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CNN NEWSROOM

CNN Exclusive Interview with Juror B37; Juror Reveals Reasons for Zimmerman Acquittal; Panama Seizes Hidden Weapons; "The View" Hires New Host

Aired July 16, 2013 - 09:00   ET

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


(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): A CNN exclusive, Juror B37 speaks out.

JUROR B37, JUROR IN GEORGE ZIMMERMAN CASE: I think George Zimmerman is a man whose heart was in the right place. I think both of them could have walked away. It just didn't happen.

It's just hard, thinking that somebody lost their life and there's nothing else could be done about it.

COSTELLO: This is pro-Trayvon Martin rallies in Oakland turned violent.

Also, the prosecution star witness that wasn't.

PIERS MORGAN, CNN HOST: Don West gave you a very hard time, the defense attorney.

RACHEL JEANTEL, TRAYVON MARTIN'S FRIEND: Don West.

MORGAN: What is your -- what is your view of him?

JEANTEL: I'm going to have to say he lucky I'm a Christian.

COSTELLO: Plus, captured military cargo and a North Korean captain who attempts suicide. We'll take you to the Korean Peninsula.

And --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not good to be driving in. I can't even turn around and face the storm right now.

COSTELLO: Arizona is slammed while the northeast bakes. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO (on-camera): Good morning. Thank you so much for being with me. I'm Carol Costello.

Cloaked in darkness, her identity hidden in silhouette, a juror in the George Zimmerman trial talks exclusively to CNN. She reveals the secretive and impassioned conversations that led to the not guilty verdict. And that acquittal still thunders in American cities nearly three days later.

This was the scene earlier this morning in Oakland, California. Police officers fired tear gas on protesters, who turned rowdy and violate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I feel great right now. Best feeling in the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Also overnight in Los Angeles, more than a dozen people were arrested. Some protesters vented their anger by breaking windows and throwing rocks. One news photographer was struck and hospitalized.

Just hours earlier, these demonstrations remained peaceful. Some 2,000 people massed outside the CNN Center here in Atlanta protesting the verdict and calling for federal charges against Zimmerman.

So why did Zimmerman walk free Saturday night? One juror explains in this exclusive interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: When you first sat down in the jury, when you first gathered together, what was it like?

Did you know how big this --

JUROR B37: It was unreal. It was unreal. It was like -- it was like something that -- why would they want to pick me? Why would I be picked over all these hundreds of people that they interviewed?

COOPER: And when the trial started, what was the first day like? There were the opening statements. Don West told a joke, what did you think of that?

JUROR B37: The joke was horrible. I just -- nobody got it. I didn't get it until later, and then I thought about it. And I'm like, I guess that could have been funny, but not in the context he told it.

COOPER: Going into the trial, did you have an idea in your mind about what happened?

JUROR B37: No, because I hadn't followed the trial at all. I mean, I'd heard bits and pieces of what had happened, and the names that were involved, but not any details.

COOPER: So take me back if you can to that first day, the opening statements, what do you remember about them? What stood out to you?

JUROR B37: Not a whole lot because it seems like it's been years ago that it happened. It does. It seems like it's been a very long time that we were there.

COOPER: Was there a particular witness that stands out to you?

Who did you find to be the most credible?

JUROR B37: The doctor -- and I don't know his name.

COOPER: The doctor for -- that the defense called?

JUROR B37: Yes.

COOPER: All right.

JUROR B37: Yes.

COOPER: What about him?

JUROR B37: I thought he was awe inspiring, the experiences that he had had over in the war, and I just never thought of anybody that could recognize somebody's voice yelling, in like a terrible terror voice when he was just previously a half hour ago playing cards with him.

COOPER: This was the witness that -- the friend of George Zimmerman's who had had military experience?

JUROR B37: No, that was -- this was the defense --

COOPER: The defense medical examiner?

JUROR B37: Yes.

COOPER: OK.

What was it like day by day just being on that jury?

JUROR B37: Day by day was interesting. There were more interesting things than others; when they got into the evidence it was a lot more interesting than just testimony. Some of the witnesses -- some of the witnesses were good, some of them not so good.

COOPER: Did you feel -- a lot of the analysts who were watching the trial, felt that the defense attorneys -- Mark O'Mara, Don West -- were able to turn prosecution witnesses to their advantage -- Chris Serino (ph), for instance, the lead investigator.

Did he make an impression on you?

JUROR B37: Chris Serino (ph) did. He -- but he -- to me, he just was doing his job. He was doing his job the way he was doing his job and he was going to tell the truth regardless of who asked him the questions.

COOPER: So you found him to be credible?

JUROR B37: I did, very credible.

COOPER: So when he testified that he found George Zimmerman to be more or less and overall truthful, did that make an impression on you?

JUROR B37: It did. It did. It made a big impression on me.

COOPER: Why?

JUROR B37: Because he deals with this all the time. He deals with, you know, murder, robberies; he's in it all the time. And I think he has a knack to pick out who's lying and who's not lying.

COOPER: The prosecution started off by saying that George Zimmerman was on top in the struggle. And then later on, they seemed to concede, well, perhaps Trayvon Martin was on top, maybe he was pulling away.

Do you feel that the prosecution really had a firm idea of what actually happened?

JUROR B37: I think they wanted to happen what they wanted to happen to go to their side for the prosecution and the state. There was a lot -- the witnesses that the defense had on, plus some of the prosecution witnesses, there was no doubt that they had seen what had happened. Some of it was taped, so they couldn't rebut any of that.

COOPER: It was on the 911 tape.

JUROR B37: Yes, the 911 tapes and the John Good calling and all of that.

COOPER: How significant were those 911 tapes to you?

JUROR B37: The Lauer tape was the most significant because it went through before the struggle, during the struggle, the gunshot and then after.

COOPER: You had the parents of Trayvon Martin testifying; you had the family of George Zimmerman, friends of George Zimmerman, testifying about whose voice it was on the 911 call.

Whose voice do you think it was in the 911 call?

JUROR B37: I think it was George Zimmerman's.

COOPER: Did everybody on the jury agree with that?

JUROR B37: All but probably one.

COOPER: And what made you think it was George Zimmerman's voice?

JUROR B37: Because of the evidence that he was the one that had gotten beaten.

COOPER: So you think because he was the one who had had cuts, had abrasions, he was the one getting hit; he was the one calling for help?

JUROR B37: Well, because of the witnesses of John Good, saw Trayvon on top of George, not necessarily hitting him, because it was so dark, he couldn't see. But he saw blows down towards George. And he could tell that it was George Zimmerman on the bottom. He didn't know who it was, but he knew what they were wearing.

COOPER: The one -- the juror who didn't think it was George Zimmerman's voice, who thought it was Trayvon Martin's voice on that call.

Do you know why they thought that way?

JUROR B37: Well, she didn't think it was Trayvon's, she just said she -- it could have been Trayvon's.

COOPER: So she wasn't even sure?

JUROR B37: No. She wanted to give everybody absolute out of being guilty.

COOPER: But you were sure it was George Zimmerman's voice?

JUROR B37: I was sure it was George Zimmerman (inaudible)--

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: And everybody else on the jury was? Except for that one person?

JUROR B37: I think so. I think they were. I don't think there was a doubt that everybody else thought it was George's voice.

COOPER: I want to ask you a bunch of the -- I want to ask you about some of the different witnesses. Rachel Jeantel, the woman who was on the phone with Trayvon Martin at the start of the incident.

What did you make of her testimony?

JUROR B37: I didn't think it was very credible, but I felt very sorry for her. She didn't ask to be in this place. She didn't ask -- she wanted to go. She wanted to leave. She didn't want to be any part of this jury. I think she felt inadequate toward everyone because of her education and her communication skills. I just felt sadness for her.

COOPER: You felt like, what, she was in over her head?

JUROR B37: Well, not over her head, she just didn't want to be there, and she was embarrassed by being there, because of her education and her communication skills, that she just wasn't a good witness. COOPER: Did you find it hard at times to understand what she was saying?

JUROR B37: A lot of the times because a lot of the time she was using phrases I have never heard before, and what they meant.

COOPER: When she used the phrase, "creepy ass cracker," what did you think of that?

JUROR B37: I thought it was probably the truth. I think Trayvon probably said that. COOPER: And did you see that as a negative statement or a racial statement as the defense suggested?

JUROR B37: I don't think it's really racial. I think it's just everyday life, the type of life that they live, and how they're living, in the environment that they're living in.

COOPER: So you didn't find her credible as a witness?

JUROR B37: No.

COOPER: So did you find her testimony important in terms of what she actually said?

JUROR B37: Well, I think the most important thing is the time that she was on the phone with Trayvon. So you basically, hopefully if she heard anything, she would say she did, but the time coincides with George's statements and testimony of time limits and what had happened during that time.

COOPER: Explain that?

JUROR B37: Well, because there was a -- George was on the 911 call while she was on the call with Trayvon, and the times coincide, and I think there was two minutes between when George hung up from his 911 call, to the time Trayvon and Rachel had hung up.

So really nothing could have happened because the 911 call would have heard the nonemergency call that George had called, heard something happening before that.

COOPER: She said at one point that she heard the sound of wet grass.

Did that seem believable to you?

JUROR B37: Well, everything was wet at that point. It was pouring down rain.

COOPER: What did you think of George Zimmerman?

JUROR B37: I think George Zimmerman is a man whose heart was in the right place, but just got displaced by the vandalism in the neighborhoods, and wanting to catch these people so badly, that he went above and beyond what he really should have done. But I think his heart was in the right place. It just went terribly wrong.

COOPER: Do you think he's guilty of something?

JUROR B37: I think he's guilty of not using good judgment. When he was in the car and he called 911, he shouldn't have gotten out of that car. But the 911 operator also, when he was talking to him, kind of egged him on. I don't know if it's their policy to tell them what to do, not to get out of the car, to stay in their car. But I think he should have said, stay in your car, not can you see where he's gone.

COOPER: Do you feel George Zimmerman should have been carrying a gun? JUROR B37: I think he has every right to carry a gun. I think it's everybody's right to carry a gun as long as they use it the way it's supposed to be used and be responsible in using it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Fascinating, isn't it? So let's turn to our panel for some legal perspective on all of this.

In Orlando, we have Mark Nejame, a criminal defense attorney and CNN legal analyst. Here in Atlanta, we have Page Pate, a criminal defense attorney and HLN contributor, along with Jason Johnson, an HLN contributor and political science professor at Hiram College Welcome to all of you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning.

COSTELLO: Good morning. Mark, I want to get something cleared up right away, because the Twitterverse has gone crazy on you. Some people believe that you're actually married to this juror that Anderson Cooper interviewed. She's a married woman with two kids, and please set the record straight.

MARK NEJAME, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes, I had to wake up, looking this, and inform my wife she was married to a bigamist. No, there's no truth to it. We don't even live in Seminole County, Florida. Our kids are 5 and 7. That juror's kids, I think, are in their 20s. It's just, you know, the Twitter universe going amok. I've never been, will never be, and have never been married to anybody on that jury. So, no, it's not true.

COSTELLO: OK, enough said. So, I'll pose the first question to you.

Three of the jurors first voted Zimmerman was guilty while three voted he was not guilty. In the end, juror number 37 said they were confused by all the laws involved -- manslaughter, stand your ground, second-degree murder -- so they chose to vote not guilty. Is that unusual, Mark?

NEJAME: It's actually very usual, and I think that this jury is arguably representative of -- not in its racial component, but in its breakdown of how they looked at this case -- to much of the country. I think if you were to talk to everybody, it's pretty much an even split. Half the people don't think he was guilty; the other, you know, percentage think that it should have been manslaughter, and some people think it should have gone as high as second degree.

But the challenge is, if, in fact, you have ambiguity, if you have unclarity, if there are questions and you're scratching your head, that's the reasonable doubt standard. And the jury instructions are incredibly complex. I was huddled throughout this whole case with lawyers and research people all trying to figure out so we could get the right information on the air -- and that was a group of lawyers who studied this case from day one and I've been doing this for 30 years, and we have questions. So how do we expect six people who knew very little about a case to begin with to be able to sit down and digest 27 pages of jury instructions?

COSTELLO: But Jason, don't we want our jurors to come out of that room and say, "I don't understand these laws?" Isn't it important that they understand what they are deciding?

JASON JOHNSON, HLN CONTRIBUTOR: You would think.

(CROSSTALK)

NEJAME: Hold on, I'm sorry for interrupting you for interrupting me, but what I was wanting to say is, if there's one thing that we need to do is take a look at maybe how we can make this more understandable to the average person, because this happens every day. But on this day, the country was able to see a trial in court rather than understanding that we deal with this every day of our lives.

COSTELLO: Jason?

JOHNSON: What I was going to say is this. Probably a lot of people after hearing this interview wished that they had just asked more questions. It's rather disappointing to hear someone say, yes, we kind of had a feeling something wrong happened but it was just so confusing, we just decided he was not guilty.

That's not a particularly satisfying answer if you're dealing with a murder case, but I found a lot of her interview compelling. She's the epitome of why many Americans thought George Zimmerman would get off, the kinds of things that she said, the cultural illusions that she made. Demographics is destiny.

She's the example of why no one thought George Zimmerman was going to get convicted of anything.

COSTELLO: Page, I see you're shaking -- you're nodding your head in agreement with Jason. What really struck me is Juror 37 kept calling Zimmerman George, said George had a big heart, said he was guilty of not using good judgment. She said he shouldn't have gotten out of that car, but he really cared about that community.

She did not talk in those terms about Trayvon Martin. Why do you suppose that was, Page?

PAGE PATE, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: This doesn't surprise me at all. I've talked to a lot of juries after I've finished, completed a trial.

And you've got to go back to jury selection. Like it or not, race matters in selecting a jury, and trial lawyers who ignore that fact do so at their peril. A jury is going to pick which side it relates to. Individual jurors will do that.

And frankly, in this case, those jurors related more to George Zimmerman. So Zimmerman witnesses were necessarily going to be more credible. His side of the story was necessarily going to be more believable.

So, it matters, and it did in this case.

COSTELLO: And, Mark, I'll pose this question to you, this juror did not think Rachel Jeantel was a credible witness, but again she greatly admired those who testified for the defense. So why did the state bring this case to trial? Why did they put Rachel Jeantel on the stand to be their star witness?

NEJAME: Well, they had to put her on the stand simply because she was in a cornerstone of their case, she was a key component, she was the last person to talk to Trayvon Martin alive. But you hear people criticize Trayvon -- excuse me -- Ms. Jeantel and you hear people criticize Juror B37. Both sides claim that the other are culturally unaware of the other.

Well, that's, in fact, true. You see, Juror B37 is a person who's got her life experiences, as Rachel Jeantel is a woman who has her life experiences, and we do have a cultural divide. We do have in some instances a racial divide.

And for both sides to attack the other because they were being insensitive to the other simply highlights the fact that we are not as homogeneous as we all would like to think, that, in fact, we have a lot of separations, culturally. And it's not fair to attack one or the other for not being in that world, because Rachel Jeantel was very much not in the world of B37 and B37 was very much not in the world of Rachel Jeantel. That's the reality.

COSTELLO: Yet, Jason, this juror also said race had nothing to do with their decision.

JOHNSON: Right. That's nonsense.

Look, people -- all of this speaks to the overall cultural knowledge of everybody involved. People who say that race has nothing to do with anything are wrong, OK? It's like saying gender has nothing to do with anything. It is a reality. How that reality affects you will vary, but anyone who says that those tend to be the kinds of people that are going to be less sensible to the plight of those different from them.

I also thought it was amazingly condescending for her to project upon Rachel Jeantel, oh, this poor, black girl who was so ignorant, I'm sure she was just ashamed to talk in front of us. Is anyone surprised that a woman who expresses those kinds of attitudes would have this belief about a trial? I'm not at all.

COSTELLO: Ooh, that's harsh.

I have to end it there. Thanks to all of you, Jason Johnson, Mark NeJame and Page Pate. You're going to stick around, be with us for the next hour, but thank you for joining us right now. I appreciate it.

We'll have more of the riveting interview from the first Zimmerman juror to speak in the next hour. The heart of the matter: why did George Zimmerman resort to deadly force? (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: So, you believe that George Zimmerman felt his life was in danger?

JUROR B-37: I do, I really do.

COOPER: Do you think Trayvon Martin --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Next hour, how the jury viewed Zimmerman and what they believe happened that night. That's one hour from now.

In other news this morning, a North Korean ship, hidden weapons, and a suicide attempt. It all happened in a port in Panama. What appears to be missile parts hidden in the cargo of brown sugar.

This ship was taken into custody last night, but the arrest of 35 crew members was not easy.

Ian Lee joins us live from Seoul to tell us more.

Good morning.

IAN LEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. What they found -- well, what was a drug tip-off, but what they found was a lot different, like you said. They found missile parts or what looked like missile parts, hidden among bags of brown sugar.

And if this is truth, and this is a clear brazen attempt by the North Koreans to transport weapons within the United States' backyard from Cuba, back to North Korea in a clear violation of the U.N. sanctions against North Korea, which bars it from importing and exporting weapons, Panama has said, though, that they are going to bring a U.N. team in to inspect them to see what they really are.

But when they are trying to take the ship, the 35 crew members tried to resist the Panama authorities and also the captain allegedly tried to commit suicide in the attempt. So, definitely a very tense moment there.

COSTELLO: Ian Lee reporting live from Seoul this morning.

Twenty-one minutes past the hour. Time to check our top stories.

Russian media is reporting that NSA leaker Edward Snowden has applied for temporary asylum in Russia. It comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin said Snowden is shifting his position when it comes to meeting with the terms of that asylum.

Putin previously said Snowden must stop harming the United States if he wanted to stay in the country. And late last week, Snowden said he would not do that in the future.

Encouraging news about ailing country singer Randy Travis. Doctors say he is awake and starting physical therapy. The 54-year-old Grammy winner had emergency surgery last week to relieve pressure in his brain following a stroke. Doctors say he'll need months to recover.

The Northeast is bracing for a great big heat wave. Philadelphia will see highs in the upper 90s, Washington in the mid 90s, and in New York, a very humid 90 degrees -- which is where we find Indra Petersons this morning.

Good morning, Indra.

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning. Yes, this is definitely hot. This doesn't feel like morning, I tell you.

Even early on, 80 degrees with 70 percent humidity. That's the big difference. Huge dome of high pressure is parking itself here and it is prolonged heat. That's really the danger out there.

I mean, people forget it is literally the number one killer of weather-related events. So, very dangerous situation. We're talking about temperatures 10 degrees above normal currently and adding that humidity even in the afternoon. It's going to feel like 100 to 105 degrees -- major metropolitan areas. We're talking New York, D.C., all of southern New England, Philadelphia today, all dealing with this, even Detroit, Michigan. That's the problem.

The question is, how long is it going to last, when are we going to get the relief? It was not going to be until the end of the week, a cold front will eventually slip through. Take this warm, moist air and add to that all of this moisture with the cold front and you're talking about the severe weather threat and that's expected to pick up Thursday, Friday, and through the weekend. Kind of a mixed bag. It will cool off, but also talking about the severe weather threat.

COSTELLO: All right. I know you're wanting to put your feet in the fountain behind you, I'll let you get going.

PETERSONS: Yes, I do.

COSTELLO: Indra, thanks so much.

Yoenis Cespedes not even on the all-star team, and he was the late edition to the American League's home run derby lineup, but that did not stop the Oakland A's slugger. Cespedes still had five outs left when he launched his moon shot that beat Washington's Bryce Harper in the final round. He is the first non all-star to win the home run derby. That is awesome.

We'll have more coming up in bleacher report.

Just ahead in THE NEWSROOM: it's been a record breaking run on Wall Street, but can stocks keep it up for another day? Opening bell minutes away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: We could learn more today about the death of actor Cory Monteith. The coroner in British Columbia has completed an autopsy, but toxicology test results could take longer to come back. "The Glee" star was found dead Saturday in a Vancouver hotel room. He was 31. Authorities have ruled out foul play.

And a new face will be shaking up things on "The View". Actress comedian Jenny McCarthy will be joining the team starting this fall. McCarthy said it's been her lifelong dream to join "The View." She's been a guest host several times, more than several times.

But her hiring is stirring up controversy.

CNN entertainment correspondent Nischelle Turner joins us from New York.

Really?

NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Seventeen times she's been a guest on "The View," Carol, as a matter of fact. You know, I think she is going to stir a little something up on the show.

Jenny McCarthy has a lot of activities on her resume. Let me run a few down for her. She's a Catholic schoolgirl turned "Playboy" centerfold. She's an actor, author, and activist.

She broke out in the '90s on MTV. Remember that show? Since then, she's had an up and down career. She's had some talk shows. She's had a sitcom. She's wrote some bestselling books.

And now she's 40 years old and still looks like she could pose for "Playboy," by the way. So, "The View" is obviously hoping she will add some life to this franchise. In her advice column in "The Chicago Sun Times," Jenny says she's going to do anything she can to provoke conversation on the show. She also says, pretty funny, I might add, Bradley Cooper better watch out next time he does the show because she might go into his dressing room only in a towel.

It's that edge -- it's that funny edge that they hope that she brings to the show. That's what producers are looking for. But she does have a serious side and that's what brings the controversy in this situation, Carol.

COSTELLO: She's been anti-vaccine, that's the controversy surrounding her.

TURNER: Yes.

COSTELLO: And some people don't think that message should be sent out on national television.

TURNER: Yes, there's a lot of doctors who feel that way. There's a lot of them out there that believe her views could cost lives.

She's been a very public advocate for children with autism ever since her son was diagnosed with the condition several years ago. She's become kind of this hero to some parents who also have kids with autism. That's the good side. But she's also been very public about her relief that vaccines can cause the disease, and that's when she comes under fire, because medical research says there's no link between vaccinations and autism, but there are parents out there who believe they shouldn't give their kids these vaccinations because they are worried about that.

So, it's a balance. She had a bit of an issue with Barbara on "The View" one day when they were discussing this, so I think there could be very interesting conversation coming up this fall.

COSTELLO: That's absolutely true. Nischelle Turner, thank you.

TURNER: We always have interesting conversation, Carol.

COSTELLO: We do. We should be on there.

Good morning. Thank you so much for joining us. I'm Carol Costello.

Just about 30 minutes past the hour. Time to check the top stories.

Speaking under the cover of darkness, a juror in the George Zimmerman case shared her thoughts on the verdict exclusively with CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUROR B37: I want people to know that we put everything into everything to get this verdict. We didn't just go in there and say we're going to come in here and just do guilty/not guilty. We thought about it for hours and cried over it afterwards. I don't think any of us could ever do anything like that ever again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: In the next hour we'll have more of the juror's comments, including what she thinks happened that night.

Also, just minutes from now, the Reverend Al Sharpton will step in front of the U.S. Justice Department building and call for action in support of Trayvon Martin.