Tapes Released From Warren Jeffs Case
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: If you have not reached the conclusion that convicted child rapist and polygamist leader Warren Jeffs was a sexual predator, well, some newly released audiotapes just might convince you. And then there's this, this picture from inside Jeffs' temple. Look at this. This is after that raid on his compound back in 2008. It's on this very white bed here where prosecutors say Jeffs forced his underage wives to have sex with him. Pictures like these disturbing audiotapes helped this jury convict Jeffs of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old and a 15-year-old girl. I want to play you just a portion of those audio recordings. You can hear Jeffs preparing young girls to, I guess, as he was thinking to physically become his wives.</s>WARREN JEFFS, CONVICTED SEX OFFENDER: You'll always come in my area always showered, already ready, in case you are called to assist.</s>BALDWIN: Ed Lavandera in Texas. This gives me the chills. I can only listen to so many of niece audio recordings.</s>ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And there's three hours of recordings. Just from the outset here, Brooke, just to give people an understanding, the most graphic of these tapes we won't be playing. But in hearing Warren Jeffs talk to them, it really gives you a clear indication of how he approached these women. Remember, prosecutors say they believe he had some 79 wives, two dozen of those believed to be underage wives, of course. These three hours of testimony you mentioned off the top there saying it went a long way in helping this jury convict him. Many of the jurors when they heard the audio tapes were crying as they heard Warren Jeffs. Let's play a little bit because it really gives you the sense of the kind of control that Warren Jeffs had. In one of the moments he was talking about, "I can't allow people to be present who are not ready, who have selfish feelings or are fearful." Clearly, you can get the sense that Warren Jeffs puts himself in control of the situation.</s>JEFFS: Now, I will reveal to you what the lord is required of me and this family, that the fullness of the law of Sarah is for quorums of wives to be with me, to assist me, to be a comfort, yes, even physically, where more than one woman is with me at a time. My ladies at the right moment are called to assist me. And through their tenderness, and in their wifely, womanly ways are able to revive me. I am not to go into the hands of the medical people or they will destroy me. The lord has appointed that my wives who are filled with the holy ghost can help revive me. This takes place in such privacy people don't know anything about it.</s>BALDWIN: OK, so we listened to the tapes. I'm sitting here thinking, though, why is the court releasing these tapes? We know Jeffs has gone away for a very long time. What's the purpose of the public hearing this?</s>LAVANDERA: Well, this was requested through various salt lake city news media outlets. This was evidence that was presented in court so this is considered public information at this point.</s>BALDWIN: And do we know -- I know it was emotional from what I remember us reporting within the courtroom when the audio recordings were played for the jury. Do we know how Jeffs reacted in the courtroom?</s>LAVANDERA: You know, this is the interesting part about this. Remember, he wanted to represent himself. He essentially acted as his own defense attorney inside the courtroom. He really had no reaction. He simply, this type of testimony, this kind of evidence he argued to the court that this shouldn't have been used in court because it should have been protected, should have had a religious protection. Obviously that went nowhere with this jury. And a defense attorney, perhaps a seasoned defense attorney would have at least tried to create some doubt. It's interesting as you hear the tapes, sexual explicit words are never used. There's never anyone totally describing what's going on in the situation. Warren Jeffs uses this loaded vocabulary. He talks about the sessions as atonement issues, and as you heard him in the tape, talking about the women coming over to assist him. Obviously very loaded vocabulary, but it's nothing that tells you exactly what's going on in there.</s>BALDWIN: I remember the jury deliberated for all of four hours. They asked to hear some of the recordings again. Once they were finished, they convicted him like that. Ed Lavandera in Texas.</s>LAVANDERA: Absolutely.</s>BALDWIN: Thank you. And a horrific crime caught on camera, teenagers pumping their fists in the air shouting white power as a black man lay bloodied in a parking lot. But the worst was yet to come. CNN's Drew Griffin is going to join me here to talk about his chilling investigation out of Mississippi after the break.