors had looked up Bible verses, such as an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, copied them down an discussed them while deliberating the death sentence behind closed doors. The divided court says jurors should have made their decision, quote, "without the aid or distraction of extraneous texts."

The question this morning is, should jurors be allowed to use the Bible during deliberation? AM@cnn.com.

SERWER: That's the first time i've ever heard of the Bible referred to as an "extraneous text."

HEMMER: They just wrote it down, right? they didn't take the Bible into the jury room with them?

CAFFERTY: Apparently, According to the story that was in "The Denver Post" one of the jurors had some questions about whether the imposition of the death penalty was a moral choice or not, and the other jurors pointed to Levidicus (ph), which is where you'll find eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, and said you know, there is some justification for reaching this decision in the Bible, and judges said that's improper.

HEMMER: It's got U.S. Supreme Court written all over it, maybe. We'll see. Thank you, Jack.

More ahead in a moment on American morning after the break.

Ahead on "90-Second Pop," it looks like Madonna may be back to old habits. Together, she and her husband spark outrage at a party.

Plus, Venus and Serena take their sister act to TV, and this shows has nothing to do with tennis. That and more ahead here on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired March 30, 2005 - 07:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news on the pope's health. The Vatican announcing in the last hour Pope John Paul II is using a feeding tube in his recovery from throat surgery.
A dramatic new twist overnight in the fight over Terri Schiavo. Is a federal appeals court now giving her parents a new glimmer of hope, even as they make their own direct appeal?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Please, please give my child back to me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: And the life of Johnnie Cochran. His legal mind and flair for the dramatic made him a powerful force. Celebrity clients made him a legend. His legacy on this AMERICAN MORNING.

ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.

HEMMER: We have reached the middle part of the week. It's Wednesday, and a busy one, too. Good morning. Soledad is out this week. I'm Bill Hemmer.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Carol Costello, in for Soledad this morning.

HEMMER: A number of developing stories already today. More on the pope and Terri Schiavo in a moment here. Also, remembering Johnnie Cochran, the famed attorney dying on Tuesday. We'll talk to Barry Scheck, teaming up with Cochran in the O.J. Simpson trial, as well as other countless cases during his career.

COSTELLO: Also this morning, a legal dispute over your breakfast. We'll talk to a woman suing three cereal companies, saying the boxes are misleading. Does she have a legitimate complaint? We'll take a look at that.

HEMMER: Jack, what's happening?

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Death sentence in Colorado got tossed out because the jurors consulted a Bible during their deliberations while trying to decide on whether the convicted person should receive life in prison without parole or be executed. They voted for death, and the judge threw the sentence out. We'll take a look. HEMMER: All right, Jack, thanks for that.

Breaking news first from Italy about the health of Pope John Paul II. Now Vatican officials say he has started getting nutrition from a nasal tube. More now from our Vatican analyst, John Allen, on the phone in Rome.

And, John, tell us how significant is this development on his condition?

JOHN ALLEN, CNN VATICAN ANALYST: Good morning, Bill.

Well, I think it is another sign of the seriousness of the health problems facing John Paul II. Now, we should stress that when we say feeding tube, of course, that immediately brings to mind images of the Terri Schiavo situation. And that does not describe the condition of John Paul II. The Vatican is indicating that he remains fully lucid and attentive to the business of the church, and that in general, his recuperation is continuing.

But obviously, the same problems with his throat that have produced his inability to speak in recent days have also meant it is extremely difficult for him to swallow. And therefore, he is virtually unable to eat either solid or semi-solid food, and that has resulted in a progressive loss of weight. And to try to counteract that, the Vatican has announced this morning that his physicians have placed a nasal tube through which nutrition is being administered into the pope, in the hope that this will be lead to a gradual recuperation of his energy.

HEMMER: They announced it after his public appearance in St. Peter's Square today. But do we know when the procedure was completed, John?

ALLEN: No, the Vatican has not given us that information. Now the pope obviously this morning at 11:00 a.m. Rome time when he appeared at the window was not wearing a tube, so we presume that this is being done intermittently. That is, he is probably not wearing it all the time. And as we say it was of course not in place this morning, therefore we presume that at least the decision to do this probably was made sometime late morning Rome time. But the Vatican officially has not told us that.

They also have not confirmed much talk that has been in the local press that the pope might have to go back to the hospital sometime in the near future for a sort of checkup for the other tube, that is, the throat tube that's in place because of the tracheotomy. That also has not been confirmed by Vatican officials as of this morning.

HEMMER: All right, breaking news from the Vatican. John Allen is on it from Rome, Italy. Thanks -- Carol.

COSTELLO: And there are new developments in the Terri Schiavo case this morning. A federal court of appeals has agreed to consider a petition by Schiavo's parents to have her feeding tube reconnected. There's no word on whether the court will actually hear the case. Elizabeth Cohen is at the 11th Circuit Court in Atlanta. Bob Franken is at Terri's hospice in Pinellas Park, Florida.

But let's start with you, Elizabeth.

Elizabeth, this is the same court that the parents appealed to before, they rejected the appeal, and yet they're back. So what's going on here?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, well, Carol, this time, Bob and Mary Schindler say that the petition is different. In this petition here, they say that in the past, the federal court of appeals here in the 11th Circuit in Atlanta only looked at the procedural issues involved in this case. They say now that the court ought to be looking at the facts involved in this case. And they say that the evidence is clear. They say that Terri Schiavo would want to be kept alive in the state she's in. However, state courts in Florida have found over the years that she would not want to be kept alive. Friends and family testified that she had said that she would not want to be kept alive in such a state on artificial life support -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Elizabeth, has there been any reaction from Michael Schiavo and his attorney to this appeal?

COHEN: Right, they have not petitioned, made any kind of a petition or made any kind of movement in the court yet. In fact, apparently, his lawyer, George Felos, just found out about this new petition from the Schindlers very late last night, when CNN contacted him.

COSTELLO: Elizabeth Cohen, live in Atlanta, thanks.

Now to Bob Franken.

Bob, we're going into day 13 since Terri's feeding tube was removed. What are you hearing about her condition?

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, her condition, by all accounts, is deteriorating. And this order that has been requested of the court will be an emergency order. And time is urgent now. They would need a temporary restraining order, and need it quickly, or pretty much everybody agrees that she would die, and of course any legal questions would become moot.

The tension here continues a little bit more high than it has been. There was another arrest this morning. A man tried to take water on to the property. And of course the police will not allow that. When, however, officers tried to tell him to leave, he slapped away the arm of a policeman, so he'll not only be charged with trespassing, we're told, but some variation of assault on a police officer.

Now this comes after more emotion last night from the mother of Terri Schiavo, Mary Schiavo, saying to the husband, Michael Schiavo, who has two children with another woman, that it is time to turn Terri Schiavo's fate over to them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MARY SCHIAVO, MOTHER OF TERRI SCHIAVO: Michael and Jody, you have your own children. Please, please give my child back to me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRANKEN: The court action now raises the desperate feelings of the family to a glimmer of home, Carol, just a glimmer -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Bob Franken, many thanks to you -- Bill.

HEMMER: Renowned attorney Johnnie Cochran has died. He died Tuesday of a brain tumor in Los Angeles. He was 67 years old. Cochran is being remembered today as a brilliant lawyer and a humanitarian.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHNNIE COCHRAN, ATTORNEY: If it doesn't fit, you must acquit.

HEMMER: Johnnie Cochran may be best known for the O.J. Simpson case, the so-called trial of the century, but it could never define him. His legal career spanned four decades, a journey to justice, as he called it, that began as an L.A. prosecutor, telling Larry King back in 1999 why he loved being a lawyer.

COCHRAN: Because it gives you an opportunity to do interesting things, gives me an opportunity to, you know, represent people who are injured, gives me an opportunity to represent people who I believe are innocent, gives me an opportunity if I wanted to go into politics, or whatever. So for young kids out there, it's a great career.

HEMMER: Cochran was fond of saying an injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, and those who knew him knew he meant every word. Sean "P. Diddy" Combs was one of his clients.

SEAN "P. DIDDY" COMBS: He fought for my innocence. He fought for my freedom. And this is the type of person he was. He stood for justice, integrity. He was such a man of grace, and he looked into my eyes. He heard my story. He saw I was innocent. And when he believed in you, he would go all the way for you.

HEMMER: Perhaps his proudest moment was getting Geronimo Pratt freed from prison in 1997. The former Black Panther served 27 years for a murder he did not commit.

To family, friends, and colleagues, Johnnie Cochran's legacy goes well beyond the law.

BEN BRAFMAN, CO-COUNSEL ON SEAN COMBS CASE: I think he'd like to be remembered as an honest man, as a kind, generous citizen. I don't think Johnnie would want to be remembered simply as a brilliant lawyer. I think he was much more than that, and I think that's what he would like to be remembered as, a wonderful human being.

(END VIDEOTAPE) HEMMER: Attorney Barry Scheck knew Johnnie Cochran well. He was a member of the Simpson defense team, and the two later became law partners. Barry Scheck is my guest now from Boston.

Good morning to you.

BARRY SCHECK, COCHRAN'S FRIEND & LAW PARTNER: Good morning, Bill.

HEMMER: I understand the first time you met him was when he hired you to come on board the Simpson defense team. Tell us about that meeting.

SCHECK: Well, the first time I met Johnnie was during that. But interestingly, the first case we talked about involved a man named Geronimo Pratt, who was a Vietnam veteran and a member of the Black Panther Party, who was accused of committing a murder in Los Angeles. And Johnnie represented him, and Pratt was convicted in 1972. And Johnnie was convinced he was innocent. It was a very big cause case. I knew more about the Geronimo Pratt case than Johnnie Cochran at that point. And he said, he's innocent, we're going to get him out. And years later, with the lawyer Stewart Hanlan (ph), a group called the Centurion Ministries, 27 years later, they did prove that Geronimo Pratt was innocent. They got his conviction reversed and won a settlement, a generous one, from the federal government. He never gave up, and that was really -- you know, in a way, that was the most important case to him.

HEMMER: Do you think he wanted to be known as the attorney for O.J. Simpson in the end?

SCHECK: You know, it's something he accepted. Before O.J. Simpson, Johnnie Cochran was a legendary civil rights lawyer. He won the Leonard Debtwiler (ph) case, Ron Settles (ph), people in Los Angeles know what I'm talking about. One involved the chokehold that was finally outlawed with the Los Angeles Police Department. He changed the face of civil rights litigation in America before O.J. Simpson.

And then after O.J. Simpson, he continued doing the same thing. The Abner Louima case, the New Jersey profiling case, with the state troopers we did. I mean, Johnnie was incredible, and that was where his heart was.

HEMMER: We saw him here through television, we saw him in the court of law. He appeared to have a smoothness about him, the way he carried himself. Did you pick up on that same thing when you interacted with him?

SCHECK: Well, it was impossible not to pick up on that, and what was amazing was that one on one, in real life, in every circumstance, he was even more charming, and genuine and sincere. And the process for me, every time, is that we would meet somebody, whether it was the United States attorney or, you know, just any kind of person that you'd meet on the street or in a service capacity, and they got to talk with Johnnie. They were always disarmed. He always defied their expectations from the media, because he really was a loving, decent, sincere guy that just charmed people, because he was charming.

HEMMER: Do you remember the last contact you had with him, Barry?

SCHECK: Yes, I do, the visit with him out in Dale Adam (ph), Los Angeles about a month ago, and some telephone calls at the holidays, and you could tell that he was having trouble.

HEMMER: Barry, thanks for your time, and thanks for sharing with us today.

SCHECK: Thank you, Bill.

HEMMER: Barry Scheck in Boston.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: New details this morning on that deadly Minnesota school shooting spree, clues that may have linked a second teenager to the killings. We'll talk to one of the local reporters covering the story.

HEMMER: Also, a former Boy Scout official accused of an unthinkable crime. Details on his alleged connection to child pornography, in a moment.

COSTELLO: Plus controversy in cereal. A mother sues companies over their new lower sugar brands. She will explain her case, just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

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HEMMER: A bit later this morning, a former high-ranking Boy Scouts of America official is scheduled to appear in federal court. Douglas Smith Jr. junior is charged with possessing and distributing child pornography. Prosecutors say they expect him to plead guilty. Smith retired from the Boy Scouts in February, after a 39-year career with the organization, based in suburban Dallas, Texas. He once directed a national task force protecting children from sexual abuse. If convicted, Smith could face up to 20 years in prison.

COSTELLO: New details about the gunfight at Red Lake High School are coming out today. "USA Today" reporting police shot teenage gunman Jeff Weise twice before he killed himself. Sheriff's deputy talks about Weise firing blindly into schoolrooms, and says, quote, "The entire school was covered with blood and there were bullet holes everywhere." Lewis Jourdain, the son of the tribal leader, has been arrested, and this morning's "Star Tribune" reports details of how Weise and Jourdain supposedly planned these attacks by computer.

Howie Padilla of the "Star Tribune" is in Red Lake right now.

Good morning.

HOWIE PADILLA, "STAR TRIBUNE": Hey, how are you guys doing?

COSTELLO: Fine.

You know, we heard again and again that Jeff Weise acted alone, he had no friends, he'd even been taken out of school to study at home. And now a plot, an alleged accomplice, Lewis Jourdain. How close were these boys?

PADILLA: Well, people are telling us now that they were both pretty close friends, and you would see them together all the time, sometimes in the library, sometimes out in the cafeteria. Also they were describing Lewis Jourdain also as a kind of a loner that would often dress together. They were in a group, apparently they called themselves The Darkers, they called themselves, not quite goth, but not quite far from it is what people are telling us.

COSTELLO: Yes, go into the group more, The Darkers, what was their schtick? What did they believe in, or not believe in?

PADILLA: I think we're still trying to find some of that out. I mean, a lot of it is they wore the trench coats. I think we're hearing that Jeff Weise was fond of wearing combat boots, and was a little bit different, and things like that. So just a little bit in what's normal these days, but not quite your average, everyday student, even for, you know, anyone's sake.

COSTELLO: So supposedly, these boys were planning this via computer. Do you know details of the plan?

PADILLA: I don't. The only thing that we're hearing is that they'd been planning it for about a year, and that possibly Jeff had done it maybe at a different time than what was planned is what's being alleged out there.

COSTELLO: The allegation also that Lewis Jourdain wanted to be involved. What more can you tell us about that?

PADILLA: We haven't come up with anything. You know, as you probably know, his father, Chief Jourdain, the tribal chief, Jourdain, has not said a lot. What he did was basically defend his son. So we haven't heard a whole lot about what exactly Lewis's part, or what he wanted it to be. The one thing people said is as soon as he heard the gunfire in the library, he was in the library at the time, and as soon as he heard the gunfire, before seeing Jeff, he was what people have said, freaked out, and said, "It's Jeff, it's Jeff."

COSTELLO: You're talking about Jourdain's father. He is the Red Lake tribal chairman, as you said. He says, and I'm going to quote what he said. He said, "I know my son, and he is incapable of committing such an act. I strongly believe my son will be cleared of this evidence."

But as you said students in the library that day said Jourdain freaked out. He yelled "Jeff" before the gunman was even seen by anyone, and he also sent Instant Messages to other friends in school, supposedly about the shooting. Did Jourdain's father even know his son really, or what he was up to? PADILLA: Well you know, it's interesting, that was one of the things that we've been talking -- we here out here in Bimiji (ph), and out on the Red Lake Indian reservation, some of the reporters covering, have been talking about, and because you know, he went to last week very strongly, saying this is a chance for us to -- we need to really know our youth, and we need to take some responsibility. And I think he feels like he really did. I think the statement, the way he -- it is said, is pretty strongly in him coming out in defense of his son. It really says something of him, saying I know my son, and I know he wouldn't do this, he is incapable of this. I think he's trying to put another level, as another level of affirmation to the statement.

COSTELLO: Howie Padilla of the "Star Tribune," joining us live this morning, thank you.

PADILLA: Thank you.

HEMMER: About 20 minutes now past the hour. In a moment here, Disney finalizing its split with two of the most powerful men in showbiz. Andy has that next here, "Minding Your Business" on AMERICAN MORNING.

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HEMMER: Welcome back, everyone.

To Hollywood now, news of another big breakup out there. Andy Serwer "Minding Your Business," first check this morning.

Good morning.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning. This is not Brad and Jennifer, by the way. It's the Walt Disney Company and Miramax have decided to call it quits. Miramax founded 26 years ago by the famously fiery brothers, Bob and Harvey Weinstein. Disney bought the company in 1993. And I think it's safe to say that Miramax produced more cutting edge and creative films than any other studio in Hollywood history. I don't think that's an overstatement -- "Aviator," "Gangs of New York," "Shakespeare in Love," "Pulp Fiction," "Crying Game," "English Patient," "Sex, Lies and Videotape." And they also really branded their content. I mean, you really sort of knew if it was a Miramax film. Pretty successful business for Walt Disney over the years.

Let's take a look at the numbers -- 53 Academy Awards in those years since 1993, 11 movies over $100 million. Disney keeps their library of 550 films. The company was named after the brothers' parents, Miriam and Max, but Disney keeps the company name. The two brothers going to go start their own company. And if you think about Bob Iger coming in and running this company now and what he's got to deal with, Michael Eisner was unable to maintain a relationship with Miramax an also with Pixar, and so now Bob Iger has this on his table, not having those two businesses anymore.

HEMMER: Good luck. CAFFERTY: Eisner couldn't maintain a relationship with his secretary.

SERWER: I don't think that's an overstatement either.

CAFFERTY: No, it's not. He absolutely didn't get along with anybody.

SERWER: No, he didn't.

COSTELLO: It's time for the Cafferty File.

CAFFERTY: "Question of the Day," a Colorado supreme court has thrown out a death sentence verdict, after jurors consulted a Bible during their deliberations. Instead, Robert Harlan, this dirtbag who raped and killed a waitress and permanently paralyzed the woman who tried to save her in 1994 will serve life in prison, of course, on the taxpayers' dime. According to defense lawyers, several jurors had looked up Bible verses, such as an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, copied them down an discussed them while deliberating the death sentence behind closed doors. The divided court says jurors should have made their decision, quote, "without the aid or distraction of extraneous texts."

The question this morning is, should jurors be allowed to use the Bible during deliberation? AM@cnn.com.

SERWER: That's the first time i've ever heard of the Bible referred to as an "extraneous text."

HEMMER: They just wrote it down, right? they didn't take the Bible into the jury room with them?

CAFFERTY: Apparently, According to the story that was in "The Denver Post" one of the jurors had some questions about whether the imposition of the death penalty was a moral choice or not, and the other jurors pointed to Levidicus (ph), which is where you'll find eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, and said you know, there is some justification for reaching this decision in the Bible, and judges said that's improper.

HEMMER: It's got U.S. Supreme Court written all over it, maybe. We'll see. Thank you, Jack.

More ahead in a moment on American morning after the break.

Ahead on "90-Second Pop," it looks like Madonna may be back to old habits. Together, she and her husband spark outrage at a party.

Plus, Venus and Serena take their sister act to TV, and this shows has nothing to do with tennis. That and more ahead here on AMERICAN MORNING.

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