04/01/13 04/01/13 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] >> from pacifica, this is "democracy now!" i hope that the people that we this are watching because are very confident that we are going to find new, we are going to pull you out of whatever hold your in and bring you back and let the people of kaufman county prosecutor you to the fullest extent of the law. >> that was texas district attorney mike mcclelland after one of his prosecutors was shot

dead in february. on saturday, mclelland himself and his wife were shot dead. the killings, just months after the state of taxes warned the aryan brotherhood might be plotting retaliation after 34 white supremacists were charged in texas. coloradoan still reeling after the head of the colorado prison system was shot dead by a white supremacist who then led -- fled to texas who was killed then in a shoshootout. sentenced to death because he is black? the case of duane buck, a former texas governor and one of the lawyers who prosecuted him are now urging the state to block his execution. the cleanup continues in arkansas after an exxonmobil pipeline burst, leaking thousands of barrels of canadian tar sands oil. we will speak with bill mckibben of 350.org.

all of that and more coming up. this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. the energy giant exxon mobil continues a clean-up of thousands of barrels of crude oil following the rupturing of a pipeline near mayflower, arkansas. the pipeline leaked for around 45 minutes, releasing more than 12,000 barrels of oil and water. the pipeline was carrying tar sands oil from canada. inside climate news reports the type of crude oil involved is especially difficult to clean up when it spills into water. efforts are underway to prevent the contamination of the nearby drinking source. the epa has designated the incident as a major spill. it came two days after a train also carrying canadian crude derailed in minnesota, spilling at least 15,000 gallons of oil. because as the obama administration prepares to issue a decision on whether to approve

the keystone xl pipeline, which would expand the transport of canadian tar sands oil on a massive scale. we will speak with bill mckibben later in the broadcast. the fbi and local police are investigating a potential link to white supremacist prison gangs and the killing of a texas district attorney and his wife in their home. kaufman county d.a. mike mcclelland and cynthia mclelland were shot dead two months after assistant prosecutor mark hasse also was gunned down at the kaufman county courthouse. the fbi is looking into possible connection of the march 19 murder of tom clements, the colorado prisons chief who was shot and killed after answering the doorbell at his home. two days later, a white supremacist suspect in the case was killed in a shootout with texas deputies. the texas department of public safety had warned texas prosecutors in december the aryan brotherhood may have been plotting retaliation against law enforcement officials over a major indictment of dozens of members.

the u.s. is continuing military drills and south korea amidst heightened tensions with north korean regime. on sunday, the u.s. air force deployed fighter jets to its main base in south korea, two days after north korea put its rocket units on standby for potential attack on u.s. bases. north korea also said it is entering a "state of war" was south korea, but few expected to conduct any aggressive action beyond verbal threats. at least one afghan child and a number of others were killed in -- other people were killed in afghanistan on saturday when a u.s.-led nato helicopter opened fire in an eastern province. the a dignities of the other victims remain under dispute, with conflicting reports of the death toll of either 15 civilians or 9 taliban fighters. india's supreme court has issued a landmark ruling rejecting a longtime effort to block production of cheaper generic drugs. novartis had sought pented protection for a cancer drug in

india since 2006. the case was seen as a critical test of in his ability to manufacture low-cost generic drugs that are distributed throughout the global sow to treat infectious diseases. earlier today, the medical charity doctors without borders praised the court's decision. >> it is a huge relief because we have more than 200,000 withe living with hiv treatment. this would mean [indiscernible] that a big relief for us the drugs are safe and secure and available to patients. >> on the eve of the ruling, novartis had tried to stop sending new medicine to india if the court did not decide in its favor. the judge will likely affect other major pharmaceutical companies and their drug brands in india. the philippines government is calling on the u.s. for

compensation following the removal of a naval ship that was stuck on a pristine coral reef for 10 weeks. the u.s. as guardian was after its commanders ignored warnings from park rangers. the reef is a unesco world heritage site. at least 4000 square meters have been damaged. the ship's last pieces were finally removed on saturday. in addition to calls for compensation, the incident has sparked debate over u.s. military presence in the philippines. congressional lawmakers involved in talks on immigration reform say they have reached the basis for a bipartisan deal. the gap between labor and business groups on the status of guest workers was reportedly bridged over the weekend, paving the way for the bipartisan senate proposal to be unveiled sometime next week. one member of the group, senator marco rubio of florida, has won a deal has yet to be reached. a federal judge has struck down key sections of indiana's 2011 anti-immigrant law.

inspired by arizona's law, the measure empowered law enforcement officers to request proof of legal residency of anyone they suspect of being undocumented, allowed the warrantless arrests of non-u.s. citizens, and effectively criminalized use of consular identification. republican congressmember don young has apologized after he was recorded calling migrant workers "wetbacks." he made the comment in a radio interview in his home state of alaska. >> my father had a branch read we had 50 or 60wetbakcs to pick tomatoes. boehner speaker john admonished young for the comment on friday, calling his words "offensive and beneath the dignity of the office." in his initial apology, young said he was unaware the term is considered offensive. president obama has renewed his call for an infrastructure of asthma a program to fund the

repair the nation's roads and bridges. obama unveiled the proposals of a public event in florida. >> today i'm expanding on a proposal i made in the state of the man, calling it a partnership to rebuild america, a partnership with the private sector that creates jobs, upgrading with our businesses need most -- modern ports and pipelines and schools. my main message is, let's get this standard let's rebuild this country we love. let's make sure we're staying on the cutting edge. >> obama's plan calls for spending $21 billion on new municipal bonds, loans for infrastructure projects, and the creation of an infrastructure bank. the white house says the plan would not add to the deficit, meaning it would likely rely at least in part on private funding. the latest report card from the american society of civil into gave theengineers state of u.s. infrastructure a grade of d plus.

nearly three dozen former educators have been indicted in atlanta, georgia on charges of involvement in a massive cheating scandal at public schools. among those charged was the atlanta school district's former superintendent. prosecutors say teachers were forced to modify incorrect answers and students were even allowed to fix their responses during exams. several dozen members of the ku klux klan rallied in memphis on saturday to protest the renaming of three city parks that had honored confederate soldiers. the demonstrators carried signs bearing swastikas and engaged in chants of "white power." it was the first klan rally in memphis and 15 years. tens of thousands of people attended the wsf for nearly 130 countries, the first time the forum was held in an arab country, once considered the birthplace of the arab spring. on top of the forms longtime slogan of another world is possible, local host's indonesia added the word "dignity."

a new tally puts the combined cost of iraq and afghanistan war between $4 trillion and $6 trillion, the most expensive conflict in u.s. history. the figure from harvard bilmes ty's linda updates a previous study estimating a cost of $3 trillion. the study concludes the bulk of the war's cost has yet to be paid off, meaning their legacy "will dominate future of our budgets for decades to come." those are some of the headlines. this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. show in texas,s were a lot worse and officials are on edge after a district attorney and his wife were shot dead in their homes sunday night -- saturday night in what may be retaliation from white supremacist prison gangs. the attack happened in the raúl area about 20 miles southeast of dallas, in the town of forney, in kaufman county. the district attorney's never said he heard shots fired in the middle of the night.

>> it sounds like a high- powered rifle. i knew was not fireworks. it makes me very, very angry. also, sat at the same time for these people's loss europe eastern time. >> the murder of the kaufman county district attorney mike mcclelland and his wife cynthia comes two months after the county's assistant district attorney mark hasse was gunned down as he walked from his car to the kaufman county courthouse. it was mcclelland killed this beacon who spoke to reporters after the attack on his ada. >> i hope that the people that did this are watching because we are very confident that we are going to find you, we are going to pull you out of whatever hole you are in and bring you back and let the people of kaufman county prosecutor you to the fullest extent of the law. >> while officials have not confirmed a link in the two

killings, investigators believe a white supremacist group called the aryan brotherhood may be involved. in november, 34 members of the aryan brotherhood, including four senior leaders, were indicted by a federal grand jury in houston for racketeering. soon after the texas department of public safety sent a memo to about 5000 prosecutors across the state. it won them the aryan brotherhood might be plotting retaliation against law enforcement officials. mark hasse was reportedly heavily involved in prosecutions of members of the group. and district attorney mclelland himself had told the associated press the gangs had a strong presence in the area saying -- meanwhile, the murder of mcclellan and his wife comes less than two weeks after tom clements, the colorado prison chief, was shot and killed after answering the doorbell at his home in colorado.

two days later, evan spencer ebel, suspected of murdering clements, was killed in a shootout with texas deputies about 100 miles from kaufman county. for more we're joined by mark potok, senior fellow at the southern poverty law center. the group tracks hate groups and he described iran brotherhood of texas or abt is perhaps the most violent white supremacist gang in the country. he is joining us from alabama. welcome back to "democracy now!" let's talk about what happened this weekend with the district attorney mcclelland and his wife and then go backwards from there. his ada, the prosecutor heavily involved in the investigation of the aryan brotherhood, and also what has been going on in colorado. >> it is an incredible set of circumstances as you have said, mike mcclelland and his wife cynthia were murdered over the

weekend, on saturday or perhaps friday night, and it sounds very much like an assassination. there door was reportedly kicked in. there were all kinds of shell casings all over the floor. it looks like they opened the door to a stranger and more simply murdered right there. remarkable thing about this, it can almost two months to the day after the january 31 murder of mark hasse who was killed as he was going to work in the kaufman county courthouse. he was in the courthouse parking lot. he stepped out of his car and was shot by one or two men who appeared to have been wearing bulletproof vests or some kind of tactical vest and some kind of masks. we have all of that going on greed as you say, the memo warned from the to permit a public safety in texas of retaliation from this incredibly violent group. this is a group that at times in disciplining people who are believed to have worked with law

enforcement have ordered people murdered and their fingers brought back as trophies. meanwhile, we have this whole other set of circumstances in texas where it seems quite definite the man killed in the shootout in texas last week was in fact the murder of tom clements, the head of the colorado department of corrections. this killer, and then duane l was a member of what is called the 211 crew. we do not know if they are related, but it is possible. near are in states quite to each other, both in the heavily running drugs, and the groups were under heavy pressure from both the federal government and local authorities. the aryan brotherhood of texas went through a very serious indictment with 34 members

looking at a very serious charges just last fall. last november. crew andse of the 211 colorado, they had a major indictment back in 2005. but in both states, the crackdown had been continuing and it seems entirely possible this is payback in some form. >> on the same day that the kaufman county assistant district attorney mark hasse was gunned down in broad daylight in january, his office was one of several credited in the departments of justice announcement that two aryan brotherhood of texas gang members had plead guilty to federal racketeering charges. the press release said the two had --

can you talk more about this case, this assistant district attorney was involved in, and the past cases against the aryan brotherhood of texas, who they are. are they just an texas or are they around the country? who is the abt? >> i frankly do not know what mark hasse's role was in previous prosecutions. i know it is said he was heavily involved in a major player, particularly when he worked in another county as the head of the organized crime unit within the district attorney's office. the gang. brotherhood of taxes is incredibly vicious. it is found to have committed more than 100 murders and 10 kidnappings going back to when it was formed in the early 1980's. the aryan brotherhood of texas is not action related to the larger national group the aryan

brotherhood, which is another white supremacist prison gang. in the early 1980's when it was formed, a group of white texas and it actually asked the aryan brotherhood for permission to start a chapter of the group and they were refused. they went ahead and started their own group, iran brotherhood of texas, anyway. it is structured some ways into a larger brotherhood. it calls its leaders generals and majors and lieutenant and colonels and that sort of thing. they are heavily involved in running rackets outside the prisons, although they are mainly in the prisons. they do this through elaborate set of codes, verbal and written codes. the other thing i think can be said about both the aryan brotherhood of texas and the 211 crew of colorado, these groups used to be largely contained within the prisons but increasingly are spilling out

onto the streets and we see these gangs increasing the exercise real muscle on the streets. you mentioned extortion. that is something to do quite a lot of. of course there also extorting inmates within the prison system. one last thing that bears saying about these groups, while there certainly white supremacists, that innocence is a kind of overlay. at the end of the day, they're fundamentally criminal enterprises. these groups, while they have "aryan ideologies" are quick to make alliances with say the mexican mafia, and other words, non-white prison gangs, especially if it will help them in the running of methamphetamine and heroin and drugs like that. >> mark potok, i would ask about .he 211 crew, link to evan ebel clements was gunned down when he

opened his front door grid ebel was shot to death in a shootout with police in more taxes. can you talk about the size and reach of the 211 crew also known as the aryan alliance, its history in colorado, the symbols it uses, is so-called blood evenood out, and why it is called 211? >> it was formed back in the 1995 within the colorado prison system. it is still almost entirely limited to the colorado system. i have seen estimates of 200 to 1000 members. it has become increasingly a savage enterprise. they are heavily involved in extorting inmates and people outside the prisons as well, running drugs. the 211 name reportedly comes from california code for robbery. and why that is, i cannot say.

apparently, the larger area and brotherhood was started in california and maybe the 211 crew were looking up to them. theny case, that is what gang is like it is quite something. as i say, they have increasingly spilled out on the the streets. and now they also had a major indictment brought against them back in 2005. their leader and founder, benjamin davidson, at that point was indicted along with 30 other people. now he is serving over a 100- year sentence for racketeering. nevertheless, what can be set at the end of the day, these groups have been incredibly successful in running crummel enterprises not only within the prisons, but on the streets. >> an this blood in, blood out policy? >> that is the idea in order to get into the 211 crew, you've

got to go out and either her someone or actually kill someone on the orders of one of the leaders, the so-called shock collars, or generals. that is what gets you into the gangs. and let out, you can never get out of the game, only by dina can you leave the game. 211 crew is really known for enforcing these rules. in the sense that went to 11 crew members leave prison, they are required absolutely to go out to the streets and burned -- in other words, to engage in various types of crime, to bring back money that will ultimately end up under control of the imprisoned leaders of the gang. if they never goes out and refuses to do something like that, it is very likely the shot collars in prison will send someone after you and have you seriously hurt, if not worse. >> mark potok, can you talk

about whether the white aryan -- sincee increasingly president obama [indiscernible] >> i am not sure that is happening as a result of obama's election. it is true that hate groups outside the prisons have grown along with other types of radical right groups. i think it is in part to obama's election and reelection, the demographic change that represents in the country. but the christian groups seem like a different animal. i doubt -- the prison groups seem like a different animal to me. i don't related to what is happening in the country politically. what i think one of the remarkable things is, when you look at prison gamethings, how widespread they are. the increasing power they seem to have. i think at the end of the day, that is what this incredible

incrediblerders -- murders said. they certainly seem to suggest these gangs are more brazen than have ever been. >> mark potok, you of this incident in memphis, tennessee this weekend, klan members to around 60, 75, ku klux klan, held a rally. they were protesting the renaming of three parks. the old names for confederate park, jefferson davis park -- who was the confederacy's president -- and nathan bedford forest park, neighbor a confederate lt. general and the klan's first grand wizard. the city was changing the names of all three parks. apparently, the city council may change those names as well. the significance of this rally?

washe real significance especially to people who live in memphis, tennessee, who i think were very uptight about the rally, and large becauspart bece there was a lan rally in 1998 that ended in a lot of violence, basically between anti-racist counter protesters and police. what happens this saturday was an absolutely massive police presence in memphis, tennessee, that put the lid on everything. i think there were quite a few complaints from the counter protesters there were not even allowed close enough to the klan that they could hit was being said. it was quite any event. people came from all over. 1300 were somewhere around counter protesters versus about 60 klansmen. in the end, i think it turned

out all right, but i think there was a lot of frustration on the part of the anti-racists who traveled from all over the and many feltotest th this was not democracy in action because there kept so far away. >> we have to be clear, the murders of the texas district attorney mcclelland and his wife, we have no idea who committed them. just as we do not know who committed the murder against his well.rk hasse, as although, he was gunned down on his way to the courthouse and was deeply involved in investigation of the aryan brotherhood. we don't really know about the connections. >> that is right. it is suggested circumstances. the fact of the warning, the memo from the department of public safety suggesting that

there were hits planned retaliation planned, all of that along with the fact these two men in a recent county, the district assistant attorney and his boss, were murdered really an execution-style killings really does make you think twice. >> mark potok, senior fellow at the southern poverty law center, trekking hate groups, including the aryan brotherhood of texas, speaking to us from alabama. thank you. when we come back, we are going to talk about the case of duane buck, on death row in texas. interestingly, a former governor of texas is -- as well as one of his prosecutors are saying he should not be given the death penalty. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

>> this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we continue to look at texas, now turning to a man facing execution there despite concerns he was sentenced to death because he is african-american. although duane buck's killed is not in question for the 1995 murder of his former girlfriend debra gardner and her friend, critics say jurors in this case were led to choose a death sentence over life without parole based on testimony of a state psychologist who argued african-american criminals are more likely to pose a future danger to the public. at a sentencing hearing in may 1997, walter quijano, a former chief psychologist for the state prison system who had evaluated but, testified in part that --

in 2000, then texas attorney general john cornyn said buck's's sentence and six other cases merited re-examination because of racially charged statements made by walter quijano. but unlike all 5 of the other cases, buck's case was never reopen. now the district attorney in harris county is about to set an execution date within 30 days duane buck this is his final appeal, which decided any day now. last week, a statement calling for new sentencing hearing for buck was delivered to the harris county district attorney, mike anderson, by mark b. white jr., a governor of texas in the 1980's who oversaw 19 executions, but opposes buck's killing. for more we go to houston where we're joined by linda geffin, who helped win the death sentence for duane buck in 1997, and now opposes his execution. she is currently senior assistant prosecutor in the harris county attorney's office. in new york we're joined by christina swarns, an attorney

who is part of duane buck's legal defense team. we welcome you both. linda geffin, you helped convict duane buck. he ended up with the death penalty. he was sentenced to death. why have you changed your view on this case right now? i 14 years after the trial, saw on the internet the offense of testimony in black and white. and when i had the opportunity to read it and really absorb what it was saying, i did so much clarity that it was racially offensive, it was egregious, and error. i emailed mr. buck's lawyers and ask how i could help. >> talk about what that quote was. --ter quijano said

christina swarns, your response to that? >> i think walter quijano walter made clear that what he believed and with the state was looking from the say was because mr. but was and is african-american, he posed a future danger to society and the prosecution in cross-examination elicited that testimony and went on to argue specifically that point during closing arguments. what the prosecutor said in closer, dr. walter quijano testified he would pose a future danger and on that you should find he is a future danger and to be sentenced to death. i would go on to say as "the new

york times closed reported, walter quijano's finding was false. in houston,, linda, texas, can you explain what it is that happened that six cases where walter quijano's testimony was involved were all re-evaluated, five of them, those prisoners on death row, ended up without life without parole, except for the case of duane buck. what happened? >> it appears then attorney general john cornyn became aware hadhe racial bias that infected these cases and ordered a review of all of these cases that dr. walter quijano testified in, and in each case he gave an opinion they need a

presentencing hearing and all of them received their hearing except for mr. bok. it is likely or it seems probable that that happened because ag john cornyn was at the end of his term. he wanted to other things. the next 80 -- >> and now john cornyn is the current senator. >> that is true. the current ag greg abbott did not grant the presentencing or recommend the presentencing hearing. it clearly looks that mr. buck's case fell to the >>, which is even more egregious when it is a capital case. no individual, no definitive ever fall through the cracks from the criminal justice system, but when the ultimate punishment is on the line, it is morally -- morally reprehensible. >> i want to read from a summary

of a study by criminologist that documented racial disparities at the time duane buck was sentenced to death and set alight with the district attorney would pursue the death penalty against african a tennis was about twice as high as four white defendants and "the probability a jury would impose a death sentence was 0.33 and white defendant cases and increased to 0.438 for black defendants." >> absolutely. i think what we found was the incidence of dr. walter quijano presenting racially biased ness, it seems to be part of a larger culture. the professor from the harris district attorney's office was more likely to seek that for african-american offenders like mr. bock and similar situated white offenders and harris county jurors were twice as likely to sentence african-

american offenders like duane buck to death relative to somali situated white defendants. was clear this was a larger pattern of discrimination against african-americans coming out of harris county. i would say that is for the supported by the history in the county. we know the harris county district attorney's office disproportionately excluded african-american prospective jurors also at the time. discrimination. >> i want to play a comment from phyllis taylor, duane buck's stepsister, who is forgiven buck for shooting her on the same day as the murder of his ex- girlfriend and friend and has called for his life to be scared. in this clip, she describes a recent visit she made to join but. he came down from death row at the county jail and his sister and i went to visit and i

had a wonderful visit. i let him know there everything that had happened, i sought forgiveness in my heart. i went to church and i prayed along with family members. found it in my heart to forgive. when i was able to talk back with him or three letters, then i let him know he was forgiven through christ. >> that is duane buck's stepsister, phyllis taylor. the significance of this, linda , one of his victims, she was not killed, for giving him? >> i think it is unprecedented. it is huge. victims are often out for revenge. but the fact she was shot in the

chest, recovered, and has found it in her heart to forgive him is extremely significant. harris county has the unfortunate reputation of being the death penalty capital of the world. now we have a golden moment for harris county to stand for justice. phyllis taylor has forgiven him. their many elected officials and people in this community who are supporting the new presentencing hearing. clearly as you said at the top, we're not asking for him to be released. just a new color blind presentencing hearing. texasant to go to the tribune. a one to talk about duane buck's lawyer. they said the public defender noted for his involvement in numerous death penalty cases, has represented 39 clients is in capital punishment of which 20 ever see the death sentence for

his record has attracted significant media controversy considering his ability and the number of cases it was allowed to take on. however, has maintained the judges routinely assigned him the most difficult and horrific cases, often involving multiple murders or murder of a child and then dubbed death penalty express, america's most lethal attorney greed and the undertaker for the state of texas, by various media outlets. you're up against him, linda geffin, in this case as you prosecuted duane buck. your response to his representation in the original trial? i cannot comment on the comments from the texas terbium read i know he is a very effective attorney. he had a co-counsel in that case. i do believe he is frequently appointed to that penalty cases. in harris county, yet to qualified to represent a defendant on a capital case.

turning.effective in >> he gained international notoriety in 2009 when his client, a british citizen sentenced to death, killed turkeys to the supreme court clement incompetent legal counsel according to a report in the new york times, the lawyer met with her for only 15 minutes one time before her trial. drew much attention about the attorneys career and no longer handles capital punishment cases. the houston chronicle reported the attorney held more than 2000 criminal cases between 2007- 2008, more than 12 times the case load limit except by the national legal aid of public christina swarns, kenya, it further? >> is quite clear that he provided mr. bock with inadequate representation. this is the man who stepped aside -- stand -- >> he brought the psychologist

on to the stand. >> he did. aen the state elicited specific length on cross- examination, he did not object and allow the testimony to go before the jury in this case. i would add further that he also did an inadequate job in terms of representing mr. buck in mitigating evidence. there was an abundance of evidence the jury should have heard, about his upbringing, the adversity he faced there was absolutely available at the time of his trumpet not provide. his attorneys la -- lawyer. >> christina swarns, utility issues of the death penalty with the naacp. how typical is this in terms of representation? >> in terms of the attorney, it is an unfortunate reality.

this case really is above and beyond the hell with respect to seeing some facing execution because of the color of their skin print this is the case were that link has been made explicit. that argument was presented to a jury. and the argument was found by the jury and this man is now on death row facing execution. texas promised no person with this kind of testimony would be executed. texas needs to live up to its promise and honor the promise it made to mr. bok. no one to be executed because of the color of their skin. if he is executed on that basis, then all of us should be worried. >> explain now what happens in the case of duane buck. >> it is in front of the court of criminal appeals. the court of criminal appeals can either reman our case to the district court for a hearing and further review or it can reject or dismiss or deny our appeal

the sentence the case to the supreme court. >> before you go, linda geffin, i want to talk about a different issue with you. we just had a segment on the killing of the district attorney and his wife in texas as well as the kaufman county assistant prosecutor. killedt know who has them. this all happened in texas were you are as well. you were in the district attorney's office in harris county, in houston read your own experience of being viciously attacked in your home. could you talk about that if he would right now? >> sure. on mr.'son to working civilmy main job is a attorney, using civil remedies to close down fronts for human

trafficking. we had a successful run and closed down any illegal enterprises. andone saturday i came home before i knew it, i was brutally beaten. i ended up in the icu for a week. i had a skull fracture in serious head injuries as well as some other injuries. many people that i know and human trafficking field were so certain and told me to get out of my house that is related to the work i'm doing, but there is this tendency to not believe that attorneys, prosecutors, people working on these types of cases get rid i was the target of a hit. the perpetrators are out there.

about a month after this happened to me in the city of arlington, texas, another city attorney had a hit taken out on them, also working on sexually oriented businesses. not that guy. -- they caught that guy. clearly, it is something that goes on that people don't recognize. >> i'm looking at an article in the houston chronicle that talked about the fact you were beaten senseless by an unidentified intruder who left bleeding, cracked and fist sized bruises on your face and chest. not found the person who did this. and this is how many years later? or how many months later? >> about a year-and-a-half.

it happened september 17, 2011 rid know, they have not found anybody. >> your not raped or robbed? >> no. that is one of the reasons it wants to professional job. i had money out, jewelry out. nothing was taken or disturbed. i was not sexually assaulted. by the nature of the injuries on my head in the back of my head, certain shapes of them, a friend of mine, former special ops, said it is either someone who knows martial arts or a professional hit. somebody had followed me home from the grocery store and had me unconscious, it is likely i would have been sexually is -- sexually assaulted or they would have taken things from my home repair or in and out.

i was unconscious for a day and until a friend came by. very grateful to have lived through it. >> you have been public about your fight against human trafficking. you agree to speak on "today" and "texas monthly" launched a website to show how modern slavery, days later, it enters the supply chain of common commodities. has this changed the way you do your work? how do you protect yourself now? >> it changed for a while. it took me a year to recover. i am doing a lot better now. me, it has done for actually, in an ironic twist of fate, i looked at myself as a gift. i look at it with gratitude because they're not many moments

in one's life when you're actually brought to your knees and given the opportunity to reconstruct, redo, throw away the bad, enhance the good. i have a much greater sense of clarity now. i am very adamant about things that are important to me and they generally fall into the categories of justice. the whole slave trade, which is a huge growing industry, child labor, and mr. buck's case, which is a poster child for what is wrong with the death penalty. but now i can approach these cases with a lot of clarity. i have been inspired for many years by a quote who says there may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to speak out.

and that quote resonates with me even stronger now. >> linda geffin, the response of other prosecutors in your office. you're still in the harris county d.a.'s office, assistant prosecutor there. coming out for the meeting of duane buck's sentence, even though you were involved with helping to achieve his death sentence? >> i've gone across the street and i am with the county attorney's office. here in harris county, it is two separate buildings. i was with the d.a.'s office for 10 years. now and with the county attorney's office. buildings, but i have not heard any negativity about what i'm doing. >> thank you so much and i'm so sorry of gone through what you've gone through personally. linda geffin, assistant prosecutor who helped with the death sentence for duane buck in

1997, now opposes his execution. thank you to christina swarns naacp legal defense fund. when we come back, there has been a tar sands leak in an exxonmobil pipeline in arkansas. we will speak with bill mckibben, founder of 350.org. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

>> this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. exxon mobil continues clean-up efforts after a ruptured pipeline sprayed thousands of barrels of crude oil across central arkansas subdivision, forcing nearly two dozen homes to evacuate. the 20 inch so-called pegasus tar sands pipeline burst late friday near mayflower, arkansas,

creating what the epa is categorizing as a major spill. officials said the pipeline gushed oil for 45 minutes before being stanched. more than 12,000 barrels of oil and water have been recovered. the pipeline will be excavated as part of its investigation to determine the cause of the leak according to exxon. the company says about 50 claims have been filed so far. a local news station spoke to two mayflower residents impacted by this bill. >> we're all having to pay mortgages and we cannot even live in our houses. if it does not fit in our car, we don't have a right now. we are concerned about that and our property value and what is exxonmobil going to do for us? >> i had no idea there is a pipe line out here. literally, at the corner of the subdivision. supposed to be a 20-inch pipeline from illinois to texas. i don't know. >> exxonmobil confirm the pipeline was carrying western

canadian heavy crude at the time of the leak. according to inside, news, this type of crude oil is especially difficult to clean up when it spills into water. efforts are currently underway to prevent oil from containing -- contaminating the drinking source. the proposed 1,700 mile pipeline would deliver tar sands oil from canada to refineries in texas. for more we go to bill mckibben, author of, "eaarth: making a life on a tough new planet." he is founder of 350.org. we invited exxonmobil on the air with a decline. can you talk about the significance of the spill? >> one thing to bear in mind when we're thinking about whether to approve the keystone pipeline, the pipe that just burst in arkansas carries less than one-tenth of the amount of this heavy tar sands crude that keystone would. it is about 80,000 barrels a day, not 900,000 barrels a day. will supply the pictures you're

seeing from arkansas by 10, and then transpose them on top of the ogallala offer. not a pretty picture anyway. also, the pepyses pipeline just like the keystone pipeline was touted for having the latest and most advanced leak detection technology and on and on and on. this is just one more sign of what and is begun inventor this whole tar sands thing is. there is an op-ed piece in "the new york times calls >> from a showing author the amount of canadians opposing the pipeline and eager to get rid of the whole tar sands business. not waitingsaster that happen, it is a disaster happening in slow-motion. the only thing is what the the obama administration and the state department are going to go along with it or not. >> exxonmobil did release a statement that read in part --

bill, how has exxonmobil's response to the spill compared to last ones? >> this is a different place. it happened right in the middle of a subdivision, apparently. they're almost unbelievable pictures of what people's back yards look like. i could sum up on my twitter feed. -- i put some up on my twitter feed. the last huge spills that happened were in kalamazoo, michigan, where the kalamazoo river is still -- parts of it are still shut down for human use two or three years later. and the yellowstone river. the trouble with what is spilling out, it is bad enough for any oil spill, but this

stuff is a whole degree of nastiness worse. the tar sands -- you have to keep it up and add chemicals to even get it to flow. when it comes out of the pipe, it is incredibly hard to clean up. stuff that, burning this means game over if the climate. you see we are messing with the environment and so many friends that it is as if he set out to fig -- so many fronts, it is as if you sit out to figure out what is the worst. >> this bill comes two days after a train carrying canadian crude derailed in minnesota, spilling something like 15,000 gallons of oil. >> it is almost as if nature was

trying to send a message that it might be best to just beat this stuff underground in canada where it has been safely for the last few million years instead of talking it, piping it, taking it by train panther and not across the countryside. this is the kind of thing that people will look back on in 20, 30, 40 years and say, what part of this didn't you get? why didn't you do what the germans did and go straight to sun and wind? why did he take the steps instead of prolonging correct a few more years, the absolute bottom of the barrel dirtiest energy policies that you could find? >> we just have a minute, but you talk about this coming as the obama administration making a decision about keystone xl. where does that stand right now? what you understand but president obama and secretary of state john kerry are the signing at this point?

>> over the next 15 days, there will be a big push to get public comment into the state department on their preliminary environmental impact statements that said nothing like what happened in arkansas was action likely to happen. we're hoping we can get 1 billion comments in the people will go to 350.org where they can find some ways in order to help out with this process. the power of the fossil fuel industry in washington is enormous. they have all the money. the only thing we can stack up on the other side is power of movement. we have been building them as fast as we can. yet the largest civil disobedience action in 30 years about anything, about this pipeline. 40,000 people in the mall last month in d.c. and the largest climate rally ever. we are fighting as hard as we can. >> bill mckibben, co-founder and director of 350.org. thank you for being with us.

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