Transcript for John Bobbitt on why he thinks his wife Lorena cut off his penis: Part 8
of Lorena Bobbitt began today in manassas, Virginia. As she arrived here in manassas, she was met by hundreds of photographers and reporters. Lorena has a trial two months after John’s. Lorena Bobbitt entered the manassas courtroom to face a jury of seven women and five men. With her trial coming up, it became a circus. It’s sensational I think by the number of reporters you see around here proves that. It was in the papers and on the radio, you just couldn’t escape it. The television trucks and the reporters that were outside that courthouse, it was amazing. There was a t-shirt business outside the courthouse. On your way out of the prince William courthouse you can pick up a souvenir t-shirt for $10. Manassas: A cut above the rest. I was a reporter and an anchor at court TV. For court TV, this was one of those headline trials that made that network. The public, they were playing prosecutor, they were playing defense lawyer, they were playing defendant. And they thought that they were the jury. A hundred people have gathered here in support of Lorena Bobbitt. A lot of people were protesting and marching you know, the Latino community had a group. I got some death threats. It was different. Mrs. Bobbitt’s attorney’s claim that in severing her husband’s penis as he slept, she was acting on irresistible impulse. Her lawyer wanted to make this argument that she simply could not control her rage. And she shouldn’t be expected to have controlled her rage. She was not in her right mind. We had to go in there admitting and acknowledging that she’s severed this guy’s penis. He had dozed off in a drunken stupor. So, it wasn’t like he was chasing her around the house with a butcher knife. All rise. The circuit court is not in session. Ladies and gentlemen, what we have is Lorena Bobbitt’s life juxtaposed against John Wayne Bobbitt’s penis. Lisa Kemler gave the opening argument in the case. We weren’t trying to appeal to the jury honestly. She was just good. I submit to you, that a life is more valuable than a penis. The defense will tell you that she acted in self-defense. And if you don’t like that defense, then they will tell you she suffered an irresistible impulse. After you’ve heard all the evidence you will believe that there is no justification, and that she acted in anger. Mr. Bobbitt? Yes, sir. John Bobbitt. When he first walked in the courtroom, I think they had him in a blue suit, white shirt, crisp. He looked like a marine. I said, this guy could be formidable. My jam is John W. Bobbitt. But quite frankly, I had so much material to work with that a first-rear law student could have taken him apart. During the course of the marriage, sir, did you ever strike your wife? No. Never did? No, never did. You ever pushed, restrained, grabbed, or shoved your wife? Um, yes, I have. And how many occasions did that happen? Many, many a times. Many times? And would that be all of the above? Pushed, restrained, grabbed, and shoved? Most of them just was restraining, you know, holding her down. There were multiple inconsistencies. Remember talking to Kathleen Williams with the family advocacy group quantico Marines about an allegation of abuse involving your wife? I remember but I don’t remember the conversation. You remember Kathleen Williams, don’t you? The family advocacy council? I talked to a priest. When I ask him, did you ever go to counseling? I don’t believe so. I think I saw a priest. But that’s about it. I said, you remember filling out a form? You remember this form, sir, that you filled out and signed in front of Kathleen Williams? I don’t — I don’t remember this form at all. Are you denying that you filled that form out? Am I denying doing it? I don’t know. I don’t deny doing it. I just don’t remember this form. I’ll never forget as long as I live, he looked at the bottom on the last page and says, but that’s my signature. He had a devastating credibility problem. He couldn’t keep his story straight on the witness stand. Reporter: What was it like on the stand in those moments? It was a battle. I think, you know, I got a little cocky. I have nothing to hide. Of course, Lorena does. I think that’s for this jury to decide, Mr. Bobbitt. I didn’t know how to explain it, and I was frustrated. With a steady stream of witnesses testifying today that John Bobbitt has a history of violent behavior it may appear that he is the one on trial. Her face was swollen. He was hitting her, punching her . So grabbed her hair like this and pulled her downward. They brought in dozens of witnesses to talk about the violence that she had experienced. I saw a bruise on her head and again she was crying and real shaky. He just pushed her one more time and walked away and said, bitch. He said that he liked to have, that the way he liked to have sex was forced sex because that turned him on. Not only do you show that — he was having the forced sex, but he was even bragging about it. In manassas, Virginia, todayers it was finally time for Lorena Bobbitt to take the stand in her own defense. I call Lorena Bobbitt. The Lorena I saw on the stand was the same Lorena I saw in my office the first night I ever met her in my life. It feel like, I don’t know, like my vagina was ripping off or something. I can’t say this. I can’t describe. Maybe you don’t understand because you are a man. He didn’t understand because he’s man. But it hurt me. What happened then? I was drinking the water and I saw the knife. I remember many things since then. I remember a lot of things he said to me. I remember the first time he raped me. I remember he hurt me. I remember everything. He said. Everything. Do you remember cutting him? No, I don’t remember that. Dr. Susan feester. Dr. Feester, please. It was crucial in the trial for Lorena Bobbitt to have people who could come and say “Look, I’m a psychiatrist and I look at what happened, in her life, and the evidence around it, she snapped. She suffered from major depressive disorder. Post-traumatic stress disorder. She had an acute deterioration of her mental state at that time and became psychotic. It was a psychotic episode. She knew what she was doing was wrong, she couldn’t help herself. She attacked the weapon which was the instrument of her torture, that is her husband’s penis. Even the prosecutor’s witnesses, state psychiatrists and psychologists said she was a battered woman. The difference between the state doctors and our doctor was they said she had the ability to restrain herself. Which would be incompatible the irresistible impulse or temporary insanity. Reporter: So if this wasn’t a reaction to abuse, why do you think — She knows the truth. Reporter: — She cut off your penis? She knows. She didn’t want the marriage to end. She wanted to keep the marriage. She wanted to — everything that she dreamed about. And it was falling apart. And she wanted either to keep it together. If she couldn’t, then she was gonna retaliate. She was hurt. Deeply, emotionally. And she was acting on that. By your verdict, you can restore a little bit of self-respect so she can walk out of this courtroom with her head up. I just kept saying to myself, hopefully, they will consider all that other evidence and come out with a fair and just verdict. But the verdict that would come would only throw fuel on
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
