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American Morning

U.N. Showdown; Headed For Civil War?; Detainee Deal?; Kidnapped Baby; Spinach Scare

Aired September 19, 2006 - 07:00   ET

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

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: At the United Nations today. Both President Bush and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will speak to the General Assembly. Those speeches are several hours apart. And keeping the two men away from each other could be the job of the day. CNN's Richard Roth live now from the U.N. with more.
Hello, Richard.

RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello.

The two men, Miles, were here last year under the same roof. But the whole dynamic after what has happened in the past year and the uranium enrichment crisis, it's changed everything.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROTH: The president of Iran and the president of the United States in the same room last year at the United Nations General Assembly, but they never met. This year, Iran's president says he wants a debate. The U.S. is not interested.

QUESTION: President Bush said that he will not be meeting with Ahmadinejad, I believe, so that . . .

JOHN BOLTON, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: What a surprise.

QUESTION: What a surprise. Do you expect, though . . .

BOLTON: I won't be either.

KARIM SADJAPOUR, INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP: You have the individual, George W. Bush, who is most reviled in the Middle East, and you have Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the foreign leader, who I would argue is most reviled in the United States. And really they see eye to eye on very little.

ROTH: Opening day of the big U.N. event is an annual traffic jam of world leaders, plenty of chances for unlikely encounters and potential collisions. The U.S. and Iran will likely steer clear.

MARK MALLOCH BROWN, DEPUTY U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL: I'm sure both will have minders or at least one of them will have minders working hard to keep them apart. So, you know, probably the great clash of the titans, the rumble in the jungle or whatever you want to call it, is not going to happen. ROTH: The world will watch these two presidents through masses of global media. But only a few Iranian journalists are permitted in the U.S. They say their audience would love interviews with President Bush but the U.S. won't talk to them either. They say their president is misunderstood in the U.S.

NADER TALEBZADEH, IRANIAN JOURNALIST: It's going to be just sort of a standoff. What is Ahmadinejad going to say? What Bush is going to say? And he's not going to change. He's not a man of transformation. I don't think he's going to inspire any of us with something new.

ROTH: The White House has said, don't expect a steel-caged death match. But the U.N. will still, no doubt, have to grapple with the nuclear deadline.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROTH: President Bush is likely to call on the General Assembly to stick to Security Council resolutions it's agreed on. France yesterday hinted there's always time for more talking with Iran before applying any sanctions on that country.

Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Richard, is there any chance Ahmadinejad will be in the audience when the president speaks?

ROTH: There's a very good chance. He was last year. But he's not expected at the leaders' lunch, the word is, because alcohol is served there. That's why he wasn't there last year and probably not this year at lunch time.

M. O'BRIEN: And, finally, is there any level at which Iranians and the United States, representatives of the United Nations are speaking? Very low level perhaps?

ROTH: No. No diplomatic relations. There's really no contact. They could be in the same room, at cocktail parties, but there's no dialogue face-to-face. But there was one say phone call I believe regarding some issue. But there's no face-to-face, direct contact.

M. O'BRIEN: Richard Roth at the U.N., thank you very much.

CNN will bring you live coverage of the president's address 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

Soledad.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A car bomb in Baghdad this morning killed two people. Another 24 people were wounded in the blast. It happened near a police station in the western part of the city. Attacks like this one, there's a grim assessment by the U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Monday who said the country is sliding closer to civil war. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KOFI ANNAN, U.N. SECRETARY-GENERA: But if current patterns of alienation and violence persist much longer, there is a grave danger that the Iraqi state will break down possibly in the miss (ph) of a full-scale civil war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

S. O'BRIEN: CNN's Arwa Damon, just back from an embed with the U.S. military in the Sadr City neighborhood of Baghdad. She joins us live from Baghdad this morning.

Good morning to you, Arwa.

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

And the neighborhood that I was in is just outside of Sadr City. That Shia stronghold in Baghdad. And it's a predominantly Shia neighborhood, but it is fairly mixed. And tensions are high in that area.

But this is what's interesting about it. When we first arrived with the U.S. forces on the surface, when you look at it, the kids are running around. They're laughing. The people appear to be fairly friendly.

When you ask them about this issue of civil war and what state the country is in, at first their initial reaction is, no, no, no, no, that's not happening here. That's happening in other neighborhoods. We're fine. It's all outside influence.

When you really push them on that issue, what you realize and what they will admit is that, in fact, the tension is increasing. It has essentially paralyzing the society.

We spoke with two boys who are Shia. They're 13-year-old. They're twins. And they just bough a puppy because their mother, they said, wouldn't let them go outside to play anymore because she feared that they could become victims of a sectarian attack. That is an area that has been receiving threats.

We spoke to another man who came forward and actually admitted that even amongst these mixed marriages, the Sunni and Shia mixed marriages, there are growing tensions between each side of the family. And there is no denying that we are seeing an increasing amount of sectarian violence, an increasing amount of bodies that Iraqi police are saying have been killed due to sectarian violence that are appearing at the morgues and all over the country, not just in Baghdad.

But right now I think, and what I saw from the operation and the opportunity to go out yesterday, was that few people want to actually admit that it is full-blown civil war. Perhaps because that is not just yet the case and that is their worst fear.

Soledad. S. O'BRIEN: Arwa Damon for us this morning in Baghdad. Arwa, thanks.

Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: The divide between President Bush and Senate Republicans over the treatment of terror suspects my be shrinking. CNN's Kathleen Koch has more on this from the White House.

Good morning, Kathleen.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.

The thaw began over the weekend. And then by yesterday afternoon, the White House had sent to these balking senators up on Capitol Hill a draft, with what we're being told so new language on this dispute over the interrogation and the trial of top suspected terrorists. A spokesman for the Senate Armed Services Committee tells CNN that Senator John Warner, Senator John McCain and Senator Lindsey Graham would have "a night of reading" and hoped to have a response to the White House proposal at some point today. Neither the White House, nor the committee though, would reveal the specifics of this new proposal.

It is certainly, though, expected to address the main sticking point between the two groups. And that is, just what are the U.S. obligations under the Geneva Conventions? The White House wants to clarify the conventions and let CIA interrogators know exactly, spell it out, what they can and what they cannot do.

Now the senators are very concerned. They believe that that would then leave it open to all other nations and the world to interpret the conventions the way they see fit. So it will be very interesting to see if they can reach a compromise.

Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, it will. CNN's Kathleen Koch at the White House, thanks very much.

Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: We're getting word from our affiliate this morning, this just in to CNN, WTAE, that a suspect is now in custody in that Duquesne basketball player shooting we told you about earlier. That suspect, who has not yet been named, will be arraigned, we are told, later today.

You'll recall that this shooting happened when a bunch of the Duquesne players were at a dance. It happened early Sunday morning. They were followed, they had told police, by a shooter, who apparently was unhappy that a woman who he took to a party had talked to some of the basketball players at that dance. No name being released at this time. We're going to, obviously, continue to follow this story and fill you in as soon as we get some more information on that suspect who is now to be arraigned later today. Also this morning, police in Missouri releasing a sketch of a woman who allegedly attacked a young mother, kidnapped her newborn baby. The search for little Abigale Woods, she's less than two weeks old, is now entering its fifth day and CNN's Jonathan Freed has more for us.

Good morning, Jonathan.

JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

It's day five in the search for Baby Abby. There are 300 leads in this case, but police are saying still nothing strong yet.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREED, (voice over): Three days after little Abby Lynn Woods was abducted from her rural Missouri home, finally a face to put on the suspect. Investigators say the composite sketch shows a woman between 30 and 40 years old, roughly 5'8", weighing 200 pounds with dark hair pulled back under a baseball cap.

SHERIFF GARY TOELKE, FRANKLIN COUNTY, MISSOURI: The victim wasn't completely happy with the sketch, but this is the best that she can come up with at this point. So, you know, it's not 100 percent. And any time you have a composite sketch like that, you know, you need to be flexible.

FREED: The baby was just a week old when her mother was attacked on Friday in Lonedell, Missouri, about an hour southwest of St. Louis. Police say 21-year-old Stephanie Ochsenbine was stabbed with a knife and had her throat slashed by a stranger who knocked on her door and asked to use the phone. Once inside, she said she was there to take the baby.

The mother was unconscious for a short while and then managed to walk 300 yards to her neighbor's house for help. Abby's father, who police say was at work at the time of the attack, is helping the mother recover at home. The grandparents are leading the media charge, pleading for Abby's safe return.

RAYLENE OCHSENBINE, BABY'S GRANDMOTHER: Stephanie's heart is breaking. She's in agony. She is totally destroyed. Totally destroyed. If you have a heart at all, give her back.

KEN OCHSENBINE, BABY'S GRANDFATHER: You don't want to know this feeling. You just don't want to know it because it hurts and it's upsetting. It's really messed with our lives.

FREED: Police say family members are cooperating with the investigation, but would not categorically rule them out as suspects.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you have any reason to doubt the mother's story at this point?

ROLAND CORVINGTON, FBI: Like any investigation, we seek to cooperate and verify information wherever we receive it. And since this is such a fluid endeavor and we get information in all the time, it's very difficult for us to say definitively one way or the other.

FREED: Police also released a photo of a scarf found outside the family's home, hoping someone will recognize it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREED: Now, Soledad, tips are coming in from as far away as Texas, Oklahoma and Virginia. But again, police were saying as of yesterday afternoon, and there's nothing new yet this morning, still no strong leads yet.

Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: That's bad news there. All right, Jonathan Freed for us this morning, thanks.

Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Happening this morning.

Vinson Filyaw, the South Carolina man accused of holding a 14- year-old girl captive in a bunker for more than a week, remains in jail this morning. His bond denied. Among the charges he faces, first degree criminal sexual conduct and kidnapping.

In Australia tonight, a public memorial for crocodile hunter Steve Irwin. Thousands, including Australian Prime Minister John Howard, expected to attend. Irwin was killed by a stingray earlier this month.

In California, calm winds giving crews a break as they battle a two-week old fire. The fire burning along the L.A./Ventura County line. Officials say it was started by someone burning debris.

Up in space, astronauts on the space shuttle Atlantis in the midst of their final preparations before the ride home. There you see them the other day on the Space Station. After 11 days in space, Atlantis returns to earth tomorrow morning. We will begin our coverage at 5:50 in the morning eastern time. Landing is slated for 5:57 Eastern weather permitting.

And speaking of weather, Chad Myers is out, Rob Marciano is in.

What does it look like for Florida tomorrow, Rob?

(WEATHER REPORT)

S. O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning on AMERICAN MORNING, the growing E. Coli outbreak from bagged spinach. We're learning that the government issued a safety warning to the nation's farmers months ago. Did they turn a deaf ear?

And U.S. prisons described as breeding grounds for terrorists. We'll explain all ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) M. O'BRIEN: A developing story out of Pittsburgh we want to tell you about. We told you yesterday about the shooting Sunday, wee hours, on the campus of Duquesne University. Five members of the basketball team shot after an altercation involving a woman. We are told by our affiliate, WTAE, a suspect has been arrested and will be arraigned a little bit later.

ESPN is also reporting that woman who might have been at the center of this argument has also been arrested and faces two conspiracy charges. Apparently the allegation is she was aiding someone with bringing a weapon on to campus. So possibly two arrests now play in the shooting of the five Duquesne University basketball players.

And there we see one of the suspects through the courtesy of one of our affiliates there in Pittsburgh, WTAE, as we tell you, reporting the suspect has been arrested and will face an arraignment. One of those basketball players remains in critical condition. The other in fair. The other three are slated for release today in that shooting which began, as we say, with some sort of altercation over a woman who, herself, now facing charges.

S. O'BRIEN: Although they say there's some talk about dropping the charges against her if she continues to cooperate. They had a little bit of difficulty tracking her down to eventually arrest her. So it may just be a way to kind of get her to spill. More on that, obviously, as we go through the day.

Also this morning, new details about that E. Coli outbreak linked to fresh spinach. It turns out that federal officials warned California farmers last November that they needed to make sure that their fresh greens were protected from contamination. The outbreak has now expanded into 21 states and 114 people have gotten sick. Latest report now from CNN's Ted Rowlands.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): This Wisconsin couple says their six-year-old son and three-year-old daughter suffered kidney failure after eating tainted spinach.

ANNE GRINTJES, PARENT OF VICTIM: There's no drug or pill they can give your child to make your child better. It's almost a wait and see. And as a parent, that's the worst thing.

ROWLANDS: Seventy-seven-year-old Marion Graff died from kidney failure after eating spinach.

ANN WERGEN, MANITOWOC COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT: The bacteria that she had matches the fingerprint of all the other people.

ROWLANDS: What investigators can't match yet is what caused the outbreak. And until they do, people are being advised to throw away any fresh spinach.

DR. MARK HORTON, STATE PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICER: The main recommendation is not to cook the spinach, it's not to eat the spinach. The idea is, I think what makes sense to people is, if you go in your refrigerator and you pull out a product and you know it's contaminated, you throw it out.

ROWLANDS: There's no formal recall. The FDA doesn't have the power to order one. But grocers around the country have taken spinach off their shelves and restaurants are replacing it on menus. In Texas, this California trucker was arrested for allegedly dumping a load of spinach in a creek. Meanwhile, nervous spinach growers are waiting to find out the cause of the contamination. The stakes are extremely high. If the FDA doesn't find a cause, it could leave a lasting mark on consumers.

BOB PERKINS, MONTEREY COUNTY FARM BUREAU: We want an answer to this. We have to have an answer to this. It may be that it won't be as precise as we want, but at some point it will be narrowed down to likely causes. And if we can pin it down to likely causes, then we can propose practices that would eliminate those likely causes.

ROWLANDS: The E. Coli strain at work is found in animal waste. Industry experts say it could be introduced at any time in the growing process. The most likely scenarios, experts say, are from tainted water or unsanitary conditions during harvest or processing. It could also come from unsafe refrigeration levels during distribution. FDA officials say to expect more reports of people getting sick.

Ted Rowlands, CNN, San Juan Bautista, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: Some grocers are trying to use the national recall of bagged spinach as an opportunity to get shoppers interested in other greens. The food market, Whole Foods, is featuring arugula and kale. Red lettuce, baby romaine are being featured on those shelves of the Wild Oats stores and grocers are trying to keep up the produce sales despite the spinach recall.

M. O'BRIEN: Coming up on the program, as the HP scandal turns. How long did Hewlett-Packard know its leak probe might be illegal? Andy's got that for us.

And later, a lot of baseball fans can be religious about following their team, but now some teams are giving new meaning to that term of bats, balls and Bibles. Ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: The beat goes on for Hewlett-Packard. Who knew what? Who knew it when? Andy Serwer is deep in the details this morning.

S. O'BRIEN: The mess gets messier.

ANDY SERWER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Well, it's a story that keeps ongoing here and it's got legs, as we say in the business. And it turns out "The Wall Street Journal" is reporting this morning that a computer security expert -- now, remember, this is a computer company -- e-mailed his superiors at the company and told them that what they were doing, this investigation, might entail illegal methods and means. This is a gentleman named Fred Addler (ph), who was an official in HP's global security office in California, in Roseville, California, who was a former FBI agent. Hello.

S. O'BRIEN: Oh, he knew. He knew. Get it on the record.

M. O'BRIEN: Working for HP and knew there was this . . .

SERWER: Yes, he saw the investigation that was ongoing and he said, this is bad stuff.

S. O'BRIEN: Let's get on the record me saying this could be bad.

SERWER: Right. This is bad stuff and I want to make clear that, exactly, that I'm on the record saying that I know this is bad stuff.

M. O'BRIEN: Certified (INAUDIBLE).

SERWER: Yes. Now, it's unclear who he told. So this is going to be yet another chapter that will unfold, probably tomorrow, so you need to stay tuned to AMERICAN MORNING because we'll probably be telling you about it -- more about that.

Actually, interesting, another little note here. You know this company, Action Research, that has been linked to this pre-texting that HP did, in Melbourne, Florida. Apparently it's not the first time its been in trouble. It's been sued previously over this kind of procedure.

S. O'BRIEN: Where did they get this company from? I mean, how did they -- who knew how to find -- to hire the private investigation firm?

SERWER: I guess you just Google pretext -- you're in Google corporate security. We don't know, Soledad, right now. And all this stuff's going to come out because the California state attorney general is on the case.

Meanwhile, yesterday, in Houston, HP's CEO Mark Hurd gave a presentation, but was not forthcoming -- or I shouldn't say that. He didn't talk about the scandals of the company and he didn't take reporter's questions either.

M. O'BRIEN: Side-stepped, you might say (ph).

SERWER: I think that might be more accurate.

And finally, concerning HP, there's a new survey out that was taken by board members, 226 corporate board members across the United States. And 85 percent of them said that -- (INAUDIBLE) would say that directors place a higher priority on corporate confidentiality than shielding personal information from prying eyes. In other words, basically saying that to protect the company would be more important than a person's individual rights. M. O'BRIEN: So this has probably happened elsewhere, we just don't know about it?

SERWER: I think that that's a safe assumption.

S. O'BRIEN: And too bad the courts don't seem to agree, at least in California, on that one.

SERWER: That's right, Soledad. But, again, the state AG, he's the guy in the driver's seat right now.

S. O'BRIEN: He's running with that one.

SERWER: Yes.

M. O'BRIEN: Have they subpoenaed e-mails there yet, do you know?

SERWER: Don't know.

M. O'BRIEN: OK. What's next?

SERWER: Next we're going to be talking about -- this is a case involving the euro tunnel between England and France and some great stuff going on there, litigation. Jerks in Manhattan, according to a French official, are at fault.

M. O'BRIEN: Oh.

SERWER: Jerks in Manhattan.

S. O'BRIEN: And it's probably true.

SERWER: (INAUDIBLE) true. It's a nice little battle royal going on.

S. O'BRIEN: There are so many jerks in Manhattan.

SERWER: Yes, well put, Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Thanks, Andy.

Ahead this morning, is President Bush going to come face-to-face with the president of Iran at the U.N. today? Our White House correspondent will look at that question up next.

And the controversy over lethal injections. Why more and more critics say it is cruel and unusual punishment. Those stories ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Good morning to you. I'm Miles O'Brien.

S. O'BRIEN: And I'm Soledad O'Brien. President Bush addresses the United Nations General Assembly today. Two world hotspots, Iran and Iraq, will figure prominently in his speech.

White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux with a preview for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, President Bush this morning will address the United Nations General Assembly. He will try to sell his war on terror. This is really a culmination of a series of speeches the president has given in the past. Also of course looking forward to the congressional midterm elections, trying to push for tough, antiterrorism measures through Congress. What we expect today is a 15-minute speech, where he'll focus on his so-called "freedom agenda," saying that the Middle East really is the battle front in this war on terror, that the united community, the international community, needs to play a role in trying to help those fledgling democracies, those who are struggling in Iraq, and Lebanon and the Palestinian Authority.

And the president, of course, will also single out Iran as a state sponsor of terror, saying that Iran must abandon its nuclear weapons program, its ambitions for nuclear weapons. That is what the administration believes that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, is involved in.

And the big question, of course, the kabuki dance, if you will. Everybody will be watching to see if President Bush and the Iranian president happen to meet face to face, bump into each other, during the summit.

I asked President Bush on Friday if he had any plans to meet with him. He said, no, that first it must stop, suspend its enrichment uranium program before any talks can go forward. The administration is pushing for tough sanctions, but that is something that the European community, the larger community, is not very excited about.

Suzanne Malveaux, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: We're going to have the president's speech live right here on CNN. It begins at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: A chilling report on the roots and rise of terror in the name of Islam due out today. The report suggests U.S. prisons are a breeding ground for Islamic terror. George Washington University and the University of Virginia conducted the study. It says there's a shortage of Muslim counselors inside prisons and too little time to monitor Muslim prisoners. As a result, inmates are often taught that the Koran encourages holy war against non-Muslims.

That rebellion by Republican lawmakers over how to treat terror detainees may lead to a compromise. Senators John McCain, John Warner and Lindsey Graham led the GOP opposition to the president's original proposal, which would have skirted the Geneva Convention rules for treating prisoners. No details yet, but the White House has apparently modified its proposal, possibly averting a public showdown inside the GOP.

Republican senators aren't the only ones taking issue with the president's plan for handling terror suspects. Colin Powell, just one of several former generals also leading the charge, concerned it could put American troops at risk someday.

CNN's Barbara Starr live now at the Pentagon with more.

Good morning, Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.

Well, there is growing concern from both current and former senior military officers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STARR (voice over): President Bush's plan for interrogating Al Qaeda detainees has led to a new round of criticism. This time, it's coming from inside the military.

Legal officers who say the president's plan puts U.S. troops at risk by opening the door to redefining how personnel are treated under the Geneva Conventions. It's a technical legal issue that some say underscores more broadly the senior officer's frustration with the Bush administration over the course of the war.

Growing questions of history: has the military learned what it believes what an essential lesson of Vietnam. Did this Iraqi war generation of generals speak up about this war soon enough?

LT. GEN. DANIEL CHRISTMAN (RET.) U.S. ARMY: Yes. I think the generals think about the legacy of Vietnam and the dereliction of duty mantle, and they don't want to be shackled with that.

STARR: Three retired chairman of the joint chiefs of staff also object to the interrogation plan.

General Colin Powell, "The world is beginning to doubt the moral basis of our fight against terrorism."

General John Vessey, "It could give opponents a legal argument for the mistreatment of Americans held prisoner in time of war."

General John Shalikashvili, "The administration proposal poses a grave threat to American service members." And more questions about whether there were ever enough troops in Iraq. Brigadier General John Kelly says, when he was on the front line from 2003 to 2004, he often had to move his troops around.

BRIG. GEN. JOHN KELLY, U.S. ARMY: We're thankful that things didn't get too ugly, too quickly, because we literally didn't have the Marine or sailor to spare. STARR: And General Binford Peay, retired head of the Central Command, says he believes far too few troops were sent to Iraq. Peay, now the third recent CentCom chief to criticize the war plan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STARR: You know, Miles, this past spring we saw essentially the revolt of the generals, several retired generals calling on Secretary Rumsfeld to resign. If this now is a second revolt, if that is what we are saying, experts say it reflects a growing and deepening unhappiness with many officers about the course of this war -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon, thank you very much.

(WEATHER REPORT)

S. O'BRIEN: A lethal controversy ahead. Carol Costello's got that story for us in a moment.

Good morning.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Fascinating story. Is lethal injection cruel and unusual punishment? Some inmates are so afraid of lethal injection they're choosing the electric chair. More on this controversial issue when AMERICAN MORNING returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: A developing story this morning. Police in Pittsburgh have a suspect in custody in the shooting of five Duquesne basketball players in the wee hours of Sunday morning.

Let's go live to Marcy Cipriani of our affiliate station WTAE in Pittsburgh -- Marcy.

MARCY CIPRIANI, WTAE REPORTER: Well, Miles, I can tell you, four people came into Pittsburgh headquarters. We know one of them is a 19-year-old student from Duquesne University. The other is suspected of being one of two shooters in this case. Let's take a look at that man as he came here to police headquarters early this morning in handcuffs. Police believe he is one of the men who attended the student union dance on Duquesne's campus, later Saturday night into Sunday morning, argued with five of the Dukes basketball players, then shot them. He remains here at headquarters, along with two other, investigators believe, are witnesses to this shooting.

Now as for the 19-year-old Duquesne University student, she has been charged with conspiracy. But police say her crimes occurred at the dance, prior to the shooting. They do not believe she conspired to have these basketball players shot.

Now, we did get a chance to talk with her attorney here at police headquarters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JIM ECKER, ATTORNEY: They've indicated that she was there and she has information pertaining to what went on. Whether in fact she knows the shooters or not, I don't know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CIPRIANI: Once again, there are still three people being questioned here at police headquarters. We are waiting word from police on how they're connected in this case.

Miles, back to you.

M. O'BRIEN: Marcy Cipriani with WTAE, thank you -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Those who oppose the death penalty have found a new way to fight. They're using the Constitution. They claim that lethal injection, considered the most humane way to die, can actually be quite painful, and that would make lethal injection cruel and unusual punishment. Depending on who you're talking to, the argument is working.

Carol Costello took a look at that for us this morning.

Good morning.

COSTELLO: It's a fascinating argument. There are now lawsuits filed in 20 states. The argument has become so powerful that an inmate in Tennessee chose to die in the electric chair, rather than to be injected with this cocktail of drugs. At 1:00 this morning, he was granted a reprieve by the court. It's what other inmates are hoping for across the nation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Twenty-one executions on Texas' death row this year, all men, all injected with a cocktail of lethal drugs. Michael Johnson is waiting for his turn. It could come October 19th. He claims he's innocent, despite being convicted of killing a man over $24 worth of gas eight years ago.

MICHAEL JOHNSON, TEXAS DEATH ROW INMATE: What if somebody confessed before I even went to trial, and then they put the dude on the stand in my trial to testify I shot the guy?

COSTELLO: The state of Texas disagrees.

(on camera): If the worst happens and if you have to pay for something you say you didn't do...

JOHNSON: Right.

COSTELLO: Are you prepared?

JOHNSON: Yes, man, I was ready three years ago. I mean, it sucks, but, damn, there's nothing I can do about it. What am I going to do, pray to the good lord Jesus and cry or something? COSTELLO (voice-over): Johnson knows exactly how death will come. The first drug to be injected is sodium thiopental. It induces sleep. The second, pancuronium bromide, it paralyzes your muscles and stops breathing. The third, potassium chloride, stops the heart, causing death.

If each injection is times properly, prison officials say death comes peacefully.

(on camera): Here in Texas they say an inmate is pronounced dead in seven minutes. But there are legal challenges in 20 states claiming it doesn't always work out that way, making lethal injection cruel and unusual.

(voice-over): In March of 1992, in Oklahoma, convicted murder Robin Lee Parks has a violent reaction to the drugs, he gasps and gags until death comes 11 minutes later. San Quentin, December of 2005, it takes prison officials 20 minutes to find a vein in gang leader Tookie Williams, prompting him to ask his executioners if they were doing it right. He keeps breathing up to six minutes after the paralyzing drug is administered. That's the kind of treatment Johnson not only fears, but expects.

JOHNSON: To be totally honest, I think if Texas could make it hurt more, they would. And I think truth be told, they're probably over there mixing things up on their own.

COSTELLO: But Dr. Jay Chapman says mistakes rarely happen. Chapman, a former Oklahoma medical examiner, created lethal injection more than 30 years ago.

DR. JAY CHAPMAN, LETHAL INJECTION CREATOR: I think there certainly are problems that have arisen, but most of the problems have arisen because of inexperienced or untrained people who are carrying out the protocol.

COSTELLO: That happens because some doctors refuse to participate in executions, believing it violates the Hippocratic Oath. Medical ethicists say it's the outdated combination of drugs that can make lethal injection far from painless.

DR. STUART FINDER, MEDICAL ETHICIST: Right now, most of the protocols around this country use three drugs. Why those drugs? There's a whole pantheon of medications out there that are used in medicine to help people not have anxiety, not have sensations of pain. Why are those not being used?

COSTELLO: Dr. Chapman, who travels the world teaching forensic medicine, now says his method should be revisited.

CHAMPMAN: If I were devising protocol again today, I would probably omit the pantimonium bromide from the cocktail of drugs.

COSTELLO: Talk of possible changes and legal challenges have stopped executions in Missouri, but may not in Texas. If Johnson is not granted a reprieve by the courts, he will die by lethal injection. JOHNSON: The way I see it, if God wants you to have a stage, you're going to get one, and it's not going to matter if you sit there and grovel and beg the whole time. That's not going to have any impact on what's going to happen.

COSTELLO: For now, he sits and waits for however death comes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: You heard the creator of this drug protocol say lethal injection needs to be revisited. If you're wondering why someone, isn't stepping forward to institute a change, WELL, it seems no one in the medical profession wants anything to do with the death penalty.

S. O'BRIEN: It seems so simple in a way. You can just knock somebody out. Anybody who's had general anesthesia in surgery knows. You know, they're just out of it. And then you could, you know, stop their heart and kill them.

COSTELLO: And many people say, although it sounds very cruel, you know, you got to the veterinarian, you get your dog put down in one shot. It's over.

S. O'BRIEN: The three perfect times, it seems more complicated than...

COSTELLO: Thirty years ago, Dr. Chapman came up with this protocol, and it has never been revisited. So you know, there's new medical technology, but no doctor wants anything to do with this, so you would have to find one to put together this new protocol.

S. O'BRIEN: How much of it, do you think, is because nobody really cares about, you know, a cold-blooded killer, who has been convicted, being put to death.

COSTELLO: Well, like this guy I interviewed. I mean, he's convicted of killing a guy over $24 worth of gas, shot him in the head. So how much sympathy are you really going to have? Others say that the reason that we even have a humane way to kill someone is not really for them but, for the people who are witnessing the inmates' death. So it's a very complicated issue.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, interesting point. All right, Carol, thanks. Great spot.

COSTELLO: Sure.

S. O'BRIEN: Coming up next, Andy Serwer. That's a tough transition. I'm going to get to Andy Serwer, talk a little business news.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Some baseball fans may already think of that sport as a religion, but is there a place for real spirituality in the stands? The true believers believe "Faith Night" say yes, there is. AMERICAN MORNING's Delia Gallagher has our story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): John Smoltz has helped win a World Series and earned a Cy Young Award in 18 years playing baseball for the Atlanta Braves. But on this day, he's pitching for another team, one with a much more powerful lineup.

JOHN SMOLTZ, ATLANTA BRAVES PITCHER: Only God can change and rip you of some of the things you're holding on to, and he did that for me in baseball.

GALLAGHER: Welcome to Faith Night, a new phenomenon bringing Christianity to the ballpark.

SMOLTZ: Don't take my words for the gospel or what it should be. Take it as something to prompt you to think deeper.

GALLAGHER: Free Bibles, Christian bands, biblical bobbleheads and player testimonials are all provided to fans by the marketing company Third Coast Sports, which so far has been in 27 minor league ballparks across the country.

BRENT HIGH, PRESIDENT, THIRD COAST SPORTS: Teams markets demographics and cycographics (ph) every day of the week, and this is just, in business terms, another demographic.

GALLAGHER: And now, they've hit the Major Leagues.

DEREK SCHILLER, BRAVES VP, SALES AND MARKETING: I've been told that there are some 5,400 churches within a 75-mile radius, so that, obviously, makes a lot of sense for the Atlanta Braves.

O'BRIEN: Derek Shiller estimates a 10 percent increase over average attendance on the Braves three faith nights this year, the first Major League team to stage such an event. The Arizona Diamondbacks also have done it, and the Florida Marlins plan to next year.

(on camera): Wooing Christians to Bible Belt ballparks may work in places like Atlanta and Mobile, but can this promotion be a hit in the blue states? If Third Coast Sports has its way, cheering Christians may some day fill every stadium in the nation.

HIGH: We're very close to having deals with teams in the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLS, and obviously we're already in major league baseball. I don't see this slowing down.

GALLAGHER (voice-over): Still, not everyone is a fan.

REV. MARK BOZZUTI-JONES, ST. BARTHOLOMEW'S CHURCH: I am against any kind of fellowship that then becomes exclusive, a kind of fellowship where a Jewish person won't feel welcome, a Muslim person, or somebody who doesn't believe in God. GALLAGHER: Third Coast Sports says Faith Nights are not hostile to nonbelievers, and no one is forced to participate.

HIGH: We will never throw a Bible in your face as you come in the turnstile.

BOZZUTI-JONES: I'm a Christian, and I'm very much for, you know, promoting Christianity, but the time and the place have to be right. It shouldn't be a marketing tool, definitely shouldn't be a marketing tool.

GALLAGHER: But some fans don't mind baseball being used to market religion.

RODNEY JOHNSON, MOBILE BAY BEARS FAN: We can display our faith at the ballgame and, you know, maybe people from being around us will be able to attend the events and find a church that, you know, maybe they've been looking for.

GALLAGHER: Delia Gallagher, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

M. O'BRIEN: Top stories after a short break. Stay with us.

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