Bullied Transgender Teen Charged with Battery
PAUL: After years of being bullied by classmates Jewlyes Gutierrez, a transgendered teen from California, that's her on the left you see there, said she reached her breaking point. She physically went after her bullies, and the fight was caught on tape. And I just want to give you a warning here, it's rough to watch. You can make out the hair pulling. You see it there? Kicking. I know it's grainy cellphone video, but you get the gist of it. The school punished those girls, all four of them suspended, including Jewlyes. But that wasn't all. The district attorney is now charging her and only Jewlyes with battery. And he says he's just prosecuting a crime, others calling it discrimination. So joining us now via Skype from her home is -- is it Jewlyes or Jewlyes? I want to get it right here.</s>JEWLYES GUTIERREZ, TRANSGENDERED TEEN: You got it right.</s>PAUL: Jewlyes?</s>GUTIERREZ: Yes.</s>PAUL: OK. Thank you so much. We're glad that you are with us. I just want to start out and be perfectly clear here. I understand, you did throw the first punch. Why? What led you to that?</s>GUTIERREZ: I can't talk about that because it's an open case, so my lawyer informs me to not talk about details.</s>PAUL: OK. OK, getting away from maybe exactly what happened that day, let me ask you this. Were there things that were going on that led up to that prior to that day?</s>GUTIERREZ: Yes. They were taunting me, provoking me, and bullying me.</s>PAUL: The girl that you fought with that day, and I understand you were bullied for at least two years, is this the same group of girls that you say taunted you for that whole two years or were there more?</s>GUTIERREZ: No, but they're like in that category, I guess.</s>PAUL: How many people, I guess, do you feel have taunting you and bullied you?</s>GUTIERREZ: There's a lot more.</s>PAUL: More than those four. More than the three. I know the D.A. is only charging you in that assault. Has he explained why to you? Do you believe it's because you're transgendered?</s>GUTIERREZ: I feel that the D.A. is being very conservative in keeping their ground. So I feel that they don't really like support people who are different.</s>PAUL: So I want to let you know, CNN did reach out to district attorney Dan Cabral. He hasn't gotten back to us. But I want to play some sound for you of what he said about the charges against you. Here we go.</s>DAN CABRAL, SENIOR DEPUTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: There isn't a category of individuals who we do not prosecute. Words are never enough to justify fists. That's the law. If that wasn't done and we did not hold people accountable for their actions, where would we draw the line?</s>PAUL: So what is your response to what he has to say?</s>GUTIERREZ: I was only protecting myself because I feel like I was getting provoked, harassed, and bullied to the point where I had a breaking point and I just snapped.</s>PAUL: Did you go to the school with your complaints and did they do anything?</s>GUTIERREZ: My vice principal didn't do enough. She talked to the girls and had a conversation with them, but they didn't get any, like, sort of trouble. Like the a student goes to you to have a situation of gum spit in your face and you just have a conversation and you let her just go back to class, because I did it in a form of a way of protecting myself because she didn't, like, do enough.</s>PAUL: What about everybody else? What has the response been to this whole fiasco for you, Jewlyes?</s>GUTIERREZ: Everybody else?</s>PAUL: Yes.</s>GUTIERREZ: What do you mean?</s>PAUL: How about other students, other teachers, what is their reaction to this whole thing that's happened and to you being the only one charged?</s>GUTIERREZ: I haven't talked to any teachers about it. I feel like I haven't had the chance to.</s>PAUL: OK. Well, Jewlyes Gutierrez, we'll be following what happens. We're grateful that you took the time to talk to us. Thank you for being here to tell us your story. And best of luck to you.</s>GUTIERREZ: OK, thank you.</s>PAUL: Thank you. And still to come, a grandmother's dream come true, a cannabis tour. The 72-year-old loves to smoke pot, and she was all smiles checking out what goes on behind the scenes at Colorado's marijuana dispensaries. We have more after the break.