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Officer Hailed For Response to Suspect; Clinton Begins Two-Day New Hampshire Swing; Bittersweet Week In Boston As Tsarnaev Sentencing Phase Begins; "Washington Post" Reporting That FBI Admits Some Of Its Experts Gave Flawed Testimony Over Two Decades; Cannabis Becomes Big Business In Colorado. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired April 19, 2015 - 16:00   ET

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


[15:59:43] FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right, hello again and thank you so much for joining me. I'm Frederick Whitfield.

We start with dramatic video that could have been the latest to show a deadly police shooting. But instead in this case the officer being threatened did not pull the trigger. And you can see the Ohio police officer repeatedly being charged at by a double murder suspect who keeps yelling "shoot me." Yet even as the officer backs up, and at one point even falling backward, New Richmond officer Jesse Kidder refuses to fire a shot. The officer's body camera in fact captured the entire confrontation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFED MALE: Get your hands up! Get your hands up! Get your hands up right! (INAUDIBLE) Stop! Stop right there! I don't want to shoot you, man. I don't want to shoot you! (INAUDIBLE) I'll shoot you, I'll shoot you.

UNIDENTIFED MALE: No, you won't! No, you won't!

UNIDENTIFED MALE: Get back! Get back! Get back!

UNIDENTIFED MALE: Shoot me!

UNIDENTIFED MALE: Get your hands out of your pocket now! Not going to do it.

UNIDENTIFED MALE: Shoot me! Shoot me! Shoot me!

UNIDENTIFED MALE: Stop right now. Back up! (INAUDIBLE) back (INAUDIBLE) off! Get down on the ground!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All cars be advised, subject is running. Subject is running.

UNIDENTIFED MALE: Get your hands out. You're going to get shot, you understand that?

UNIDENTIFED MALE: Yes, sir.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Joining us now is CNN Polo Sandoval. So, this officer is being praised in some circles, criticized in others and what's his explanation about how things went down?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the answer to that, Fred, may lie in his military background. You see, Officer Kidder says that his two tours of duty in Iraq as a marine likely helped him deal with the situation and try to deescalate what was a very tense situation, because in reality is, Fred, simply one shot could have led to a very different outcome of this story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OFFICER JESSE KIDDER, NEW RICHMOND, OHIO: I wanted to be absolutely sure before I used deadly force.

SANDOVAL (voice-over): New Richmond, Ohio, police officer, Jesse Kidder knows this confrontation could have taken a deadly turn.

UNIDENTIFED MALE: Get your hands up!

SANDOVAL: The man seen running towards him is a suspect in a double murder, according to CNN affiliate, WLWT. Kidder tells the affiliate the man was trying to commit suicide by cop.

KIDDER: He just kept repeating shoot me. One point, he said shoot me or I'll shoot you.

UNIDENTIFED MALE: Get your hands out of your pockets.

UNIDENTIFED MALE: Shoot me!

UNIDENTIFED MALE: Get your hands out of your pockets now. No, man, not going to do it.

UNIDENTIFED MALE: Shoot me!

SANDOVAL: Despite the man's refusal to comply and with tensions running high, Kidder doesn't pull the trigger. He put his hands in his pocket there. So my eyes are watching that hand right now and nothing else. Stop! Stop right there! I don't want to shoot you, man. I'm not going to shoot you.

SANDOVAL: Kidder back pedals and eventually loses his footing but he keeps his cool and his sights on the suspect. Backup arrives just in time.

UNIDENTIFED MALE: Get down on the ground!

KIDDER: Law enforcement officers all across the nation make split- second decisions that mean life or death.

SANDOVAL: The decision to shoot or not to shoot doesn't come easy according to experts. Officers often have to make that decision under pressure. TOM FUENTES, FORMER FBI ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: You're gambling as a

police officer that if he pulls a pistol out of his pocket, you can shoot him and stop him before he has time to get a shot off and kill you. And that might be a tenth of a second.

SANDOVAL: A second that could last a lifetime.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: And of course that lingering question, what if Officer Kidder did, in fact, use deadly force? Actually heard from his boss, police chief for New Richmond Police Department, Randy Harvey, who says had that been the case, Fred, they would have actually stood by his officer based on what he saw that any shooting would have been justified.

Final note, the chief is moving forward with trying to secure funding for his officers to have so that all of them can have these body cameras, because interestingly enough, that camera that he wore when this video was shot, that was actually his personal body camera that was purchased by his family.

WHITFIELD: Yes, that is a fascinating point. All right. Thanks so much, Polo Sandoval.

Let's talk more about this. Joining us now from New York is former FBI agent Jonathan Gilliam. Jonathan is also a former police officer. You're are among those not real excited about all that you saw, even though in the end, no one was hurt, no one was killed, but you hear the officer saying, "not going to do it. I don't want to shoot you." And he took his time, hoping that this suspect would acquiesce, which ultimately, he did. But you see very easily, it could have gone the other way.

JONATHAN GILLIAM, FORMER FBI AGENT: Right.

Why is what we saw not customarily what you're aware of being taught in a police training?

GILLIAM: So the use of force policy, this is the federal use of force policy now. Other departments can make their policies more stringent, but this is what's been set by the federal court system. It says that if a -- if you have a reasonable suspicion or probable cause, excuse me, that there is imminent threat of loss of life or serious bodily injury to yourself or the public around you, then you have the -- you have the right to use deadly force.

16:05:05

This individual, who was a suspect of a violent crime, once the officer made initial contact with him and retreated just enough to let the guy know that he would shoot, this suspect put his hands back into his pocket

Now, at that point, Fred, you don't know what's coming out of that pocket. It could be an empty hand or it could have been a weapon. And in this case, there -- you know, once the officer fell, if that guy had had a weapon, which the officer did not know because he doesn't have x-ray vision, he could have been killed. He could have been incapacitated and the officer's weapon upon could have been taken away and used on any of the public that's around there.

WHITFIELD: But wouldn't the dialogue be completely different had the officer fired his weapon and then come to find out the suspect did not have a weapon, even though he occasionally put his hands in his pockets? Our conversation would be very different and would that officer not be subjected to a lot more scrutiny and criticism?

GILLIAM: He probably would have and today, especially with the camera, you have two things, you have a court of public opinion and the court of law. And we are a nation of laws. The law says that he would have been justified. This is what the population out there has to realize. When I go on and I say this would have been a justified shoot. I'm not a murder, I'm not somebody who wants to gout and take people's lives but I'm someone who is trained to know when that is necessary and the law states that this individual would have -- this officer would have been justified.

The public has to realize, you cannot slam every cop that uses deadly force. And in this case, what's happening is the reverse. He is being given all this praise for not shooting when the fact is if officers reacted like this all the time, if that person had a weapon and really wanted to be killed or wanted to kill, he could have easily shot this cop.

In 1986, two FBI agents were killed in a shootout in Miami by a suspect who had already sustained a fatal wound to the chest. He was bleeding out. He still shot and killed the officers, the agents.

WHITFIELD: Now, this body cam, these imams are coming from a body cam that this officer privately owns. And now as we heard from our Polo Sandoval, the police chief is even considering we got to find the money so everyone has these body cams. So, is this evidence that it is helpful for officers to have these body cams, that perhaps it even dictates the actions of an officer?

GILLIAM: It definitely can dictate the actions of an officer and make them -- because they know they are on video, less likely to use the proper force. That's why I think, Fred, it's apparent that a lot of these departments need better training and we are not talking about range work, where you have to spend money on bullets and time. We are talking about before you go out every day, going over the use of force policies, dry firing your weapon 15, 20 times, just so you know where it's at versus your taser, which has happened in another incident.

You know, muscle memory and understanding of the rules and regulations and the laws are what is going to keep people alive and is going to eliminate the threats when the threats need to be eliminated.

WHITFIELD: All right, Jonathan Gilliam, thank you so much from New York. Appreciate it.

GILLIAM: You got it. WHITFIELD: Overseas, an effort is under way to save as many as 700 Libyan migrants after their boat capsized in the Mediterranean Sea near the coast of Malta. So far, the Italian Coast Guard has only saved 28 of them. The migrants are fleeing terror groups like ISIS who are invading their war-torn homelands.

Our Phil Black joins me now from London. So Phil. what is the latest on the rescue effort, how long will they give it before it becomes a recovery effort?

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not much longer would you think, Fredricka. You're right, only 28, we understand, pulled from the water alive so far. And it's unlikely that many more than that will be recovered. We are now approaching, with the next few hours, 24 hours since this incident first happened. That was when this heavily crowded bolt capsized and it would seem submerged pretty quickly.

If there were 700 people aboard, then given the size of this boat, it is likely they are all crammed in there very tightly, unable to move, simply unable to escape the vessel, as it turned over and sunk, probably quite quickly. I think the expectation is that most of those who were on board the boat still are, except that it is now at the bottom of the ocean.

This all puts a great deal of pressure on the European Union to act and to do something to stop these sorts of incidents because so far, even before this incident, around 900 people have already died this year trying to make that crossing.

16:10:00

These boats filled with migrants fleeing conflicts and crisis from across Africa, they cross the Med very, very frequently. It is an ongoing situation and one that so far, it would seem the European Union has been able to come up with an effective strategy for stopping, Fredericka.

WHITFIELD: And Malta's prime minister is putting a lot of the blame on those traffickers, those human traffickers, who are enticing a lot of these migrants to make this very dangerous journey.

BLACK: Yes, that's right. And that's not the only government that is doing some the British government also firmly believes that this is an issue with people smuggling that that's the core area that needs to be focused on, that that problem needs to be tackled, but it is humanitarian groups that say the European Union needs to have a bigger search and rescue operation in the Med all the time to try and -- to try and help these vessels, help these people once they do get into trouble because if you don't do that, then you will see incidents like this one, hundreds of people perishing at a time.

But at the moment, the dominant thinking within members of the political -- the governments of the European Union is that you have -- if you have this sort of search and operation in place, that it simply attracts more people, encourages them to make this journey and ultimately, it is the people smugglers that continue to profit, Fredericka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Terrible situation. Thank you so much, Phil Black.

All right, coming up, in this country, firefighters continuing to battle fierce flames threatening hundreds of homes as extremely dry conditions fuel the fire. The latest, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

16:14:37

WHITFIELD: Evacuation orders now lifted for hundreds of residents in Southern California. Firefighters are crediting low winds and high humidity for their big gains against a 980-acre blaze that broke out last night in drought-stricken Corona. But we are told obstacles still exist.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE MOHLER, FIRE CAPTIRE, CALFIRE (through phone): Our engine companies can't necessarily drive right up to the fire, so a lot of our firefighters are having to hike in to fight this fire. So it makes it very difficult and time consuming.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The fire is now 25 percent contained. No injuries reported.

And in the southeast, flooding and severe weather have many people on edge. CNN meteorologist Tom Sater joining us now. So Tom, We are talking about some tornado watches that were in effect. Are they still?

TOM SATER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We do have one and even a warning that's near the Augusta, Georgia, area. Two reports of tornadoes this morning, early this morning, Henry County, Alabama, some downed trees in Fort Benning, Georgia, no injuries. That's the good news.

About 80 million U.S. citizens involved in this. Now, orange, this is the enhanced area, so later this afternoon, we're going to focus more on eastern Texas, eastern Oklahoma, across areas of Arkansas toward Memphis, toward Shreveport, Louisiana, as well, Jackson, Mississippi, but most of the activity, for the morning hours into the early afternoon has been to the southeast.

Now, Atlanta, at one point, was under a tornado watch. Now that's been allowed to be expired. That's been lifted. We still have another one, in effect until 8:00 p.m. so we definitely have almost two million people under the threat for some tornadoes. Most of this activity has been in wind damage, 33 reports of wind damage.

Here is our tornado warning. Thank goodness, wasn't last Sunday, because it's near Augusta, with the thousands that would have had to endure the outdoor elements but this is in effect until 5. Again, no significant rotation. We're watching this now. Hail, I think, could be a bigger concern because as we head back into the southern plains and the midwest, these are not tornado watches but severe weather. It doesn't look like much is firing up. A little bit just near the Oklahoma City area toward Tulsa and we are going to watch moving into areas of eastern Texas.

The upper level support with this now Fredericka is such cold air. I mean, we have had blizzard conditions in Wyoming, terrible accidents there back in Wyoming, heavy snow in Colorado, but this could support some very large hail. Golf ball to even baseball-sized hail in parts of Tennessee.

So that's what we are watching today and then tomorrow, it all shifts a little bit to the east. So getting a little active but crazy spring weather. Drought, fires in the west, snow, everything.

WHITFIELD: A little bit of everything. All right. Thanks so much, Tom. Appreciate it. All right. We'll have much more in the "Newsroom" right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

16:20:57

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Tax season just wrapped up and now is the perfect time to prepare for next year and one of the things you should think about is trying to deduct your medical expenses. You may be able to do it.

If you're under 65, you can deduct medical expenses if they exceed 10 percent of your adjusted gross income. So, for example, if you make $50,000 a year, if that's your adjusted gross income, you can deduct expenses that exceed $5,000. And that rule is even more generous if you're over the able of 65.

So, if you think that you're eligible to deduct medical expenses, start tracking them now and keep your receipts. And you know what, there are things that you may not realize are considered medical expenses. Of course, whatever you pay out of pocket for doctors and dentists visits that would count, as long as you are not using your medical FSA, also prescription drugs, but transportation to and from appointments, that would also count.

Another thing you can start doing now is start planning your surgeries and other expensive procedures. Let's say, for example, you need an MRI and two other kinds of expensive procedures. It's best to have those all in one year, from a financial point of view, it will help you more on your taxes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Checking our top stories now, a charter bus taking University of Connecticut students to Boston caught fire on a ramp to the Massachusetts turnpike. No one was injured but some of the students are blaming the driver for not stopping when the bus started having mechanical issues. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

And a police officer in New Jersey is being called a hero today after this, pulling a woman from her car that was on fire. You see what happened on the officer's dash camera. The officers had to cut her seat belt and you see them eventually pulling the woman out of the car and possibly saving her life because the car then exploded. The woman was charged with DUI. Police say she is recovering.

And this isn't black Friday. These images. It looks like it, right? Instead, Lily Pulitzer fans lining up. And rushing into a Target today for the rollout of the limited edition designer collection, everything from Lilly dresses to shoes and houseware sold out in just four minutes at this Target.

In (INAUDIBLE) Georgia, it wasn't easier for Lilly fans online. Customers ran into problems on the Target website. Target says it had to take down the site temporarily to slow down the traffic. And it apologized for the inconvenience.

And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

16:27:11

WHITFIELD: All right, Hillary Clinton heading to New Hampshire tomorrow on the heels of the 19 Republican presidential hopefuls who spent this past weekend there. Politico listing takeaways from the Republicans' visit. Three in particular caught our eye.

First, our reports of Chris Christie's political death are exaggerated, according to Politico. Number two, the GOP base years for fresh faces. And finally, the governors in the race will portray the senators as Obamaesque.

All right. So let's talk about these three in particular, let's bring in Republican strategist Jackie Gingrich Cushman, daughter and former campaign adviser to Newt Gingrich. And democratic strategist Tharon Johnson, who was President Obama's south regional director in the 2012 race. All right. Good to see both of you.

THARON JOHNSON, PRESIDENT OBAMA'S SOUTH REGIONAL DIRECTOR IN 2012: Good to see you.

WHITFIELD: All right. First up, let's talk about this so-called death of Chris Christie. Jackie, you first. Politico saying it being exaggerated. So, where is he in this field of 19 thus far?

JACKIE GINGRICH-CUSHMAN, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Absolutely exaggerated. I think the biggest take away I think is part of what you're talking about, there is no clear front runner. There is no one that can say in front of the whole pack. So Chris Christie is definitely in the mix. No one is coming out on top and I think we are going to see that continuing. What you will end up seeing is some actually falling down to the bottom as they drop off or make big missteps, something happens. But the real take away is there no one that is in the front.

JOHNSON: You know, a time when Chris Christie is really struggling to even be popular in his own state, I really don't see his campaign really getting into gear and being a front runner.

WHITFIELD: You don't see it getting traction?

JOHNSON: You know, I think last year this time, you know, we were talking Chris Christie, he was just an authentic leader. He was the person who really talked straight to the American people.

WHITFIELD: Willing to take chances.

JOHNSON: Willing to take chances.

CUSHMAN: I think he is still doing that he is still doing that, if you look at him, when he went to -- talked about reforming social security and pushing back the age limits, I think he has a very powerful role to play. I think obviously, he's wait and see what happens with the inquiry in terms of the Justice Department and that will tell a lot.

WHITFIELD: OK. So what about this notion of fresh faces? You talk about fresh faces, people start thinking about Marco Rubio, the younger, not necessarily those who haven't necessarily been overexposed, but is there some real credence to the whole, you know, push for the younger, fresher faces?

JOHNSON: I think the Republicans really missed a key opportunity this weekend at the leadership summit in New Hampshire. They could have really spent that time to talk about the fresh faces, new ideas but instead they resorted back to the old sort of radical extremist politics of the Republican party which I think continues to move them further and further away from the American people.

However, Rubio has brought out, was pretty good. I think he definitely brings some new ideas, he struggles a little bit on immigration reform. But then you have Rand Paul who many whether you like him or not, he definitely has been sort of a leader while he has been in the Senate. So I think that you can't count on people like Jeb Bush and others who have run before and Rick Perry and Mike Huckabee who are all experienced at presidential campaigns.

[16:30:01] WHITFIELD: So it's too much time spent on this whole anti- Hillary thing weekend? She is arriving tomorrow, at least she is going to have some smaller meetings also, Jackie. But there were stickers, you know, bumper stickers that were handed out, hashtag stop Hillary.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I absolutely think -- I think what we will see, and I think what was said about the radical agenda. I think what they really miss is that they really don't have someone laying out a clear vision for the future. Part of what I like of what I like about the first...

WHITFIELD: There's a show of the stickers there. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But the fresh faces are so important because they

could be running probably against Hillary Clinton who is not a fresh face. It is very important to have a new outlook on what's gonna happen, but what you have to have is a positive vision, not a anti- Hillary Clinton, but actually, a positive vision of the future that includes everybody and I think if we see a candidate that can do that and be very articulate with it, we'll see a candidate that can be very, very successful. Until then, as long as they continue it against Hillary, I think they are going to give a struggle.

WHITFIELD: Will it be interesting, too to kind of roll that into, while it may be -- the sentiment may be anti-Hillary and some, we also know that there will be a pronounced anti-Obama kind of mantra as well. And how might that kind of steal the stage over all of these other efforts that you speak of in terms of trying to get the issues out there, trying to be the fresh face with the fresh vision without constantly criticizing the current administration, everybody or all things associated with it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the first thing that I was very excited to see was the Hillary campaign in Iowa, they really sort didn't do their traditional sort of thematic themes, big rallies. She really spent time talking to the voters, answering questions and also asking questions about what they wanted to hear. More importantly, I think as we move forward, there's going to come a point in time, and Jackie knows this very well, republicans are going to have to stop talking about Hillary Clinton and President Obama. They are going to have to start talking about the problems with existing within their party.

WHITFIELD: What phase Jackie do you see that happening?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think they should do differently, speak to the entire American people, not just republicans, even though it is the primary. In the end, you don't win unless you actually win the presidency. I think what they have do is talk about a vision of the future that includes all Americans and how to get there, together. I do think you talk about Hillary Clinton and I have to say, it was a highly scripted rollout that included very small people and instead of trying to control the media, they basically shun the media. I think it's going to be a little interesting to ser here kind of stumbles her way...

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah. Small, small meetings and not very open and not open to press and so I think it will be interesting to see what happens.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Listen, I think the Clinton campaign is not going to have any problem withdrawing large crowds. I think what they did, they have a lot of experienced people on their staff that is battle tested in presidential campaigns, and they are going to basically focus on the core issues. Going to New Hampshire, she's got a long week of events already there to talk about the American family, strengthening the economy. I mean, the other thing about the New Hampshire, not one republican who is running for president talked about -- and introduced a plan about strengthening the economy. No one talked about education.

WHITFIELD: Might that come maybe in Iowa? Many republicans are now heading to Iowa. Like a ping popping match match. She started out in Iowa. She is now in New Hampshire, now they're going to be in Iowa.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's very fascinating. I think one of the most interesting things if you look -- because this is a marathon, we were just starting this, a long way in happening. Is it because republicans have changed the way the debates are going to happen, not going to have four debates in South Carolina and four debates in Iowa. You're actually going to have one debate in each of those states and you don't get to Iowa until the sixth debate. So I think if you look long term, it's actually going to change the way the race is structured.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would just encourage the people who are watching to stay tuned. The Clinton campaign, they learned a lot of valuable mistakes that they made early in 2007/2008. I'm telling you, I think that they are focused on really get nothing the early primary state, South Carolina, Nevada is next. We go on three, four months from now, you will see Hillary Clinton that we can all be proud of.

WHITFIELD: All right, this is going to be interesting.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It'll be very interesting.

WHITFIELD: Absolutely.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll have to try to get the last word on Jackie every now and then.

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much. Good to see you guys. Appreciate it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, coming up, a bitter sweet week in Boston as the Tsarnaev sentencing phase is set to begin, just as the city prepares for the running of the Boston marathon. We talked to two runners who were about to cross the finish line when the bomb went off. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:35:16]

WHITFIELD: All right, right now, some 30,000 runners are gearing up for the highly anticipated Boston marathon. Tomorrow's race holds special significance for one group of people in particular. They are survivors of the bombings and now, members of team 415 strong. I have the pleasure of being joined by Dave Fortier, the Founder of team 415 strong and co-founder Lee Ann Yanni. Good to see both of you.

DAVE FORTIER, TEAM 415 STRONG FOUNDER: Hi, how are you?

LEE ANN YANNI, TEAM 415 STRONG CO-FOUNDER: Hi.

WHITFIELD: I'm doing great. Dave, I understand that you were injured by one of the bombs near the finish line. So, tomorrow's race holds particular significance for you. Where will you be tomorrow? Will you be participating, and if so, in what way?

FORTIER: So, we are all participating. We have got some -- over the last couple of years, since everything happened, we have been working with a number of different people within the 415 strong community. And tomorrow, we have got 25 folks that were injured on that day in 2013 that are going to be running with Lee Ann and myself in the marathon tomorrow.

WHITFIELD: So...

FORTIER: 25 people that were injured.

WHITFIELD: Lee Ann, give me an idea of what training for this race has been like for and among the 25 who are part of this group who will be running tomorrow. It had to be very different that preparing for any other Boston marathon.

YANNI: Well, I have actually been -- I guess considered one of the lucky ones. I had recently moved back to Florida, so I didn't have to deal with the hundred-plus inches of snow that my fellow runners have had to this winter, but they have stuck it out. I have talked to them, you know, the Friday nights before the runs and they are a bunch of very strong and confident people to get out each and every weekend. I got to have a little bit of sunlight and a warm breeze.

WHITFIELD: And so, Lee Ann, I understand you and Dave actually met after the marathon, the bombing. You were both injured. And then somehow, after your meeting, you got together to create this team 415, so Lee Ann, you first on how the two of you got together with this project.

YANNI: Well, I had actually just finished the Chicago marathon October of 2013, so, six months after everything happened. And we were given the amazing opportunity by the BAA of entries into the marathon. And Dave was kind of helping me out, getting prepped for Chicago and we kind of looked at each other at one of our meetings and said, hey, you want to start a running group? You know, we want -- our goal is because we knew a lot of people hadn't ever been runners, you know, let alone a 5k, up to a marathon and it's a pretty grueling task, so we wanted to make sure that everybody was safe and we all crossed the finish line on our feet and reclaimed our finish line last year.

WHITFIELD: Then, Dave, this year's race is bittersweet as was last year's. But this one now, right on the eve of the sentencing phase beginning for the convicted bomber, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, give me an idea of how that continues to hang over this race and your life, Lee Ann's life, all of you as survivors of the bombing.

FORTIER: Well, I think it's -- it's obviously become a piece of it. It's been with us last year. It's with us this year. Obviously, it is in the news every day. But I think the big one for us is the commitment that we've seen from all those that are going to be participating with us. Some of these folks have some very serious injuries two years ago and are now having been training for two years. Some people just the last year but they are now going to be able to start something and take back a piece of something that was taken from them, tomorrow. And it's a pretty special -- yes, we talk about it. We talk about it on the weekend some sometimes while we are training, so it will be on everybody's minds tomorrow for sure, but what's really there, they are going to be able to take this back.

YANNI: Cross that finish line.

WHITFIELD: So quickly, Dave, do you want life or death for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev?

FORTIER: Well, that's not for me to decide.

WHITFIELD: Lee Ann?

YANNI: All in the jury's hands. That's what they do

WHITFIELD: Say that again?

YANNI: As long as the jury listens, as long as the jury listens to the prosecution and defense and makes their decision, that's what they are there to do, that's what I hope they, you know, make their decision.

WHITFIELD: All right. Dave Fortier, Lee Ann Yanni, thanks so much and all the best in your race tomorrow.

YANNI: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, still ahead, a shocking new report about FBI forensic hair matches. These claims the agency exaggerated the data in almost every trial before 2000, including death sentence cases.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:43:20]

WHITFIELD: This is an unbelievable story. The "Washington Post" is now reporting that the FBI admits some of its experts gave flawed testimony in trials that spanned more than 20 years and they were part of an elite forensic unit and reportedly overstated hair matches in almost all criminal cases in which they presented testimony before the year 2000. Quite simply, many lied about the testimony. The paper also says that in 95% of the cases reviewed, the mistakes favored the prosecution. At least 46 states are now being notified to see if this could cause grounds for appeals in any of these cases. Joining me now for a closer look, is former judge, Glenda Hatchet, so we're talking over two decades, nearly every justice and FBI examiner gave flawed testimony for prosecution against criminal defendants. Is this paving the way for overturning a number of cases?

GLENDA HATCHETT, JUDGE HATCHETT TV COURT SERIES HOST: Yes, absolutely yes. That's the bottom line. Fredericka, this is horrible. I don't know how else to explain it. We have 32 people who were sentenced to death because of these cases. Let me just -- an important footnote. Not to say all the cases would be overturned or they would not have been found guilty but for this evidence. But in these cases, we have 32 sentenced to death, 14 have either been executed or who have died in prison, which is the most troubling part of this. We know now that we have some 257 cases looked at, 95% talked about. We know that there's flawed testimony. But there is another 1200 cases that they haven't even reviewed yet.

WHITFIELD: And so we are talking quite simply, these examiners, these elite cores of examiners...

HATCHETT: At the FBI.

WHITFIELD: Have admitted to not telling the whole truth, skewing their testimony in favor of, in large part, the prosecution. So they lied.

HATCHETT: They lied.

WHITFIELD: That's fancy way of saying they lied, went into trial, knowing that they were fabricating information and it may have, in large part, led to the convictions, or at least -- played a role in the convictions.

HATCHETT: Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: So, this was not some admission or this epiphany that some of these examiners had. This discovery is being made by way of, in large part, the innocence project.

HATCHETT: This is just amazing.

WHITFIELD: The justice department helped -- I guess, involved their perspective, right?

HATCHETT: They did.

WHITFIELD: They were recruited to look into it.

HATCHETT: The justice department and the FBI now are working closely with the innocence project as well as the national association of defense lawyers. And so they along with the innocence project have said, look, we have got to figure this out. We have got to have new standards, we have got to have better standards going forward on one side, but now got to go back and look at all of these cases that ever happened. So, out of these 46 states, we now know that Texas, New York and North Carolina have active investigations going on. Another 15 states have ad hoc investigations going on, but what does that mean in terms of what is an already overburdened justice system of cases going up and cases have to be retried.

WHITFIELD: With these admissions, is there a reason? I mean, why?

HATCHETT: I don't know why. That is going to be very interesting. We haven't seen why. The justice department and the FBI have been very wise to say, look, this is a problem and we need your help in trying to get this resolved, but this -- I don't understand it, because you have 28 investigators in this elite unit. 26 of them have done things that were not correct in these trials. WHITFIELD: Oh, gosh, it's very unsettling, because I think there is a

universal feeling that many people might think, okay, if this -- something like this is to happen, it might be on the local level in certain municipalities.

HATCHETT: Seen it on the local level.

WHITFIELD: A feeling there is a greater trust on the federal level that when you're dealing with the FBI, you know, an elite cadre of experts that there is honesty and integrity that would be unmatched and this report is now very unsettling. Let me also say to you that this is just hair. This is hair forensics, cases that involve us looking at hair and the DNA there. But there are other categories -- at least 16 other categories that they're going to have to look at to see if standards were followed.

So the next page in this, we're talking about potential appeals or possibly even overturning convictions altogether, really the tip of the iceberg.

HATCHETT: We are going to be talking about this for several months.

WHITFIELD: Incredible. Judge Glenda Hatchett, thank you so much. Appreciate t.

HATCHETT: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, next on the run down, business is smoking in the rocky mountain state and that's where Ana Cabrera is live, the cannabis cup.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In the mile high city Fredricka, there are tens of thousands of people around the country come to the cannabis cup, marijuana enthusiasts, pot product companies, that are all mingling and marketing and trying out different products. I will explain what this thing is all about when we come back.

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WHITFIELD: All right, it calls itself the world's leading marijuana traveling trade show and the cannabis cup is making its stop in Colorado this weekend. This is a state where hundreds of pot shops have popped up since recreational marijuana became legal and last year alone it was a $700 million industry. Ana Cabrera is in Denver for us today. The show is just opening its doors for the day. Is this a big party or is this serious business?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a little bit of both. It's certainly a huge pot party. Lots of marijuana enthusiasts who have come here to the mile high city to explore the industry that is now legal marijuana in some states, including here in Colorado. I want to show you this particular product. This is an incredible company that specializes in pot pipes. And I want to show you this special contraption. Go for it. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. So what you're going do, you're going to

hit this, build up suction, I'm going to light this end, when the hit gets to where you want it, give me a thumbs up, I'm going to pull this cord, it's going to shoot the smoke right down your throat.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So we're gonna watch the process here, this is a company that is some examples how their products work, you can see he is lighting the marijuana on one end, the participant here is sucking in and now he is gonna really get a big shot of that smoke as he releases the chamber. We are told it's supposed to be a really smooth hit. How did it feel?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Felt amazing, actually. Felt really smooth, really clean and no harshness whatsoever.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is it high in one hit sort of deal?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, feeling pretty good right now.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you for chatting with us. Thanks for demonstrating for us. Again, one of the examples of the many different vendors that are here, some 650 vendors from all across the country, we talked to people from Washington state, others from here in Colorado, others who have come from California. So, it really is a cannabis convention, much like the super bowl or the equivalent for the marijuana industry, back to you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Wow, quite the phenomenon taking place there. All right, Ana Cabrera, you have opened our eyes. Thank you so much. All right. Tune in tonight starting at 9 p.m. For dr. Sanjay Gupta's special "Weed 3" followed by the premiere of CNN's new series "High Profits" right after that, 10 p.m. Eastern and pacific.

There's still so much more straight ahead, I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Thanks for being with me this afternoon. Poppy Harlow up next.