Transcript for What John Bobbitt thought when Lorena was found not guilty in knife attack: Part 9
?????? There’s been a verdict in the trial of Lorena Bobbitt, the woman charged with the sexual mutilation of her husband. Will the defendant please stand? We, the jury, find the defendant Lorena Lenore Bobbitt not guilty of malicious wounding as charged in the indictment by reason of insanity. An American jury has found the woman who cut off her husband’s penis not guilty. Found not guilty. By reason of insanity. The first time that I ever saw her smile, she said something to Lisa along the lines of, what does that mean? I don’t think Lorena heard it because she said, is that good. And we told her it was good. The judge denied a defense motion to set Mrs. Bobbitt free, citing state law that requires commitment to a mental institution for testing. The evidence of — of the prior assaultive behavior was so compelling, the jury ultimately concluded that she was not responsible under the law. I have a certain amount of sympathy for Mrs. Bobbitt, but that doesn’t justify what she did. They cheered the verdict. Lorraine fla Bobbitt was rushed away to a state hospital. I couldn’t believe it. Not guilty by reason of insanity. That is absolutely outrageous. I think that’s wonderful. Oh, this is going to be really bad for guys. A lot of copycat women out there. Tom is on with us now and Barbara and I have some questions. Tom, you have been covering this. You know her. You have talked to her. What do you think of the verdict? I find the verdict at the least complex. Gentlemen, I cannot believe that the two of you think that women are now going to go around cutting off men’s penises. I think what this shows is that there is a great deal of abuse on both sides and we are far more sensitive to the issues than we were a few years ago. I got to tell you I’m amazed at the two of you. Barbara, a woman has cut off a man’s penis and received a little more than a slap on the wrist in terms of punishment. I thought, wait, nothing? Nothing for that? And I think that was the reaction of a lot of men, right? Was there were women who felt somehow vindicated. Believed in her version of an abusive marriage. There were all these kind of feminist protestors outside the courthouse, and they would make the V for victory sign, which they would then turn on its side and make into a scissors. Going snip, snip, snip. But why the glee? Well, doesn’t it make you a little uncomfortable, that glee? I mean, it seems to be making men — Yes. Yes. Well, it makes us uncomfortable — Cokie, cokie — Well, but it’s so interesting that what upset you is what the carving knife cut off. She came to symbolize the serious problems that had to be changed. The deficiencies. How our system had failed her. I think the jury was more influenced that they allowed John to be painted as a bad person. It was so one-sided, what could one expect? I don’t believe John ever beat Lorena. I think that was just the story that they used to get her off. And it worked. She cut his penis off and got 25 days in a mental institution. Sometimes juries do a kind of rough justice. They look at what happened and they say, that’s enough. A judge has ordered Lorena Bobbitt released from a mental hospital saying that she poses no threat to herself or to others. Lorena, what’s the first thing you’re going to do now? Well, I’ve been to McDonald’s already. I guess next step is Disney world. After Lorena was released from that state hospital, she sat down for a second interview with “20/20.” Neither you nor John were found guilty. Was there no victim here? Or were you both victims? We both were victims of a tragic situation, yes. Reporter: Do you believe that’s true? I don’t believe that. I don’t think she was a victim. No. She was just greedy, selfish and she was stubborn. How do you want men to feel about you in general? Well, men have to have a little bit more consideration and respect for women. The Bobbitt case it has this kind of shakespearean comic ribbon to it. All’s well that ends well. Penis gets cut off. Penis gets put back on again. She gets charged but found not guilty. He gets charged but found not guilty. I think that just speaks to how little, after all the evidence that was presented at both trials, how little any of us really knew about them personally. I thought it would be a stop sign for abuse against women. Don’t ever commit domestic violence. Guess what? You may be bobbitted. I thought that would last. Obviously, it didn’t. Because of what we know now in terms of the me too movement. We will declare again that women are full moral human beings. I think it’s a big comparison to make. I don’t think Lorena Bobbitt willingly chose to tell the truth about her life and thought it came out in the stories at her trial. And if you speak up and speak out, if you take the courageous step of telling the truth about your life, you find lots of other women who gain courage and come forward. All: Hey, hey, ho, ho. If the publicity of her abuse can help one person find freedom, then all of this is not in vain. The story did not die. You would have thought vergts would end the story. That’s it. Book closed. Nope. Where did the idea for this come from to get involved in adult films?
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
