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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

Accused Serial Killer Extradited to Baton Rouge; Saudis Arrest 11 Believed to be Linked to Riyadh Bombings

Aired May 28, 2003 - 17:00   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.


(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Back to Baton Rouge. Arrested in Atlanta, a suspected serial killer faces justice in Louisiana as police take a fresh look at unsolved rapes and murders around the country.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've got a lot of work left to do. We've got a lot of pieces left in the puzzle we've got to put together.

BLITZER: Is something wrong with justice in Maryland? He murdered his wife but persuaded a judge to shorten his prison term. Now he's accused of killing his girlfriend.

Germ warfare labs on wheels? U.S. intelligence can't come up with another explanation for these Iraqi trucks.

Has the war in Iraq actually harmed the human rights effort? Amnesty International takes aim.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a case of throwing the baby out with the Ba'ath Party.

ANNOUNCER: CNN live this hour -- WOLF BLITZER REPORTS, live from the national's capital. With correspondents from around the world, WOLF BLITZER REPORTS starts now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: It's Wednesday, May 28, 2003. Hello from Washington. I'm Wolf Blitzer.

The prime suspect in a string of five murders in Louisiana is in police custody there after a stunning capture last night in Atlanta, and now law enforcement authorities in many parts of the country are taking a closer look at several unsolved rapes and murders.

We have reporters and analysts covering these dramatic developments. Jennifer Coggiola is in Atlanta, Art Harris is in Baton Rouge, and former FBI investigator Don Clark -- he's joining us from Houston. Let's begin with Jennifer with the latest developments -- Jennifer.

JENNIFER COGGIOLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Wolf. Well, after spending the night in this Fulton County jail, Lee spent a brief two minutes in court this morning. He appeared quiet, almost subdued, in his blue jump suit as the judge read his convictions. Lee was then given to Louisiana officials, who were eagerly awaiting to get their suspect back.

The suspect spent quite a week in Atlanta that appeared normal -- authorities saying he possibly worked construction jobs for cash. Local residents at the motor lodge where he was staying said that he appeared charming and friendly. He cooked barbeque and even started a Bible study group, never suspecting that he was actually a wanted man.

Despite all this today, and Louisiana law enforcement officials all saying that they are considering the chance that his DNA could lead to more than these five cases.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As the investigation unfolds, now that we have apprehended Mr. Lee, what will happen now is we'll try to identify every city, every place that this individual has been. Try to link any unsolved murders that may have been accomplished by this individual and then, through DNA analysis, hopefully bring some closure to some of these unsolved murders.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COGGIOLI: Wolf, I just want to add we spoke to a spokesperson from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation who said as of right now, his DNA does not match any of the 7,000 DNA evidence in their database. They still have 400, though, that have not been accounted for yet -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Jennifer Coggiola in Atlanta.

Lee spent part of his time on the run at a motel in southwest Atlanta, where he made friends, apparently, rather quickly.

CNN's Jason Bellini has that part of the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON BELLINI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Atlanta police picked up Derrick Todd Lee outside of an Atlanta tire dealership. A woman saw the authorities handcuff him and take him away.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He didn't know where he was going to stay the night.

BELLINI: Lee did not avoid people. He did not maintain a low profile here in Atlanta. In fact, he made a strong impression on residents of this $135 a week hotel in Atlanta, where he stayed until Monday morning.

BELLINI (on camera): Just ask the hotel manager.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's a good preacher. That is how people make friendship and everything.

BELLINI (voice-over): Vallerie Ann Thwaites says he charmed the neighbors. Within a few days, he knew just about everyone.

VALLERIE ANN THWAITES: He was my friend. He said he was from Mississippi, and he and his wife were having problems. He was in very good health. He's 38-years-old -- very gorgeous black dude.

BELLINI: Lee manned the barbecue at a birthday party for the hotel's manager last Sunday.

THWAITES: We cooked. His fingerprints were here. He said close it because the smoke was in his eyes -- because we had the grills side by side.

BELLINI: And Lee, many here say, was not discreet and really not bad at meeting women.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) 11:00.

BELLINI: 11:00 at night?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. She left in the morning at 5:00...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: According to Thwaites and other neighbors, he also aggressively pursued hotel resident Tammy Hill.

TAMMY HILL: He scared me.

BELLINI: But he liked you.

HILL: I know, but ...

BELLINI: He tried to ask you out?

HILL: Yes. He actually asked if he could come visit me a couple of times over here, and I was, like, no, because I went by him.

THWAITES: He had a really bad infatuation with her. He wanted her.

BELLINI: How do you know?

THWAITES: He wanted her.

BELLINI: How do you know?

THWAITES: Because he told me. We were best friends. And he said, I want her, but she thinks she's too good for me.

BELLINI: Authorities traced Lee to the hotel when he used the hotel manager's cell phone. He fled before the FBI arrived. Now in custody, the authorities hope they'll get to know the real Derrick Todd Lee.

Jason Bellini, CNN, Atlanta. (END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Now in Baton Rouge, where Lee arrived in an FBI jet a few hours ago. Art Harris is following that part of the story -- Art.

ART HARRIS, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, I'm told police are interrogating him right now at a secret location, and we'll bring him here to the jail soon to book him.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS (voice-over): A small FBI plane flew accused serial killer Derrick Lee back home again and into the custody of Louisiana authorities.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've got a lot of work left to do. We've got a lot of pieces left in the puzzle we've got to put together, but we're committed to doing that because we have the obligation to do that.

HARRIS: An obligation to speak for the dead. Five women in Baton Rouge raped and murdered, say police, over the last two years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They are unable to speak for themselves. So this task force spoke for them and spoke loudly.

HARRIS: Police say Lee is also under investigation in connection with at least two other unsolved murders in the area. Security will be tight, with emotions running high from relief to anger, say police, while Lee waits behind bars in the East Baton Rouge jail for his first appearance in court.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Again, Wolf, Lee is currently being interrogated somewhere else, and sources tell us that if he doesn't arrive here soon, that could mean he is talking.

Back to you -- Wolf.

All right. Art Harris in baton rouge, thanks very much.

BLITZER: All right. Art Harris in Baton Rouge, thanks very much.

Joining me now from Houston to talk about these quick and rather surprising developments is the former FBI agent Don Clark. We spoke yesterday, 24 hours ago before the capture. Now we're speaking again.

All these unsolved rapes and murders. Talk a little bit about what law enforcement authorities in many parts of the country are doing right now to see if Lee might have been responsible.

DON CLARK, FORMER FBI AGENT: Well, you know, Wolf, what they are really doing is that they are looking through every one of their cases. This is an event that the law enforcement personnel who have been involved in these type of killings where you cannot find a person responsible for it. This is what they live for -- one break in the case that maybe they can go back, revisit their circumstances and see if, as to what they know at this point what Lee has done, if any of this fits.

But nonetheless, whether it fits or not, I suspect they'll be going to the authorities in Baton Rouge, Louisiana saying, "We'd like for you to compare and see if this guy is responsible for any killings in another area."

BLITZER: I assume that means they have his DNA in Baton Rouge. Will other law enforcement authorities be asking for samples of that to match with DNA that they might have?

CLARK: I think what they'll have to do, Wolf, and in my experience in the past is there are two things at play here. First of all is the people who have killings that they can identify. They're going to have to come to them for information, but they also need to realize that right now the primary focus is on Baton Rouge and the authorities in that area trying to put together their case. So they've got to be careful not to disrupt that, but at the same time, I'm sure that the Baton Rouge authorities will make sure they can develop some type of way and some type of plan that, hopefully, they can aid these other investigative agencies.

BLITZER: We heard from Art Harris that they now have him -- the Baton Rouge authorities. Presumably, they'd like him to talk. I assume they read him his Miranda rights.

Talk about behind the scenes. What might be happening right now?

CLARK: First of all, certainly they want him to talk and if he is talking, you can bet that they will have Mirandized him very well to make sure they're not going to lose anything that he may provide them. This is where some of the input, Wolf, can play from some of the other agencies because while there will be a small group of people designated to interview him based on the cases that they have in Baton Rouge, they can also input questions from other areas that may facilitate some of the investigation from police departments around the country.

BLITZER: This seemed like a classic case of finding this guy. When we spoke yesterday, 24 hours ago, it didn't take very long for someone to nail this guy, to find him, the police, FBI to get on the scene and capture him. You were not surprised given the wide publicity this case that it came down that quickly?

CLARK: No. I'm not surprised because this is the thing that we talked about yesterday, Wolf, is that if we can use all of the resources that are available to us -- and again, I'll stress to include the media and working with families, working with friends, they can come up with this information.

Now We understand that there was information that came through an FBI tip line. We don't know whether it came from a relative or whatever. But wherever it came from, I suspect that the force is in play, the media, the law enforcement really covering leads probably generated that tip to come in.

BLITZER: Don Clark, the former FBI, agent as usual, thanks very much for joining us.

CLARK: My pleasure, Wolf.

BLITZER: September 11 changed the world, but has the war on terror trampled on human rights as alleged today by Amnesty International? We'll take a closer look.

Plus, accused wife killer Scott Peterson. Is there enough evidence against him? We'll hear from both sides of the story and miscarriage of justice.

A convicted murderer released early from prison only to be accused of killing again. That shocking story and much more still to come.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Saudi Arabia's announced 11 arrests in connection with this month's suicide bombings Riyadh. The interior minister says the arrests were made in the holy city of Medina. There are reports that one of the detainees is the alleged mastermind of the May 12 bombings.

Thirty-four people including eight Americans and nine suspected attackers were killed in the bombings. The U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Robert Jordan, today said it's likely there are other terror cells still operating in the country, probably tied to al Qaeda.

The Pentagon has acknowledged two more suicide attempts by detainees at the U.S. Naval base at Guantanamo bay in Cuba. Both attempts came in the past 10 days. In all 18 detainees have tried to kill themselves, some more than once. More than 600 prisoners are held at Guantanamo as suspects in the war against terrorism. The Pentagon has not identified them, charged them or allowed them access to lawyers. Some will face military trials.

Amnesty International today labeled the situation at Guantanamo, a, quote, and this is a direct quote, "a human rights scandal." In its annual report Amnesty says the search for security including the U.S. war on terror has made the world a more dangerous place. CNN's Robin Curnow has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBIN CURNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These Iraqis demonstrating some of the torture techniques used by Saddam Hussein's government. While the abuses under Saddam Hussein represent some of the more severe examples record, Amnesty International says human rights abuses are not only perpetrated by autocratic regimes.

In many ways, this year's Amnesty International report is a political condemnation of the way the war on terror is being handled.

IRENE KAHN, AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: The international agenda was driven by concerns of national and international security, by the war on terror and the war in Iraq. In the name of security, politics and profits, human rights were trampled the world over by governments, armed groups and corporate actors.

CURNOW: Amnesty International slamming the United States for its treatment of al Qaeda suspects imprisoned at Bagram in Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

And although human rights have improved in Afghanistan, the report is concerned about the tenuous security situation still evident, nearly 18 months after the fall of the Taliban. The very reason why Amnesty International is worried about post-conflict Iraq as well, calling on the U.S. and international community to not forget about the country now that the fighting is over, like they say has happened in Afghanistan.

Away from the headlines, Amnesty International also concerned about the loss of human rights and human lives in so-called forgotten conflicts, such as in Colombia, Chechnya, Nepal, Burundi and the Ivory Coast. Pointing out, too, the threat of genocide in the Congo.

The solution to this global insecurity? They say a greater reliance on international institutions such as the United Nations.

Robin Curnow, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Here in Washington, the State Department today responded to Amnesty International's accusations saying the United States has respected due process and international law and arguing that if anything, the war on terror has boosted respect for human rights around the world.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD BOUCHER, STATE DEPT. SPOKESMAN: We reject any criticism, any allegations that our human rights efforts have diminished. Amnesty International's particular charges are incorrect. There is solid, sustained international cooperation with the war on terrorism and the war on terrorism has not detracted from the strong and steadfast commitment to human rights and democracy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Here's your chance to weigh in on the story. "Our Web Question of the Day" is this, has the war on terror gone too far in sacrificing human rights? We'll have the results later in this broadcast, but you can vote right now, go to cnn.com/wolf.

While you're there I'd love to hear from you. Send me your comments. I'll try to read some of them on the air at the end of this program. That's also, of course, where you can read my daily online column. cnn.com/wolf.

The world view of the United States. Coming up, how people all around the globe look at the United States and President Bush right now. Some very surprising results in a new poll.

Also, former President Bill Clinton is speaking out on the latest Bush-proposed tax cut deal and the U.S. economy. Hear what he has to say. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: President Bush head to the G-8 summit in Avion, France on Friday with victory over Saddam Hussein and in his pocket and a soaring approval rating by the American public.

But do Europeans share the same enthusiasm for the president?

Our senior political analyst Bill Schneider reports on the results of a brand new poll.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST (voice-over): Here's a reporter asking the U.S. secretary of state and the French foreign minister how they would describe relations between the two countries.

DOMINIQUE DE VILLEPIN, FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTER: (SPEAKING IN FRENCH)

COLIN POWELL, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Excellent.

QUESTION: Excelante?

POWELL: Excellent.

SCHNEIDER: But if you ask the people you get a different picture. The Ipso (ph) polling organization did just that in eight countries last week.

Do people they think President Bush plays a positive role in world affairs? Americans certainly do, 72 percent.

Does anyone else? Not citizens of Britain and Canada, historically America's closest allies. Fewer than 40 percent in either country have a positive role of President Bush's role in the world. Italians think a little more highly of President Bush, but not much. And in the rest of Europe -- in Germany, France, Spain and Russia, fewer than one in four express an admiring opinion of President Bush.

MARTIN LINDNER, MEMBER OF BERLIN PARLIAMENT: Bush is too much Texas style for the most of the Europeans.

SCHNEIDER: Apparently so. Do people in the rest of the world believe the U.S. did the right thing by taking military action against Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq? Once again, Americans do, and so do most people in Britain. Canadians and Italians are split.

Other Europeans have issues. Fewer than 1 in 3 people in Germany, France and Spain think the U.S. did the right thing in Iraq. And in Russia, only 10 percent praised the U.S. for overthrowing Saddam Hussein.

Who says you can't quarrel with success?

JEFF GEDMIN, DIR. ASPEN INST. BERLIN: I don't think that this was about Iraq at all. I think this was about America. It's about power. It's about weakness. It's about resentment. It's about envy.

SCHNEIDER: People in other countries are agreed on one point: nobody can stop the U.S. from doing whatever it wants in the world. About two-thirds in every country say that's for sure.

Every country but one. Only half of Americans believe the U.S. is unstoppable in the world.

People in other countries are frustrated. Take the Russians. Over 70 percent say the U.S. has a strong influence on world affairs. Only 14 percent believe Russia does. How the mighty have fallen.

CAROLINE FETSCHER, COLUMNIST, DER TAGESPIEGEL: The European federation is not strong enough yet to come up with a creative foreign policy. As long as that's the case, we're going to have to live with the fact that the U.S. are doing it, no matter if we like it or not. That's the case.

(on camera): The message of this poll is they don't like it.

Bill Schneider, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: President Bush today signed the third biggest tax cut in U.S. history. He says the $350 billion measure will help create jobs. Democrats denounced it by and large as a windfall for the rich that will add to an already staggering federal deficit. And those pollsters we heard from Bill Schneider about probably didn't survey the former president Bill Clinton, but he's offering his opinion anyway. The former president was speaking today in a forum at the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston and had this to say about the Bush tax cut.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM J. CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I never talked to anybody, Republican or Democrat in my maximum tax bracket who believes in this stuff. I ask people all of the time. I beg people to make me one good argument for it and I can't find anybody with a straight face to defend it. But we all go on thinking that we're not supposed to question now and just line up and compromise the future of our country. When practical people find themselves in a hole, they stop digging. When idiological people find themselves in a hole, they ask for a bigger shovel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: The former president also added and I'm quoting now, "I'm at least acquainted with what it takes to run a good economy."

The weapons hunt in Iraq. The CIA thinks it's found some mobile labs, maybe.

Plus kids and condoms, the impact of handing them out at school.

And legal outrage, a convicted murderer sweet talks his way out of prison and then allegedly kills again. It's a shocking story. We'll have details, that, much more coming up in the next half hour of WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: While the search for a smoking still goes on in Iraq. U.S. intelligence agencies are arguing they have found something pretty close. Lets go live to are national security correspondent David Ensor. He's following this story -- David.

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, this isn't a smoking gun, but U.S. intelligence officials say it's pretty strong circumstantial evidence in their view of a program of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ENSOR (voice-over): While U.S. forces still haven't found any weapons of mass destruction, the new CIA-Pentagon report says officials are now confident the mysterious trucks filled with high- tech equipment found in Iraq are indeed mobile biological weapons production facilities, just as Secretary of State Powell predicted and presented to the United Nations before the war.

BOUCHER: It's very important to recognize that programs that we had said existed do exist.

ENSOR: Though no trace of biological toxin was found in the trucks, U.S. intelligence officials say they have largely eliminated any other possible use for the fermenters and other equipment. Not everyone is convinced.

JONATHAN TUCKER, BIOWEAPONS EXPERT, U.S. INSTITUTE OF PEACE: They could very well be biological weapons production facilities, but I don't think the intelligence community has made an open and shut case.

ENSOR: The CIA-Pentagon report admits the trucks were not an efficient way to produce biological weapons, but officials argue the point for the Iraqis was to produce some and not to be caught doing it.

TUCKER: This was clearly a very inefficient way to produce anthrax and the question is why did they invest such resources in a mobile facility if they could have simply hidden a fixed production facility in a very difficult to find location?

ENSOR: Some outside experts also argue that it is simply a mistake for the administration to have the U.S. military and the CIA doing the searching since, like it or not, the U.S. is not trusted on the matter by many around the world.

AMY SMITHSON, HENRY L. STIMSON CENTER: I have strongly urged in the past and will continue to urge this administration to include in this evaluation in the hunt, international inspectors.

ENSOR: The administration is urging patience, saying finding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq is likely to take time. Officials declined comment to reporters on whether any of the high-profile Iraqi weapons officials are talking, people like Huda Ammash known as Mrs. Anthrax.

SMITHSON: The people that were genuinely involved in this program are still probably scared out of their wits, not just for their own safety, but for the safety of their families.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ENSOR: U.S. intelligence officials say the trucks contain ingeniously simple bio weapons facilities that were cleaned up or possibly never used. Critics say that does nothing to prove what the Bush administration predicted before the war, that at least a hundred metric tons of weaponized, chemical and biological agents would be found in Iraq -- Wolf.

BLITZER: The search continues. David Ensor, thanks very much for that report.

Three U.S. soldiers were injured today when a convoy was attacked in Baghdad. Witness accounts confirmed by the Pentagon say an explosive device was tossed at a U.S. Humvee which then collided with a civilian vehicle. Ba'ath Party members are said to reside in the neighborhood where the attack took place.

A journalist advocacy group is disputing the Pentagon's account of a U.S. attack on a Baghdad hotel that killed two cameramen last month. A report by the Committee to Protect Journalists says the April 8 shelling of the Palestine Hotel was not deliberate, but was avoidable. It says there's no evidence to support the Pentagon's position that U.S. troops were responding to hostile fire from the hotel.

The British Prime Minister Tony Blair is beating (sic) with Kuwaiti leaders ahead of a visit to Iraq tomorrow. President Bush's closest ally in the war against Iraq, Mr. Blair, will meet with British troops and get a firsthand look at reconstruction efforts. Meantime, he's warning Iran and Syria not to meddle in Iraq's future. Secret tape recordings in the Laci Peterson murder case. Just ahead, the legal battle over recording phone conversations between Scott Peterson and his attorney.

Also, police get a possible break in that abandoned boy investigation in California. That's a case that's generating interest nationwide.

And later, a new chapter in the Chandra Levy case.

First, a look at some other news making headlines "Around the World."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): More fighting in Congo. Despite a declared cease-fire this month, rival tribal militias continue ethnic fighting in the northeast town. Officials say the death toll is nearing 400.

Crackdown in Peru. President Alejandro Toledo declared a state of siege and ordered riot police to break up strikes by farmers and government workers. Strikers are demanding lower taxes and higher wages.

Algeria's quake. An aftershock from the deadly earthquake that hit the country last week toppled a 15-story apartment building on the east coast. At least three people are believed to have been inside. More than 2,000 people were killed in last Wednesday's quake.

Sad homecoming in Spain. Grieving family members, along with King Juan Carlos and other officials take part in a state funeral for the 62 Spanish peacekeepers who were killed in a plane crash Monday. The plane carrying the peacekeepers back home from duty in Afghanistan crashed in Turkey killing all 75 people on board.

Nigeria braces for trouble. Security forces clamp down on the capital of Abuja on the eve of President Olusegun Obasanjo's swearing in for a second term. Opposition forces say last month's election was rigged. International monitors agree there was widespread fraud, but do not question the outcome.

Everest helicopter crash. A helicopter crashed near the base camp of Mount Everest killing two people and injuring six others. The accident happened on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the first conquest of the world's tallest mountain in 1953 by Sir Edmund Hillary and guide Tenzing Norgay.

Rock stars appeal. Irish singer Bob Geldof is calling for a marshal plan for Africa. The Live Aid founder is in Ethiopia to raise awareness about a looming famine in the country. His visit comes almost 20 years after he staged the world's biggest rock concert to help Africa's starving people in 1985.

And that's our look "Around the World."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: There's a break in the California case involving a small boy found wandering the streets of Bakersfield last week. Police say they received a call from a woman claiming to be the boy's mother. Speaking in Spanish, the woman gave physical descriptions of the toddler and asked police to find him a good home. She also said the boy's name is Jesus Perez Flores. The boy who told police his name was Mateo remains in foster care.

A chapter ends in the Chandra Levy murder case. The former Washington intern was buried yesterday more than a year after her remains were discovered in a Washington D.C. park. Dozens of relatives and friends gathered in Modesto, California for the burial which was held days after Levy's remains were released by a medical examiner. Levy disappeared in 2001. The case of course drew national attention because of her relationship with the former Congressman Gary Condit.

There's a new development in the murder case of Laci Peterson, another case that's captivating much of the country. As we reported yesterday a California judge ordered police to turn over records of hundreds of phone calls by Laci's husband Scott who's charged with killing her and their unborn child. The judge also met behind closed doors with prosecution and defense attorneys.

We now know that part of the meeting focused on defense claims that those police tapes were made illegally. CNN's Elaine Quijano is joining now us live from Modesto with more on this part of the story -- Elaine.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Wolf.

Well, earlier today I had the opportunity to speak briefly with Kirk McCallister. He, of course, the former lead attorney for Scott Peterson. And he confirmed that in fact the defense team had received the recordings and the documentation related to those 69 intercepted phone conversations between him and Scott Peterson.

According to some new papers also filed yesterday by the defense, Kirk McCallister also alleges that weeks ago a deputy district attorney told him about the intercept and assured him that the frivolous communications with Scott Peterson himself were not reported, were not listed, too.

However, prosecutors have said that of those 69 intercepted phone calls, that portions of two were actually monitored and were recorded. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) the defense wanted the chance to question members of the prosecution team about that, as well as the investigators who actually conducted the wiretap. And it's not clear right now whether in fact that took place during that in-camera hearing.

But according to the newly-released documents, we do know that the corner and a detective for the Modesto Police Department were in fact there for that portion of the hearing. We are still awaiting word on whether or not the judge plans to unseal the search warrant and autopsy results on Laci Peterson and her unborn son Connor -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Elaine Quijano in Modesto for us. Thanks, Elaine, very much.

And joining us now with their takes on this important case, two high-profile attorneys. The Court TV anchor Eddie Hays and the former federal prosecutor Wendy Murphy. Thanks to both of you for joining us.

Eddie, first of all to you. What do you make of this whole dispute over the wiretaps of conversations between Scott Peterson and his first attorney, Kirk McCallister?

EDDIE HAYS, ANCHOR, COURT TV: Well, traditionally, that has been an absolutely forbidden thing. You can't -- you're -- under no circumstances are you supposed to listen to a conversation between a lawyer and his client. That's the very foundation of a man's right to counsel.

So that's a shocking development if true. And even if they say well, we -- we recorded them, but we really didn't listen, or something like that, I mean that's silly. If they recorded them, somebody listened.

BLITZER: All right, what about that, Wendy?

WENDY MURPHY, FRM. FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: You know, the very nature of wiretaps is such that obviously, the police and prosecutors have permission to listen in on his phone calls. And you can't predict who's going to call him. So you can't help, but listen in on irrelevant personal phone calls and sometimes even privileged phone calls.

The law in California is very clear that they're not forbidden to listen. They just have to minimize the encroachment. And so when they recognize that it is his lawyer on the phone they're supposed to stop the wiretap. They're allowed to call back in a couple of minutes later to see whether the phone call is over. And if it isn't they have to hang up again.

I mean it's the nature of the beast that sometimes you have to encroach a tiny bit on privileged relationships. But if the judge issued authorization for a wiretap, they certainly had the lawful right to be there. I don't see this as leading anywhere for the defense.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: ... I want you to respond to that. But does it make any difference if police are listening in as opposed to lawyers, the prosecution attorneys?

HAYNES: No, that doesn't make any difference. The issue is to me is whether they recorded the conversation. If they recorded the conversation, that's not minimizing it.

BLITZER: And what where you going to say about this whole notion that this potentially could be a huge blow to the prosecution?

HAYNES: I doubt that because I think that probably, they did -- unless they're complete and utter fools, which I doubt because they had to know that people would find out about these wiretaps and that they were intercepting these phone calls -- they probably just made a small mistake and maybe didn't minimize it as much as they should.

But I doubt very much that they did something that's really terrible.

MURPHY: Well, and, Wolf, I think what's important to remember here is that the remedy, if they even listened to a couple of minutes too much information or if they stayed on a tiny bit too long, the remedy is that that amount of information won't be usable. And it sounds like whatever amount of information that is, it's hardly going to lead to any significant effect...

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Wendy, we see a lot of Mark Geragos raising this notion that there's a killer or killers still at large. They're looking and asking for tips. He's showing up at court with the relatives, the parents of Scott Peterson. You're smiling, why?

MURPHY: Because, you know, this kind of show boating, this dog and pony show that some defense attorneys put on when the cameras are rolling, I just find it just plainly offensive. I think it's unethical. I don't like it.

The fact that Mark Geragos is making this crazy statements is designed to influence the potential jury pool. And lawyers aren't supposed to do that. Lawyers involved in cases are not supposed to make statements that will have an impact on the future fact finding in this case. And Mark Geragos knows that.

Now, you know what's really difficult for me as a former prosecutor to accept is that while Mark's doing all of this nonsense about, you know, voodooism and satanic cults the prosecution can't stand up at the microphone right next to him and say, look, that's nonsense. Let me tell you what the evidence shows. Because they could suffer a dismissal motion by the defense. They could get in trouble with the judge for violating his due process rights, you know, for generating too much pretrial publicity.

So the prosecutor is really -- their hands are tied where Mark Geragos can't sit for any punishment for what he's doing, even though he deserves it.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Eddie, the prosecution early on said this was a slam dunk, this case. Doesn't that prejudice the public at large? HAYNES: I think so. I mean, to me, they do -- first of all, just by saying that and putting the weight of the state behind it is terribly prejudicial. Second, this prosecution, like prosecutors all across the country leak like crazy.

So with all due respect to my co-expert here, I don't agree with her in the slightest. The fact is is that a person under these circumstances is entitled to a vigorous defense in the courtroom and in the media because in modern American life you're tried both in the courtroom and in the television and in the newspapers and...

MURPHY: That's not the law.

(CROSSTALK)

HAYNES: First of all, I'm entitled to say what I want to say.

So it seems to me that if he doesn't do that, he's not serving his client because for certain, when a prosecutor stood up there and said it's a slam dunk, he was trying him in the eyes of this community.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: You have the last word, Wendy. Make it brief.

MURPHY: Eddie, you're not entitled to misstate the rules. The fact is the prosecutor shouldn't have said it was a slam dunk, you're right. But the solution to that is not to have the defense go into the media and make crazy statements that are completely untrue, that are designed to poison the jury pool because the public is entitled to fairness, too.

Laci's family is entitled to fairness and they sure aren't getting that from the Mark Geragos or the silence of the prosecution.

BLITZER: All right. Unfortunately, we're going to leave it there. But a good debate. We'll have you both back. Thanks very much, Eddie Hays and Wendy Murphy.

The outrage over the early release from prison of a convicted killer who police now say has killed again. It's a shocking story. We'll bring it to you right after this quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: A defense attorney calls it his worst nightmare. A convicted murderer is released from prison before serving his full sentence and then a nightmare becomes reality.

It happened last week.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): Michael Sears was determined to prove he was no longer a threat. His psychiatrist backed him up. Sears was serving a 30-year sentence for the self-confessed 1992 killing of his wife in Clinton, Maryland.

But after a relentless campaign that included a letter from his psychiatrist saying Sears was unlikely to commit such violence again, the judge in this case got him released. He served less than nine years.

Maryland is the only state that allows unchecked judicial reconsideration, allowing judges to reduce prison terms at any time after sentencing. Those favoring the rule say it gives convicts incentive to behave in prison and enables judges to release prisoners if new evidence comes to light.

At some point after his release, Michael Sears befriended a woman named Darlene Williamson. Last week Williamson, a mother of four, was found stabbed to death at a condominium in Greenbelt, Maryland. The official resident of that condo, the man now charged with her murder, Michael Sears.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Today the judge in the case, Retired Prince Georges County Circuit Court Judge Joseph Cassoula (ph) issued a statement to the news media. Cassoula called the case -- and I'm quoting now -- "a judge's worst nightmare," but he noted that Maryland parole boards and the facility where Michael Sears was held, the Patuxent Institution made what Judge Cassoula called the final decision on whether to release Sears.

The psychiatrist, by the way, who wrote a letter on Michael Sears behalf, Neil Blumberg had a two-word response to an article in "The Washington Post" -- and I'm quoting now -- "my goodness." He was pretty surprised.

Sears' defense attorney, who persuaded Judge Cassoula to reduce the sentence, told the quote -- told "The Post" -- and again I'm quoting -- "I'm very saddened. It makes me sick as a defense attorney. As a defense attorney, it's your worst nightmare."

Let's get some perspective on this shocking case. Glenn Ivey is the Prince Georges County, Maryland, State Attorney. It doesn't get much more shocking than this. How could this happen?

GLENN IVEY, PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY STATE'S ATTORNEY: Well, as you mentioned in the lead-in, in Maryland there's a procedure to reduce sentences that was done here and the judge shaved it down from 30 years -- the original sentence from 30 years to 20 years and then he was paroled after nine as the quote from the judge indicates by the parole probation people.

BLITZER: And then he goes out and allegedly kills another woman. How often does this happen as far as you know?

IVEY: Well, you mean, to reconsider...

BLITZER: In Maryland, when some body reduces a long sentence for murder and then somebody goes out, is released and they murder again? IVEY: Well, this is the first one that I can think of off the top of my head where you had some one who's, you know, under these exact circumstances. I think it is a concern. You do have people that come out and commit other crimes.

BLITZER: Maryland is the only state that gives the judge this kind of discretion. Is it time for Maryland to rethink this law?

IVEY: I hope so. It's something that myself and other prosecutors from around the state have hoped the general assembly will reconsider and impose some sort of constraint on this ability to reduce sentences.

BLITZER: The argument they make, those who support the law, say it gives the judge the flexibility to reduce the sentence if new evidence, for example, comes up.

IVEY: Well, all of the courts in other states and in the federal system have ways to do that as well. So, for example, you know, you can have new evidence presented. There are ways to have that addressed in other courts without sort of this unlimited power that we have in Maryland that they're giving the judges.

BLITZER: So you're going to go forward now and try this guy again?

IVEY: Yes, we're completing the investigation, still, but it looks like that's going to be the way it goes, yes.

BLITZER: Glenn Ivey, thanks for spending some time with us. A shocking, shocking case.

IVEY: Thank you.

BLITZER: Appreciate it very much.

We have much more news coming up, including our "Web Question of the Day." The results are coming in. "Has the war on terror gone too far in sacrificing human rights?" You can still vote. Go to cnn.com/wolf. We'll have the results immediately when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Now here's how you're weighing in on our "Web Question of the Day." Remember, we've been asking you this: "Has the war on terror gone too far in sacrificing human rights?" Look at this: 73 percent of you say yes, 27 percent of you say no. You can find the exact vote tally, continue to vote, by the way, on our Web site, cnn.com/wolf. As always, we tell you this: this is not a scientific poll.

Time to hear directly from you and read some of your e-mail. Yesterday's Web question asked if the United States should pursue regime change in Iran.

Henry writes this: "Yes, America must tell the world that any country that harbors terrorists will be lit up at high noon. This will end terrorist attacks against America's homelands and interests."

Ann disagrees: "The United States should pursue regime change in the United States before it tries to liberate any more countries."

On another story we brought you, R.G. from Ontario, Canada sends this: "It's interesting that such a fuss is being made in the U.S. on the decriminalization of marijuana possession in Canada. There are 11 U.S. states that currently have laws that do not count possession of pot as a criminal offense. If that's the case, then why the near hysteria about the issue from the U.S. government and media?"

(NEWSBREAK)

BLITZER: A reminder, you can always watch WOLF BLITZER REPORTS weekdays at this time, 5 p.m. Eastern, 2 p.m. Pacific. I'll see you tomorrow.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired May 28, 2003 - 17:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Back to Baton Rouge. Arrested in Atlanta, a suspected serial killer faces justice in Louisiana as police take a fresh look at unsolved rapes and murders around the country.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've got a lot of work left to do. We've got a lot of pieces left in the puzzle we've got to put together.

BLITZER: Is something wrong with justice in Maryland? He murdered his wife but persuaded a judge to shorten his prison term. Now he's accused of killing his girlfriend.

Germ warfare labs on wheels? U.S. intelligence can't come up with another explanation for these Iraqi trucks.

Has the war in Iraq actually harmed the human rights effort? Amnesty International takes aim.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a case of throwing the baby out with the Ba'ath Party.

ANNOUNCER: CNN live this hour -- WOLF BLITZER REPORTS, live from the national's capital. With correspondents from around the world, WOLF BLITZER REPORTS starts now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: It's Wednesday, May 28, 2003. Hello from Washington. I'm Wolf Blitzer.

The prime suspect in a string of five murders in Louisiana is in police custody there after a stunning capture last night in Atlanta, and now law enforcement authorities in many parts of the country are taking a closer look at several unsolved rapes and murders.

We have reporters and analysts covering these dramatic developments. Jennifer Coggiola is in Atlanta, Art Harris is in Baton Rouge, and former FBI investigator Don Clark -- he's joining us from Houston. Let's begin with Jennifer with the latest developments -- Jennifer.

JENNIFER COGGIOLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Wolf. Well, after spending the night in this Fulton County jail, Lee spent a brief two minutes in court this morning. He appeared quiet, almost subdued, in his blue jump suit as the judge read his convictions. Lee was then given to Louisiana officials, who were eagerly awaiting to get their suspect back.

The suspect spent quite a week in Atlanta that appeared normal -- authorities saying he possibly worked construction jobs for cash. Local residents at the motor lodge where he was staying said that he appeared charming and friendly. He cooked barbeque and even started a Bible study group, never suspecting that he was actually a wanted man.

Despite all this today, and Louisiana law enforcement officials all saying that they are considering the chance that his DNA could lead to more than these five cases.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As the investigation unfolds, now that we have apprehended Mr. Lee, what will happen now is we'll try to identify every city, every place that this individual has been. Try to link any unsolved murders that may have been accomplished by this individual and then, through DNA analysis, hopefully bring some closure to some of these unsolved murders.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COGGIOLI: Wolf, I just want to add we spoke to a spokesperson from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation who said as of right now, his DNA does not match any of the 7,000 DNA evidence in their database. They still have 400, though, that have not been accounted for yet -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Jennifer Coggiola in Atlanta.

Lee spent part of his time on the run at a motel in southwest Atlanta, where he made friends, apparently, rather quickly.

CNN's Jason Bellini has that part of the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON BELLINI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Atlanta police picked up Derrick Todd Lee outside of an Atlanta tire dealership. A woman saw the authorities handcuff him and take him away.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He didn't know where he was going to stay the night.

BELLINI: Lee did not avoid people. He did not maintain a low profile here in Atlanta. In fact, he made a strong impression on residents of this $135 a week hotel in Atlanta, where he stayed until Monday morning.

BELLINI (on camera): Just ask the hotel manager.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's a good preacher. That is how people make friendship and everything.

BELLINI (voice-over): Vallerie Ann Thwaites says he charmed the neighbors. Within a few days, he knew just about everyone.

VALLERIE ANN THWAITES: He was my friend. He said he was from Mississippi, and he and his wife were having problems. He was in very good health. He's 38-years-old -- very gorgeous black dude.

BELLINI: Lee manned the barbecue at a birthday party for the hotel's manager last Sunday.

THWAITES: We cooked. His fingerprints were here. He said close it because the smoke was in his eyes -- because we had the grills side by side.

BELLINI: And Lee, many here say, was not discreet and really not bad at meeting women.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) 11:00.

BELLINI: 11:00 at night?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. She left in the morning at 5:00...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: According to Thwaites and other neighbors, he also aggressively pursued hotel resident Tammy Hill.

TAMMY HILL: He scared me.

BELLINI: But he liked you.

HILL: I know, but ...

BELLINI: He tried to ask you out?

HILL: Yes. He actually asked if he could come visit me a couple of times over here, and I was, like, no, because I went by him.

THWAITES: He had a really bad infatuation with her. He wanted her.

BELLINI: How do you know?

THWAITES: He wanted her.

BELLINI: How do you know?

THWAITES: Because he told me. We were best friends. And he said, I want her, but she thinks she's too good for me.

BELLINI: Authorities traced Lee to the hotel when he used the hotel manager's cell phone. He fled before the FBI arrived. Now in custody, the authorities hope they'll get to know the real Derrick Todd Lee.

Jason Bellini, CNN, Atlanta. (END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Now in Baton Rouge, where Lee arrived in an FBI jet a few hours ago. Art Harris is following that part of the story -- Art.

ART HARRIS, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, I'm told police are interrogating him right now at a secret location, and we'll bring him here to the jail soon to book him.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS (voice-over): A small FBI plane flew accused serial killer Derrick Lee back home again and into the custody of Louisiana authorities.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've got a lot of work left to do. We've got a lot of pieces left in the puzzle we've got to put together, but we're committed to doing that because we have the obligation to do that.

HARRIS: An obligation to speak for the dead. Five women in Baton Rouge raped and murdered, say police, over the last two years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They are unable to speak for themselves. So this task force spoke for them and spoke loudly.

HARRIS: Police say Lee is also under investigation in connection with at least two other unsolved murders in the area. Security will be tight, with emotions running high from relief to anger, say police, while Lee waits behind bars in the East Baton Rouge jail for his first appearance in court.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Again, Wolf, Lee is currently being interrogated somewhere else, and sources tell us that if he doesn't arrive here soon, that could mean he is talking.

Back to you -- Wolf.

All right. Art Harris in baton rouge, thanks very much.

BLITZER: All right. Art Harris in Baton Rouge, thanks very much.

Joining me now from Houston to talk about these quick and rather surprising developments is the former FBI agent Don Clark. We spoke yesterday, 24 hours ago before the capture. Now we're speaking again.

All these unsolved rapes and murders. Talk a little bit about what law enforcement authorities in many parts of the country are doing right now to see if Lee might have been responsible.

DON CLARK, FORMER FBI AGENT: Well, you know, Wolf, what they are really doing is that they are looking through every one of their cases. This is an event that the law enforcement personnel who have been involved in these type of killings where you cannot find a person responsible for it. This is what they live for -- one break in the case that maybe they can go back, revisit their circumstances and see if, as to what they know at this point what Lee has done, if any of this fits.

But nonetheless, whether it fits or not, I suspect they'll be going to the authorities in Baton Rouge, Louisiana saying, "We'd like for you to compare and see if this guy is responsible for any killings in another area."

BLITZER: I assume that means they have his DNA in Baton Rouge. Will other law enforcement authorities be asking for samples of that to match with DNA that they might have?

CLARK: I think what they'll have to do, Wolf, and in my experience in the past is there are two things at play here. First of all is the people who have killings that they can identify. They're going to have to come to them for information, but they also need to realize that right now the primary focus is on Baton Rouge and the authorities in that area trying to put together their case. So they've got to be careful not to disrupt that, but at the same time, I'm sure that the Baton Rouge authorities will make sure they can develop some type of way and some type of plan that, hopefully, they can aid these other investigative agencies.

BLITZER: We heard from Art Harris that they now have him -- the Baton Rouge authorities. Presumably, they'd like him to talk. I assume they read him his Miranda rights.

Talk about behind the scenes. What might be happening right now?

CLARK: First of all, certainly they want him to talk and if he is talking, you can bet that they will have Mirandized him very well to make sure they're not going to lose anything that he may provide them. This is where some of the input, Wolf, can play from some of the other agencies because while there will be a small group of people designated to interview him based on the cases that they have in Baton Rouge, they can also input questions from other areas that may facilitate some of the investigation from police departments around the country.

BLITZER: This seemed like a classic case of finding this guy. When we spoke yesterday, 24 hours ago, it didn't take very long for someone to nail this guy, to find him, the police, FBI to get on the scene and capture him. You were not surprised given the wide publicity this case that it came down that quickly?

CLARK: No. I'm not surprised because this is the thing that we talked about yesterday, Wolf, is that if we can use all of the resources that are available to us -- and again, I'll stress to include the media and working with families, working with friends, they can come up with this information.

Now We understand that there was information that came through an FBI tip line. We don't know whether it came from a relative or whatever. But wherever it came from, I suspect that the force is in play, the media, the law enforcement really covering leads probably generated that tip to come in.

BLITZER: Don Clark, the former FBI, agent as usual, thanks very much for joining us.

CLARK: My pleasure, Wolf.

BLITZER: September 11 changed the world, but has the war on terror trampled on human rights as alleged today by Amnesty International? We'll take a closer look.

Plus, accused wife killer Scott Peterson. Is there enough evidence against him? We'll hear from both sides of the story and miscarriage of justice.

A convicted murderer released early from prison only to be accused of killing again. That shocking story and much more still to come.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Saudi Arabia's announced 11 arrests in connection with this month's suicide bombings Riyadh. The interior minister says the arrests were made in the holy city of Medina. There are reports that one of the detainees is the alleged mastermind of the May 12 bombings.

Thirty-four people including eight Americans and nine suspected attackers were killed in the bombings. The U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Robert Jordan, today said it's likely there are other terror cells still operating in the country, probably tied to al Qaeda.

The Pentagon has acknowledged two more suicide attempts by detainees at the U.S. Naval base at Guantanamo bay in Cuba. Both attempts came in the past 10 days. In all 18 detainees have tried to kill themselves, some more than once. More than 600 prisoners are held at Guantanamo as suspects in the war against terrorism. The Pentagon has not identified them, charged them or allowed them access to lawyers. Some will face military trials.

Amnesty International today labeled the situation at Guantanamo, a, quote, and this is a direct quote, "a human rights scandal." In its annual report Amnesty says the search for security including the U.S. war on terror has made the world a more dangerous place. CNN's Robin Curnow has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBIN CURNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These Iraqis demonstrating some of the torture techniques used by Saddam Hussein's government. While the abuses under Saddam Hussein represent some of the more severe examples record, Amnesty International says human rights abuses are not only perpetrated by autocratic regimes.

In many ways, this year's Amnesty International report is a political condemnation of the way the war on terror is being handled.

IRENE KAHN, AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: The international agenda was driven by concerns of national and international security, by the war on terror and the war in Iraq. In the name of security, politics and profits, human rights were trampled the world over by governments, armed groups and corporate actors.

CURNOW: Amnesty International slamming the United States for its treatment of al Qaeda suspects imprisoned at Bagram in Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

And although human rights have improved in Afghanistan, the report is concerned about the tenuous security situation still evident, nearly 18 months after the fall of the Taliban. The very reason why Amnesty International is worried about post-conflict Iraq as well, calling on the U.S. and international community to not forget about the country now that the fighting is over, like they say has happened in Afghanistan.

Away from the headlines, Amnesty International also concerned about the loss of human rights and human lives in so-called forgotten conflicts, such as in Colombia, Chechnya, Nepal, Burundi and the Ivory Coast. Pointing out, too, the threat of genocide in the Congo.

The solution to this global insecurity? They say a greater reliance on international institutions such as the United Nations.

Robin Curnow, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Here in Washington, the State Department today responded to Amnesty International's accusations saying the United States has respected due process and international law and arguing that if anything, the war on terror has boosted respect for human rights around the world.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD BOUCHER, STATE DEPT. SPOKESMAN: We reject any criticism, any allegations that our human rights efforts have diminished. Amnesty International's particular charges are incorrect. There is solid, sustained international cooperation with the war on terrorism and the war on terrorism has not detracted from the strong and steadfast commitment to human rights and democracy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Here's your chance to weigh in on the story. "Our Web Question of the Day" is this, has the war on terror gone too far in sacrificing human rights? We'll have the results later in this broadcast, but you can vote right now, go to cnn.com/wolf.

While you're there I'd love to hear from you. Send me your comments. I'll try to read some of them on the air at the end of this program. That's also, of course, where you can read my daily online column. cnn.com/wolf.

The world view of the United States. Coming up, how people all around the globe look at the United States and President Bush right now. Some very surprising results in a new poll.

Also, former President Bill Clinton is speaking out on the latest Bush-proposed tax cut deal and the U.S. economy. Hear what he has to say. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: President Bush head to the G-8 summit in Avion, France on Friday with victory over Saddam Hussein and in his pocket and a soaring approval rating by the American public.

But do Europeans share the same enthusiasm for the president?

Our senior political analyst Bill Schneider reports on the results of a brand new poll.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST (voice-over): Here's a reporter asking the U.S. secretary of state and the French foreign minister how they would describe relations between the two countries.

DOMINIQUE DE VILLEPIN, FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTER: (SPEAKING IN FRENCH)

COLIN POWELL, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Excellent.

QUESTION: Excelante?

POWELL: Excellent.

SCHNEIDER: But if you ask the people you get a different picture. The Ipso (ph) polling organization did just that in eight countries last week.

Do people they think President Bush plays a positive role in world affairs? Americans certainly do, 72 percent.

Does anyone else? Not citizens of Britain and Canada, historically America's closest allies. Fewer than 40 percent in either country have a positive role of President Bush's role in the world. Italians think a little more highly of President Bush, but not much. And in the rest of Europe -- in Germany, France, Spain and Russia, fewer than one in four express an admiring opinion of President Bush.

MARTIN LINDNER, MEMBER OF BERLIN PARLIAMENT: Bush is too much Texas style for the most of the Europeans.

SCHNEIDER: Apparently so. Do people in the rest of the world believe the U.S. did the right thing by taking military action against Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq? Once again, Americans do, and so do most people in Britain. Canadians and Italians are split.

Other Europeans have issues. Fewer than 1 in 3 people in Germany, France and Spain think the U.S. did the right thing in Iraq. And in Russia, only 10 percent praised the U.S. for overthrowing Saddam Hussein.

Who says you can't quarrel with success?

JEFF GEDMIN, DIR. ASPEN INST. BERLIN: I don't think that this was about Iraq at all. I think this was about America. It's about power. It's about weakness. It's about resentment. It's about envy.

SCHNEIDER: People in other countries are agreed on one point: nobody can stop the U.S. from doing whatever it wants in the world. About two-thirds in every country say that's for sure.

Every country but one. Only half of Americans believe the U.S. is unstoppable in the world.

People in other countries are frustrated. Take the Russians. Over 70 percent say the U.S. has a strong influence on world affairs. Only 14 percent believe Russia does. How the mighty have fallen.

CAROLINE FETSCHER, COLUMNIST, DER TAGESPIEGEL: The European federation is not strong enough yet to come up with a creative foreign policy. As long as that's the case, we're going to have to live with the fact that the U.S. are doing it, no matter if we like it or not. That's the case.

(on camera): The message of this poll is they don't like it.

Bill Schneider, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: President Bush today signed the third biggest tax cut in U.S. history. He says the $350 billion measure will help create jobs. Democrats denounced it by and large as a windfall for the rich that will add to an already staggering federal deficit. And those pollsters we heard from Bill Schneider about probably didn't survey the former president Bill Clinton, but he's offering his opinion anyway. The former president was speaking today in a forum at the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston and had this to say about the Bush tax cut.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM J. CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I never talked to anybody, Republican or Democrat in my maximum tax bracket who believes in this stuff. I ask people all of the time. I beg people to make me one good argument for it and I can't find anybody with a straight face to defend it. But we all go on thinking that we're not supposed to question now and just line up and compromise the future of our country. When practical people find themselves in a hole, they stop digging. When idiological people find themselves in a hole, they ask for a bigger shovel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: The former president also added and I'm quoting now, "I'm at least acquainted with what it takes to run a good economy."

The weapons hunt in Iraq. The CIA thinks it's found some mobile labs, maybe.

Plus kids and condoms, the impact of handing them out at school.

And legal outrage, a convicted murderer sweet talks his way out of prison and then allegedly kills again. It's a shocking story. We'll have details, that, much more coming up in the next half hour of WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: While the search for a smoking still goes on in Iraq. U.S. intelligence agencies are arguing they have found something pretty close. Lets go live to are national security correspondent David Ensor. He's following this story -- David.

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, this isn't a smoking gun, but U.S. intelligence officials say it's pretty strong circumstantial evidence in their view of a program of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ENSOR (voice-over): While U.S. forces still haven't found any weapons of mass destruction, the new CIA-Pentagon report says officials are now confident the mysterious trucks filled with high- tech equipment found in Iraq are indeed mobile biological weapons production facilities, just as Secretary of State Powell predicted and presented to the United Nations before the war.

BOUCHER: It's very important to recognize that programs that we had said existed do exist.

ENSOR: Though no trace of biological toxin was found in the trucks, U.S. intelligence officials say they have largely eliminated any other possible use for the fermenters and other equipment. Not everyone is convinced.

JONATHAN TUCKER, BIOWEAPONS EXPERT, U.S. INSTITUTE OF PEACE: They could very well be biological weapons production facilities, but I don't think the intelligence community has made an open and shut case.

ENSOR: The CIA-Pentagon report admits the trucks were not an efficient way to produce biological weapons, but officials argue the point for the Iraqis was to produce some and not to be caught doing it.

TUCKER: This was clearly a very inefficient way to produce anthrax and the question is why did they invest such resources in a mobile facility if they could have simply hidden a fixed production facility in a very difficult to find location?

ENSOR: Some outside experts also argue that it is simply a mistake for the administration to have the U.S. military and the CIA doing the searching since, like it or not, the U.S. is not trusted on the matter by many around the world.

AMY SMITHSON, HENRY L. STIMSON CENTER: I have strongly urged in the past and will continue to urge this administration to include in this evaluation in the hunt, international inspectors.

ENSOR: The administration is urging patience, saying finding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq is likely to take time. Officials declined comment to reporters on whether any of the high-profile Iraqi weapons officials are talking, people like Huda Ammash known as Mrs. Anthrax.

SMITHSON: The people that were genuinely involved in this program are still probably scared out of their wits, not just for their own safety, but for the safety of their families.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ENSOR: U.S. intelligence officials say the trucks contain ingeniously simple bio weapons facilities that were cleaned up or possibly never used. Critics say that does nothing to prove what the Bush administration predicted before the war, that at least a hundred metric tons of weaponized, chemical and biological agents would be found in Iraq -- Wolf.

BLITZER: The search continues. David Ensor, thanks very much for that report.

Three U.S. soldiers were injured today when a convoy was attacked in Baghdad. Witness accounts confirmed by the Pentagon say an explosive device was tossed at a U.S. Humvee which then collided with a civilian vehicle. Ba'ath Party members are said to reside in the neighborhood where the attack took place.

A journalist advocacy group is disputing the Pentagon's account of a U.S. attack on a Baghdad hotel that killed two cameramen last month. A report by the Committee to Protect Journalists says the April 8 shelling of the Palestine Hotel was not deliberate, but was avoidable. It says there's no evidence to support the Pentagon's position that U.S. troops were responding to hostile fire from the hotel.

The British Prime Minister Tony Blair is beating (sic) with Kuwaiti leaders ahead of a visit to Iraq tomorrow. President Bush's closest ally in the war against Iraq, Mr. Blair, will meet with British troops and get a firsthand look at reconstruction efforts. Meantime, he's warning Iran and Syria not to meddle in Iraq's future. Secret tape recordings in the Laci Peterson murder case. Just ahead, the legal battle over recording phone conversations between Scott Peterson and his attorney.

Also, police get a possible break in that abandoned boy investigation in California. That's a case that's generating interest nationwide.

And later, a new chapter in the Chandra Levy case.

First, a look at some other news making headlines "Around the World."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): More fighting in Congo. Despite a declared cease-fire this month, rival tribal militias continue ethnic fighting in the northeast town. Officials say the death toll is nearing 400.

Crackdown in Peru. President Alejandro Toledo declared a state of siege and ordered riot police to break up strikes by farmers and government workers. Strikers are demanding lower taxes and higher wages.

Algeria's quake. An aftershock from the deadly earthquake that hit the country last week toppled a 15-story apartment building on the east coast. At least three people are believed to have been inside. More than 2,000 people were killed in last Wednesday's quake.

Sad homecoming in Spain. Grieving family members, along with King Juan Carlos and other officials take part in a state funeral for the 62 Spanish peacekeepers who were killed in a plane crash Monday. The plane carrying the peacekeepers back home from duty in Afghanistan crashed in Turkey killing all 75 people on board.

Nigeria braces for trouble. Security forces clamp down on the capital of Abuja on the eve of President Olusegun Obasanjo's swearing in for a second term. Opposition forces say last month's election was rigged. International monitors agree there was widespread fraud, but do not question the outcome.

Everest helicopter crash. A helicopter crashed near the base camp of Mount Everest killing two people and injuring six others. The accident happened on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the first conquest of the world's tallest mountain in 1953 by Sir Edmund Hillary and guide Tenzing Norgay.

Rock stars appeal. Irish singer Bob Geldof is calling for a marshal plan for Africa. The Live Aid founder is in Ethiopia to raise awareness about a looming famine in the country. His visit comes almost 20 years after he staged the world's biggest rock concert to help Africa's starving people in 1985.

And that's our look "Around the World."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: There's a break in the California case involving a small boy found wandering the streets of Bakersfield last week. Police say they received a call from a woman claiming to be the boy's mother. Speaking in Spanish, the woman gave physical descriptions of the toddler and asked police to find him a good home. She also said the boy's name is Jesus Perez Flores. The boy who told police his name was Mateo remains in foster care.

A chapter ends in the Chandra Levy murder case. The former Washington intern was buried yesterday more than a year after her remains were discovered in a Washington D.C. park. Dozens of relatives and friends gathered in Modesto, California for the burial which was held days after Levy's remains were released by a medical examiner. Levy disappeared in 2001. The case of course drew national attention because of her relationship with the former Congressman Gary Condit.

There's a new development in the murder case of Laci Peterson, another case that's captivating much of the country. As we reported yesterday a California judge ordered police to turn over records of hundreds of phone calls by Laci's husband Scott who's charged with killing her and their unborn child. The judge also met behind closed doors with prosecution and defense attorneys.

We now know that part of the meeting focused on defense claims that those police tapes were made illegally. CNN's Elaine Quijano is joining now us live from Modesto with more on this part of the story -- Elaine.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Wolf.

Well, earlier today I had the opportunity to speak briefly with Kirk McCallister. He, of course, the former lead attorney for Scott Peterson. And he confirmed that in fact the defense team had received the recordings and the documentation related to those 69 intercepted phone conversations between him and Scott Peterson.

According to some new papers also filed yesterday by the defense, Kirk McCallister also alleges that weeks ago a deputy district attorney told him about the intercept and assured him that the frivolous communications with Scott Peterson himself were not reported, were not listed, too.

However, prosecutors have said that of those 69 intercepted phone calls, that portions of two were actually monitored and were recorded. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) the defense wanted the chance to question members of the prosecution team about that, as well as the investigators who actually conducted the wiretap. And it's not clear right now whether in fact that took place during that in-camera hearing.

But according to the newly-released documents, we do know that the corner and a detective for the Modesto Police Department were in fact there for that portion of the hearing. We are still awaiting word on whether or not the judge plans to unseal the search warrant and autopsy results on Laci Peterson and her unborn son Connor -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Elaine Quijano in Modesto for us. Thanks, Elaine, very much.

And joining us now with their takes on this important case, two high-profile attorneys. The Court TV anchor Eddie Hays and the former federal prosecutor Wendy Murphy. Thanks to both of you for joining us.

Eddie, first of all to you. What do you make of this whole dispute over the wiretaps of conversations between Scott Peterson and his first attorney, Kirk McCallister?

EDDIE HAYS, ANCHOR, COURT TV: Well, traditionally, that has been an absolutely forbidden thing. You can't -- you're -- under no circumstances are you supposed to listen to a conversation between a lawyer and his client. That's the very foundation of a man's right to counsel.

So that's a shocking development if true. And even if they say well, we -- we recorded them, but we really didn't listen, or something like that, I mean that's silly. If they recorded them, somebody listened.

BLITZER: All right, what about that, Wendy?

WENDY MURPHY, FRM. FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: You know, the very nature of wiretaps is such that obviously, the police and prosecutors have permission to listen in on his phone calls. And you can't predict who's going to call him. So you can't help, but listen in on irrelevant personal phone calls and sometimes even privileged phone calls.

The law in California is very clear that they're not forbidden to listen. They just have to minimize the encroachment. And so when they recognize that it is his lawyer on the phone they're supposed to stop the wiretap. They're allowed to call back in a couple of minutes later to see whether the phone call is over. And if it isn't they have to hang up again.

I mean it's the nature of the beast that sometimes you have to encroach a tiny bit on privileged relationships. But if the judge issued authorization for a wiretap, they certainly had the lawful right to be there. I don't see this as leading anywhere for the defense.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: ... I want you to respond to that. But does it make any difference if police are listening in as opposed to lawyers, the prosecution attorneys?

HAYNES: No, that doesn't make any difference. The issue is to me is whether they recorded the conversation. If they recorded the conversation, that's not minimizing it.

BLITZER: And what where you going to say about this whole notion that this potentially could be a huge blow to the prosecution?

HAYNES: I doubt that because I think that probably, they did -- unless they're complete and utter fools, which I doubt because they had to know that people would find out about these wiretaps and that they were intercepting these phone calls -- they probably just made a small mistake and maybe didn't minimize it as much as they should.

But I doubt very much that they did something that's really terrible.

MURPHY: Well, and, Wolf, I think what's important to remember here is that the remedy, if they even listened to a couple of minutes too much information or if they stayed on a tiny bit too long, the remedy is that that amount of information won't be usable. And it sounds like whatever amount of information that is, it's hardly going to lead to any significant effect...

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Wendy, we see a lot of Mark Geragos raising this notion that there's a killer or killers still at large. They're looking and asking for tips. He's showing up at court with the relatives, the parents of Scott Peterson. You're smiling, why?

MURPHY: Because, you know, this kind of show boating, this dog and pony show that some defense attorneys put on when the cameras are rolling, I just find it just plainly offensive. I think it's unethical. I don't like it.

The fact that Mark Geragos is making this crazy statements is designed to influence the potential jury pool. And lawyers aren't supposed to do that. Lawyers involved in cases are not supposed to make statements that will have an impact on the future fact finding in this case. And Mark Geragos knows that.

Now, you know what's really difficult for me as a former prosecutor to accept is that while Mark's doing all of this nonsense about, you know, voodooism and satanic cults the prosecution can't stand up at the microphone right next to him and say, look, that's nonsense. Let me tell you what the evidence shows. Because they could suffer a dismissal motion by the defense. They could get in trouble with the judge for violating his due process rights, you know, for generating too much pretrial publicity.

So the prosecutor is really -- their hands are tied where Mark Geragos can't sit for any punishment for what he's doing, even though he deserves it.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Eddie, the prosecution early on said this was a slam dunk, this case. Doesn't that prejudice the public at large? HAYNES: I think so. I mean, to me, they do -- first of all, just by saying that and putting the weight of the state behind it is terribly prejudicial. Second, this prosecution, like prosecutors all across the country leak like crazy.

So with all due respect to my co-expert here, I don't agree with her in the slightest. The fact is is that a person under these circumstances is entitled to a vigorous defense in the courtroom and in the media because in modern American life you're tried both in the courtroom and in the television and in the newspapers and...

MURPHY: That's not the law.

(CROSSTALK)

HAYNES: First of all, I'm entitled to say what I want to say.

So it seems to me that if he doesn't do that, he's not serving his client because for certain, when a prosecutor stood up there and said it's a slam dunk, he was trying him in the eyes of this community.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: You have the last word, Wendy. Make it brief.

MURPHY: Eddie, you're not entitled to misstate the rules. The fact is the prosecutor shouldn't have said it was a slam dunk, you're right. But the solution to that is not to have the defense go into the media and make crazy statements that are completely untrue, that are designed to poison the jury pool because the public is entitled to fairness, too.

Laci's family is entitled to fairness and they sure aren't getting that from the Mark Geragos or the silence of the prosecution.

BLITZER: All right. Unfortunately, we're going to leave it there. But a good debate. We'll have you both back. Thanks very much, Eddie Hays and Wendy Murphy.

The outrage over the early release from prison of a convicted killer who police now say has killed again. It's a shocking story. We'll bring it to you right after this quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: A defense attorney calls it his worst nightmare. A convicted murderer is released from prison before serving his full sentence and then a nightmare becomes reality.

It happened last week.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): Michael Sears was determined to prove he was no longer a threat. His psychiatrist backed him up. Sears was serving a 30-year sentence for the self-confessed 1992 killing of his wife in Clinton, Maryland.

But after a relentless campaign that included a letter from his psychiatrist saying Sears was unlikely to commit such violence again, the judge in this case got him released. He served less than nine years.

Maryland is the only state that allows unchecked judicial reconsideration, allowing judges to reduce prison terms at any time after sentencing. Those favoring the rule say it gives convicts incentive to behave in prison and enables judges to release prisoners if new evidence comes to light.

At some point after his release, Michael Sears befriended a woman named Darlene Williamson. Last week Williamson, a mother of four, was found stabbed to death at a condominium in Greenbelt, Maryland. The official resident of that condo, the man now charged with her murder, Michael Sears.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Today the judge in the case, Retired Prince Georges County Circuit Court Judge Joseph Cassoula (ph) issued a statement to the news media. Cassoula called the case -- and I'm quoting now -- "a judge's worst nightmare," but he noted that Maryland parole boards and the facility where Michael Sears was held, the Patuxent Institution made what Judge Cassoula called the final decision on whether to release Sears.

The psychiatrist, by the way, who wrote a letter on Michael Sears behalf, Neil Blumberg had a two-word response to an article in "The Washington Post" -- and I'm quoting now -- "my goodness." He was pretty surprised.

Sears' defense attorney, who persuaded Judge Cassoula to reduce the sentence, told the quote -- told "The Post" -- and again I'm quoting -- "I'm very saddened. It makes me sick as a defense attorney. As a defense attorney, it's your worst nightmare."

Let's get some perspective on this shocking case. Glenn Ivey is the Prince Georges County, Maryland, State Attorney. It doesn't get much more shocking than this. How could this happen?

GLENN IVEY, PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY STATE'S ATTORNEY: Well, as you mentioned in the lead-in, in Maryland there's a procedure to reduce sentences that was done here and the judge shaved it down from 30 years -- the original sentence from 30 years to 20 years and then he was paroled after nine as the quote from the judge indicates by the parole probation people.

BLITZER: And then he goes out and allegedly kills another woman. How often does this happen as far as you know?

IVEY: Well, you mean, to reconsider...

BLITZER: In Maryland, when some body reduces a long sentence for murder and then somebody goes out, is released and they murder again? IVEY: Well, this is the first one that I can think of off the top of my head where you had some one who's, you know, under these exact circumstances. I think it is a concern. You do have people that come out and commit other crimes.

BLITZER: Maryland is the only state that gives the judge this kind of discretion. Is it time for Maryland to rethink this law?

IVEY: I hope so. It's something that myself and other prosecutors from around the state have hoped the general assembly will reconsider and impose some sort of constraint on this ability to reduce sentences.

BLITZER: The argument they make, those who support the law, say it gives the judge the flexibility to reduce the sentence if new evidence, for example, comes up.

IVEY: Well, all of the courts in other states and in the federal system have ways to do that as well. So, for example, you know, you can have new evidence presented. There are ways to have that addressed in other courts without sort of this unlimited power that we have in Maryland that they're giving the judges.

BLITZER: So you're going to go forward now and try this guy again?

IVEY: Yes, we're completing the investigation, still, but it looks like that's going to be the way it goes, yes.

BLITZER: Glenn Ivey, thanks for spending some time with us. A shocking, shocking case.

IVEY: Thank you.

BLITZER: Appreciate it very much.

We have much more news coming up, including our "Web Question of the Day." The results are coming in. "Has the war on terror gone too far in sacrificing human rights?" You can still vote. Go to cnn.com/wolf. We'll have the results immediately when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Now here's how you're weighing in on our "Web Question of the Day." Remember, we've been asking you this: "Has the war on terror gone too far in sacrificing human rights?" Look at this: 73 percent of you say yes, 27 percent of you say no. You can find the exact vote tally, continue to vote, by the way, on our Web site, cnn.com/wolf. As always, we tell you this: this is not a scientific poll.

Time to hear directly from you and read some of your e-mail. Yesterday's Web question asked if the United States should pursue regime change in Iran.

Henry writes this: "Yes, America must tell the world that any country that harbors terrorists will be lit up at high noon. This will end terrorist attacks against America's homelands and interests."

Ann disagrees: "The United States should pursue regime change in the United States before it tries to liberate any more countries."

On another story we brought you, R.G. from Ontario, Canada sends this: "It's interesting that such a fuss is being made in the U.S. on the decriminalization of marijuana possession in Canada. There are 11 U.S. states that currently have laws that do not count possession of pot as a criminal offense. If that's the case, then why the near hysteria about the issue from the U.S. government and media?"

(NEWSBREAK)

BLITZER: A reminder, you can always watch WOLF BLITZER REPORTS weekdays at this time, 5 p.m. Eastern, 2 p.m. Pacific. I'll see you tomorrow.

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