>> but what is the administration doing behind the scenes? >> real perspective, consider this on al jazeera america on "america tonight" - headed to the hot zone. the unparalleled ebola epidemic, and the president's plan to fight the enemy. >> the men and women and children are just sitting, waiting to die much right now. way. >> what he's proposing, and whether it will be enough to stop a killer raging out of

control in west africa. also ahead - a "america tonight" ipp depth focus -- indepth focus on policing the police. beyond flash point ferguson. questions about police departments and excessive forks and what happens after a clash between suspect and officer. >> if a police officer takes a life, let's make sure the department involved in that shooting doesn't vet itself much "america tonight" christoph puttsel on an indepth look on why that is not as easy as you might think. heat in the highland - scotland on the eve of a vote that could split it from london for the first time in more than 300 years. will the scots choose a disunited england

. good evening, thanks for joining us, i'm joeie chen. the president announces that he is putting boots on the ground in a fight against a raging enemy. the battle is against the ebola epidemic, ravaging at a paralleling pace. president obama says he'll put troops in the vicinity in the task of setting up treatment centers. it's been estimated to cost $1 billion to contain the epidemic. u.s. officials say the odds of the virus spreading here is low. as announced the stepped-up effort to stop ebola, the president insists it's a serious security threat to our country. >> today, thousands of people in west africa are infected. that could grow to tens of thousands.

if the outbreak is not stopped now, we could be looking at hundreds of thousands of people infected with profound political and economic and security implications for all of us. >> under pressure to put his country at the forefront in a fight against a raging epidemic, the president laid out a raging expansion. washington earmarked 175 million to battle ebola, including $22 million for a facility to treat medical workers, calling for $88 million in spending. repurposed from defense department funds. 3,000 u.s. troops would join in the fight, setting up treatment centers and bringing in supplies. even a command center led by a u.s. army general. it would aim to train as many as 500 new health care workers each week. it is not clear how long it will take to set up the treatment centers.

that is what is needed with the infected lying in the streets of monrovia, and the numbers of cases growing faster than they can keep up with. >> coordination is stronger. we are still behind the curve. >> aid worker shaun casey told us of desperation seen in liberia. >> there are holes everywhere. there are holes in agencies to respond at various levels. there are gaps in training. there are gaps in the pipeline for personal protective equipment. i think it's a positive step to see military engagement. >> it must come quickly. the world health organisation says the number infected or killed by the virus doubled in just the last few weeks. >> to the situation now we are looking forward, we risk a

humanitarian catastrophe if we do not see rapid action to scale up not just the ebola response, but the provision of essential service, and the support platform needed to place. >> the president plans signals washington sees the u.s. national security interest and the human desperation the crisis brought to west africa. >> the men and women and children are sitting waiting to die. right now. and it doesn't have to be this way. >> so is the u.s. plan too little too late. jc morrison, senior vice president at the center for strategic and intranational studies is with us. let's talk to that question. there seem to be an about-face for the administration on how to handle ebola, and what the u.s. involvement is. >> this is a dramatic step taken, after a bit of internal

deliberation and criticism of the earlier moves, they come forwardway $750 million multifaceted package that has 3,000 troops deployed, a command and control center under a flag officer, u.s. military general. >> what changed here? what happened. >> i think several things happened. i think they were criticized internally by those that remember rwanda. many of the key personalities in this administration lived there rwanda during the clinton administration and said never again at that time. that's one thing. second is the evidence of the exponential takeoff of this epidemic, and people waking up and thinking my lord, it could go from 5,000 to 250,000 in rocket speed if something is not done. and third, they - the fear around mutation of the virus, and the notion that is now

actively debated that as the population exposed to ebola widens and deepens, the prospects for possible mutation that would make it transmissible by air could go up. we don't know. so all of those things combined, i think, let this administration to do a lot of soul searching and agree to lead in this dramatic and bold way. >> force their hand. what does it do for other potential partners internationally. will there be an echo or reflection of the commitment by the u.s.? >> let first point out, until the u.s. took this step there was a security vacuum in west africa that no one would puzzle their way around. everywhere looked and said we must have several thousands health workers, new beds, new facilities treatment site and isolation units and mobile labs.

and everyone would go how can you do that when the air connections collapse, when the risk of exposure and infection has gone through the sealing. what will happen, how will this be done, and the answer was there has to be a major military-style operation, and only the united states has the capacity to lift the logistics, engineering, coordination, command and control to do this. >> is there a sense that there's a political issue that will have to be resolved. we are talking about a lot of resources. this is a national security question for the united states, not just a humanitarian issue, but a threat. this is not unlike the decision taken by george bush in stwooe, in saying that the aides epidemic is a security threat and a moral and ethical obligation, combined.

it's something where u.s. leadership has to be intoouffed on a significant -- introduced on a significant scale and type others to the balance. >> will it be enough. we are not clear on how long it will take. >> we don't know. it's an unprecedented outbreak. this has the potential to be ever more catastrophic. when you say will it be enough. we don't know if we'll get ahead of this with the introduction of 17-00 beds. i hope so. right now today in liberia, you have 430 beds. you'll add 17-00. will they feel and there'll be a demand nor another 1700. >> because they acknowledged full. >> we need proof that the exponential growth rate of new infections, the transition is on an exponential scale.

it has to be bent. the arc has to be bend down, flattened and produced. we need to see proof of that, and we know what the major interventions are that will do that. the situation is out of control. this - requiring this very dramatic step. the other thing i want to say about whether it be enough, it will not be enough for seerar and guinea. we need other partners, other military and civilian partners or it can't be stopped. >> steven morrison, senior vice president at the center for international and strategic studies, thank you. >> when we return, a look at excessive force in the wake of flashpoint ferguson, a mother's anguish as she sees her son's final moment. >> he put the gun to my son's head, and he's screaming for help. and it didn't go off right away,

and then the gun went off. i saw my son fall to the ground. i fell to the ground. >> what happened after his death, and why it raises new questions about who vets when -- investigates when cops do the shooting. "america tonight"s christof putzel in an indepth look at policing the police. later, the high land, and a vote for the people, a vote in scotland that could lead to a >> on tech know, fire, devastating and out of control >> what's at stake here? >> there's approximately 360 homes... >> but now experts say they can predict how a blaze might spread >> this has been in a fire, now we gotta get the data out of it >> playing with fire... >> you guys are working just to save lives... >> i hope so... >> tech know every saturday go where science meets humanity >> sharks like affection >> spot on... >> don't try this at home... >> tech know, only on al jazeera america

>> a firsthand look at the ongoing battle against the isil threat. >> bombs are cracking off in the distance... >> this is a booby trap in the islamic state >> ...a sniper around the corner here... >> from the front lines, josh rushing reports, on al jazeera america real reporting that brings you the world. giving you a real global perspective like no other can. real reporting from around the world. this is what we do. al jazeera america. we have been closely washing developments in ferguson, missouri, where the gunning down of australian unarmed teenager ignited striking on the streets. the community is waiting to see whether the officer who pulled the trigger would be indicted. there are questions about a

delay in that decision. >> lori jane gliha reported from ferguson, and is here to explain what happens next. a delay is possible here. >> initially the hope was the grand jury would have reviewed the evidence to determine what they wanted to do with the case. that is still possible. they have until january 7th to decide. this is the reason why. the grand jury has been meeting since may, before the michael brown shooting. typically they meet for four months and that ended september 10th. a judge decided to extend the amount of time they have to consider evidence to the maximum amount of time allowable for a grand jury to meet. they have six months and received an extra 60 days on top of that. the prosecutor's officer told me they'll continue to present their case, the attorney for michael brown was did not with the extension. >> as martin luther king said many years ago, justice delayed

is justice denied. we don't want to believe they are trying to sweep it under the rug. we want faith that the system also. >> that was ben crump in washington d.c. on a panel, discussing a bigger issue copping to light and being addressed, and that is racial profiling. the panel included a virginia police chief, the director of the washington n.a.a.c.p. and someone from the policing center for equity, talking about the need for datas and racial profiling. he said there was a need to make changes, but oftentimes there was no plan. >> the reason there has been no plan is not because individuals and organizations have not been fighting the fight, but we can't answer basic questions like how often does it happen. where does it happen. how bad is the problem.

>> so there is a project going on with the center for policing equity, and 54 police departments around the country, working together on data on police behaviour, including pedestrian stop, policing stop. and the plan is to compare the policies, and identify factors that lead to greater racial disparity and figure out which policies are working and what is not helping to promote justice. >> it sounds complicated. are there other efforts in play that might address the issue on a national or federal level. >> there's a push for the end racial profiling act. it's pending in front of congress, and was introduced. and would mandate special training for law enforcement agencies on issues like compiling data among a slew of other things. and a push for the justice department to revise the guidance given to federal agencies for the use of race in

policing. that guide arranges the most recent guidance that came out was in tree. there's a push that the justice department needs to stop forward and do ag. >> and to update, given what we have seen. lori jane gliha following up from that story for us. as the investigation into michael brown's death continues, larger questions are raised. police shootings in the country are investigated often by the police themselves. very few instances are the police found to be at fault. one grieving father made his mission to change that. "america tonight"s christof puttsel has his story. >> reporter: mary moved her sons violence. >> i decided i didn't want them to be statistics. i made a choice to bring them here. so they could get the education, be involved in the community sports. like they were there.

>> that dream of a new beginning, and a safer life for 30th. >> here. >> he was laying down here. >> that afternoon maria's son was sleeping in red arrow park when an officer woke and searched him. the two argued. >> the officer pulled his baton out and struck dantre with the bat on. he took the baton, and was standing in an offense imanner, but -- offensive manner, but never struck the baton. at that stage an officer underloaded his weapon 14 times. >> reporter: why would someone shoot someone 14 times? emotion. >> reporter: the shooting is under investigation, the destruct attorney is yet to determine if charges will be fired against an officer. >> a lot of police officers get

a slap on the wrist. >> the course of justice could be different this time. hamilton was killed days after wisconsin governor signed a law, stating that investigations should be committed by an outside agency. it was the cull minition of a bill by michael bell. whose son was also shot by police much son. >> he ha some flaws, he was bandaging his brother's knee. i snapped the picture. and that was the last photo i took of him. >> reporter: on the night of november 7th, 2004, michael bell junior was stopped by the police in front of his mother and sister's house while driving a friend's vehicle. captured on a police car's camera, the situation escalated.

>> hands behind your back. [ inaudible ] . >> hands behind your back now. right now. >> some of the witnesses said they saw michael at that point was running with his hands behind his back like this, towards the back of the house. >> in later statements, the officer said bell continued to violently resist arrest in spite of being dazed. michael bell senior shows me what he said happened next. michael was bent over the car this way, with his hands blpd his back, and an officer holding michael in a bear hug. the officer screamed "he's got my gun." >> the officer stated "my gun was being taken away from me." >> this police re-enactment shows their version of events. but an independent investigation raised another possibility - one

supported by witnesses and forensic tests. >> reporter: a theory you had is you think the officer may have had his gun hooked on a mirror. >> he screamed he has my gun. he knew something was tugging on the gun. that's when he decided to take his life. >> reporter: d.n.a. testing showed no evidence that bell stuffed the holesster or the revolver. bell's mother insists her son never reached for the gun. how are you. >> good. >> i'm chris. >> now divorced from michael bell, kill has never shown the media what she saw that night, until today. >> mike's hands, you could see them. he had his jacket on, and the cop put the gun on my son's head. we were screaming for help. it didn't go off right away. then the gun went off.

i saw my son towards the ground. i fell to the ground. >> i know. >> bell senior, who didn't witness the shooting initially withheld judgment. as a retired military pilot, familiar with investigative procedure, he expected the facts would be sort out. >> i expected it to go down like the united states air force, in the way they conduct mishap investigations. >> reporter: how did it go down? >> it was a sham. within 48 hours, i get a reporter from the local newspaper, and he said the police held a review panel and cleared themselves of wrongdoing. two days they cleared it. the autopsy was not complete. none of this came back. he began researching how police shooting was investigated, and found.

>> i didn't understand at the time. the police investigated themselves and they give it to the da and makes the decision based on the data. in the 120 years, since 1825, we cannot find a police department, an inquest jury or fire commission that said shooting was unjustified. >> reporter: he vowed to fight for change. >> if a police officer takes the life, let's make sure the department involved in the shooting doesn't investigate itself. i contacted big-time reporters for "the washington post", the "new york times", everything. not even a response. wise. >> reporter: he began to gather a team, all who had experienced violence at the hands of wisconsin police. they sought government in common tragedy and huddled together to float reform. there was amelia, whose unarmed

room-mate paul, was gunned down by a policeman who mistook him for a burger. and that woman's son was shot by a milwaukee police officer. >> his hands were up, reminded me of ferguson. >> and sonya moore. her son derek williams suffocated in the back of the police cruiser, pleading for help. in all cases the officers were ab solved of responsibility. >> you're looking for justice that i didn't get, and i'm glad everyone is fighting. i don't know how to fight. if i didn't have anyone in the room. i don't have a lot of fight because i don't know how, without people. >> the group honed their message to a fine point. when police killed, should they judge themselves. bell spend over $100,000 on a billboard campaign, leasing every one in the mouk christopher gibson area.

at that time there were $12.5 million driving by. every place you saw. >> i am not anti-cop. >> without support from the wisconsin police unions, there was little chance the reform would become law. bell reached out. >> i contacted the director of the state's largest police soaks. at first he lambasted me. how dare you talk to me. you thing you have a conversation with the billboards and adds running. as long as the billboards were run. i couldn't begin na dialogue. >> he said if you take down your billboards. i will help you craft a bill that you suggest and let's see if we can run it through the legislator. >> he took the billboards down and we began a dialogue. >> reporter: the two bonded over

a common goal, ensuring public trust in the police. >> the degree of trust and confidence is fundamentally important to the jobs they do. i think everyone in law enforce. importance. >> with union backing, the bill was signed. >> the whole team was there, mothers of others who have been killed by police officers were standing behind the governor. >> how did you feel when the bill was passed? >> like i accomplished my mission, and i did what i was supposed to do. that's what i felt like. happy? >> yes. carolina... >> bell and his team are setting their sights on other states. >> finally they are like hey, 49 states now have this, why

doesn't our state have this, and eventually it will change over. >> even in wisconsin, the struggle is far from over. [ chanting ] >> reporter: recently family and friends of dontre hamilton gathered to protest the slow pace of his death. the police department is accused of ignoring the new law. >> hamilton's mother is starting down the long row that michael we'll used before. . >> i want his name, his voice to be heard as long as i have breath. we'll dedicate our lives to the change in our community. i'm not leaving any more. form - "america tonight"s christoph puttsel follow up on his report, policing the police,

with the story of a new york man that refocussed his relationship with law enforcement. >> that opened my window and mind to realise i was a victim of police harassment. after the break scotland gets ready for an historical vote that could put an end to the 370-year-old u.k. as we know it.

>> start with one issue education... gun control... the gap between rich and poor... job creation... climate change... tax policy... the economy... iran... healthcare... ad guests on all sides of the debate. >> this is a right we should all have... >> it's just the way it is... >> there's something seriously wrong... >> there's been acrimony... >> the conservative ideal... >> it's an urgent need... and a host willing to ask the tough questions >> how do you explain it to yourself? and you'll get... the inside story ray suarez hosts inside story

weekdays at 5 eastern only on al jazeera america >> now a snapshot of stories making headlines on "america tonight". fast-moving fires scorched california, forcing 2,000 to flee. they have destroyed a quarter of the small town of we'd california -- weed, california. strong winds and drought could help the fire spread. wiping tears from their eyes, a near since the government contractor opened mire in a building -- fire inside a building on the marine site, before police killed him. a bell rang for each of the victims as their names were red. the new jersey boardwalk is dimmer after a 30 years run. trump plaza closing up its draw, a prime location on the board wourk. the casino is last.

trump plaza is the fourth casino to close on the boardwalk. this week scotland takes a step in the long-running campaign for independence. you may recall the movie "braveheart", in which mel gibson plays william wallace, a loose depict of the independence. the scots are calling for independence, and will decide whether they will go it alone. >> reporter: it's a fantastic other worldly landscape. carved by glaciers, settled by a bold and hardy people. a land with a unique history and enormous decision to make. >> it will come around one in a lifetime. the opportunity is now. >> we have a chance to change the future. >> this will give us the chaps to change it. >> if there was a time where your voice was important and this. >> reporter: the scots will vote

on a simple question - whether a yes will mean a split for the u.k. breaking apart a political union agreed to 300 years ago. americans might see scotland as the northern part of england. they are two distinct nations that share the same islands since the early 1700s, after scottish nationalists stage a fight for independence and lost. the counter campaign is led by this man, and a strong appeal to scottish nationals. >> no one, absolutely no one will run the affairs of the country better than the people who live and work in scotland. no one cares more about scotland. we are a rich nation, a resourceful people. we can create a prosperous nation, and a fairer society, a vision for the people of scotland. this is our time, our moment. let us do it now. >> reporter:

one of the biggest pitches of a yes campaign is an independent scotland will be better off because of this, oil. most of it comes from the east coast of the scotland. an independent nature claims the bulk of the prospects. kenny runs a successful company in aberdeen, he votes yes. >> oil was discovered in the 1960, when i was a teenager. ever since i was a teenager they said it was running out. i think we could have had a stronger economy. infrastructure invest. encouragement from the u.k. treasury has been stronger. >> reporter: others say the predictions of wealth and prosperity after independence is empty promises. >> no nuclear weapons, expanding nhs, continuing pension, expanding child care, you name it we can have it, the only

thing not promised is long hot summers and white chrises. we can -- christmases, we can have it all. >> it's warned a split could have nonintended consequences. >> independence would not be a trial separation, it would be a pain. divorce. as prime minister, i have to tell you what that would mean. it would mean we no longer share the same currency, the armed forces built up being split up. it would mean the pension funds being sliced up, the boarders we have would become international and no longer be easily crossed, and the support from british embassies when you are travelling around the world, that would come to an end. >> if the yes campaign win, it wouldn't be anned in break -- an immediate break, disentangling it would take two years.

what to do about this naval base, surrounded by mountains and deep water, it's home to the british ballistic missile force. scotland is expected to go nuclear free after independence, home. secure. >> scots who oppose independence insist despite the difference, the two are better off together. >> we don't need to leave the u.k. to be scottish. we can have the best of both worlds. a scottish parliament with more powers and the opportunity to be a part of one of the biggest economies in the world. the opposition is struggling. the latest poll shows the independence campaign has the momentum, with a result too close to call. >> in a final push, opponents are pulling out all the stocks. >> forbidden for playing a role, the queen has her own loyalties. it is known as a favourite

vacation spot. news reports signal her majesty would be less than pleased to see her realm divided. with hours before the vote, the reserved english are rallying with an unusually emotional appeal to win the scots back. >> we cannot say anything to you, except we wanted to say that we do care, that people outside scotland - we care about you in scotland. you are part of the u.k. family. we would really stay. >> a plea for unity, will the scots stay. john nicholson joins us. he's a scotsman and a journalist who has written a piece saying our children have thanked us if we vote yes. we know where your heart lies. it's emotional for the scots. >> it's incredibly close, and it's emotional for both sides. there are people who are

passionate with pro union views and those that are passionate for the end of the union. the polls suggest that we are on a knife edge. i think the key will be the people who registered to vote, because huge numbers have registered. more than 95%, which is unprecedented, and the pollsters go. >> i know that you have worked in the states, and you have seen the election process. would you compare it in some way to the emotions drawn up in something like that. >> we don't have hanging charts. that is one important difference here. it's a different issue. it must be quite easy for americans to understand the emotion of wanting to be an independent country. it's easy to persuade an american that having a declaration of independence, and succeeding from london is a good idea. you did it a while before us. we are thinking of doing it a bit later. we joined with england in a

treaty of union between the two countries, we were never part of an empire. it was scotland and england joining to form a free trade, if you like. a prototype european union. a lot of scots say we control our domestic policy but we don't control our tax or oil wealth, and we are a wealthy economy, and we don't control foreign affairs or defense. that is a big issue for scots, especially in the aftermath of the iraq war, where a lot of people say scots want to support the war, how come scottish soldiers were sent to fight, sometimes to die that our parliament in edinburgh had no control over. >> the emotions run hoy in terms of the image of scotland, in the international space. i mean, after all, you field sports teams. >> we do.

scotland is in a unique position. we have a different legal system, we have a separate education system and personals. and we place sports as a separate country. this is an important issue for a lot of people. scotland fields a separate soccer team. scotland is the only country in the world which plays sport independently, o but which doesn't have a separate seat at the united nations. why does that matter. it matters because for many decades, a century and more since people started playing soccer. it kept alive the sense of scotland as a separate country, we are a separate nation, a separate country, but we are not a separate state. the u.k., by contrast, is a state, but some argue it's neither a country nor a nation. indeed, to this day we never managed to invent a name for sit

sense, the word doesn't exist. >> we know where your heart lies in this, we'll see what happens on thursday. joining us from glasgow, journalist and yes supporter. thank you so much. >> great pleasure. when we return to "america tonight". a dangerous force and disappearing generation. >> my children are running a risk every day. i can't lock them up. they must confront life and face the reality we are living every day, and that is go out and you may never return. >> el salvador, one of the most violent countries in the world, and the mothers and fathers who haven't given up

>> consider this: the news of the day plus so much more. >> we begin with the growing controversy. >> answers to the questions no one else will ask. >> why did so many of these people choose to risk their

lives? >> antonio mora, award winning and hard hitting. >> people are dying because of this policy... >> there's no status quo, just the bottom line. >> but what is the administration doing behind the scenes? >> real perspective, consider this on al jazeera america >> i'm joie chen, i'm the host of america tonight, we're revolutionary because we're going back to doing best of storytelling. we have an ouportunity to really reach out and really talk to voices that we haven't heard before... i think al jazeera america is a watershed moment for american journalism the blight of central american migrant children, as we reported here, focuses new tangs on what they leave behind. one country that has seen an exodus of children is el salvador, one of the most violent countries in the world. now we learn that this year has been one of the worst in the last decade.

with more than 2500 killed in gang violence, and more disappearing. >> from el salvador, we have their story. >> reporter: anna and her family try to find comfort. with family and neighbours, they pray and sing in their tiny home. four times a week they hold religious celebrations until their 14-year-old son disappeared three years ago. her husband can't bring himself to talk about it. >> translation: someone was going to introduce him to a girl. he said, "i will be right back." he never returns. >> reporter: anna counts the days since his disappearance. every week she takes a one hour bus ride to the prosecutor's office.

he was last seen on a street corner. anna believes he was killed gang. >> inside the investigators who asked not to be filmed. >> with no body and witnesses. >> they told me to be patient, and bring them information. but i don't know anything. >> many families and mothers have become the first line of investigation in the search for their loved ones. all carry photos and are desperate for news. >> this person is looking for her son, missing since january. >> alberto and his wife have looked everywhere for their daughter. now they are here at the morgue. >> we are looking for her dead or alive. the important thing is that we get her back. if she's dead, i want her to be returned to me. >> reporter: their children

could be among the remains piled in boxes at the coroner's office. one of many around the country. they are the bones of at least 80 people in a few small rooms, all victims of violence, identifying them is a technically complex task. >> we can see they are tortured and dismembered. we can only find body parts. by doing this, they can send of message of what they are capable to do to their victims. none believe the relatives are alive or the gangs are not to blame. their search are relentless, despite the gang threats to stop. nearly every day families come to small police officers like this, go to the morgue or the prosecutor's office looking for information about lost relatives.

a challenge is to give information, and that comes under a gang witness protection programme. rival groups and street gangs have a code of silence, and punish those that break it with death. we were granted rare access to talk to them at this police gaol. asked about the thousands of el uncompromising. >> these are things that only we know. i can't explain it to you. it's a rule of the game. >> crime-related violence claimed the lives of more than 20,000 el salvadorans since 2009. the violence has become endemic. gangs are all around, extorting businesses, killing adverse airies, and forking minors to be part of the gang or be killed. in security and threats,

youngsters are forced to take a dangerous journey north, mainly lives. >> police say without doubt the majority of disappeared are victims of gang violence. over 2,000 missing since 2013. deputy police chief howard says the gang philosophy is simple. if there is no crime. >> what is most worrying is the practice of disappearing bodies is a mechanism to hide a crime. so the investigations can't mo ahead and the cases unsolved. >> the only forensic criminologist in el salvador is willing to risk his life though give answers to the desperate mothers. police escort him and the team, because the gangs bury their victims in isolated and dangerous areas they control.

>> this is a well-known cannes deft joined -- clandestined cemetery. >> thousands of people's remains were exhumed. witnesses provide information about locations and victims. he digs for weeks or months trying to find what he's looking for. >> translation: i'd like to have a gift with a vision to know there's symmetry here, bodies there, and tell a mother here is the daughter to find relief. they tell me find some of my child's bones so i can peace. >> reporter: many mothers go to grave sites where he works. anna went to one. the wait was painful. >> several months went by. bodies were on top of each other.

most were mutilated. police had to construct each one. my son was not there. >> reporter: families turn here as a final hope. >> translation: they bring pictures of their children, descriptions of physical features, the date they were missing and point out areas they believe they could be buried. i tell them to go to the police. they say they are afraid. >> for more than a decade, the government says it's trying to make security a priority. the results are much debated. justice minister nose much more needs to be done for the victims and their families. >> we are taking the necessary steps to implement new policies, to respond to the people pily. is there more to be done? >> of course. we can't hide the fact that we reforms. >> meanwhile. thousands of el salvadorans are living in fear.

gangs pledged to stop killing in another trucks the second in two years. convinced. >> anna prays that her other children will be protected. threatened by the gangs to stop looking, her eldest son fled to the united states to stay safe. >> translation: my children are running a risk every day. i can't lock them up. they must confront life and face the reality we are living every day, and that is go out and you may never return. >> a terrible fear reinforced by a grim reality in this tiny nation of just 6 million people. and when we return, an effort to open source seeds. the global initiative to prevent big corporations from patenting seeds for every vegetable grown

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did you know that there's a fierce debate about where seeds come from, and who should have access to them. some are restricted. we travel to maddison wisconsin, where a group of scientists and activists trying to change policies have been dug up. >> reporter: this professor is not a fan of indentured seed. each genetically modified seed has been patented 32 times to restrict its use. chemical companies have been looking behind patented seeds for new sources of income. at stake, traditional non-g.m. vegetable seeds and germ plasm, the genes they contain. >> we saw this on onions, beet. if we don't do something now, it will be taken off the table.

>> this couple helped to found the open-source seed initiative, what they hope will be a global library of seeds for breeders, farmers and gardeners to use freely. 70% of the commercial seed could be described as indentured. as corporations patent crops, prohibited. >> without that you breed in a material. >> as a result, the global pool of genetic resources shrinks. >> what we need, as we face the challenges that are coming with climate change, if we are going to, indeed, not to feed the 10 billion, not to allow the 10 billion to feed themselves. what we need is a raping of new plant cult uvors. >> the

monopolisation of commercial crops in america is felt at humble levels. >> most of the corn we planted at home when i was a kid is not available. this is the baby. >> glenda used open source feed. like the seeds from chemical companies, they come with conditions, but they are different. this is the open-source seed pledge. by opening this packet, it says, you pledge that you will not restrict others use of the seeds and derivatives by patents, licences or any other means. >> organic, local and fair trade food have grown in popularity. supporters of open source feed hope they'll be a choice for farmers and consumers about the corporate monopolisation of global food. >> since the seeds are considered intellectual property, you need permission

from a patent holder to use them, or you are not supposed to harvest seeds for replanting. that's it for us here on "america tonight". tomorrow we visit staten island new york. where a group of vigilantes have given new being to noob our hood watch. we show why the focus is on the cops, not the criminals. >> if you would like to comment on the stories, log on to the website. you can join the conversation with us any time - on twitter or at our facebook page. >> goodnight. we'll have more of "america tonight",

will american ground troops go to iraq to fight i.s.i.l. after all? what military leaders said on capitol hill. thousands of american troops are now headed to west africa to combat the out of control ebola epidemic. i'm antonio mora, welcome to "consider this". those stories and more ahead. >> americans could be fighting on the ground. >> using specific operations.