a brutal deadly beating this hour. three people charged with first-degree murder murder. a vicious attack captured on this cell phone video, so disturbing, darrien albert kicked in the head, hit with a two by four. a good kid, promising future. his makeshift memorial was burned. why was he targeted? plus this, a group of sex offenders released from prison, homeless and penniless living together in a wooded area in the suburbs. a makeshift camp for convicted pedophiles. is this the best option?

1-877-tell-hln is the number. give us an e-mail at cnn.com/hln and text hlntv, start your message with the word prime. it is your chance to be heard. welcome. this is prime news. i'm mike galanos. urgent news from the southside of chicago. a senseless deadly beating. a 16-year-old honor school killed while walking home from school. we have video from the scene. i want to warn you, it is disturbing, it is extremely graphic. a riot breaking lose, people swinging boards, two by fours, punching on each other. his family say he was targeted for refusing to join a gang. you are going to see a young man get hit. the kid in the red is going to swing that. we believe that is dare yun albert who got hit.

he gets punched, blind shotted. kicked. hours later he was pronounced dead. senseless violence in a senseless loss of life. his makeshift memorial. three people charged with nurd. shannon, car sob and riley charged as dultds. listen as darrion's grandfather trying to process. >> he was at bible class, church, this thing is so horrific we don't know what we are going to do. we lost a really dear friend in my grandson. he was a blessed child. i don't know where all this anger comes from. that is just too much anger for someone to have in their heart. i'm going to pray for these people, pray for forgiveness. >> joining us to talk about it,

by the way, we will take your calls 1-877-tell-hln. joining us a reporter for the "chicago sun times." reverend victor granberry. he was a representative at the same school, with the family when derrion died. reverend, tell us about this young man. sounds like a great kid. >> we know he was a model student. we know he wanted to come to high school and wanted to learn. we know he had ambitions of probably going to college. so we know this is a nice young man. he wasn't a troubled young man. this is really devastating to that community. >> i'm sure. reverend, the family believes he was targeted because he didn't want to join a gang. prosecutors say he was an innocent bystander. your thoughts on that from what you see and know of the

community and what happened here? >> well, this is not been the only violent thing that has happened, but, unfortunately, under the under the around, they let the community out and when they left the community out some of those kids had -- when they took everyone out of the school and hired people from iowa and colorado, these folks don't know what chicago is going through. >> let's bring in ramona hussein. let's pick up on why this could happen to derri on albert specifically. why do prosecutors believe he is an innocent bystander and don't agree with the family. >> prosecutors say this fight did not arise from any gang affiliated violence. it started from two groups of students that were basically

disputing over an incident they haven't talked about yet. there was a shooting earlier in the day at the school related to the scuffle. after school let out both of these groups of kids started fighting. the 16-year-old student was not, derrion was not belonging to either group. he was merely a bystander. >> these two groups ramona, gangs or not or kids that don't like each other? >> as far as we know, basically fights between two groups of students who live in two different areas in the town. one was a group from the gardens homes and another was from an area known as the ville. as far as we know it is not gang related. >> reverend, do you know anything about the groups of kids? >> it has been brewing all week long.

some of the young men that did -- killed the young man, we know some of them was in gangs. we just don't know because nobody has come forth to say what really actually happened. >> let's take a quick break. we'll get some calls in. 1-877-tell-hln is the number. welcome in a psychologist as we talk about it and we see that video and wonder how this could happen. again, taking your calls 1-877-tell-hln.

welcome back to "prime news" on hln. we are talking about the

senseless death of an honor student from chicago. we have the video from the scene, it is extremely graphic. here it is, you can see it. it is a full melee ensued. kids are grabbing two by fours, punching wildly at each other. a kid in red grans a two by four. it is coming up in a few seconds. as you see somebody else swinging. this is so dangerous, watch him hit who we believe is derrion albert. another kid punches derrion albert. he was pronounced dead that evening. we take your calls and comments 1-877-tell-hln. lola is with us in tennessee. that is heartbreaking, isn't it? >> caller: yes, it is. i share the fears. i'm a female artist i have a young brother that got caught up in unnecessary stuff. as an african-american woman i get tired of people pointing

hands at the white man. i didn't see nobody white hitting. i think it is a shame. i'm scared what is going to happen to the young general tlags angry at each other. it is heartbreaking. i send my heart out. it brought tears to my eyes. because it is so senseless. >> it is difficult to watch. i want to listen to an eyewitness. we watched the video and we -- it hits our spirit. let's listen to someone who was there talking about the brutality of it all. >> i don't understand how 16, 17-year-old kids how can you stand over someone's body and constantly beat them and stomp them to death. >> all right. let's bring in our psychologist, dr. paula bloom. paula, as we try and make sense of this, these are young kid and the brutality is too difficult to watch. how do we get to this place?

>> one of the things that happens is people become very judgmental. when i was talking about this issue people were saying how could everybody be watching and do nothing? this is a well-documented phenomenon that we see called the bystander phenomenon. there was a study in the 60s. there are two different things they found. first of all, the more people that are around the less likely any one person will do anything. the second thing is people tend to monitor and gauge what is going on around them and make a decision about what they are going to do. we know this. if you have been to a comedy club and you sort of -- some people have to start laughing for the audience to start laughing. >> it seems like this, there was so much going on and it was dangerous. it wasn't a clear one-on-one fight. if someone were to come in and a

bystander and help somebody they had to be prepared to take abuse themselves. let's bring back rumanna hussein from the "chicago sun times." we have three arrests. are they looking at the video? >> from what we are told police are looking at the video and questioning several people as we speak. >> let me read a facebook comment. i cannot imagine seeing a video of my child being beaten to death and have that image available to the rest of the world to view over and over again. my heart is breaking for these parents. rumanna, what is the family's position on this video? have they seen it? they want it out there because it hopefully helped catch who killed poor derrion? >> yes. my colleague in the press have watched the videotape with the family members. they have watched the tape and it is a tough thing to watch.

it is tough to watch for a lot of people. i believe the family had watched it. they weren't in court today so i didn't get a chance to talk to them. there were relatives and friends at the vigil today. >> paula, let me ask you this about a family recovering from something so tragic, that video, does it make it worse or because it is out there we might have caught what happened to derrion. >> the whole situation is horrible but one of the things that is most difficult is the feeling of being powerless. they had their child killed. i suspect part of what might be helpful for them is to have some sort of vomit involvement in ca these people. it has to be painful. >> i wanted to go to the reverend, victor, you spent time with the family as they made the

decision about letting the video go public. i can't imagine how difficult it must be for them to see. >> really, with the grandmother, they just wanted closure to it. they really didn't want all of this. but it is so gruesome you can't sit down and watch this. kids beating up kids. >> yeah. victor, what can be done in the community? i know you have been fighting this fight for a while. what is the step after this? as our person on facebook said, something has to be done. >> i decided to call on all law agencies from all levels of government to be able to sit down and put this in perspective. why these young people hate each other so bad. so i wanted to do an anti-crime summit where the community gets

involved. maybe this will rejuvenate the community. i hate it has to take a life for us to do something now. >> and you nailed it. reverend, we have to run, but you nailed it with the hate and the violence. the hate is the seed that produces this violence. thanks very much, reverend, we wish you the best as you fight this fight in the community. a group of sex offenders sent to live in the woods at a camp in the suburbs. do we have a lot of sympathy for a convicted sex offender? no. but is this the best solution?

welcome back. there is a disturbing visual. a group of sex offenders forced to set up camp in a wooded area in the suburbs, makeshift fire pit. they are out of prison and homeless in georgia.

sex offenders can't live, work, loiter within 1,000 feet of schools, churches, parks. one of the nation's toughest policies. i don't have a lot of sympathy for a convicted sex offender. is this the best and safest way to go? we'll take your calls 1-877-tell-hln. steve raiser, criminal defense attorney and sarah tatonci. steve, we want these criminals away from our kids, but is this the best solution? >> it is clearly not the best solution but it is a temporary one. unfortunately, they're going to have to be put somewhere. the question comes if you are not going to put them there, where are they going to go? these are people who do need somewhere to live. it is less than ideal for them. it is less than ideal for the community. the only way to do it is disperse them throughout the community. >> sarah, let's get you in on

this. you don't agree with this, correct, sarah? >> that is correct. >> which way do we go? there is one halfway house in rome, georgia, an hour away. >> we've learned that place isn't accepting people on the registry anymore. we have zero shelters in the state of georgia that homeless people can stay at on the sex offender registry. we need to look at these laws. they forcibly evicted hundreds of families from their home and left many people homeless with no other option than to go live in the woods. >> sarah, who are these people? are they the worst of the worst? help us out. >> sure. the georgia sex offender registry makes no distinctions. it casts the net too wide and it includes people who are actual real sexual predators but also folks who have made perhaps bad

choices as teenagers, had sex with -- 17-year-olds who had sex with a 15-year-old. that sort of thing. there is no way of knowing the level of risk a person has just by seeing their name on the registry. >> that is a good point sarah brings up. we want to be targeted to the people that end up in squalor like this. not a lot of sympathy for the convicted sex offender, but someone who was 17 had sex with 15-year-old, should they live here? >> no. clearly, the laws need to be changed in order to tailor it to the most serious offenders. that is not the case right now. however, we do have to deal with what we have right now. yes, new legislation should be passed in order to change the laws so the less serious offenders are not clumped into with the more serious offenders. however, we are going to have a

transitionary period. right now we are dealing with what we have. this is unfortunate, but this is going to have to be necessary and have to continue until the laws are passed which will enable better shelters. the state can address this as well. maybe it is not the best idea to put everybody together they could create additional housing. that is something that is available to them to do and they haven't yet explored that avenue. >> sarah, that seems to be the logical next option for each county or counties that are somewhat close to each other would set up housing like this away from the churches and the schools, the playgrounds where kids gather. before you answer that, i will let you comment when we come back. we have calls lined up. we want to hear from you. is this the best way to go? call in 1-877-tell-hln.

welcome back. all right. this is great. these trying financial times we have big brother on our case and big brother is the credit card companies watching our every move, where we shop. that is creepy to me. here is an example. a man had his credit limit slashed. excellent fico credit score because he shopped one time somewhere his credit was cut by seven grand. you are going to discriminate us because where we shop. i go to a discount store and try to save a few bucks and my credit limit gets slashed. gerri willis tries to explain.

>> kevin johnson is an entrepreneur, candidate for office and according to american express a credit risk. coming home for from honeymoon last year he was shocked to find amex cut his credit limit from over $10,000 to $3,800. >> i have done a very good job of being responsible. >> reporter: more surprising, the reason, other customers who have used their cards at establishments where you recently shopped have a poor repayment history with american express. >> i was shocked when i read it because i didn't know companies could actually assess your creditworthiness based on others around you. >> reporter: with more than 10% of credit card customers defaulting on their debt issuers are trying to weed out risky ones by looking for changing in the way we shop. >> you are shopping in a middle

retail store and shows a purchase at a dollar store, some form of down shifting, shopping at walmart. >> reporter: those red flag cans lead to a deeper look at your behavior. >> if you started exhibiting new consumer behavior and made three or four purchases in a row at a local bar, that would raise flags that maybe there is some impending financial crisis. >> reporter: for its part amex says we don't look at and never have looked at where someone shops to make a line reduction. the primary factor is someone's overall debt level, payment history and fico scores. banking officials say scores don't reflect sudden life changes or divorce. >> all they can do is look at the volumes and transactions coming in and see changes. >> reporter: for kevin johnson

the experience motivated him to get involved and perhaps change the way banks work. >> no one should be penalized for the actions of others. >> well put. gerri willis, thank you. kevin johnson joining us as gerri mentioned, candidate for georgia state representative. chris markowski, financial adviser. kevin, clarify for us. you go to, what, a discount store once and the credit gets slashed by seven grand? that is the way this went down? >> correct. that is exactly what happened. i arrived home with the lingering euphoria a honeymoon can bring and shocked by the letter that informed me my credit line was reduced by 60%. >> you have been good with money, very diligent, wanted to

make sure you had a good credit score. so this had to kill you, huh this. >> it did. the letter was purposely misleading because a great majority of us do not read those letters. i think they sent it to the wrong person wand my background, having grown up in a home where finances is very important, i immediately saw that something wasn't right. >> let's bring in chris. how is this okay? it sounds like we are being discriminated against because we shop. >> kevin, the sam thing happened to me last year as well with american express. i haven't carried a balance on a credit card since i was in college, a long, long time ago. with american express' case, i'm going to call malarkey. they were forced to become a bank holding company and the various credit they put out they have to show that on their books. they were in deep, deep trouble. so they started pulling everyone's credit lines. they don't want to let you know

it is because we are in trouble fiscally, but they pulled that in to make their books look a lot better. >> real quick, chris, lay it out there for us. how devastating it can be to have your credit limit slashed like that and what it can do to your credit score and things that follow suit. >> it stings. we are at the mercy of these companies. if you read the fine print you can see they do the various different things. the big brother aspect is on the scary side. >> it is. let's get a call in. jesse in virginia. it is frightening, isn't it? >> caller: i just think this is 1984 on steroids. this thing is so frightening having people literally watch what you are buying. the fact that i'm shopping at walmart because i'm cutting back, i mean, i'm being responsible. this is just too scary.

>> exactly. >> caller: this is way too scary. >> kevin, that is the visual. our caller nailed it. somebody watching, shopped at the discount store, cut the credit. did you feel that? did you feel violated like that? >> of course. in fact, i can relate to the caller because the first thing that went through my mind is this is orwellian. the repercussions and consequences to the community are catastrophic. i mean, for example, you start reducing credit lines, it sets off a chain reaction that can stifle the growth of the community. and i think that is an affront, an assault on the economic viability of the communities of east atlanta. >> exactly. that credit limit comes down, your credit score goes down with it. instead of owing $1,000 on a $10,000, you owe $1,000 on

$3,000. we have to take a quick break. more calls, 1-877-tell-hln.

welcome back to "prime news" on hln. we want to hear from you on this topic. president obama wants to look at longer school days for students. we know our test scores not the best.

can we compete in a global market, global competition? what is your thoughts on that. longer school day, 1-877-tell-hln. in the meantime, call on this one. credit card snooping. the behavior score. if you shop at the wrong place, we are hearing this, say you go to the local bar, you buy a round of drinks, behavior score might drop. that says you might be in trouble. you are drinking. marriage counseling, that says you might be a credit risk. we talked about discount stores. chris, let's bring you back, watchdog on wall street. is this all on the up and up? can we fight this at all? >> i don't think you are going to be able to fight it. it is not as nefarious as everyone wants to believe. the word credit is the latin word to believe. the banks were in so much trouble we had to come up with $700 billion t.a.r.p. program. they were doing anything to pull

back these lines. they couldn't say we are in trouble. there would be a run on the bank and bring the bank to the ground. this is why they are doing this. they want to cut people's credit lines because it looks bad for them on the books. >> they changed the rules and didn't let us know. bonnie is with us in virginia. your thoughts here. >> caller: yes. i'm sorry. i can't hear you. >> tell your story. >> caller: american express, my husband and i had an $18 third-baseli,000 line of credit. we had it cut with no explanation. we paid on time, well over the credit amount. we contacted american express and the customer service person said something about our credit so we checked on our three scores, you know, the three. >> yeah. >> caller: ours were excellent and good. no history had been changed. my husband had the same job for

1 15 years. they would not compromise. they went from $18,000 to $1,100. never been late, paid well over the limit. that's my story. >> bonnie, thanks for the call. kevin, are you working with american express or this is a done deal? >> i have not heard from american express with a thorough explanation. i called immediately after i received the letter and spoke with someone in the executive's office going around in circles. they blatantly denied it. it took me putting on the pressure through the media to have them confess, in fact, they did look at establishments where people shop. but there is hope. there was an amendment in the credit card act of 2009 that the president signed that addresses

this type of behavior. it doesn't outlaw it or prohibit it but will study it with the federal reserve and other financial institutions. >> we want to know. let's get another call. june in arizona, your thoughts. >> caller: yeah. >> hi, june. >> caller: i, a long time ago, decided i didn't want people knowing what i was buying. so instead of using my credit card for small purchases, i go to the atm, get the cash, go buy what i want. nobody knows where i'm shopping or what i'm buying. >> june, you are a revolutionary, paying cash. we need credit but for some of the smaller purchases, budget it, pay the cash and we probably wouldn't be in this mess. >> absolutely. that is the key. credit cards, pay them in full. i buy efg on my credit card to

use for accounting purposes. american express does that to you, move. go somewhere else. find a bank that will do the right thing by you. there are plenty of them. good, small, local banks that are strong. don't put up with it. you don't want my business, goodbye. >> it shouldn't have to come to that. that is a major inconvenience. me getting married i'm looking for a home. my credit line is reduced so i'm in the second tier for interest rates. i calculate it at the end of ah 30-year fixed rate mortgage, that move by american express will cost me $15,000. >> that's what we're talking about. your example, you are responsible. our callers as well. that is what frightens us. kevin, thank you for telling your story. president obama looking to

possibly push our hours at school a little longer. classes until dinner time almost. your thoughts on that, 1-877-tell-hln is the phone number. want to let you know this. we have an exciting new edition to our primetime lineup. "the joy behar show" will air. here is a quick taste. it is her moment of joy commentary. last twleek was a death in the manson family, su san atkins finally died. in 1969 she helped kill actress sharon tate in a grisly murder that shocked the world. when is charles manson going to die? my mother used to say god takes the wrong ones, she was looking at my uncle at the time, but still. good people are dropping like flies, teddy kennedy, walter con cite, patrick swayze, but

charlie manson is healthy as a horse. the man takes a licking and keeps on ticking. how is this possible? he is on a health kick? is he is a vie gan? drechging green tea? make taking a pilates class. how is he still here. my mother used to say when it is your time to die, you'll die. i don't believe in the death penalty but isn't it his time? susan atkins took the ride in the mahogany taxi. i say let's pony up and give manson cab fare.

welcome back to "prime news" on hln. want to hear from you on this

one. i'm a parent. i want mu sons, well rounded kids, do i want them at school longer ten hours a day? i don't know. president obama is talking about looking into extending class times, stay open late, let the kids in on weekend so they have a safe place to go. i'm willing to listen, look at other countries, especially countries in asia, kicking our tails when it comes to math and science scores but is this the way to go? i want to make sure we have the best quality education before we increase quantity. what is it going to do to the family? want to hear from you, 1-877-tell-hln is the number. joining me, we welcome back steve perry, education contributor for cnn and founder of capital preparatory magnet council and steve staver. do you believe we need more time? >> it is absolutely necessary.

we need to think about what countries do that beat our hinds, they are going to school 201 days a year. why would we go to school 180 and expect catch up in a shorter race. >> i was looking at it, a couple hong kong, i believe, and a couple of other countries, hong kong, japan. we go more hours per year, they go more days. i'm not sure quantity, steve, real quick, i'll let you respond and then i'll get matt in. >> it's also quality. but on the same token, our children in the united states are spending almost two months home, and as a result, they're losing at least two months worth of information coming into the school year. you're taking already a short school year and shortening it because so many students have to catch up. >> matt, are you concerned the two-month summer break is now down to two. it was three when i went to school. are they losing out? is that a place where we're hurt here in education? >> i think it will hurt. certainly will disrupt the family. what we're talking about is adding up to 300 hours per year. there's an experiment that's

going on right now with a couple of massachusetts public schools. and it costs $1,300 extra per student. if you think about having yurl child in school three more hours a day, or two more months during the year, what toes that do to the family? the very core unit we ought to be strengthening. i think it destabilizes the family. getting to the japan situation, actually, on average, our cards spend more time in school than any of the asian countries. we spend 1,146 hours in school. in japan, taiwan, and singapore, and hong kong, they spend less hours, and yet they're beating us every single time on math. it's not the number of hours, it's the quantity of hours. i think that's what we need to focus on. >> we'll get some calls in, 1-877-tell-hln is the number. what do you think of this idea? will more time in school equal better test scores? call in.            d

a brutal deadly beating. this hour, three people charged with first-degree murder. basically kids themselves, as you'll see. a vicious attack captured on cell phone video. it's disturbing. darian alper, 16 years old, an honor student, kicked in the head, hit with a two-by-four in the head. a good kid by all accounts. promising future. he's dead. even his makeshift memorial was burned. how does this happen? why was he even a target? also this, a group of sex offenders just released from prison, they're homeless, penniless, living together in a wooded area in the suburbs, kind of like a tent city for pedophiles.

we want them away from our kids. is this the safest option? as always, we take your calls, 1-877-tell-hln. e-mail us, cnn.com/primenews. or text us at hlntv, just start your message with the word prime. it's your chance to be heard. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com welcome. this is hour number two of "prime news." i'm mike galanos. a senseless deadly beating, 16-year-old hopper student. walking home from school on thursday. beaten to death. we have video from the scene. i have to warn you, it is extremely graphic, difficult to watch. get the kids out of the room. here it is. you see there's a commotion, people swinging boards. they're throwing punches. somehow darian albert gets caught in this. his family said he was targeted for refusing to join a gang. the sue the kid in the red, he's going to swing, i believe that's

darian albert hit in the head, punched, kicked. darian, hours later, pronounced dead. his makeshift memorial was even burned. now today, three people charged with first-degree murder. 19-year-old savannah shannon, eugene reilly and 16-year-old eric carson. all have been charged as adults. kids themselves. killing kids in this case. listen as darian's grandfather tries to make sense of all this. >> he was at bible class this tuesday night, church on sunday. i have no trouble out of my grandson whatsoever. this thing that happened to him is so horrific, that we just don't know what we're going to do. because we lost a really dear friend and my grandson. he was a blessed child. i don't know where all this anger comes from these people today. that's just too much anger for someone to have in their heart. all i can do is i'm going to pray for these people. i'm going to pray foreforgiveness. >> he nailed it.

anger in their heart. and he's going to pray for forgiveness. just a senseless tragedy here we're dealing with. we'll take your calls, theories, questions, 1-877-tell-hln is the number. joining me to talk about this, dr. paula bloom, psychologist. also with us, tio hard jiman, in a chicago project for violence prevention. let's start there, guys. i think people see this at home and wonder how this can happen. this is an honor roll student. how he's dead. teo, i'll start with you on this one. we heard the grandfather say, anger in the heart, is that the seat of this? >> definitely. there's a lot of anger and frustration among the youth in chicago right now. it's passed down from generation to generation. violence is a learned behavior. we do our best to try to change behaviors. we've mediated about 200 conflicts like this already this year that could have led to an act of violence that happened to derion. i spent a lot of time with his family, his mother. i agree with the grandfather,

there's just a spirit of anger and hopelessness in a lot of youth throughout chicago that would lead to this type of mentality to take the life of an honor roll student. we have to stop this violence to the best of our ability. one of the major obstacles in chicago right now is a lot of the groups working to deal with stopping violence, they're divided. we all need to come together and collaborate to work together. >> tio, hopefully this will do this. paula, let's bring you in on this conversation. as we watched that, paula, we all wonder how could kids this age, 16, 17, 18, get that violent, where you're going to blindside someone with a two-by-four and punch a guy while he's defenseless. how do you get to that point? >> once you're involved and you're very angry and your lower brain, your primitive brain gets engaged, it's like you can't think. you sort of go from 0 to 60 in a few seconds. so what we need to do, i think your guest just nailed it, is really helping teach people conflict resolutions skills and try to buy yourself time between

thinking something or feeling something and acting. i think that that's what's going on here, is that it just happens in a split second. once you're there, it's like beyond control. >> yeah. let's listen to someone, this is a witness who was there, witnessed the beating, and listen to her as she tries to process this. >> it looked like a herd of kids. we're talking about kids all over the place in every direction. there were kids hopping over cars. on the video, there were kids hopping over cars. kids had huge sticks. they were going after each other. and it seemed as if it was not so much targeted, but random. >> he brings up a good point. tio, the family believes that derrion was targeted for not joining a gang. prosecutors saying innocent bystand bystander. what is the prevailing theory? >> there's a lot of issues in that particular community and that high school.

you have guys coming from another area in the city who adegrees on the young guys who hang around the high school. we know that for a fact. there's a history of violence in the area. that's the take i have on it. that comes from talking to the family, talking to people around that particular community as well. >> okay. let's get a call in, guys. don is with us in new jersey. your question or question here? >> caller: i'm asking about the people filming these crimes. you never heard anyone dial # 11 during that video. >> someone, either the camera person or someone standing next to them with the cell phone video, said zoom in. paula, how does it become, like you talked about, instantly becoming angry and becoming involved, how does someone instantly become a cameraman and lose all heart for someone who's laying there as we find out laying there dying? >> i think that's a really, really good question. there has to be some degree of a disconnect. when you're looking behind a camera, you're sort of removed from the situation.

i was actually thinking about all of those young people who watched this event. it almost reminded me of people who are in combat. and sort of the post-traumatic stress that people observing such a horrible act where they feel pourless can get. not unlike people in the war. >> tio, will you have a chance to talk to the people there and witnessed it and get into their feelings and emotions, whether they were in there throwing punches, trying to -- or they were filming and watching and zooming in? >> you know, violence has become the norm. violence is expected. a cease-fire, we're in a behavioral change, and we try to change what's seen as normal to letting everybody look at it as if it's abnormal. i talked to some of the kids in the area, and most of the kids feel like they were helpless. they couldn't do anything. there were a couple of security people out there. you had a couple of police cars out there. and nobody just wanted to step up. it reminds me of a story out of

new york city a few years ago, a woman was brutally murdered in front much the building and everybody else thought somebody else called the police. that's what you have people going on. feeling violence is acceptable and nobody wants to step up and avoid the temptations of peer pressure. >> man. all right. let's take a quick break. more of your comments, your calls. 1-877-tell-hln is the number.

welcome back. we're taking your calls on this, the senseless death of a 16-year-old honor student from chicago. killed while walking home from school on thursday. we have the video. it is brutal to watch. but here it is. you can see commotion, there's

punches being thrown, the screams, people swinging two-by-fours. somehow derrion albert gets caught in the middle of this. you see the kid in the red grab the board. he's going to hit derrion right there, you heard it, in the back of the head. so brutal. the family had such a difficult time watching this footage, as we do as well. but i believe i'll get to tio on this. they wanted the footage out so they can catch who did this, as difficult as it was? >> for sure. they want to make sure everybody saw the footage so they can take a good look at what happened to derrion. nobody knows this, about 20 other students got beat up during the same day, during the same brawl. that's the reason why they put the foot am out there. >> as difficult as it is. paula, i have to ask you again about that. hard enough to lose your son. but now you have to deal with this footage being out there. yes, it might help catch some

kids. but just to have it out there, to know your son's death is chronicled on video. how difficult that? >> i think that's really tough. i think one of the things that's key here is when something tragic like this happens, ultimately people try to make some sort of meaning out of it. they try to do something with it, to sort of transform this incredible pain into power. and my sense is that this is what this family is going to do. we heard the grandfather say he was praying for these kids. >> yeah. >> it's amazing to me. >> forgiveness in his heart. barbara's with us in kentucky. barbara, your thoughts? >> caller: hello? >> barbara, go ahead. >> caller: okay. i think it's time that we take a different approach to this gang violence. i think what we need to do is break up the gangs, put them in the military, turn them over to the drill sergeants, and let them take care of them. we need 40,000 more troops in afghanistan. fine, let them go over there and take their aggression on osama bin laden and his crew. >> barbara, thanks for the call.

tio, chicago project for violence prevention cease-fire. tio, to her first point, how hard is it to break up a gang? and we're not sure this was gang violence, right? was it or not? >> group violence, you had factions of different gangs across chicago. and i heard the comments to the military. cease-fire is a motto, we have a proven track record of reducing violence 43% to 83% in the communities in which we work in. i want to make the point for you, you can't just send the guys to the military, because it's bigger than that. the violence is in their mind. you can give a person a job, if they don't take the violence out of their minds and cut that switch off, guys are still going to be violent wherever they go. >> how about breaking up the gangs? how difficult is that? >> that's the hardest work in the world. because gangs have been around since the beginning of america, since the 1920s, the gangs in new york. it takes time to break up the gapgs. you're not going to be successful doing that, law enforcement tried to do that

over the years. >> to her second point, maybe it's not the military, but you want to give someone in a gang a new vision for their life. how hard is that? >> we've hired over 300, 400 young men from the community. they turned their lives around. now they're professionally trained outreach workers. they have a new purpose in life to stop killings and shootings throughout chicago and work with people. >> paula, we applaud you, tio. to capture a new vision, when all you've known is what may be, gang life, violence. to now this -- paula, how hard is that for a young mind to grasp that? >> i think it's very hard. i applaud your work, what you're doing. you're on the front lines. that's amazing what you're doing. i think one of the things that's happening, what's so seductive about gangs is that it gives you a sense of community. it makes you feel like you have a purpose. it gives a sense of order to the world. so i think it's very hard. and i think you have to have that structure. have a sense of purpose and meaning. again, these are the best people

to then transform this and help others. >> tio, real quick, does it get any less heartbreaking the more you -- you've dealt with this before, right? >> yes. it really hurts, i must admit. it really hurts. i took this, and i didn't sleep too well last night. >> tio, we applaud your efforts. you continue to fight the good fight there. paula, thank you as well for your insights. coming up, a group of steks offenders set up shop basically, living in tents in the woods. it's a camp in the suburbs because they have no place else to live. we don't want them near our kids.

welcome back. here's a disturbing visual, a group of sex offenders forced to set up camp in a wooded area out in the suburbs. makeshift fire pit, no trespassing sign. they're out of prison and homeless here in georgia. sex offenders, they can't live,

work,lighter within 1,000 feet of schools, churches, parks. one of the nation's toughest policies. i'm not alone. i don't have a lot of sympathy for a con vist sex offender, but is this the best and safest way to go. we'll take your calls, 1-877-tell-hln. here to talk about it, steve raiser, criminal defense attorney. and sarah, public policy director for the southern center for human rights. we want these criminals away from our kids, but is this the best solution? >> it's clearly not the best solution, but it's a temporary one. and unfortunately, they're going to have to be put somewhere. and the question comes, if you're not going to put them there, where are they going to go. these are people. they do need somewhere to live. it's less than ideal for them. it's less than ideal for the community. but the only other way to do it is disperse them throughout the community. and i don't think anybody would be happy with that either. >> sarah, you don't agree with this, correct, sarah?

>> that's correct. >> which way do we go then? there's only one halfway house in this area, and it's up in rome, georgia, an hour away, right? >> actually, we've learned since this morning that that people isn't even accepting people on the registry anymore. we have zero shelters in the state of georgia that are on the sex offender registry. what we need to do is go back and look at these laws. these laws were passed and forcibly evicted hundreds of families from their home. and left many people homeless, with no other option than to go live in the woods. >> i'll get you both in on this. sara, from your understanding, who are these people? are these the worst of the worst? or are these people -- help us out here. help us get an understanding. >> the thing about georgia ooh sex offender registry is it makes no distinctions. it casts the net too wide. and it includes people who are actual real sexual predators, but then also folks who have made perhaps bad choices as

teenagers, had sex is -- 17-year-olds who had sex with a 15-year-old, that sort of thing. there's no way of really knowing exactly the level of risk a person has, just by seeing their name on the registry. >> steve, that's a good point sara brings up. that we have -- we want to be targeted to the people that end up in squalor like this. again, not a lot of sympathy for the convicted sex offender, but do we really want something as sara mentioned a 17-year-old who had sex with a 15-year-old, should they end up living here? >> no. clearly the laws need to be changed in order to tailor it to the most serious offenders. and that is not the case right now. however, we do have to deal with what we have right now. yes, new legislation should be passed in order to change the laws. so that the less serious offenders aren't going to be clumped in with the most serious offenders. however, we are going to have a transitionary period, we have to assume that's going to happen. right now, we're dealing with what we have.

>> yeah. >> and this is unfortunate. but this is going to have to be necessary. it's going to have to continue until the laws are passed. which will enable for better shelters. the other thing, too, is the state can address this as well. maybe it's not the best idea to put everybody together, they could also create additional housing. that is something that is available to them to do. and they haven't yet explored that avenue. >> sara, that seems to be the logical next option, where you say each county, or counties that are somewhat close to each other, would set up housing like this. away from the churches and the schools, the playgrounds where kids gather. before you answer that, i'll let you comment on that, sara, when we come back. i want to hear from you on this one. is this the best way to go? we want the sex offender away from our kid. but do we want them camping out in the buschs?

welcome back. this is great. trying financial times, we've got big brother on our case, and big brother is the credit card companies, watching our every move, where we shop. that's kind of creepy to me. here's an example. a man, just had his credit limit slashed of the kevin johnson credit fico score. he shops sometime somewhere, his credit was cut by 7 grand. you're going to discriminate against us now because of where we shop? i go to a discount store and try to save a few bucks and my credit limit gets slashed? here's jerry willis from cnn trying to explain. >> how are you doing? >> reporter: kevin johnson is an entrepreneur, candidate for office.

>> running for state representative. >> reporter: according to american express, a credit risk. coming home from his honeymoon last year, he was shocked to find amex had cut his credit limit from over $10,000 to just $3,800. >> done a very good job of being responsible in making sure that i pay my bills on time. >> reporter: even more surprising? one of the four reasons amex gave for the decision. other customers who have used their cards at establishments where you recently shopped have a poor repayment history with american express. >> i was shocked when i read it, because i didn't know that the companies could actually assess your creditworthiness based on others around you. >> reporter: with more than 10% of credit card customers defaulting on their debt, credit card issuers are trying to weed out the risky ones of the how? by looking for changes in the way we shop. >> you're shopping from a middle or upper tier retail store, and

suddenly it shows a purchase at a dollar store, some form of downshifting, suddenly shopping at walmart. >> reporter: those red flags can lead to a deeper look at your behavior. >> if you suddenly started exhibiting new consumer behavior and then you've made three or four purchases in a row, at a local bar, that would raise some flags that maybe there's some impending financial crisis. >> reporter: for its part, amex says we don't look at and never have looked at where someone shops to make a line reduction. the primary factor is someone's overall debt level, and we also look at payment history with us, credit reports and fico scores. banking industry sources say credit scores are still the most important tool in predicting consumer behavior. but those scores don't reflect sudden life changes, like job loss or divorce. >> all they can do is look at the actual volumes and transactions that are coming in and see changes in that pattern. >> reporter: for kevin johnson, the experience has motivated him to get involved, and perhaps

change the way banks work. >> no one should be penalized for the actions of others. >> well put. gerri willis, we thank jerry from our sister network cnn. the man you just heard from, kevin johnson, as gerri mentioned, candidate for georgia state representative. also with us, chris, financial adviser, radio talk show host, wash dog on wall street and get more on watch dogs on wall street.com. kevin, you go to, what, a discount store once and the credit gets slashed by 7 grand sm that's the way this went down? >> correctly. that's exactly what happened. i arrived home, as you can imagine with the lingering euphoria, that only a honeymoon can bring, and i'm shocked by the letter that you saw in the story, that informed me that my credit line was reduced by almost 60%. >> and let's be honest. in reading your story, you've been good with money. you were taught well by your parents, very diligent. wanted to make sure you had the

good credit score. this had to kill you, huh? >> it did. and i think the letter was purposely misleading. because a great majority of us do not read those letters. but i think they sent it to the wrong person. and with my background, having grown up in a home where finance is very important, i immediately saw that something wasn't right. >> let's bring in chris. how is this okay? sounds to me like we're being discriminated against because of where we shop. can they do that? >> kevin, the same exact thing happened to me last year as well, with american express. and i haven't carried a balance on a credit card since i was in college. that's a long, long time ago. with american express' case, i'm going to call malarkey on what they were telling you. last year they were forced to become a bank holding company. and all the various different credit that they put out there to various different people, they have to show that on their books. they were in deep, deep trouble. they started pulling everyone's credit lines. they don't want to let you know, oh, it's because we're in

trouble fiscally and we're worried about what's going on. but they pulled that in to make their books look a lot better. >> real quick, chris. lay it out there for us. about 30 seconds. how devastating it can be to have your credit limit slashed like that. and what it can do to your credit score. and all the things that follow suit. >> you know, it stinks. we're at the mercy of these companies. you read all that fine print when you sign up for a credit card, you find they can do these various different things. the big brother aspect is a little on the scary side. spl it really is. let's get a call in, talking about that. jesse in virginia, a little frightening, isn't it, watching your every move, seems anyway? >> caller: i just think this is 1984 on steroids. this thing is so frightening, having people literally watch what you're buying. the fact that i'm shopping at walmart because i'm cutting back, i mean, i'm being responsible. >> exactly. >> caller: this is too scary.

way too scary. >> kevin, let me get you in on this one here. our caller just nailed it. somebody watching, ooh, shopped at the discount store. cut the credit. did you feel that? was that your -- did you feel violated like that? >> oh, of course. in fact, i can relate to the caller, because the first thing that went through my mind was, this is orwellian. i can't believe this is being done to this extent. the repercussions, the consequences to the community are catastrophic. i mean, for example, you start reducing credit lines, it sets off a chain reaction that can stifle the growth of the community. i think that's just an affront, an assault on the economic viability of the communities of east atlanta. >> the credit limit comes down, your kret score goes down with it. because all of a sudden instead of owing $1,000 on a $10,000 limit, you now owe $1,000 on $3,000. and your margin, really hurts

you, bottom line here. we've got to take a quick break. is this happening to you? your thoughts on it, 1-877-tell-hln.

credit card snooping. the behavior score. you shop at the wrong place, we're also hearing this. say you go to the local bar, you buy a round of drinks, behavior score might drop. it says you might be in some

trouble. you're drinking a little more. marriaging counseling, that means things could be wrong at home. you might be a credit risk. and we talked about discount stores. chris, is this all on the up and up? can we fight this at all? >> i really don't think you're going to be able to fight it, but i don't think it's as nefarious as people want to make it to be. the banks were no so much trouble last year, that's why we had to come up with the $700 billion t.a.r.p. program to bail them out. they were doing everything and anything to pull in these various different lines. nobody want to do it. they can't come out and tell you you, listen, we're in trouble right now, because there would be a run on the bank. it could actually bring the bank to the ground. this is why they're doing this. they want to cut people's various different credit lines because it looks bad for them on their books. >> they changed the rules and didn't let us know, basically. bonny's with us in virginia. bonny, your thoughts here? >> caller: yes. >> bonny, go ahead.

tell your story. >> caller: my husband and i had an $18,000 line of credit with american express. we recently had it cut to $1,100 with no explanation. we always paid our bills on time. we always paid well over the credit amount. we contact american express, and the customer service person said something about our credit. so we checked ourselves on our three scores, the three, you know, the three -- >> yeah. >> caller: i was excellent and good. no history had been changed. my husband's had the same job for 15 years. and they would not compromise. they would not tell us why. they just said they were cutting lines of credit. and we told them to go from $18,000 -- >> $18,000 to $1,100? >> caller: to $1,100. never been late. always paid well, well over the limit. that's my story. >> kevin, are you working with american express? was this a done deal, it's over? >> you know what, i have not

heard from anyone at american express with a thorough explanation as to why they reduced the limit. in fact, i called almost immediately after i received the letter. and i spoke with someone from the executive's office for 30 minutes, going around in circles. and they blatantly denied it. and here's the problem that i have. it took me putting on the pressure through the media and other means to have them confess that, you know, in fact they did look at establishments where people shop. but, you know, there is hope. there was an amendment in the credit card act of 2009 that the president signed, that addresses this type of behavior. now, it doesn't outlaw it, or prohibit it, but it will study it through a study with the federal reserve and other financial institutions. >> we want to know. we want a light shined on this. let's get another call in. june's with us in arizona. june, your thoughts? >> caller: yeah. >> hi, june. >> caller: i, a long time ago, decided i didn't want people to

know what i was buying, so instead of using my credit card for small purchases, i just would go to the atm, get the cash, go buy what i want. nobody knows where i'm shopping or what i'm buying. >> june, you're a revolutionary, paying cash. you know, i think that we need credit, let's face it. but for some of the smaller purchases, you know, i think -- chris, she's hitting on something here. budget it, pay the cash and, you know, we probably wouldn't be in this kd of mess if we had listened to june a little bit, huh? >> that's the key. credit cards, pay them in full every single month. i buy everything on my credit card, use it all the time because i want to use it for accounting purposes. i recommend to people, you know what, american express does that to you, move. go somewhere else. find a bank that will do the right thing by you. there's plenty of them out there. a small of good local banks that are still strong. find out the various different ratings. don't put up with it. you don't want my business? good-bye. >> but it shouldn't have to come to that. that's a major inconvenience. for me, as you can imagine, just

getting married, i'm looking for a home. so my credit line is reduced to the point where it will affect me where i am now in the second tier for interest rates. and so i calculated at the end of a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, that move, that move by american express, will actually cost me $15,000. >> wow. that's ha we're talking about here. chris, your example, kevin's as well, you guys are responsible. and the callers, cutting the credit limit. guys, thanks again. kevin, you for telling your story. chris, always good talking to you as well. coming up, can't imagine the heart break for john travolta, his wife, kelly. he's had to testify about trying to save his son, jett's, life. basically he's going through a living hell having to relive this, and back on the stand again.

welcome back to "prime news" on hln. the star witness in an alleged extortion case, john travolta, expected back on the stand in the bahamas. couldn't imagine the heart break. he's already testified about his desperate efforts to save his teenage son, jett's life, after he had a seizure back in january. reporting a secret videotape, key piece of evidence, police shows a former ambulance driver negotiating with travolta's lawyer, asking for $25 million. is that it? sounds like they got him with that kind of evidence. joining me to talk about this, my colleague, jane velez-mitchell, host of "issues" with jane velez-mitchell. coming your way at the top of the hour. also with us, kelli, host celebtv.com. how is the family holding up? i can't imagine the strength

they need right now to go back to this place of their worst nightmare, worst tragedy and have to tell the story in this courtroom. how is john travolta holding up? >> this is incredibly hard for him. he didn't even want to stay in the bahamas. he testified last week and immediately after, he flew out with his wife, knowing full well they wanted him back in court this week. but he had to get out of there because it's so incredibly difficult. >> jane, he has to fight this fight, though, to nail people like these extortionists that were going after him for $25 million, right? >> i'm not exactly sure. i think it's something that he personally wants to do to be true to his son. but this is the game that couldn't shoot straight. the former senator who says, i set fire to my copy of the document and then flushed the ashes down the toilet. and then the other alleged extortionist said, oh, i wanted to take the money because i want to play robin hood and give the money to the poor. these people are out to lunch. it seems to me like it's not

worth it to waste your time on these two knuckleheads, especially when they've got it all on videotape allegedly and can probably lock them up based on that videotape alone. but i do feel john travolta feels to be true to his son -- >> something he had to do? >> yeah. >> kelli, was it his choice whether or not he was going to testify? or did they feel they had enough, from what we're talking about here with this tape, footage, and everything, it sounds like they already had enough. >> you know, this was the first time we've ever heard john travolta that his son had autism. we had to hear his painful account of what happened that night. and yeah, he had to go to court, he had to say what really happened, because these two are ridiculous. the fact that she took a candle and burned the documents and flushed them down the toilet, john had to set the record straight. >> kelli, real quick, get everybody up to speed, the document. it's whether or not john travolta signed a release, right? >> it was a refusal of transportation, because john initially wanted to take his son to a hospital in florida.

so the ambulance driver said, that's fine, but you've got to sign this form. >> okay. and that didn't -- he ended up going to the hospital anyway, right, jane? >> none of it makes sense. that's what's soing about this case. they're like we've got this document. who cares. he went to the hospital with his son. he did not take off on a jet plane to florida which was his original plan. and so again, nothing seems to add up. it's almost like children playing a game and saying well, let's change the rules every five minutes. we really don't have a sense that these people had a coherent extortion plot, allegedly, to begin with. >> yeah. jane, is it worse than ever, where people for nefarious reasons, see celebs in pain and see dollar signs? >> absolutely. we live in a celebrity-obsessed culture and it's gone from well, you can't go out to have lunch at a restaurant without getting swarmed by the paparazzi to every idiot with a scheme in their brains who doesn't know how to hold on to a day job is going to descend on a celebrity

and try to find a way to get a free lunch. >> kelly, you seeing the same thing? >> oh, exactly. these two hatched this plan because they were trying to expose possibly something on the scientology end and they said we've got you, now we're going to get our $25 million which is such a ridiculous number that even the lawyers are laughing. >> jane, i know you will talk about this. any other tidbits, teasers, issues coming up nine minutes from now? >> we've got a packed show tonight and we are going to try to find out what happened to a woman who disappeared in malibu after going to a very, very fancy restaurant overlooking the ocean. she apparently didn't have the money to pay her $90 bill, she was arrested, and then she suddenly vanishes after leaving the police substation. it's a total mystery and there's a lot of outrage over it. >> got you. we'll be watching "issues" coming up. coming up on this program, should we extend our school hours?

tonight, a bizarre disappearance in malibu. a young woman vanished just minutes after leaving a police station. the l.a. times says this part-time teacher and executive assistant was taken in by police after she claimed to be from mars and was going to avenge michael jackson's death, despite all this obvious crazy behavior, cops released her with no car, no phone and no purse. now she's missing in malibu and her family's pointing the finger at police. but is there another side to this story? you won't believe what some people are saying. and boozed up and behind the wheel. an off duty nypd cop is accused of killing a pedestrian while driving drunk.

this poor woman was just trying to hail a cab on the way home from a wedding. the "new york post" reports the cop had been drinking for more than two hours and his passenger and fellow cop allegedly fled the scene. while this woman was bleeding to death. some wonder how could cops allegedly be involved in something like this? tonight's big issue, alcoholism doesn't recognize a uniform. plus, explosive new details in the john travolta extortion trial. "people" magazine says the alleged extortionist tried to set fire to the evidence and flush the ashes down the toilet. meantime, we're learning more shockers about the secret video of the alleged extortion. you won't believe this. one of the accused claims he wanted millions of dollars so he could play robin hood and give the money to the poor. "issues" starts now. tonight, missing in malibu. what happened to mitrice richardson, the young woman walked out of a police station

after a bizarre evening in one of the most exclusive areas in all america and indeed, the world, then she simply vanished into thin air. her family claims los angeles police did not do their job. why, oh, why did they let a 24-year-old woman walk out of a sheriff's substation alone at 1:30 in the morning on september 17th with no car, they impounded it, no purse, and no cell phone, in an area where there is little, if any, public transportation. >> i'm upset. but i'm going to keep a level head because i've been asked to, but i don't expect for these people to move because they haven't. >> richardson had been arrested at a swanky restaurant in malibu earlier that night. a manager had called police when she couldn't pay her $90 bill. that's what all this is about? her mom says her daughter would never walk out on a bill,

especially since she's got two grand in the bank. >> i just specifically told the deputy this is uncharacteristic of my daughter. my daughter does not go places and not pay a tab. i continuously reiterated, something is wrong with my daughter. >> cops say they found a small amount of pot in richardson's car and they booked her for possession, and for allegedly not paying the check. too bad she wasn't a celebrity. we've all heard stories about stars racking up huge, massive bills and assuming they don't have to pay. police say they offered to let this woman sleep in the station's lobby but she refused. a short time later, she walked out of the station house alone and has not been heard from since. i want to hear from you at home, however. what do you think about all this? first, straight out to my outstanding expert panel. clinical psychiatrist, dr. dale archer. curtis sliwa, founder of the guardian angels. and we are delighted to have the

attorney for mitrice's family and wabc talk radio host and my buddy from back in l.a., leo terrell. first, "los angeles times" reporter carla hall. carla, you have been tracking this case from the beginning. what is the very latest? >> well, the very latest is that she's still missing. they covered 60 to 80 square miles of malibu on saturday in a search that took them through the air and on ground, with dogs, with bloodhounds, with horses, and they couldn't find her. so they still don't know where she is. they are still sifting through clues and sightings. there was a sighting yesterday that she was in manhattan beach, but that's completely unconfirmed. there was a sighting that she was seen at a west hollywood restaurant last monday, and lapd are trying to get footage, camera footage, from the restaurant to see if maybe she does show up on that.

>> yeah. this is just crazy. curtis sliwa, i got to say, this is all over an $89.97 bill and on top of that, according to the wire copy i read, this woman called her great grandmother and said hey, give them your card and they wouldn't take her card because she didn't have a fax machine, this is according to published reports, to fax her signature so they wouldn't take the great-grandmother's card for $89.97. instead, this woman is arrested and this is malibu, where you know the celebrities, boy, curtis, you know they rack up these huge bills with alcohol, they just march out, not of this restaurant necessarily but all over the place. >> always. and you know, they say on the cuff, don't you know who i am. oh, please. you're not going to burden me with a bill, who do you think i am. but also, this woman was showing that she was in disarray. she was acting like she was talking to martians.

you could see that mentally she was impaired. you would have thought the maitre' d or whoever was in charge would say let's take the credit card number and hope for the best and let's just get her out of here. that's generally what you do. >> yeah. >> jane, i actually talked to the restaurant owner and they have a slightly different take on that. they say that they were concerned about her, they say that as the evening went on, and it was clear she couldn't pay, the question was less about the money that she couldn't produce and more about her safety. this is what they say, that they were actually concerned that she was in no state of mind to be driving and they believed that calling the sheriff's deputies would actually be the safer thing for her. at least -- >> you know what -- >> that's what they say. >> let's let leo terrell jump in. he is the attorney for the family of this missing woman. leo? >> jane, everybody's rewriting history. joffrey's rewriting history

because they didn't expect this to happen and the l.a. sheriff's department who let this lady leave the jail after 12:00 at night after they were informed the mother said she was going to come pick them up. i'm telling you right now the reason why this woman is lost is because of the incompetence of l.a. county sheriff's department. if her name was lohan or spears, they never let her walk out of that sheriff's department without car, without a cell phone, without any form of communication. jane, she lives 60 miles away and they could have held her because of her mental impairment, they could have put a 5150 hold on her. they failed to take this action. they are responsible why she is currently missing. >> absolutely. i agree with you. the celebrities, you know what happens, dr. dale archer, in malibu. we had the high speed chase with, who was it, lindsay lohan, high speed chase down pch where they were pulling wheelies and it ended up they drove right into the santa monica police station. >> yeah. >> and you know, she wasn't let go in some godforsaken forest at

1:30 in the morning. >> jane, what the -- >> i think that what concerns me is actually what took place, because when you hear her family talk, they say this is so out of character for her, she would never do anything like that. and she looked disheveled and she was obviously impaired. so then the question is, what exactly was going on. >> all right. let me get to that right now. the restaurant manager said mitrice richardson was acting off the wall, possibly intoxicated. they claim that she said she was from mars and was speaking gibberish. her cousin said she took one look at her cousin's mug shot, maybe we can show it to you in a little bit -- there it is -- that's not the mug shots. i think the mug shot's on the left. but she knew, there it is. take a look at her eyes right there. she knew something was very wrong. listen to this. >> we don't know the person that's in that booking report. something happened. what? that's why we're here today. what and where is she? we want her home.

>> okay. police tell a very different story about richardson's behavior that night. they say she was lucid and passed a field sobriety test at the restaurant. so leo terrell, you're the attorney for the family. i don't get it. one minute she's acting crazy, talking gibberish, saying she's there to avenge michael jackson's death and the next minute the police arrived and she's fine and dandy? >> again, they're rewriting history. >> who? >> because -- the l.a. county sheriff's department. we cannot believe anything that comes out of the press spokesperson's mouth. he's not a lawyer. he's not a police officer. he's trying to spin this. they arrested her and jane, the reasons that they arrested her were the same reasons why they should have kept her there instead of letting her leave at 1:30 in the morning. it's outrageous because she had no means of finding her way back home. this is why -- >> let me just say this. lou polombo, in defense of law enforcement, they claim they said to her you can wait in the lobby if you want, you can sleep

here in the lobby and she said no, i'm going to leave. >> yeah, i understand that element of this, but i do have to say that once this young lady made a decision to leave the facility in calabassas, which i am familiar with myself, that the police probably should have facilitated a safe passage for her home. i think there was a lapse in judgment. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> okay. >> there's a little bit of gray area here, though, jane. this young lady's 24 years old. she was released after probably being issued what they call a desk appearance ticket, and for whatever reason, the police i think maybe misassessed her condition or her state. i would have contacted a parent and guardian but i will tell you this, being a father myself, if these were circumstances i was living with, i would be furious right now. >> absolutely. you know what, here's the other thing. why did they impound her car? i mean, if the cops determine that she was lucid and fine, then why did they impound her car for a small amount of marijuana? is that what it's come to in this country, where a small

amount of marijuana, they take away your car and you walk away in the middle of the night and you disappear, nobody ever sees you again? i mean, that's crazy. that's why i'm in favor of the legalization of marijuana, because all over california, people are eating medicinal marijuana we all know that, anybody who's been to california. so it's absurd. it's totally crazy and this woman is missing as a result. but there could be another aspect and that is what law enforcement sources are insinuating about her sexual orientation. we'll discuss that when we come right back. what do you think about this mysterious missing in malibu case? we're taking your calls. 1-877-586-7297. coming up, will a secret videotape clear john travolta's name in his son's death? we'll examine shocking new details. then a missing girl's dad begs for her safe return. >> you can never do no wrong in my eyes so if you had a meltdown, come holler at me, we can always sit down and talk about it.

joffrey's will not give me a

tape. they will not give me a tape. nobody will give me a report. nobody's doing nothing. >> that was ma trees richardson's father. he is livid, furious over how his missing daughter's case is being investigated. we're not hearing unconfirmed reports from law enforcement sources claiming that mitrice could be having problems with her family over her sexual orientation and doesn't want to be found. again, we are not able to confirm those reports. we reached out to mitrice's parents but haven't heard back. however, if that is the case, and i'm saying if, it wouldn't be the first time. it's a scenario that happens every single day. studies show in fact 50% of young gays and lesbians say their parents rejected them because of their homosexuality. 26% said they have to leave home because of it. leo terrell, you are the attorney for the richardson family. again, these are unconfirmed reports but they are coming from law enforcement sources. what is your take on their -- >> i'll tell you right now. it makes me furious. there is a loving relationship between mitrice richardson and

her family, and this is a classic example of law enforcement trying to divert the attention away from their incompetence because these stories have no bearing as to why the los angeles county sheriff's department allowed this young lady, straight a student, to leave without any form of getting home. so it's a false statement about any type of split or animosity between the mother and father and their daughter. they love their daughter and the daughter loves them as well. >> curtis sliwa, this seems very bizarre to me, and if in fact there is no rift between the family and this young woman who's missing, it seems odd that that story would be floated. something's fishy in denmark here or malibu, as it were. >> oh, no doubt. but i would prefer to focus on what the police officer called the desk appearance ticket. jane, i have received many of those in my time. i have been arrested 76 times so i know all about going through this -- >> congratulations.

>> well, always because at that time, they didn't like the guardian angels so they would harass me. when they give you a desk appearance ticket, it means it's not considered a very serious matter. they call it a disappearance ticket. they don't assume the person is going to disappear, but she is an adult and once they release her, they don't necessarily have the responsibility to force her to stay -- >> but they took her car, curtis. >> they took her car. and she was mentally -- she had mental issues. she had mental issues. >> robin, robin, robin, robin bond? >> thank you. it's -- what is the duty that the organization had to this woman and was it unreasonable? did they have a reason to believe that she was a danger to herself or others? >> yes. >> it seems that they definitely did. so what would a reasonably prudent person do under those circumstances? would they call a cab for her? would they hold her until her parents arrived? would they monitor? would they put her in a police car and take her home?

there are a lot of different varieties here and i think that's the real question. was there a duty that was breached here. >> carla hall. carla hall, hold on a second. carla hall, you have been reporting on this case. do the police, the law enforcement there, offer any explanation? how ironic it's called the lost hills station. that they didn't put her in a taxicab or they didn't just simply drive her home. what the heck are they doing at 1:30 in the morning that they're so busy they couldn't drive this young lady home? >> actually, they said they weren't busy that night. actually, they said they weren't busy that night. they said that there was a custody assistant who was essentially in charge of people in their cells and that woman became very friendly with mitrice and talked to her a lot, and when mitrice was finally released, the woman, it was a woman, said to mitrice would you like to just stay the night and stay in the cell, there's a bed, there's a bathroom, you're still free to go, but at least there's

a place here where you can stay. >> i want to take issue with that, carla. >> that's okay. again, i'm not sure that this is what happened. i'm just telling you what the sheriff's department says. >> the custody assistant is the same lady who told mr. richardson quote, we don't run a babysitting operation here. and that shows you the state of mind of that department, because they didn't understand the magnitude of the issue involving mitrice. she had issues. >> what issues did she have, leo? >> she had mental issues which were demonstrated at joffrey's, demonstrated by her request to sit with strangers, about her coming from a different planet. >> jane -- >> those were the issues. >> jane, to protect against corporate liability here, you would really think that any organization would say well, you know, we are the ones who removed her from the street, not before we put her back on to the street, what are we looking at doing here in terms of our danger to protect and serve? >> hold on. i don't understand something.

lou, richardson is not a criminal. she's a cal state fullerton graduate, she passed the test to be a substitute teacher. she works as an executive assistant for a freight company. she lives with her great-grandmother who says she's responsible and does volunteer work. how can she be loony-tunes at the same time. >> no one understands the circumstances that went on in joffrey's. for all we know, this young lady may have ingested a controlled substance, unbeknownst to her. the whole issue focuses around the handling by the police department. may i finish, sir? one of the things that is disturbing is the fact that the lost hills sheriff's station is in a fairly rural area, and i would think -- >> of course it is. >> just as human beings, we would have taken a little more interest instead of just doing the boilerplate -- >> jane -- >> you know if she was a celebrity they wouldn't have let her walk out. if it was lindsay lohan, she

wouldn't be walking out on the street. >> we're aware of the double standards here. >> it's called gross negligence. >> more on the missing woman in malibu in a moment. and a new york cop charged with drunken manslaughter, is his fellow cop buddy in trouble?

we want our daughter found. we feel that there's not been enough efforts to locate her. all we want is our daughter home. >> that's mitrice richardson's mom, desperate for any news about her daughter. she left a sheriff's station near malibu september 17th, hasn't been seen or heard from since. why are we just finding out about this now? misty, oregon, your question or thought? >> caller: yes, i just have a comment. i don't think the police did anything wrong. it's not their job to babysit once an inmate's released. >> excuse me? >> caller: if they felt that she had a mental problem, they could get her on a 72 hour hold, couldn't they? >> yes. and they didn't do that.

>> can i speak to that very quickly? this is not about the law. this is not about the law. >> wait, wait. this is what i don't understand, leo terrell. does she have a mental problem because her family sort of seems to be saying well wait, she's a responsible person, she's a college graduate, she's passed all these tests. what is it? >> jane, we're saying and it's the words of the innkeeper at joffrey's and the patrons. show was exhibiting bizarre behavior. those were red signs, those were flags that she exhibited. she sat with strangers, she's from another planet. she wasn't drunk, so there was something of a mental crisis. at the very least -- >> what's behind a mental crisis? i mean -- >> it was enough to justify not letting her -- let me finish. it was enough to justify not letting her walk out of there at 12:30 at night. >> jane -- >> put her on a watch commander hold. >> jane, there are a lot of things that would explain what was going on here. it could have been a small stroke. it could have been a brief reactive psyhosis. it could have been drugs if the

marijuana in the car was dusted with pcp. >> she also could have been sarcastic. she could have been hassled about the check and said sarcastically, oh, yeah, i'm here to avenge michael jackson's death. >> it didn't sound to me based on talking to the people at joffrey's it was sarcastic. they thought something was wrong. not something hugely crazy about her, but there was something that was off. there was something disturbing about her. there was something going on with her psychologically. whether it was drug-induced or whether she had had some kind of episode. something was going on with her. >> right. >> jane, jane -- >> hold it. let me see the panel. >> i kind of wonder if when she got to the sheriff's station and she was there for several hours, you know, what they claim is that they have to release people in a certain time frame. >> not true. >> curtis sliwa was shaking his beret. go for it. curtis.

curtis. you're not curtis, robin. there's a guy with a red beret over there. >> jane, i have been in lockup. most of the people in lockup have mental issues. or are stoned on alcohol or drugs. they get released all through the night, all through the day. depending on when the paperwork is processed. >> you're talking about manhattan. where you can grab a subway. >> no, no, no. >> robin bond, this is the country, i have been there, malibu, my gosh, you don't walk in california for a reason. >> that's right. it's not what a reasonably prudent person would do. >> hold on, hold on. i don't want to be accused of losing control of my panel. i'm going to give the last word to the shrink, dr. dale archer. ten seconds. >> i just think it's horrible they do a sobriety test and say okay, she's fine, she can go, when mental illness does not cause you to fail a sobriety test. >> all right. listen, we will stay on top of this. you're all invited back. we're not going to rest until this poor young woman is found. coming up, shock and disgust. a new york cop allegedly

responsible for getting behind the wheel drunk and killing an incident woman.

boozed up and behind the wheel. an off duty nypd cop accused of killing a pedestrian while driving drunk. this poor woman was just trying to hail a cab on the way home from a wedding. tonight's big issue, does booze recognize a uniform? plus, explosive new details in the john travolta extortion trial. "people" magazine reports the alleged extortionist tried to set fire to the key piece of evidence and flush the ashes down the toilet. a woman dies a horrifying death, apparently hit by a car driven by an off duty cop. so no, this was not just a traffic accident. nypd officer andrew kelly was

allegedly drunk when he smashed his jeep into veonique valnor. >> the officers who responded to that accident, detected the smell of alcohol on the driver's breath. >> all right. cops say she was hailing a taxicab. hello, taxi, taxi, when he allegedly drove his suv right into her, flipping her body into the air. it gets worse. as she's lying in the street dying, the cops apparently have passengers in the car, they allegedly flee the scene and guess what? one of those passengers was also a police officer himself. the cop behind the wheel did stay and try to help his victim. the "new york post" reports he gave her cpr and got her breathing but she died at the hospital. her friends and family are understandably devastated. >> he took somebody's sister, you took somebody's daughter,

you took somebody's sister or somebody's friend. you leave us with the hurt and pain. you leave us mourning. >> the victim was a pastor's daughter and reportedly, and ironically, a non-drinker herself. she was leaving a wedding at her church. officer andrew kelly has been charged with vehicular manslaughter and driving while intoxicated. it's infuriating that the person whose job it is to protect us from drunk drivers is allegedly wasted behind the wheel. but guess what? alcoholism does not discriminate. a uniform cannot protect you against having a problem with booze. straight out to my expert panel, criminal defense attorney, michael cardoza. curtis sliwa, founder of guardian angels and also joining us, dr. reef karim, addiction specialist and psychiatrist as well as former cop, lou polumbo. dr. karim, we have to start with

you. what goes on when someone decides to get behind the wheel after hours of alleged drinking? >> obviously, they don't have a concern for their safety or other people's safety at that moment in time. what's tragic here is that police officers' job and many good police officers will tell you, serve and protect. serve and protect. alcohol does not help you serve and protect. alcohol messes up your reaction time, your impairment in regards to driving, memory, all sorts of other stuff. and you're impulsive. the fact that they would flee the scene shows the impulsiveity. alcohol does not discriminate and alcohol should be nowhere near anybody whose job is to serve and protect. >> and guess what, you can't say well, this one individual might have been in a blackout because there were other people in the car with him who could have said you shouldn't be driving. so that's another big problem. >> yeah. the accountability's not just on him. it's on everyone in the car. >> cops say when they found this fellow officer at the scene, he

allegedly reeked of alcohol, was slurring his speech and had bloodshot eyes. a friend who witnessed the crash described the horrific scene. >> the car was coming and they're like veronica, come back across the street. i guess as she turned around, well, she tried to turn around, the car hit her on the right side. >> they said that the car hit her so hard that she almost hit the traffic light. >> now, michael cardoza, cops found alcoholic drinks in the kash car, they say, and here's the interesting part. the cop who was driving allegedly refused a breathalyzer at the scene so detectives had to get a subpoena in order to do a test on his blood alcohol level at the hospital but of course, it takes time to get a subpoena, and go to the hospital. during which time, your blood alcohol level drops. so -- >> well, that's not necessarily true. you could be on the way up, too. >> that's true. >> you start drinking, you're at 00 and then you go up and then you come down so you don't know which way it's going. but that's why the experts will be important here, jane.

and keep in mind that pass, that's what we call it in california, the pre-alcohol screening, people don't have to take that one in the street. you have to take the one back at the station. police officers oftentimes forget to tell people when they stop them for a dui, they do not by law have to take the one in the street. >> yeah, but -- >> it may be the same in brooklyn. he had every right to refuse it. you can't criticize that. you can't. >> curtis sliwa, as a cop he knows how to play the game. he knows that he doesn't have to take that breathalyzer test at the scene, which a lot of other people don't because they do take the breathalyzer test and are determined to be drunk, and so it's possible that if time passes, your alcohol level can go down, because i've done stories on it. i've done stories on people who have hemmed and hawed and all of a sudden, they drop right below. it's interesting that we do not have anywhere in published reports today his blood alcohol level, which we usually would have the day after in a story like this. >> right, but jane, he had been

binge drinking that day. he went to the gin mill near the precinct in brooklyn, then he went to a friend's house to watch the notre dame football game, continued to drink, then came back to the same bar, gin mill, the cop bar to drink, and you would have thought some of his colleagues, whether they were coming on duty, off duty, and saw him and said hey, kelly, yo, slow it down, man. you got a snout on you. you been drinking way too much. unfortunately, as part of the culture, they have gin mills, whenever you leave a cop shop or precinct, notice how close the bars are and how they reduce their drinks for the cops who are off duty which just fuels this problem more and more. >> well, again, allegedly, he hasn't been convicted of anything. lou, here's the interesting part. you're a former cop. and i know you're a very good one because i see you in action as a private detective and you really know your stuff. the officer who allegedly left the car, okay, what could he face? he wasn't driving, but he is a

cop. he claims investigators at the scene told him that he was cleared to leave and then he shows up later at a station house but apparently, nypd brass were furious that he left the scene. what kind of trouble is he in? >> well, they could clearly charge him with conduct unbecoming, malfeasance of duty. but the thing you have to understand here, jane, is that this is going to go through a thorough investigation, and both of these gentlemen are going to be properly addressed. it's important not to paint an entire police department of 38,000 young men and women with the same brush. there again was a mistake made here but you have to let this run its course. i think commissioner kelly will do what's appropriate here. i can't imagine for the life of me what this officer was thinking when he left -- >> when you're drinking, you ain't thinking. we all know that. i'm a recovering alcoholic. when you're drinking, you ain't thinking about anything. that brings us to tonight's big issue. alcohol doesn't recognize a uniform. andrew kelly is reportedly a

seven year nypd veteran, father of two, but alcohol can affect anyone, even police officers. take a look at this photo from "the new york post." they say this is allegedly the other cop who was a passenger and fled the scene allegedly. he is posing with a bottle of beer. the "post" also reporting, this is "the new york post" this guy's facebook says drink up, life is too short, and lists his favorite music as any music that makes me drink, lol. hln has not been able to confirm that that photo is in fact the other officer involved, and cops have not named him but dr. reef karim, if you're posing with a bottle of alcohol, posting these comments, what does that indicate, if anything? >> well, i mean, in my mind, the power of addiction is really the point of this case. in the limbic system of a police officer is the same as a homeless person or celebrity or anybody else. in regards to the binge drinking, the other guests are right, it really depends. if he was bingeing the whole day, his blood alcohol level was probably high to start with. if he acutely binged right

before he got in the car, it would only go up as his liver detoxified the alcohol. either way, it's interesting to see about the blood alcohol level not being there at this point in time but again, the take-home message, alcohol doesn't work for somebody acutely getting in a car, whether you're a police officer or you're not. >> michael cardoza, i don't want to paint a broad brush. i live in new york city, love the police. they keep me safe, they're great. this is not to attack all police officers. but it's simply to say that alcoholism or drinking problems do not discriminate and it doesn't matter whether you're wearing a fancy suit or -- >> of course not. >> i'm the face of alcoholism, too. >> well, jane, number one, let's go back to what you said earlier. usually a day after an incident, you have the blood alcohol. that's if it's a breathalyzer test. remember, they took his blood. they have to do the forensic on the blood. that's going to take a week or two before we get that. what's of more importance to me is that police officer leaving the scene. how cooperative were these

officers during the investigation. we don't know what his blood alcohol will turn out to be and that will be dispositive in this case because if it's below 0.8, that's legal. so where is he on that scale? he was the one that stayed behind to help. the other officer left. he should be punished for that. but if someone told him to leave, that's of higher authority, he had every right to leave. >> we got to leave it right there. we need to realize the face of alcoholism isn't just that bum on the corner with the brown paper bag. it could be a cop. it was me. this is national recovery month, a great time to get sober. in "i want" you will learn so much about my struggle with alcohol addiction and how i overcame it. order my recovery memoir out now in book stores or click on cnn.com/jane. look for the order section. if you're an addict or relative of alcoholic or addict, i assure you this book can help you. thank you, outstanding panel, once again. coming up, evidence destroyed in the casey anthony case.

we will tell you how it happened and what it means to the case. speaking of evidence, jurors in the john travolta extortion trial watching a 44-minute brand new videotape today. what's on it? we will tell you about it. also taking your calls, 1-877-jvm says. 1-877-586-7297. weigh in on john travolta.

a new videotape in john travolta's extortion trial surfaces. what it shows about his role in the aftermath of his son's death. we'll explore. but first, "top of the block" tonight. breaking news in the murder case against casey anthony. remember that case, we were talking about all the time for

awhile. a key piece of evidence now obsolete and the worst part of it, it's the fbi's fault. remember that duct tape found stretched across ka leigh's mouth? any shape on the duct tape has reportedly vanished during a fingerprint testing process at an fbi lab. a mistake like that leaves the door wide open for casey's defense team to start asking what else did investigators mess up. we are anticipating a huge document dump tomorrow and "issues" will air a special report on that. be sure to tune in tomorrow and that is tonight's "top of the block." also tonight, jaw-dropping evidence in the trial of two alleged extortionists accused of trying to squeeze john travolta out of millions. an ex-senator from the bahamas and the ambulance driver who scrambled jett travolta and his terrified parents to the hospital the very day jett died. prosecutors in the bahamas say

they have proof positive that the pair threatened to go public with a refusal to transport documents unless john travolta paid big bucks to keep it under wraps. now that document is nowhere to be found. according to a police report, a copy of the document went up in smoke and down the toilet when former senator pleasant bridgewater burned it with a candle and then flushed the ashes down the toilet. lovely. as for the original, police can't seem to find it. meantime, "people" magazine confirms the existence of two, count them, two secretly recorded videotapes, negotiations between the alleged extortionists and john travol travolta's lawyer. quote, where the hell did you get the number $25 million, demands the lawyer. i was poor all my life, me and my family. we were struggling all our life. i wanted to do things for charity all my life. pleads ambulance driver, lightbourn. you're a bahamian robin hood, man, says the lawyer who reportedly laughed. but it was no joke and according to the people reporter who watched the tape, they

eventually settled for $15 million. at least until the cops came in and arrested the alleged extortionist. tonight, big issue. what is up with these alleged criminals who rationalize their behavior? oh, i'm a robin hood, i'm going to give my money to the poor after i steal it. i want to know what you think. give me a call. straight out to my fantastic expert panel. joining me, ken baker, executive news editor at e. what is going on with the trial itself? where is john travolta and is he going to testify again? >> well, travolta as you said did testify last week. it was a very emotional day-long time when he was on the stand and it was really interesting, because he did reveal some very interesting things, not only that he believes he was extorted, but he admitted for the first time publicly that his son jett, who was 16 at the time of his death, did have autism, which was never confirmed before and really showed that he did have a very serious condition in which he was having, every five to ten days, he would have a seizure and when they were in the bahamas in january and he

did suffer the seizure, that was the one that did prove fatal. now, an interesting aspect here is that he is going to be testifying once again in this trial, he's expected sometime in october to return to the stand to face more questioning. right now, travolta is believed to be back in florida, which is his home state, awaiting the call from the court to come back. an interesting thing here to recognize is this has got to be one of the lowest forms of humanity if this proves true. here was this family, grieving the loss of their 16-year-old child and just, you know, them having to basically die in their arms, they had their son die in their arms, to have them allegedly extorted like this is just absolutely horrible. they're grieving as it is, and if there's any smoking gun that i've ever seen, this tape would be a smoking gun. they outline, the paramedic outlines what his motive was. i'm poor and i need money. he outlines what he wants, $15 million. he outlines how he wants it, in

an envelope as soon as possible. it was very clear. and he said if he gets it, what would happen. they said it would be buried like the titanic, woe get rid of that document if he paid him. that's certainly to me, it would seem like a clear case. i don't know besides pure greed what these people would have been thinking. >> you raise tonight's big issue. when criminal activity is rationalized by the perpetrators or their enablers. lightbourn apparently wanted to give this money to charity. another glaring example, anna nicole smith's doctors. they're charged with funneling anna nicole thousands of pills and she ultimately overdosed. the doctors, oh, we're just trying to help her get through her son's death. daniel schuler, son of the so-called wrong-way driver, says his wife won't drunk on vodka and high on pot as the cops say when she smashed her mini van into an oncoming suv, killing eight people, including herself. a whole bunch of kids in that eight people, four kids, i believe.

she said, well, the husband said she had a traveling lump on her leg and might have been suffering a reaction reaction t medication. it's so ridiculous. people manage to rationalize their behavior. >> and saturday night, what a piece of work. victoria gotti saying her father john gotti sr., as you know, my enemy, would steal from people and play robin hood and give it to the poor people. and i say, you've got to be nuts. and apparently these people have it in their minds that that's going to be their defense. when all it's about is greed and taking advantage of the poor travolta family. you know, the bahamas used t to lash you with the tails and used to have the death penalty. i think maybe for the ex-senator and emt, maybe a little death penalty or tails might satisfy

somebody's need to seek revenge against these two. >> you know, this is truly the gang that couldn't shoot straight. this whole conspiracy makes absolutely no sense. this document doesn't mean anything. there's no reason to pay a nickel to it. we have an exciting addition to our prime-time lineup.

>> just days after jet travolta's tragic death, radaronline was on the ground in the bahamas rounding up eyewitnesss and key players. on that same day, january 5th, "inside edition" caught up with the defendant. this clip aired on the cbs "early show" today.

>> went behind the curtain, tears in his eyes. like, i can see the love in his for his son. >> that was actually back in january, before we knew about this whole conspiracy. it's quite a can of worms. and the phone lines lighting up. james, florida, your question or thought. james? >> caller: yes. >> hi. it's your turn to talk. your question or thought? >> caller: hey. my question is, why do these people think that they can just take advantage of a man in the situation that he is, and like everybody's saying, rationalize about it. he obviously has criminal intent behind it and it's a felony anywhere in the world to extort money from somebody, no matter what the cause is that he's saying his cause to be. whether he's giving it to charity or spending it on himself. it's illegal. >> dr. dale archer, this is a good point. how do people think they're

going to get away with this nonsense? this is something that you have to know, you're going to get caught. >> these two folks are like dumb and dumber. basically, they're extorting him with a document that means absolutely nothing. >> yeah! >> and i think the reason that they chose him was, a, he was rich, he was a celebrity, and b, he was vulnerable at that time after losing his son. so really, what they did is the lowest form of criminal behavior. and i think they should throw the book at him. i hope they go to jail for a long, long time. >> you may remember at first there were three people in the crosshairs of investigators. one of them was this guy named o.b.wilchkolmb listen to him. >> john travolta knew his son was a special child. he gave him love, demonstrated publicly at all times. >> was he ever one of the bad guys? he's the former minister of

tourism in the bahamas and has been described as a travolta family friend. now he's become a prosecution witness. on friday he told the jury what he said to ex-senator bridgewater when she supposedly approached him, saying, to represent a client with a damaging document, quote, this is bull, your client should jump off a roof and kill himself. micha michael cardoza, with these celebrities, it's hard to tell if the person is a friend or a foe. this is a shape shifter here. >> you really don't know if they're your friends, because of your money, your stardom, or if they really care to, you know, be around you. but in this case, you talk about people, you know, making up reasons. what they're looking for is mission. >> got to leave it right there. thank you, fabulous panel for joining me tonight. tomorrow, the debut of "the joy behar show" right here at 9:00 p.m. eastern.