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CNN NEWSROOM
"Unaccompanied: Alone in America" Ad Showcases Immigrant Children in Court; Daisy McCrackin, Fellow Actor Kidnapped Last Year; Video: Unconscious Woman Falls Out of SUV into Busy Intersection; 92- Year-Old Woman Kills Son That Wanted to Put Her in Assisted Living; Being Trapped in Cave Could Take Mental Toll on Soccer Team, Coach; GOP Rep. Jim Jordan Denies Ignoring Alleged Sexual Abuse as Coach. Aired 2:30-3p ET
Aired July 4, 2018 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:30:00] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: His legs dangle, too short to reach the ground. He has headphones to hear the translation of the judge's words. He's sitting there all alone, without an attorney, without his parents, and he is about to represent himself in court.
This is part of an ad, it's called "Unaccompanied: Alone in America." It was made last August for the nonprofit Immigration Counseling Service before, before the Trump administration's zero-tolerance separation policy. While this is -- we're about to show a clip. This is a depiction. CNN cannot independently confirm this. The filmmakers say what you're about to hear is based on actual transcripts.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you a little nervous this morning?
UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: Si.
UNIDENTIFEID MALE: Si? Do you understand what these proceedings here in court are all about? Do you know what a lawyer is?
UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No? Do you have a lawyer?
UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: No.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: I'm joined now by Linda Freeman, who produced "Unaccompanied: Alone in America."
Linda, welcome.
LINDA FREEMAN, FILM PRODUCER: Thank you.
BALDWIN: You said you reviewed court transcripts to make this ad. Why did you want to make this?
FREEMAN: I wanted to make it because I didn't feel like the story was getting out. When I started on the project in 2014, I had no idea that there were unaccompanied chirp appearing -- children appearing in immigration proceedings and that many if not -- well, most of them were not being provided with legal counsel at all. And so what you see in the video, that's a re-enactment of what happens in the United States every day in legal proceedings. Young children, children as young as toddlers, appearing alone in immigration court. And as a film person, you know, I thought if I could provide a face, not just adults talking about kids, but a face, what their experience was, maybe more people would learn about this and feel compelled to try and do something about it.
BALDWIN: You mentioned -- this goes back to -- back to 2014. And from what I've heard, you are fascinated by the amount of, what, shock that people are expressing because these hearings have been going on for years.
FREEMAN: They have. I learned about it because I read an op-ed piece by a young lawyer in a Portland paper. The young lawyer's name is Anna Sossoselski (ph), who was representing unaccompanied children in 2014. I learned about it then.
I think what's happened is that the story has only begun coming out lately. It's been going on for a long time. And gratifying thing is that finally there's the outrage that I felt because how can you under U.S. law, young children arrested at the border are not entitled to court-appointed lawyers? How could that be? How could that be? It just doesn't make sense. If nothing else happens as a result of the film, that people understand kids appearing in court, they don't speak or understand English, they have no access attorneys, they don't know anything about immigration law. I couldn't understand immigration law, yet their fate depends upon what happens. What we see in the film, which is based on figures, that children who appear alone in court without an attorney, 90 percent of those children will be ordered deported. When children appear in court with a lawyer, up to 50 percent of them will be allowed to stay. But 50 percent is still not good, but at least those kids have a fighting chance.
BALDWIN: Appreciate you using your talents with film to raise this as an issue. And as a side note, at the end of the ad, the judge -- almost seems as though his eyes are welling with tears at the end. Came out of retirement to do that with you. I wanted to note that.
We're out of time.
Linda Freeman, thank you very much for coming on.
FREEMAN: Thank you.
[14:35:02] BALDWIN: Thank you.
Next, an apparently unconscious woman falls out of a moving SUV -- look at this -- landing in the middle of a busy intersection. What happens next, coming up. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAISY MCCRACKIN, ACTRESS: Have any of you seen this?
Jim?
(SCREAMING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: A real-life horror story for "Halloween Resurrection" actress, Daisy McCrackin. Los Angeles police said she was the victim of a violent kidnapping plot. Three people are now charged with kidnapping her and a fellow actor last year and holding them for ransom. Investigators say the suspects took McCrackin to different banks to get cash while the male victim was stripped naked and held in a bathtub for 30 hours without food. Eventually, the suspects took McCrackin back to her south L.A. home where she was able to escape and call police.
Let's start there. Defense attorneys, Mark Eiglarsh and Yodit Tewolde, with me. They're also former prosecutors.
Mark, I'll start with you.
It sounds like a real-life horror movie.
MARK EIGLARSH, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Yes. The facts are abhorrent. You didn't each give half of them -- didn't even give half of them. There are things that they cut off that you can't say on television. There's no question that they made a huge mistake by allowing an eyewitness to be able to say, those three people are the ones who kidnapped and tortured us, and they should spend the rest of their life in prison.
BALDWIN: How -- that's the thing, when you read this through, the fact that they took her back to her home, and she was able, Yogi, to escape and then call police and tell them everything.
[14:40:08] YODIT TEWOLDE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: It was weird. What was the angle? You wanted money, and then what? You were going to get caught. Not only that, they actually deposited the check from McCrackin into their account. So they left a paper trail. Criminals are generally stupid. There are hardly any crimes that go unsolved. And this is going to be one. Not the brightest of criminals. It will be interesting to see how this unravels, for sure.
BALDWIN: To this video in Tampa, Florida. An apparently unconscious woman falls out of a moving into the intersection. The whole thing caught on camera. You watch as the SUV driver calmly walks to what looks to be a body, picks her up, and carries her back to the SUV and drives away. Authorities released the video Tuesday. They wanted tips. They wanted to know who the people were. Apparently, they have tracked them down. The woman is OK, minor scrapes. They said she leaned against a recently repaired door in the SUV and fell out.
Yodit, I'm still like, what?
EIGLARSH: Right.
TEWOLDE: Doesn't pass -- no, doesn't pass the smell test. I'm sorry. If someone fell out of my car and was seemingly unconscious on the ground, I'm going to do more than casually pick her up, put her in the car and drive off --
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: Like a casual stroll to the body.
TEWOLDE: Casual stroll.
BALDWIN: Go ahead, Mark.
I have to agree with you guys.
TEWOLDE: As if he knew -- wait.
EIGLARSH: I disagree with you.
TEWOLDE: Think about it, Mark
EIGLARSH: Admittedly --
TEWOLDE: -- something happened in that car before she fell out. I'm sorry. He -- like he almost knew --
(CROSSTALK)
EIGLARSH: I know you believe that. I -- let me respond. Believability and accuracy are two different things. I know you believe that. I'm going to defer to law enforcement who individually questioned each person involved. Not only did they find it was a true accident, but I give them credit for not releasing names so people like you and the court of public opinion don't further crucify --
(CROSSTALK)
TEWOLDE: Mark, Mark, Mark --
EIGLARSH: It was an accident.
TEWOLDE: Mark, have you ever prosecuted domestic violence cases?
EIGLARSH: Of course.
TEWOLDE: Have you ever prosecuted domestic violence cases?
EIGLARSH: Of course.
(CROSSTALK)
EIGLARSH: Yes!
TEWOLDE: How many victims actually come forward and say, oh, I was hit and knocked out in the vehicle, and that's why I fell out? How many actually go to a hospital --
EIGLARSH: I'm with you. I'm with you.
TEWOLDE: -- and get medical attention?
EIGLARSH: I wouldn't have thought that that was --
(CROSSTALK)
TEWOLDE: Let's not pretend that that didn't happen.
EIGLARSH: Of course, it happened. No one's pretending anything. In this scenario, law enforcement officers, who have their you-know-what meter up high, found this was a tragic accident and they chose not to go any further.
TEWOLDE: Mark, Mark -
(CROSSTALK)
EIGLARSH: I defer to them.
TEWOLDE: No, all they did was ask her what happened.
EIGLARSH: They know more than you.
TEWOLDE: Asked him, what happened.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: OK.
TEWOLDE: That's it. They didn't --
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: OK.
TEWOLDE: They didn't do anything.
BALDWIN: Maybe they know more than we do.
I want to leave it to get to the 92-year-old grandma. You have this -- you have this 92-year-old woman, apparently, she didn't want to go to assisted living so much that she's now accused of killing her son for wanting to send her there. More detail, the woman apparently had these pistols in her bathrobe pockets. The son's in the bedroom, and she shoots him several times.
I'm left wondering, Mark, why she would think prison would be better than a nursing home.
TEWOLDE: Right.
EIGLARSH: And I love that you are questioning why anyone in their right mind do this. And if you are defending this woman -- call me, speaktomark.com, I'll talk to you, Granny.
(LAUGHTER)
Because she wasn't in her right frame of mind. No one in their right frame of mind does this. It's not uncommon for people in their 90s to begin to suffer dementia. I think that while the insanity defense doesn't work all that often, we've got a great shot in this case.
BALDWIN: What is -- what is does a prison -- how does a 92-year-old woman sit in a prison cell? Like does that -- is there a special prison?
TEWOLDE: There shouldn't be. No. She's going to be in --
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: She's going to be with everybody else.
EIGLARSH: Everybody else.
TEWOLDE: Obviously. I bet an assisted living facility sounds way more appealing to her now. Too late. It's unfortunate.
BALDWIN: Yodit and Mark, thank you both very much.
TEWOLDE: Thank you, Brooke.
BALDWIN: Next here on CNN, the latest plan to free the youth soccer team trapped in an underground cave. What the new video reveals about the health of the boys and what the long-term impact of being trapped underground in the dark for 11 days is like for these young boys.
But first, the nonprofit Shelters to Shutters is giving a hands-up instead of a hand out to the homeless in this week's "Impact Your World."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[14:44:55] ODESSA MOORE, FORMERLY HOMELESS: I was going through a divorce, separation from my husband. I lost my job, I was evicted. I had to go to a shelter.
I was sad. I was embarrassed. I didn't feel like I was good enough for my kids at that time.
CHRIS FINLAY, FOUNDER, SHELTERS TO SHUTTERS: Over 70 percent of all homeless are what I call situational homeless. People that have simply had a catalyst in their life that's taken them from being working and productive to, unfortunately, finding themselves without a home.
MOORE: They actually transitioned me out of the shelter and into -- back into my own place.
FINLAY: The mission of Shelters to Shutters is taking somebody who's homeless, transitioning them to economic self-sufficiency.
MOORE: Now I'm an assistant manager for an apartment complex.
FINLAY: Job fairs have been tremendously successful. It is no better way than by putting people in front of hiring managers.
(CROSSTALK)
FINLAY: When you see an opportunity to make an impact, I think we have an obligation.
MOORE: My kids tell me, Mommy, I'm so proud of you. It just does something to me and it fires me up.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: It has been longer than a week, but conditions inside a Thai cave where a teenage soccer team is trap are still too risky to stage a rescue. They're spending yet another night stuck in the dark.
But in this video released by the Thai Navy SEALs, the boys appear in good spirit, wrapped in thermal blankets. They say they're healthy. And they're practicing how to wear full-face oxygen masks.
Meantime, their classmates above are praying for their safe return.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED BOY (through translation): I want to play football with my friends again at school.
[14:50:06] UNIDENTIFIED BOY (through translation): We are here to pray and sing for them. We want our friends inside and rescue teams to know that we are sending our support.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Rescue teams are looking at whether there are air holes they can access instead of getting boys out through the water.
To keep the boys' spirits up, authorities are trying to set up phone lines inside the cave so at least the boys can talk to their parents.
So with me, Stacy Kaiser, a psychotherapist and family and child counselor.
Stacy, nice to have you back.
My goodness, it's hard for any of us to begin to imagine what this is feeling like. They're handed food for four months. You're thinking, my gosh, how long could I be stuck in this cave, right? It's dark. At least they're with their friends. What -- what sort of toll does this take on these boys?
STACY KAISER, PSYCHOTHERAPIST & FAMILY AND CHILD COUNSELOR: Well, the helplessness and hopelessness is very significant. Now that they believe they will be rescued is helping them. But there are a lot of issues taking place. First and foremost, when you've been in the dark that long and haven't known what's going to happen to you, your senses become heightened. And so they're listening to everything, they're hyper aware of everything, and it puts your body in a state of adrenaline, which isn't good for you. And the secondary portion is, depending how much these kids are aware of what's going on and how well the coach is handling things is going to impact their experience. The younger ones are not going to be as aware of what's happening. The older ones are probably thinking things like we could have died, we still could die, and that could take a toll.
BALDWIN: You mentioned they would have a heightened sense -- sense is right, listening to things. And we were -- we've already that one of the rescuers said the boys had actually told these divers that they heard dogs barking, they heard roosters crowing, children playing. You know, what must that be like? We know there are -- I think it's a half a mile into the earth -- to hear life on other side of that dark cave?
KAISER: I think there's two sides to that. I think on one hand, there's hope that you are interacting in ways with the outside environment where you could be safe. So that could provide some peace of mind. There's also the disappointment and longing of, will we ever actually get to see a dog again, will we get out of here. And so it can make a person's mind wander, even a teenager or young child's mind.
BALDWIN: Then what should these, you know, divers who have come in, this 25-year-old wrestling coach, who I imagine is frightened himself, what should they be telling themselves or being told?
KAISER: It's interesting, I remember around 9/11 when I was talking to the firefighters and they said they would rescue people and not know what to say. The people that are interfacing with this don't know what to say, but part of what they want to tell them is that they are safe, they are doing everything that they can, and that they will get them out as quickly as possible. Once the kids are out and the coach, there's going to need to be time for emotional processing. They're going to need to be able to express their feelings, adapt to being in light again and to being in sound again and being around people again. All of that will take adjustment time.
BALDWIN: Wow.
Stacy Kaiser, thank you so much.
Back to our breaking news. Republican Congressman Jim Jordan denying these explosive allegations that he turned a blind eye to sexual abuse while a wrestling coach at Ohio State University years ago. Mike D'Sabato, a former wrestler, who says he was abused, joins me live, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:57:08] BALDWIN: There's a break in the action at the World Cup as the remaining eight teams prepare for the final on Friday.
CNN's Amanda Davis has more from Moscow.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AMANDA DAVIS, CNN SPORT ANCHOR: Brooke, a rest day here. It's not just us, but the clouds crying, too, there's been no action. It really has exceeded expectation as the opening three weeks of the tournament. Maybe it's a good thing to have a moment to stop and reflect. As an England fan, it is so hard to put into words what we experienced last night. It looked like England had won their first knockout game in 12 years thanks to the goal, only for Colombia to head in an equalizer in the dying seconds, crushing England's hopes and forcing the game into an extra inning. That's when history played on English minds and the dreaded "P" word -- penalty kicks. Three times at the World Cup, England has been knocked out in the most painful way. After all the years of hurt, Eric Dyer made himself the hero. Stepping up to smash the ball into the back of the net to write his place in folklore and booked England's spot in the quarterfinal, triggering pure joy in London -
(CHEERING)
DAVIS: -- and utter despair in Bogota. Maybe a few tears from me, as well.
While the likes of Germany, Argentina, Spain, and Portugal have seen their tournaments end, there are eight times that remain. Many people's favorite, Brazil, take on Belgium. England take on Sweden Saturday. Just two more wins needed for a place in the finals. Football's biggest prize is getting closer -- Brooke?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: Amanda, thank you very much.
Here we are on this Fourth of July. Happy Independence Day, all of you. I'm Brooke Baldwin. We're back with hour number two of our special holiday edition of CNN NEWSROOM.
And we start with this breaking news, Republican Congressman Jim Jordan is speaking out today, defiantly, against these explosive accusations that he turned a blind eye to sexual abuse while he was a wrestling coach at Ohio State University years ago. The university announced in April it was investigating allegations that Dr. Richard Strauss abused several wrestling team members from the mid '70s to the late '90s. Strauss has since died, but his tenure there overlapped with now-Congressman Jim Jordan, who was, at the time, the former assistant wrestling coach at the school.
Listen to what the Ohio lawmaker said a short time ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REP. JIM JORDAN, (R), : No abuse, never heard of abuse. If we had, we'd have reported it. And if, in fact, there's probably -- if in fact there's problems, we want justice for the people who are victims, obviously. And as I said, we're happy to talk with the folks who are doing the investigation. But nothing -- I mean, things they said about me just were flat-out not true.
(CROSSTALK)
[15:00:10] UNIDENTIFIED CORRESPONDENT: You commented to us yesterday, speaking about the conditions and the training facility, open showers --
