. >> frankly, i was shocked to, quite frankly, have a "perry mason" moment for the first time in my 15ution. >> reporter: could you tell, looking at the jury, that they got it? >> i'm hoping and praying, "please hear every moment of this because he's nailing his own coffin." >> reporter: the second time around would be swift and deliberate. >> when it came time for the verdict, we sat there holding hands and i felt just this peace come over here. i got this, sir, don't worry. it'll work out. >> reporter: once again, wesley earnest was found guilty of first-degree murder. the jury recommended a sentence of life in prison plus three years, and the judge agreed. >> i think there's an overwhelming sense of relief. a lot of dedicated people worked very hard to come to this day, and we're glad to see it finally here. >> reporter: all the faces of wesley earnest hardened into one defining image: pale and resigned. still, to his mother, he's a victim. when you look at him now, what do you see? >> i see an innocent man that's behind bars that was convicted by a jury that i feel had preconceived

a lot of us grew up watching "perry mason." you don't see those kinds of movies now it seems to be almost seasonal that you have, you know, either positive or negative portrayals. but it seems to follow a certain cycle. we have so many shows on tv now about, you know, police and law enforcement. i think we have, what, maybe three different "c.s.i. i "series now, "law & order" parts one, two, and three. what do you think counts for the portrayal of our justice system and how it shifts over time? and also if you've seen in terms of what writers have done or haven't done. >> you know, i was -- when i was listening to mr. serra, i was thinking, you know, actually the law is this huge thing. and there are parts of it that work really well. and when i started out, i was a young lawyer at a large wall street law firm. and believe it or not, we did really good work. and since we typically litigate against or are involved with other large corporate law firms, the other people did railly good work. and since we were typically in federal

. >> frankly, i was shocked to, quite frankly, have a "perry mason" moment for the first time in my 15rs of prosecution. >> reporter: could you tell, looking at the jury, that they got it? >> i'm hoping and praying, "please hear every moment of this because he's nailing his own coffin." >> reporter: the second time around would be swift and deliberate. >> when it came time for the verdict, we sat there holding hands and i felt just this peace come over here. i got this, sir, don't worry. it'll work out. >> reporter: once again, wesley earnest was found guilty of first-degree murder. the jury recommended a sentence of life in prison plus three years, and the judge agreed. >> i think there's an overwhelming sense of relief. a lot of dedicated people worked very hard to come to this day, and we're glad to see it finally here. >> reporter: all the faces of wesley earnest hardened into one defining image: pale and resigned. still, to his mother, he's a victim. when you look at him now, what do you see? >> i see an innocent man that's behind bars that was convicted by a jury that i feel had

who contributed to the community the lawyers whose role model was the fictional defense attorney perry mason the doctors whose role models on t.v. live middle class lives and cared about their patients and the politicians whose role models were jefferson lincoln and even the fictional jefferson smith played in the movies by jimmy stewart kids wanted to be these people when they grow up not because the these people were rich but because they contributed to society and they cared about others but now these people are largely ignored and even disrespected now kids want to be millionaires and billionaires now the high priests of our society are the super rich and as a result people are dying people like nick mccroskey payne and ricky workman and no one is being held accountable the massey mine disaster just like the b.p. oil spill or american tragedies on their own but they were also symptoms of a much bigger problem in america today the decline of our moral values we need to realize that these corrupt millionaires and billionaires didn't build america they don't deserve the perks and extra bene

this isn't perry mason. >> no, i'm just saying -- >> this is not perry mason. i have changed -- i have changed my habits now, and i talk on a speakerphone. i do not text while i'm driving. and i don't fumble around and put it up to my ear anymore. >> so you use the system in your car that allows you to talk while you're -- >> yeah, exactly. >> okay. and those are expensive. harold, have you ever done it? >> i used to. i don't do it any longer. i put it on speaker or use the blue tooth. >> willie does two phones when he's driving. two phones, that's how busy he is. >> drives with the knees. >> i confess to having done it. but could you imagine losing your child or a member of your family because somebody was looking down sending a reply to an e-mail. it's not worth it. i think this is a good step in the right direction. >> it happens all the time. >> i agree. >> speaking of directions. there's a new direction in iowa. >> there is. we should take a look at this. >> this is getting tight. >> this is where i go forward with it. >> it's getting tight out there. >> i

and i am not sure because the extent of my knowledge is 1/2 -- is 1/2 perry mason. >> the executive powerly can. but it would set up a huge fight going back to andrew jackson, a huge fight. it would be a horrible, horrible fight. but technically under article two who coe -- could make that law and extend. but here is the issue if he does that, big brouhaha and bad political move but if he tries to extend it again at a certain point, isn't he actually legislating from the executive branch? because, like extending the law again and again and again doesn't that, well, that becomes a law. >>neil: what if she secretly want that? >>guest: they, being the democrats or republicans? maybe. congress also has the only powers of the purse strings. they have the money. they are the ones that say where the money goes. by extending it, isn't that encroaching on the legislative duty of deciding where the money goes? right? that seems like basic civics. >>neil: this is not an existing law. this is, really, an unusual novel policy that was used to extend the payroll tax cut that cannot be interrupted for a

>>neil: this is a perry mason special right here. but it's not. very good words to live by. very much. when we come back, for all you ladies who don't like my shop tips for men, now it is your turn! . es? pure platinum. [ female announcer ] a healthy outside starts inside. new iams simple & natural has chicken as its number one ingredient and zero fillers. it works inside for health you can see on the outside. [ dog ] i can't be a rockstar on the outside if i'm not one on the inside. [ female announcer ] new iams naturals. you'll like what's in them and love what's not. [ dog ] i am an iams dog. [ girls ] he's so cute! [ dog ] groupies! for you today ? we gave peopleight off the street a script and had them read it. no, sorry, i can't help you with that. i'm not authorized to access that transaction. that's not in our policy. i will transfer you now. my supervisor is currently not available. would you like to hold ? that department is currently closed. have i helped you with everything you needed ? if your bank doesn't give you knowledgeable customer service 24/7, you need a

perry fourth in the eyes of caucus goers in iowa. but he's pounding the pavement in iowa hoping to reach social conservatives. he has campaign stops in waterloo, mason me. >> the most recent ad campaign targets a particular opponent, but not the front runner. he's taking aim at rick santorum, who is a fellow candidate who is trying to go for the ultraconservative vote. the ad labeling him as an earmarker. the strategy behind this is he's trying to compete for that very conservative vote. right? >> well, that's right. and polls have shown santorum surging, which is tough news for perry. they are competing for the same block of social conservatives. there's not a lot of difference on social issues between the two candidates, but where's there a difference is on their record. his record of spending. let's take a listen to what he said yesterday. >> rick santorum is a friend. i've got great respect for him. but what he talks about fiscal conservatism, it leaves me scratching my head. because he was a prolific earmarker. i love iowa pork. but i hate washington pork. and senator santorum, he loaded up his bills with pennsylvania pork. and he even voted fo

a new one today from rick perry, who's attacking his conservative rival, the now emergent rick santorum, just coming out a short time ago as well. we are here in masoncity. this is the town that inspired the broadway musical, "the music man." mitt romney with another large crowd today. and the consistent theme of the visits he's had along the stump throughout the last several days has been family values. his wife, ann romney speaking at every stop about the 42 years the two of them have been married. and patriotic values. really trying to be above the fray to position himself as the front-runner here. he has 25% of the republican vote right now, according to this latest poll from cnn. significant because that's the percentage he had just four years ago, where he was badly defeated by mike huckabee. the difference this time around is that there is no one conservative that all of this support has coalesced behind right now, and this has been great divisions between michele bachmann, newt gingrich, rick santorum, and rick perry so far. mitt romney very confident now. already putting out an ambitious plan for his next several days, including a return to

bachmann is competing with rick perry and rick santorum for the social conservative vote and newt gingrich is rallying supporters in masony. a recent poll shows gingrich, ron paul and mitt romney in a virtual tie for the lead. >>> what happened to newt gingrich nice guy? he vowed not to go negative in response to the other candidates' attack adz, but that didn't stop gingrich from blasting ron poll. in an interview with cnn's wolf blitzer, he said he wouldn't vote for ron paul. >> you look at his newsletters and then you look at 80s ads, his ads are about as accurate as his newsletters. >> if he were to get the republican nomination -- >> he won't. >> say he were, could you vote for him? >> no. [ gunfire ] >>> amateur video out of syria, is said to show defectors trying to ambush security forces in daha. cnn cannot independently confirm the claim. arab monitors are in the country for the second day to determine if the government has stopped the bloody crackdown on citizens. they have postponed trips to three cities today due to logistical reasons. >>> tens of thousands of north koreans wailing and beating their chests, f

perry came out with that the other day. rape, incest, no abortion under any -- >> it's all about that. >> chuck todd, thanks so much. live masonwa, in front of the big newt bus. >> 36 trombones -- >> there you go, music man. >>> a rewind, betty white stops by to talk about her legendary career. keep it on "morning joe." oh it's clearance time! yeah, our low prices are even lower. we need to teach her how to walk. she is taking up valuable cart space. aren't you, honey? [ male announcer ] it's our biggest clearance event of the year where our prices are even lower. save money. live better. walmart. forty years ago, he wasn't worried about retirement. he'd yet to hear of mutual funds, iras, or annuities. back then, he had something more important to do. he wasn't focused on his future but fortunately, somebody else was. at usaa we provide retirement solutions for our military, veterans and their families. from investments... to life insurance... to health care options. learn more with our free usaa retirement guide. call 877-242-usaa. >>> i also feel it's time for me to step away from elective office. spend more time with my fam