♪ some flowers ♪ >> miley cyrus. and number three. ♪ baby show me that you can ♪ >> and selena gomez, calm down. and iconic sax player has died. he played with the likes of miles davis and art blakely. ♪ he won 12 grammys over the course of his career. wayne shorter was 89 years old. thanks for joining me. i'm christine romans. have a wonderful weekend and great rest of your day. "cnn this morning" starts right now.

guilty verdict. signed by the forelady. >> and we had no doubt that if we had a chance to present our case in a court of law, that they would see through the one last con that alex murdaugh was trying to pull and they d. >> wow. what a night. >> so quick. >> so fast. what a night. we'll get into all of it. good morning, everyone. it is friday. we're dwglad you're us with. it took that jury less than three hours. alex murdaugh found guilty of murdering his own wife and son. hours from now, the sentencing, plus this -- >> it just came up. glass breaking out anywhere. tornadoes ripping through texas and louisiana as well. the severe weather threat is not

over yet for millions of americans we have correspondents live on the ground. we also have this for you. >> i'm begging you, by the grace of god, please, people, do what is best. >> can you hear the outrage and desperation. it is boil over in east pal stun. families are demanding to evacuated or relocated from their own hometown. >> but first, in a couple hours, disgraced south carolina attorney alex murdaugh will be sentenced after a jury convicted him of murdering his wife and lon. 11 injuries deliberated for less than three hours. he faces a potential life sentence behind bars. the prosecution team praising the justice system. >> their voice was heard to neutral and justice was brought for them. we can't bring them back, but we

can bring them justice. today's verdict proves that no one -- no one, no matter who you are in society is above the law. >> that is the attorney general of south carolina. let's go to south carolina where our dianne gallagher is live. you've been covering this trial. dianne, wow. beyond a reasonable doubt guilty in less than three hours. >> unanimous decision by those 12 jurors taking less than three hours. and what you heard the attorney general talking about there, accountability. the fact that no one is above the law. that's the reason why there were already members of the public lined up outside the courthouse to get to see alex murdaugh get sentenced for killing his wife and son. >> guilty verdict. verdict, guilty. verdict, guilty. verdict, guilty. >> reporter: alex murdaugh, a prominent local family of lourz and solicitors found guilty of murdering his wife maggie and son paul after just three hours

of jury deliberations. >> it doesn't matter who your family s it doesn't matter how much money you have or them e. people think you v it doesn't matter what you think how prominent you are. if you do wrong, if you break the law, if you murder, justice will be done in south carolina. >> reporter: the jury was seen with heads down, never looking in murdaugh's direction as the verdict was read. his only living son was present in the courtroom while the verdict was read. appearing at times to wipe tears from his eyes. after the guilty verdict came down, the judge denied a motion from the defense asking for a mistrial and to set aside the verdict. >> the evidence of guilt is overwhelming. i deny the motion. >> the prosecution indicated they will be seeking a life sentence without the possibility of parole. sparing him the death penalty. the case wrapped up earlier thursday with the defense's

closing arguments, attempting one last time to poke holes in the state's case. >> the theory is that he slaughtered his wife and son to distract from an impending financial investigation. but he puts himself in the murder of a investigation and he puts himself in the spotlight of a media firestorm. >> and further slamming the investigation. >> we believe that we have shown conclusively that they failed miserably in investigating this case. >> reporter: they favored the prosecution's argument that murdaugh is the only one with the motive, means, and opportunity to kill his wife and son. >> he did it. nobody else did it. nobody else did do it. >> over the roughly six week trial, they featured the case featuring testimony from 61

witnesses and extensive evident of his financial misdeeds. >> our criminal justice system worked tonight. it gave a voice to maggie and paul murdaugh. >> and that is what the members of the public who are already here want to see. they want to see that sentencing which is xescheduled to begin around 9:30 this morning. the state said they're not going to seek the death penalty. they are going to seek life in prison without parole. the judge can make that determination between 30 years and that life sentence for those murder charges. again, people essentially just want to see this, poppy. alex murdaugh didn't really make any sort of movements when he was found guilty. when they read the verdicts out, he sort of shook his head, had a blank face and briefly sort of mouthed some words to his son buster. that was it. we'll see if we have that same reaction this morning when he is sentenced. we do expect there to be family victim impact statements as well. >> i was just going ask that. that is always a very powerful

and important thing to see. dianne, thank you very much. i want to bring in our cnn legal analyst and criminal defense attorney joey jackson. joey, good morning to you. you know your way around a courtroom. you never know. is this fast to you? >> it was, indeed. you have a six-week trial. and, of course, the judge constantly instructs the jury as to don't talk about the case. don't render any conclusions or make ninl decisions. that being said, obviously, the jury as they're locked into the case listening to the testimony throughout that time had formulated some firm opinions with resfopect to what they believe. i don't think the firm opinions would come back three hours later in a guilty verdict. so it was resounding. it was just a resounding decision that they rejected the narrative of the defense and completely adopted the narrative of the prosecution, at least as to guilty. >> do you think it was a mistake to take the stand? >> you know what? i don't think he had a choice,

right? we all have choices. let me tell you why. remember his denials, denials, denials? wasn't there? don't know. nothing to see here? when they got evidence, remember the video where everyone said, hey, that's your voice. you could argue it backfired. he lied just about everyone in his life. the jury could conclude, hey, you lied to your partners. you lie to your familiarly. you look us in the eye just like them. you lied to us. >> one of the things that will be interesting as we look ahead to sentencing in a few hours is whether the jej considers mitigating factors or aggravating pactors. can you explain what those are and how that could change? >> absolutely. i'll answer it in a short and long way. the short way is i don't think the judge is going to consider

any mitigation. i think we have a situation where the jury rendered a verdict. throughout the trial, the judge is a referee. ensuring you have a fair trial and that justice is done. once they render a decision and says you're guilty, all bets are off. that is a proxy to the state to administer justice. i think that will be administered in a life sentence. that's my view. in terms of aggravating factors, i mean -- >> which can increase one's sentence. >> the nature and gravity of the defense of the offense, excuse me, with respect to conduct that, is aggravating alone. you kill your wife and son and do you it in such a graphic, horrific terrible way? that's aggravating. you can say mitigation is his opioid addition. mitigation is his service to his community all his life. mitigation is the fact he was a lawyer. nonsense. in a situation like this, it comes down to what is just, what is appropriate, what is right? i think the law allows for a

life sentence. you took two lives. i think he'll be doing potentially multiple life sentences. >> i think people kincan't wait hear. they want to hear from the jury. did they take a poll? did everyone say guilty, guilty, guilty, let's move on. >> to that point, i wonder. the biggest thing if you speak to most people who follow this i would agree, the motive was kind of a disconnect. was motive based on financial motivation and that's why you killed your family? in my view, to your point, speaking to the jurors, i want to know whether they even cared. they just got to the meat and potatoes. we find the evidence shows you did this. i don't care why you did it. we're going to make sure we conclude that you're accountable. so, yes, i'm interesting in hearing what they have to say too. >> think, joey jackson. >> thank you. >> lots more ahead on cnn this morning. we're going to be joined by eric bland. he is representing gloria

satterfield's family, the house keeper who died on the murdaugh family. what he and the family think of the verdict. of that's coming up. as we wait for that sentencing hearing that is happening this morning, there is outrage, fear, just plain desperation that is coming to a head in east palestine during a town hall last night. >> i'm begging you, by the grace of god, please get our people out of here! >> those are residence of east palestine speaking to officials for the area. they're demanding to be relocated from their own homes. they're afraid their kids are going to get cancer. they don't feel safe living in their own town anymore after a train that was loaded with those toxic chemicals crashed and burned a month ago. last night the train's company representati representative tried to reassure

residents but they got an earful. >> we're very sorry for what happened. we feel horrible about it. >> then get us out! [ shouting ] we have plain. we're ready to start tomorrow morning at 6:00 a.m. [ shouting ] >> we're going to do that. we're going to do that. [ shouting ] >> we're going to clean it up. [ shouting ] you can just hear the frustration in their voices. we're live in east palestine, ohio. buffoon covering this. we heard from the train km

company's representative there. he is not the ceo. he said they were ready to start removing that track because they want to get the contaminated dirt under it. that was supposed to start at 6:00 a.m. it's now 6:12. has it started yet? >> well, it probably has. but it has been going on for quite some time. we're as close as can you get to the derailment now. there is one area behind us. i can see lots of personnel on the other side of the tracks there. there is at least two tracks that go through this area where the derailment happened. they're going to pull up the southern end of it. they're going to remove the tens of thousands of tons of toxic soil under the southern tracks and replace it with fresh earth. they're going to put those tracks back on. they're going to do the same thing on the north side of those tracks. the other thing the epa is going

to force them to do is test the air for an area for dioxin. this is something that residence, you know, are upset. they want certainty. they want answers. all of those things are hard to come by. but the dioxins, possible chemicals, harmful chemicals reat created by the fire. the other thing happening is the ntsb is starting to dig more into this investigation. they're looking at the tank cars themselves. they're now issuing an advisory to other freight carriers. the valve was supposed to be a release valve. that meant they had to do an emergency venting of the cars which created even bigger

problem for the air and for residence here. it is clear that they will stay very busy. norfolk southern saying by the end of april when this work will be done. back to you. >> wow. that's almost two months away. the ceo will be on the hill testifying next week. miguel, we'll check back in with you. >> this powerful storm hitting the south, stirring up large tornadoes. we're in texas and louisiana. what they're seeing on the ground is next. music (i swear) jaycee tried gain flings for the first time the other day...and forgot where she was. you can always spot a first timer. gainin flings with oxi boost and febreze. ♪

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look at that. >> holy! >> where is it going? >> that way. >> i mean, my goodness. look at. that a powerful storm packing a triple threat of large hail, damaging winds, and tornadoes tearing through the south. listen to that. that is storm sirens. they were heard blaring in dallas. wind gusts reached over 70 miles per hour. knocking out power to thousands of customers and forcing the cancellation of hundreds of flights. fwist twister also touched down in louisiana.

the university of louisiana campus were damaged and homes and businesses were destroyed. four million people now under a new tornado watch across the mississippi river valley. we have team coverage across the south. we're in shreveport, louisiana. first, we turn to littlee elm, texas. look behind you. >> this is the most extensive damage we've seen because of the storm last night. this was the facade of -- it is a meat market which collapsed in the high winds that you were talking about, crushing a half dozen cars. but by and large, you know, this storm system which was massive, 500 miles long which stretched from san antonio all the way into southeast oklahoma, you know, moved through this area very quickly with those high intense winds. by and large, you know, most of the area in this north texas area unscathed by this storm. there are still over about 100,000 customers without power

because of the high winds knocking over power lines or, you know, blowing up transformers, that sort of thing. that is the issues that people are dealing with this morning. the good news is no injuries, no deaths being reported because of this storm. of but the size and it's the second severe storm outbreak we've seen just this week. we were in oklahoma earlier this week where we saw the intense high winds. really this storm serving as a reminder that the spring storm season is off to a very early start, don. >> ed covering it for us from texas this morning. thank you. wow. okay. so let's go to louisiana now. three short. carlos is there. good morning to you. the sun is not up yet. what is the damage like? >> good morning. that tornado that hit here was on the ground for under a minute. in that time, it damaged a number of homes and businesses. we are in a neighborhood here in shreveport where that tornado moved through and we're seeing

the most significant damage. it took out what we believe to be an insurance company, a business out here. the folks already started to clear up this debris. it took out that sign. they have a tarp out here. now the most serious damage that we found on our drive easterly dwli morning was this laundromat out here. you can see what we're talking about. just the roof of this place was taken out. the front side of this business fell on these three cars. that tornado, we're told, was on the ground for under a minute. the folks that were interviewed out here told us it was anywhere between 30 to 40 seconds. we heard from someone inside this laundromat. he was telling folks, look, it's too windy out here. the weather did not look good. all of this happens right before that tornado hit. here's what he told us. >> that's when the wind started picking up. this lady said my babies are in the car. she wanted many he to help her. i said, let's go. but then all of a sudden, the wind got so bad.

i said no ma'am, don't go out. that is her car under that sign. if we had gone out there, we would have been hit by that sign. >> similar to ed, the good news at this hour is there are no reports of any serious injuries here in shreveport. and this neighborhood alone according to the power company, while over 1,000 folks are waking up in the dark. >> carlos out in shreveport, louisiana. thank you for the reporting. also this morning, the man who the fbi says threatened to kill jewish government officials in michigan is going to face a judge in a matter of hours. we're going to speak to a state representative who told by the fbi she was one of the targets.

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new york city this morning as we're following developments out of michigan. the man accused of threatening to kill jewish state officials in it michigan is making his first court appearance. we broke the news on the program yesterday. federal authorities say that jack carpenter first made the threats online this plans to go to michigan to carry out those

ideas, those threats. the fbi says he wrote posts supporting an anti-government extremist movement that is classified as domestic terrorism. omar jiminez has our report. >> reporter: the threats were allegedly posted on the internet from out of state by suspect jack eugene carpenter iii. i'm heading back to michigan now threatening to carry out the punishment of death to anyone that is jewish in the michigan government if they don't leave and confess now. later adding, any attempt to subdue me will be met with deadly force and self-defense. court documents show his mother told investigators he had three handguns, a 12 gauge shotgun, and two rifles. a law enforcement source tells cnn among those specifically targeted, michigan attorney general. she says the fbi has confirmed that i was a target at the heavily armed defendant in this matter. she's the second high ranking michigan official to be targeted in recent years. after a plot to kidnap governor

gre gretchen whitmer was foiled. >> this is right in the wheel house of what the fbi and director ray have told us they think is the most dangerous and most concerning threat that they face on the counter terrorist side. >> reporter: the suspect allegedly posted a declaration of sovereignty claiming a country he called new israel according to the fbi encompassing a nine mile radius around his home. the fbi says he believed because of this no one in the government or law enforcement had authority over him. tweeting, any crime that's been claimed i committed i am, one, immune from prosecution anyway, two, all the evidence is fake. this isn't the first time law enforcement has seen a claim like this. >> it seems to fit the profile of a lone wolf. >> reporter: he is a former senior counter-terrorism official for the u.s. government. >> whether this threat gets manifest bid single individuals posting online like in this

particular case or larger groups come together like they did leer in michigan with the plot to kidnap governor whitmer to the extreme end of the insurrection of january 6. we've seen the different models of this threat. this isn't going away any time soon. >> reporter: now this suspect was an employee at the university of michigan for ten years until december 2021. he claims he was fired for refusing to take experimental medication. university wouldn't comment on that. but they did require covid booster shot for employees around that time. he is charged with violating interstate communications laws when it comes to threats. he's due in court later today. he's represent bid a federal public defender. we haven't heard anything from them yet. >> yeah. just terrifying to see this intersection of threats against elected officials and rise in anti-semitism that we've been seeing. omar jiminez, thank you for that

report. attorney general dana nessel wasn't the only officially tore targeted. there was a first term representative who said she found out about the threat on her life when the fbi called her. she joins us now. good morning. i'm so sorry that this is the reason you're with us. i appreciate you sharing your experience with us. >> thank you for having me. it's important to get the message out. i appreciate you having me on your show. >> what is so sad to me on top of this is that you're not surprised. >> when i was first called, it was a week and a half ago. the fbi called. said they were on their way to arrest this gentleman. i put the phone down and didn't think too much of it. and i so did not think so much of it that i didn't really tell anybody about it until the story broke yesterday. and let's just say that is not the way i wanted my mother to find out about what happened. >> you know, you have been very

public about your battle with an overcoming breast cancer. and you said i didn't survive breast cancer to be killed for being jewish. do you believe right now as this threat came to you that anti-semitism and the threat of attack on public officials like you is now greater threat to your life than breast cancer? >> oh, absolutely. we've seen the rise in anti-semitism since charlottesville when president trump came in 2016. we saw this rise and wave of this right christian national group. and it really, really, really hit the fire when kanye west said he was going to go deaf con three on all the jews in october, november. >> you talked about that. that tweet that then twitter removed for violating the policies. i think what is interesting is also talked about the media being somewhat complicit in this or certainly not doing enough to

stomp it out. can you talk about that? >> i do want to talk about this. the reason i talk about it is because this is how it starts. i speak to my grandmother. i speak to holocaust survivors. we have a very, very vibrant holocaust survivor network here in metro detroit. we were the first holocaust memorial center in the country established in the 1980s. it was created by holocaust survivors. i say that because we have this great cultural fabric here in southeast michigan. while this is the first time in my lifetime i have seen this kind of stuff happen, it's not the first time we've seen it happen especially whether we go back to the 1930s and why so many of our seniors are scared. back in october/november when kanye west put that tweet out, the detroit news editorial board put out an entire article calling kanye a victim. and still to this day, they refuse -- they absolutely refuse to retract it.

i still go back and forth with the editor of the detroit news. i bring that up not to say so much about we need to be so much of going after our media. that's not it at all. but what it does mean is we need to be very conscience of what we say. we so often here that the jews are in charge the media. with very to stop that argument. when you have someone that can tweet out to more people, double the amount of people than are jews in this entire world, there are 115 million of us, a majority have never met another jewish person. the information comes from the media. >> i remember that detroit news oh-ed. they altered i had. he said he was a victim of can culture. to the final point that kaitlan made that is such an important point. you as an elected state representative who is jewish faces duel pronged threat. both a rise in attacks on and

threats to elected officials and anti-semitism that is at a record high right now. does it ever make you rethink what you do now? >> it z it absolutely z the reason i keep fighting is because i know that it is my duty and my job to make sure that i leave this world a better place than i entered it. and it's so important that i continue to wake up each day and fight for my community. while i said breast cancer is the most difficult thing i ever had to go through, it's been the last few months. putting myself out there openly as a jewish representative when i already received death threats on a daily basis. it is one of the scariest things i've ever done. i know even today by showing my face speaking out against this horrible tragedy, that could have been, i'm prone to some today. >> wow. you're brave. we thank you for your service to the state of michigan and this country. thank you for sharing your

story. >> thank you so much for having me. >> of course. >> don? >> well, there are two dueling republican gatherings happening this week. so where are the 2024 candidates and hopefuls headed? maryland? or florida? and how could that shape the race? is

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. new signs of splintering in the republican party. they're split between dueling events in maryland and florida and big names on the right are skipping what was once a must attend event. we're live at national harbor in maryland. the people that weren't there are as notable as the people who

were there. >> yeah. that's right, don. this event has become a who's who of maga world. we have seen the popular movie stars and the maga wing of congress we saw representative matt gaetz, marjorie taylor-greene and, of course, trump himself is speaking on saturday. but notably missing. almost all of the major 2024 republican hopefuls, including florida governor ron desantis who had several people disappointed. >> dueling cattle calls for 2024 republican hopefuls. outside washington -- >> welcome to cpac, everyone. >> the conservative political action conference. for years a launching pad for aspiring presidential candidates. now largely the trump show. >> we have to secure this border. if you don't like him, then you don't like me. >> with the former president headlining the three day

event -- filled with conservative activists and far right fire brands. meanwhile, in florida, other major potential candidates are gathering for a private donor event hosted by the club for growth, an anti-tax group at odds with trump. florida governor ron desantis, former vice president mike pence, and south carolina senator tim scott skipping cpac altogether. beyond trump, former u.n. oms nikki haley and former secretary of state mike pompeo are the only major 2024 hopefuls set to address the cpac crowd. raising questions about its relevance. >> there's a lot of chatter in the media about who's here and not here. >> reporter: the two events highlighting the deep party divide. >> some politicians who say they're on our side are also destroying our country. >> reporter: with former president donald trump at the center. but while many attendees say they're still behind trump -- >> i'm not undecided.

i'm a trump supporter because he's a warrior. of he's the only one that can pull this through. >> reporter: others weren't so ready to commit. >> even if they're healthy when they get elected, four years is a long time at that age. so that's a big concern of mine. >> reporter: the gop braces for a primary clash. some were hoping to hear from more of the party's hopefuls. >> i think we're all a little disappointed about ron desantis. >> reporter: did you want to hear him speak? >> i did. i'm moving to florida. i would recommend one thing, take the ronald reagan approach. don't talk bad about republicans. >> don't talk bad about republicans. that sounded like a little of wishful thinking. it is something we heard from a lot of attendees. this primary is going to be very ugly. former donald trump spent the last month attacking florida governor ron desantis all over his social media. again, seems a little bit like

wishful thinking at this point. >> took the words out of my mouth. thank you. appreciate it. also this morning, the white house is now calling for a quote thorough and transparent investigation into the reported poisoning of schoolgirls in iran. the iranian journalist and activist is going to -- has been critical of the iranian government. she's been a target of them as well. she'll join us next with her thoughts. introducing the new sleep number climate360 smart bed. the only smart bed in the world that actively cools, warms and effortlessly responds to both of you. our smart sleepers get 28 minutes more restful sleep per night. proven quality sleep. only from sleep number.

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tlnchts is fear, concern, and major questions this morning all across iran after nationwide reports of schoolgirls being poisoned. the first reported poisonings happened in november. reports say that nearly 900 students from across the country have been poisoned so far. the white house is now weighing in with john kirby saying that investigations should be done by

the iranian government to be thorough and transparent. >> we'll see what the results are here first before we make some kind of snap judgement. we don't really know what's going on with respect to these hundreds of schoolgirls. and we, i think, where the president is, we need to know. the world needs to know. certainly the families of those little girls need to know. >> joining us now is iranian journalist and activist, she is named as one of "time" magazine's women of year for her work on behalf of women's rights in iran. she was also the target of a murder for hire plot linked to the iranian government. he says we need to wait to know. you feel like we already know what needs to happen. >> exactly. i was listening to john kishy. asking the iranian government to do this investigation. wow. >> you had a physical reaction. >> yeah. it's like asking criminals to do an investigation on their own crimes. we know what happened f we need the u.s. government want to know

what happened, this he have to talk to people like me and to the parents of the students who believe that the islamic republic is behind this chemical attack. it's revenge against the brave girls who you removed the job and protested. that's clear for us. >> what more -- for a long time, you called on the united states biden administration, the west to do more. >> you're right. what more can they do now? >> first of all, first of all, i want the u.s. government to stop believing in iranian government and saying that you have to do an investigation. we need president biden. think about it. with the iranian government see noes strong action, when they see the u.s. government, we're

trying to get a deal. the foreign minister was welcomed by the european parliament. by the high representative of eu. there is none are to stop killing more innocent teenagers. there is no reason for the iranian government and they don't see any punishment by the western government. so they killing people. they keep poising girls to create fear among students. one of the campaigns led to multiple women being in it prison. you felt guilty about it first. then what happened? i always feel guilty. can you believe when i was in the makeup room, the woman trying to make my hair beautiful. wow, you are here. you're being paid to make my hair beautiful. in my country, people are there to hide your hair. people are there to kill you.

to torture women and poison women to make them hide their hair, cover their hair. think about it. every morning when you come to this studio, you think about your appearance. when women go out, we have to let the men -- iranian men to think about make decision over our own body. when i free here, when enjoy myself, when i was hair that i'm woman of the year, i was like i'm not sure whether i can be happy or not. while it has been six months that iranian regime oppressed my sisters, my daughters in iran. >> you said the iranian government should not be investigating itself essentially. who do you think should do this investigation into the schoolgirls? >> i want to say that u.n. but at the same time, you know, i don't have any hope. i believe that. the u.n. accountability

mechanism must be there. the doctors wouts borders, we need them to be onboard. these are the organizations. we're talking about a regime. she showed a little hair and then they said we're going to do an investigation. what they dshgs they killed more than 500 innocent girls in the uprising. yesterday i was watching cnn and interviewing the foreign minister. >> amazing interview. >> he was denying. look into his eye. challenge him. he was denying the killing and the torture. he was denying the rape. so now john kirby, you're asking the same government to do an investigation? >> that's why we're so grateful for you being here. thank you.

>> more bad news going to come up. i promise you, we're going to have good news. >> you know we're not. >> thank you. i love you. >> thank you for communicating with us about this. >> i love cnn this year. you did a great job for you. >> thank you. thank you for having you here. thank you. >> next for us, it is a critical move to provide supplies to people. russian forces blew it up. we're on the ground in eastern ukraine with the latest on the russian offensive there. ♪ limu emu & doug ♪ hey, man. nicece pace! clearly, you're a safe d driver. you could save hundreds for safe driving with libertyty mutual. they customize your car r insurance so you only pay for what you need! [sfx: limu squawks] whoo! we gotta go again. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪

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the lakers have to find a way to stay in the play-off race without lebron james. expected to miss most of march with an injured tendon. the lakers announced lebron will be re-evaluated in three weeks after hurting his foot on sunday against the mavs. lakers are without lebron. they try to make the push to the playoffs. what you think? >> bummer. >> you know i don't know. >> he was so good. you think no? >> it's tough without -- i mean -- >> watching how he coordinates with everyone and owns the court. >> yeah. >> i know the first person on planet earth to say lebron james is really, good but he's really good. >> we're wishing him a speedy

recovery. >> "cnn this morning" continues right now. >> we may have the worst criminal justice system in the world. it's better than any other kind there is. the our criminal justice system worked tonight. it gave a voice. to maggie and paul murdaugh. their voice was heard tonight. >> case that the whole country is paying attention to. that was the south carolina attorney general. we're going to talk to him later on this hour. good morning, everyone. >> you have tow talk about the deliberations tomorrow morning. i looked at my phone, nope. i'm talking about the verdict. there is one. three hours. three hours. verdict from the alex murdaugh trial, found guilty of murdering his own wife and son.