as some kind of -- no, i suppose by the prosecution. i mean, talk me through the defense and prosecution played out today. who had the better day, do you think? >> well, you know, that's tough to say. to be an objective observer, both of them scored points for sure. the prosecution's opening was clean. it was very succinct. and they were very clear on harping on a few points. they painted murray as being greedy, as being ill qualified to serve as michael jackson's doctor, then they really hammered home a couple points which resonated. one, the amount of propofol that they purchased. they used calendars to use hundreds of bottles of propofol that he was purchasing for murray to deflect that he was weaning him off of it. sure looked like he was buying a lot of it. the other thing that could be damning, when jackson was struggling for his life, when the emts showed up, what did you give this person, this patient, he mentions other things but never mentions propofol. the emergency room doctors ask the same thing. again, no mention of propofo

there's been confirmed that there's a lack of evidence. >> reporter: today the prosecution attempted to persuade the judge and jury that the case is sound, even though dna evidence was declared unreliable by court-appointed forensic scientists. specifically the alleged murder weapon was found not to contain the victim's dna on the blade, as asserted by the prosecution. and a bloody bra clasp, allegedly containing the dna of knox's former boyfriend was considered too contaminated to test. the prosecution is so convinced its case will hold up, it asked the court to increase the sentence on knox and her former boyfriend to life in prison. that's 30 years behind bars here in italy. knox's father was not surprised by the prosecution's request for the maximum penalty, but still shocked. >> it's always a tough reaction when you have somebody ask for 30 years or life in prison for your daughter. >> reporter: the case continues next week with a verdict due by the beginning of next month. keith miller, nbc news, perugia. >>> up next here tonight, after days after watching and waiting, it's here

the critique blasted the collection and the testing raising serious questions about the prosecution'sase. >> those two experts have conclusively determined that the evidence was likely compromised, likely contaminated and that the testing that has actually employed on the alleged dna fell below internationally accepted standards. >> reporter: another blow for the prosecution, a homeless man was shown to be confused about what date and time he claims to have seen amanda knox. >> one of the main witnesses against amanda knox, a heroin addict who turned out to be totally incorrect in everything he said. he admits that he was high at the time and doesn't remember much. >> reporter: also absent is an explanation for the lack of any dna from amanda knox in the bedroom where the crime occurred. there was plenty of evidence, but it all pointed to this man, rudy guede, the third person convicted in the murder. >> his dna is all over the room where that young woman was killed. bloody hand prints on the wall. bloody footprints. his dna is everywhere inside and outside of meredith's body. >> repo

this is really great stuff for the prosecution. we also heard his description of michael jackson's daughter. when she walked in and saw her father there, palms up, mouth open. >> palms up, mouth open and looking toward her because that's the way his head is placed. and she is screaming daddy and crying. and the one good thing dr. conrad murray says is he says basically get the kids out of the room. then the security guard alvarez says don't worry, kids, everything is going to be fine and moves them out of the room. this has to be a memory for these children unfortunately they will never be able to for get. >> real quickly, why do we think the prosecution spent so much time having mr. alvarez describe in great detail some of the medical devices we saw in that bedroom as well? >> well, the prosecution is trying to show a gross deviation from the standard of care, truly reckless conduct when it comes to a doctor. what's miss rg the devices that should have been there, a blood pressure cuff, oxygen monitor. what we do have there are al

the prosecution is well aware of this fact and i submit to you that the prosecution has unseemly and i might say intimate relationship with the true culprit. the entire case against my client is a smokescreen to divert attention to the true perpetrator of the crime at issue today, the clash of the u.s. economy and the destruction of the american middle class and the state budget shortfall. my client could not be present in the courtroom this evening but if they were here, i have no doubt it would be an extremely sympathetic group. they are your neighbors, your family, your friends. they teach her children. they care for your elderly parents. they keep your local library open and they pick up your garbage. they are the ones who walk back into the burning building on 9/11. they are the ones who threw their bodies in front of the violent criminals. many of them literally risked their lives every single day to keep you and your family safe. the question in front of us tonight is, do these hard-working americans deserve to exercise their faith in human freedom to form a union if they so ch

that's all the prosecution wants this case to be about. going to want to bring in the whole story of michael jackson's health, his history of drug use, what might have killed him, how he dealt with -- how he had interacted with physicians in the past. that's going to be a big part of what the defense says later today. >> jeffrey toobin, stand by. we're going to continue the opening statements but right after this break. when an investment lacks discipline, it's never this obvious. introducing investment discipline etfs from russell. visit russelletfs.com r a prospectus, containing the investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses and other information. read and consider it carefully before investing. i know what works differently than many other allergy medications. omnaris. omnaris, to the nose. did you know nasal symptoms like congestion can be caused by allergic inflammation? omnaris relieves your symptoms by fighting inflammation. side effects may include headache, nose bleed, and sore throat. got allergy symptoms out of my way. now

the prosecution was pretty tough on amanda knox in court today, weren't they? >> reporter: they were. they were delivering heavy lines. one of the attorneys who was presenting his side of events in the case today saying that amanda knox is a she-devil. he called her an enchanting witch. he described her personality that was split between angelic on the one side and lucifer-like and satanic and demonic on the other side. so, you know, some very tough words being told there to the court by these prosecution attorneys with the sole purpose, of course, of convincing that jury, which is lined up to listen to the evidence and the testimony, of upholding the conviction for murder against amanda knox and her former boyfriend rafaelle sollecito as well. so it was a heavy day in court. >> it sounds like the hyperbole that they're using calling her she-devil, lucifer, it sounds like they're covering up for the fact that the dna evidence, which was used initially to convict her, has largely been ruled inadmissible or ruled out. >> reporter: that's probably right. i spoke to

the prosecution was pretty tough on amanda knox in court today, weren't they? ng heavy lines when it comes to characterizing her personality. one of the attorneys who was presenting his side of events in the case today saying that amanda knox is a she-devil. he called her an enchanting witch. he described her personality that was split between angelic on the one side and lucifer-like and satanic and demonic on the other side. so, you know, some very tough words being told there to the court by these prosecution attorneys with the sole purpose, of course, of convincing that jury, which is lined up to listen to the evidence and the testimony, of upholding the conviction for murder against amanda knox and her former boyfriend rafaelle sollecito as well. so, obviously, it was a very heavy day in court. >> it sounds like the hyperbole that they're using calling her she-devil, louis lucifer, et cetera, it sounds like they're covering up for the fact that the dna evidence which was used initially to convict her has largely been ruled inadmissible or ruled out. >> repor

the former d.a. who prosecutedavis said the courts got it right. >> i'm disappointed so many people have been led to believe that nobody paid attention to these recantations. it is, as i said earlier, simply not the case. on what ground are the recantations more believable than the testimony in court? none. none. >> troy davis maintains his innocent, the police officer's family maintains davis is the killer. his mother spoke with our t.j. holmes earlier today. >> it has been held. i would like to have some peace. i would like to have this situation over with. we are the victims. those people that recanted, why did they wait 17 years before they recanted? they should have done it, if they felt that way, earlier, not when the final time is coming now. i do not believe that. if they think they would have been coached. i think they have been coached by the wrong people. >> justice only comes for you and closure -- justice and closure only comes for you when troy davis is finally executed? >> i will never have closure.

but the prosecution has been unrelenting. get the latest, plus her family's reaction from abc's elizabeth vargas who is live in italy. >> such a stressful day for them. >>> also this morning, time travel, perhaps not just the stuff of science fiction anymore. scientists claim they have made an amazing discovery. subatomic particles traveling faster than the speed of light. now, einstein himself said this was impossible. but if einstein was wrong, this discovery could mean that marty mcfly from "back to the future" was on to something. there's einstein right there. >> you were waiting to make a marty mcfly reference. >>> plus, an incredible cliffside rescue caught on tape. why was this woman clinging to the side of a 500-rock basin in los angeles? we'll tell you about her two-hour ordeal and show you the helmet cam video from her rescue. >>> we are going to begin with that breaking news. the dead satellite we've all been watching for the past several days has finally come down. it crashed somewhere on the planet overnight. but

you have to remember this is still the prosecution's case. u would expect that it would be powerful evidence for them, rather than the defense. so, you don't want to really keep score on a day by day basis, but you're right, we saw that photograph of michael jackson lying motionless on the bed, probably dead. you heard the audio of michael jackson sounding incoherent. you heard testimony of his children, his daughter on the floor in a ball crying. you hear today, "daddy. daddy." you can see paris painted in the picture through the testimony in shock, wondering if his dad is going to be okay. and as marcia says very accurately, not only does this doctor perhaps not know cpr, but let's face it, he's giving anesthesia and he's not an anesthesiologist. he's a cardiologist. so, you have all of these questions. why did dr. murray do certain things and frankly, why didn't he do other things? it's creating a very persuasive argument that this man's behavior rose to the level of criminal behavior. >> and, jim, i want to throw the last question to marci

i want to ask you first, what do you make of the prosecution's case so far? all right. doesn't seem like ellen can hear me very well there, so we'll get her hooked up and fix that for you. in the meantime, let's take a look at some other big stories that are developing right now, shall we? oh, no, let's try again one more time. ellen? ellen, do you hear me? >> i hear you now. i didn't hear you before. >> ellen? >> yes, i hear you now. >> ellen, can you hear -- all right. i'm going to go on to some other news and we'll get that fixed up. let's take a look at some other stories that are developing right now. the head of immigration and customs enforcement for south florida has been arrested on child pornography charges. the justice department says that anthony mangione is charged with transportation of child porn, receipt of child porn, and possession of child porn. if convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison. man man mangione has reportedly been leave from his job at i.c.e. >>> the deadliest break of a food-born outbreak in more than a decade. at least 72 people

the prosecution says we now want her to serve life. she will make the final statement before the appeals panel decides whether or not she is released. she will say it in italian, she apparently has been practicing for some time and the mood is based upon the contamination of the dna that she will be released. jenna: that will be interesting to see, that could make-or-break or influence the case in some way that statement. we'll be watching for that. jeanine always nice to see you. watch for jeanine on the weekend. justice with jeanine. jon over to you. jon: we will have a legal debate on the knocks r-r case in the next half hour. democrats had the edge when it came to voter enthusiasm in the last two presidential election. how are things shaping up for 2012? you might be surprised. larry sabado will be along with his predictions. someone sends "dancing with the stars" an unwanted envelope. now police are telling us what is inside. thank you so much, i appreciate it, i'll be right back. they didn't take a dime. how much in fees does your

she got no sympathy from the prosecution. on rebuttal this morning, they forcefully argued that the order original dna as evidence is a valid. it is an argument the prosecution will let go despite a court appointed forensic scientist calling it sloppy and the dna results unreliable. she had been prosecuted -- she had been crucified by the prosecution. >> the assessment of all the evidence, we look forward to the verdict. >> the most dramatic moment was a rebuttal by the prosecution who said along with his team, some people interviewed in seattle also believe that knox is guilty. he said she probably would be set free saying that the black man would take the fall. keith miller, nbc news. >> as you were saying, matt lauer had an interesting interview with her parents. >> interesting system. a california mother uses the power of social networking to help her autistic child who was bullied at school. but the high school football coach barnes that something should be left in the movies. [ female announcer ] this is steve and lynn,

this was part of an hour and a half that the prosecution went through today in their opening statements with the jury. basically, they said murray was incompetent and that he dropped the ball in leaving jackson alone, not only by giving him the propofol and other drugs, but he left him alone unconscious. they say that was the cause of michael jackson's death. now, right now murray's tone ed chernoff, lead attorney, is addressing the attorney in his opening statements. he's trying to tell a different story to the jury. he says that it was michael jackson who accidentally killed himself trying to get propofol that murray wouldn't give him. take a listen to what chernoff told the jury just a few minutes ago. >> the scientific evidence will show you that when dr. murray left the room michael jackson self-administered a dose of propofol that, with the lorazepam, created a perfect storm in his body that killed him instantly. >> reporter: ed chernoff is still addressing the jury here, p wrapping up his opening statements before the lunch break here in l.a. at one point, drew, dr. murray actual

could the prosecution win the case without him?de and the inadmissibility of the taped interview with detective klinkhart still had and was about to use one remarkable piece of evidence which would show that in a way bob was still alive, could speak from the grave. >> would you be willing to talk to your brother and if so would you be willing to let us tape record that conversation? >> sure. >> two years before bob's death, klinkhart had persuaded bob to allow him to secretly record a telephone conversation between the two brothers. [ phone ringing ] >> and unlike bob's allegations in the videotaped interview, this was admissible because the jury was about to hear mike himself talk about what he did. >> i want to be able to tell you i love you, mike. >> i love you too, bob. >> before the call took place klinkhart gave him tip house to draw out the most useful information against mike. now the recorded conversation was only thing left of the prosecution's star witness. >> it is eating me up, mike. i have been drinking every night. i

the judge rejected the prosecution's test for more dna victory. can fighting the conviction of her roommate meredith kercher. she and her boyfriend were found guilty. the roommate's partially clad body was found in the house. without the ability to retest the dna, prosecutors are left with little tying knox in the crime. how was she convicted in the first lace? critics say it was a badly handled investigation by a prosecutor who rushed to judgment. his name is giuliano menini. earlier this year drew griffin of cnn's special investigations unit traveled there for a rare interview, one that quickly revealed the weakness of his case and the mistaken arrest of amanda knox's boss. even though he was working at his own bar on the night of the murder. >> reporter: police apparently didn't bother to check the facts. they immediately arrested amanda knox, rafael sollecito, and patrick lamumba for the murder of meredith kenner, announce together public, case solved. giuliano admitted to us, even without any evidence he knew almost the moment he arrived and l

she got no sympathy from the prosecuti prosecution. on rebuttal this morning they forcefully argued the original dna evidence is valid. it is an argument the prosecution won't let go, despite a court appointed forensic scientist calling the work of italian crime scene investigators sloppy, and the dna results unreliable. the final days of this appeal trial sent hecentered almost entirely on knox's character. the question being raised in court, is knox capable of murder. defense lawyers said knox had been crucified by the prosecution, attempting to justify wrongfully imprisoning her for murder. >> the assessment of all the evidence has been completely revised so therefore the scenario is completely different and we look forward to the appeal. >> reporter: another defense lawyer asked the judge and jury thursday to look at the knox family, sitting in the front row of the courtroom. they are terrified, he said, also victims of this crime. it was a moving court performance that left knox's family in tears. and earned one defense lawyer a ki

making sense of this the prosecution. well lauren you know this really is seen as part of the bigger scheme of the so-called war on terror and war and international drug smuggling the prosecution has really been showing that they're proud to having conducted this operation of having sent special agents to liberia lure this man and with conversation you know we have to keep in mind that you never even gave the green light the final yes to potentially bringing drugs to the united states so the fact that the u.s. was able to conduct this operation jointly with liberian forces is really a source of pride for the prosecution whether or not this is a source of pride for the u.s. in the eyes of the international community with the way this kind of justice sometimes gets handled is really a big question a big question and one i hope you have a really quick answer for you from you here but regardless of the sentence what is the significance of this case for u.s. russia relations and i thought i just need a quick answer there. laure

the prosecution has painted her as siatanic. say that she does drugs and described her as two-faced and diabolic. they showed bloody pictures of her roommate. the defense came out and said that amanda knox and her ex-boyfriend, that they are just two kids and they are just victims of this whole situation. if you look at headlines, the daily telegraph, it says "killer or handy guy." and whether there were shoddy investigation or natural born killers will get off on a technicality. the skots man headline, court turns into theater as knox overturns the conviction. and described as a cunning young women for extreme sex cams and a naive victim of bumbling italian police. that's what this whole thing is hinging on. she may walk in a few days because the defense has put together a very strong argument saying that the evidence -- the dna evidence used in the conviction was a mess and never should have been allowed. >> zain, thanks. >>> a controversial bake sale. >>> and there is good news about your paycheck. at bayer, we're re-inventin

i think this was a major blow for the prosecution. the same time, i think what the prosecution has to argue is look, we're trying to do our job and we're trying to do it correctly, and, there is some new testing, there is some new testing available, some ways they can examine this evidence that may be more accurate now than four years ago. so their argument is essentially, look, we're trying to get to the truth here just as much as the court is. that's our job as prosecutors. so let us do our jobs and let us do these tests but the judges now shot that down. jon: but, sharon, it is not just a question of better tests being able available. it is a question of whether the original evidence was collected in such a way that makes it possible to test it, right? >> right. there was a lot of problems with the way the original evidence was collected. it was contaminated. they used dirty gloves. they left evidence at the crime scene for weeks before they collected it. it was a mess. but, this girl is innocent. this was a railroad job. the perso

she got no sympathy from the prosecution. ning, they forcefully argued the original dna evidence is valid. it's an argument the prosecution won't let go. a forensic scientist called the work of investigators sloppy and the dna results unreliable. defense lawyers said knox had been crucified by the profession attempting to justify and wrongly accusing her of murder. >> it's completely different. we look forward to the appeal. >> reporter: the most dramatic moment was a rebuttal by the prosecution who said along with his team, some people interviewed in seattle believe that knox is guilty. he went on to say she has her back covered and would probably be set free but then the black man would take the fall, referring to the man accused of murdering her and sentenced to 16 years in prison. keith miller, nbc news. >>> that's news 4 at 4:00. i'll see you at 6:00. now, here's news 4 at 5:00. >>> fall is here. the temperature has already started to drop. it will get much cooler as the night progresses. >> the start of october will feel

but yesterday you have to say when the chips fell, they fell in favor of the prosecution. >> they did. the trial begins today with testimony of the producer of the jackson "this is it" tour. back on the stand. he said yesterday, jackson was so enthusiastic about this tour. didn't seem to be slowed down in the rehearsals for the video saying he wanted in terms of conrad murray, though, a $5 million a year deal to be jackson's personal assistant. they had, you know, discussions. they stopped those discussions and finally settled on about $150,000 a month. >> correct. >> what does that information say about conrad murray and how damning is it? >> it is damning and the prosecution wants to say is conrad murray just like all those other people that surrounded michael jackson was in it for the money. on the other side of that i'm sure what the defense is going to attempt to do is say, look what it would cost dr. conrad murray to shut down his practice in order to be able to service michael jackson. and remember this. conrad murray was there to keep michael jackson healthy enough to do this

the district attorney has been prosecuted? >> their work -- there was one in louisiana, roger jordan. >> let me try to get the other panelists into thnv

what the prosecution is doing, and rightfully so, humanizing michael. friends and producer, his co-kraecti co-cre director saying, is this a man so on the edge that he would willingly overinject himself with propofol the very next day? if he had all that energy, he obviously had gotten enough sleeve and wouldn't have been that desperate. >> and if the doctor stod by his practice, why would he hide, or not share with first responders propofol was used here? >> not with first respoenders, we're paramedics or e.r. doctors. consciousness of guilt, we call it in guilt. running around trying to clean up the scene and preserve your reputation i think as a doctored first thing you'd want to do is preserve your patient's life. >> holly hughes, we'll check in with you throughout the day as testimony just now underway in the trial of dr. conrad murray. thanks so much, holly. >>> and, again, we're going to brick you live coverage throughout the afternoon as developments happen, but for complete trial coverage throughout the day, you can tune into our sister network

i'm the only candidate who has prosecuted a case in the san francisco court room. having experience as a successful attorney allows me to bring a well and balanced approach to the administration of justice. by san francisco background allows me to honor, understand and respect san francisco values. i know when to file charges, how to prepare and present a case to the jury and how to obtain a conviction. experience is the difference. as district attorney, i will lead and inspire the office to become the best in the country. i will direct my energy to remake the juvenile division. i will replace district attorneys in schools as they have done in brooklyn, new york and illegalize program. i will work toward education and prevention rather than incarceration. i will focus on the successful prosecution of violent and serious offenders and rapidly move time-consuming misdemeanors through the system. i will expand and develop programs and i will not seek the death penalty under any circumstance and it will effectively utilize the three strikes law. i will integrate the of

if you have the evidence, you prosecute the individuals. i have prosecuted police officers>> i think police offic, above all else, do not want a dirty cop in their presence, it is not good for anybody. they are held to a higher standard. we should hold them to a higher standard. i am independent, i am not beholden to anybody. i did not have any concerns. i will honestly and fairly prosecute police officers as anyone else i have found violated the laws. >> the san francisco crime lab scandals, recently, a local newspaper, they conducted an audit of san francisco's dna procedures. both the newspaper article said the police department and the da's office have suppressed that report. how can the san francisco criminal justice system go about having -- we will start over here. >> in terms of the crime lab and the dna labs generally, i would turn it over to an independent agency has, given all the scandals and the continuing news stories that come out every single day. we need an independent crime lab that was adequately funded. in the last few da

the district attorney has been prosecuted? >> their work -- there was one in louisiana, roger jordan. >> let me try to get the other panelists into the conversation. you were a former warden of san quentin. i wonder if you could share with us your experience at having actually conducted executions? you saw the word from mississippi said that this had a personal effect on him and i wonder if you can address the issue that comes up with the victim's family often get satisfaction of some kind -- some relief because of the person that they understand has committed the crime and they are finally put to death. can you remark on this? >> let me say, i agree with everything that they have talked about. i cannot really speak for the families of the victims, only what i have observed to the execution process. this has an impact on everyone who is involved, including the staff. and of course the inmates' families. and the people who show up to watch this. and the whole show of people who are there for this. you cannot walk away from this

a judge today rejected the prosecution's request for new dna testing. victory for the former college student as she is fighting her conviction for killing her british roommate meredith kercher. knox and her ex-boyfriend, rafael, were found guilty in 2009, two years after kercher's partially clad body was found dead in the house they shared in perugia. the dna evidence they used in the trial has been called into question. without the ability to retest, prosecutors are left with little tying knox to the crime. how was she convicted in the first place? that's really a good question to ask. critics say it was a badly handled investigation by a prosecutor who rushed to judgment. his name is guiliano mennini. earlier this year drew griffin of cnn special investigations unit traveled to perugia with a rare interview with minnini that revealed the weakness in his case and mistake and arrest of amanda knox's boss, though he was working at his bar the night of the murder. here's drew's report. >> reporter: police apparently didn't bother to check the facts about l

-- the d.a. prosecutes. there is evidence to show that doing everything we can to try to divert some of his life from repeating their offense, but we will have to really vigorously enhance our approach. one way to do that obviously is the collaboration being fostered and demonstrated here today, but it is more than just today. it will have to be every single day, or else california will continue to be building more prisons, and san francisco may not be far behind. thanks. [applause] >> once again, thanks for the flag. [laughter] have a good time. have a good evening. thank you very much. [applause]