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Nancy Grace
Country Star McCready Arrested Again
Aired June 27, 2008 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
NANCY GRACE, HOST: Tonight: Country music superstar Mindy McCready`s string of wild and erratic behavior lands her behind bars again. Oxycontin, drunk driving, allegedly leaving her mom bloody and bruised, resisting arrest -- has it all cost her custody of her toddler boy? But now to top it all off, the icing on the cake. Did the country songbird actually fake her community service records to the judge?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Country star Mindy McCready is in trouble again, McCready arrested in Tennessee, accused of violating her probation. Authorities say she lied about her community service, ordered to 200 hours as part of an illegal prescription case. You may remember McCready hit headlines late last year after a scuffle with her own mom in Florida, then resisting police.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
911 OPERATOR: Are there any injuries?
MINDY MCCREADY, COUNTRY SINGER: She`s made marks on herself to make it look like I hurt her. I have a baby in my arms. My mom is attacking me. Please help me.
911 OPERATOR: Stay on the line with me.
MCCREADY: Please help me. Please help me!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right now, McCready free on $5,000 bond, released just two hours after she`s booked into Williamson County jail.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And tonight the mystery surrounding 23-year-old mom Stacy Peterson vanishing upscale children suburbs, husband/cop Drew Peterson the prime suspect in his fourth wife`s disappearance. The suspicious bathtub drowning of wife number three officially ruled homicide. Headlines tonight. Peterson`s own 15-year-old son heads to testify behind closed doors in front of a secret grand jury.
What, if anything, did the boy reveal about the suspicious dry bathtub drowning of his mother and the disappearance of his stepmom? Tonight, exclusive photos emerge. Drew Peterson parties hearty at a local bar, taking celebrity photos with all the ladies. Well, shouldn`t Peterson be spearheading the search for his missing wife?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A grand jury shocker, Drew Peterson`s 15-year- old son called to testify in front of the grand jury, the state`s attorney investigating the disappearance -- the suspicious dry bathtub drowning of Drew Peterson`s third wife, Kathleen Savio, also investigating the mysterious disappearance of wife number four, Stacy Peterson. But Drew Peterson says he`s concerned they would put a 15-year-old boy through four hours of a grand jury grilling.
DREW PETERSON, SUSPECT IN 4TH WIFE`S DISAPPEARANCE: I`ve got kids in the car, you morons.
So I`m just a regular guy doing regular guy stuff.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot of people, one way or another, blame you for what has happened and they might say, Well, it`s a small price to pay when you compare it to what has happened to his wife. How do you respond to that?
PETERSON: Well, if you believe that, fine. And I`m OK with that. But don`t involve my children in this. The media pretty much has me painted as a sinister character lurking around underneath the rocks and stuff. And basically, I`m just a dad raising kids.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This as pictures surface in "The National Enquirer" showing Drew Peterson allegedly partying with the ladies at a local Illinois bar.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: It`s too late for that. Your children were involved when their mother was murdered in the bathtub and their other mother went missing.
Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. Tonight: Country music superstar Mindy McCready`s string of wild and erratic behavior -- Oxycontin, drunk driving, allegedly leaving her mom bruised and bloodied, resisting arrest. And now, topping it all off, did the country songbird actually fake her own community service records to a judge?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She hit the top of the country music charts with "Guys Do It All the Time," but now she`s facing time in jail, country star Mindy McCready arrested in Tennessee, accused of violating probation. And it`s not McCready`s first time. A violent altercation with her own mom, then resisting arrest landed the singer in county jail for a few months. At the time of that nasty scuffle, McCready was on probation for prescription drug fraud. But this time, the country singer is accused of falsifying her community service records, a judge ordering McCready to complete 200 hours for getting her hands on Oxycontin with a fake prescription.
MINDY MCCREADY, COUNTRY SINGER: I just want to say thanks for the continued support. My fans are unbelievable. They have sent me letters of encouragement that have truly been touching. And this is just one more step in getting all this over with so that I can go back to being a singer and a mom and concentrating on things that are good for my life. I`m sorry that I have to keep seeing all of you guys in court. I hope that in the future, I get to see you guys elsewhere, performing or something like that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: OK. Well, that`s up to you, Ms. McCready.
Out to Larry Holden, editor-in-chief of "Country Weekly." You`ve known McCready 10 years. You`ve interviewed her many, many times. What`s happening?
LARRY HOLDEN, "COUNTRY WEEKLY": Well, she`s making bad choices. She has a big heart and she had a promising career, had big hits in the `90s, and you know, she just continues to make bad choices. She`s not indicative of country music in general, but country music, like all genres of music, have stars who sometimes step outside the law and Mindy keeps stepping there.
GRACE: Well, Mr. Holden, don`t get me wrong. I`m a huge country music fan. I was right there when "10,000 Angels" came out. I know all about "A Girl`s Got to Do What a Girl`s Got to Do," "Guys Do It All the Time." She`s way up there in the country music star stratosphere. What I don`t get is one thing after the next after the next. And at this juncture, Larry, is she doing anything to get custody back of her toddler boy?
HOLDEN: Well, I think she is trying to get the custody back, but she keeps shooting herself in the foot by doing the things she`s doing with this recent arrest. And I think...
GRACE: Like faking her records for community service?
HOLDEN: Yes, that`s the allegation, is that she has faked the records that said she did the community service for the 2004 drug charge that she was on probation for.
GRACE: Let`s unleash the lawyers. We are taking your calls live. Joining us tonight, Penny Douglas Furr and Daniel Horowitz.
Let`s take a look at the timeline, guys. This is Mindy McCready, country superstar. You`ve got 2004, faking Oxycontin prescriptions. When she was apprehended, she said it was for a friend. I guess it was an imaginary friend with an imaginary drug problem. Then DUI 2005, probation violation 2005, allegedly beating her mother. When the cops got there, the mom`s face was bleeding. Then she said the wounds were self-inflicted. She tried to say her mom beat herself. Then another event 2008, faking the records, according to police.
So what`s going to happen, Horowitz?
DAN HOROWITZ, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, Nancy, I think the judge, from what I can see, is really a wise judge. And just like Britney Spears, here`s a star out of control. She`s not very different than so many people who come to the courts. The judge is going to push her towards treatment. The judge is going to help her. He`s not going to be punitive. It will work out for her, if she`s willing to give (ph).
GRACE: Don`t you think, Pat Brown, criminal profiler, helping her was an option maybe the first or second time?
PAT BROWN, CRIMINAL PROFILER: Yes. I believe that the first time, you give them a break. And then you say, Look, here`s your probation. And it`s a wonderful thing that we`re doing for you, but if you break probation, you`re going straight to jail. And the problem is we don`t do that. We let people go on probation, and they can break it over and over and over again. And this is an example of it.
GRACE: Out to the lines. Albert in Kentucky. Hi, Albert.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) How are you?
GRACE: I`m good, dear. What`s your question?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I was wondering what her chances are of actually getting her children back, such as full custody or part-time custody or what?
GRACE: What about it, Penny Douglas Furr?
PENNY DOUGLAS FURR, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Nancy, I think she`s got a very good chance of getting her children back. These are not incredibly serious crimes. First and foremost, the Oxycontin I think she got on because she was in an accident and she had surgery. You should be slowly removed from Oxycontin. It`s not something you go off immediately.
GRACE: Penny, Penny...
FURR: Also, the drunk driving...
GRACE: ... Penny, Penny!
FURR: Yes, Nancy.
GRACE: You left out the part where she was faking the prescriptions, a fake doctor, a fake patient, to get drugs. You left that part out. You`re trying to make me feel sorry for her?
FURR: I will bet you there`s a doctor somewhere that just cut her off the Oxycontin and did not take her off slowly and she had to get it...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Now you`re blaming the doctor? Wait, wait, wait, wait! Now you`re blaming a doctor?
FURR: I`m blaming whoever cut her off without taking her off slowly...
GRACE: So it`s their fault...
FURR: ... the way she should have been medically supervised...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Thank you. I heard. Ow. Ow. I heard you.
FURR: OK.
GRACE: So it`s the doctor`s fault that she faked the prescriptions. OK, that`s an interesting defense theory.
FURR: And also...
GRACE: What about beating up your own mother?
FURR: Well, the other thing, Nancy, you keep going into the driving under the influence, but what keeps being left out is that a jury found her not guilty of driving under the influence. So she was found not guilty of the DUI.
GRACE: Actually, she took a plea to a lesser charge of driving with a suspended license in that incident in 2005. And I didn`t ask you about that. She pled guilty on that. I`m asking you about beating your own mother.
FURR: Well, that evidence is really not clear, Nancy, because according to her, she`s saying also her mother was beating her, if you listen to the telephone conference.
GRACE: Well, then why is it when police got there, she is fine and the mother has blood streaming down her face, and she, Mindy McCready, goes to jail and the mother stays home, and that very same mother now has custody of McCready`s baby boy and is raising it? Thoughts?
FURR: In McCready`s conversation, what she said is that she was attacked while holding the child. And the police did what they always do, which is charge her with resisting arrest with violence.
GRACE: OK. You know what?
FURR: And that`s exactly how that went down.
GRACE: If I`m ever charged with beating my mother until she`s a bloody pulp, I`m going to hire you because the way you said that was so believable.
Out to the lines. Angie in Virginia. Hi, Angie.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, friend. My question is for you. Why is it that the judges seem so lenient with celebrities? Are they all star struck or what?
GRACE: The answer in a nutshell, yes, they are star struck. Bottom line, when this judge took a look at this long history -- and I`ve got to say that Penny and Daniel are correct. In the big scheme of things, each one of these crimes is not serious. But all together, and then faking documents to a judge, that is serious. And when you think about custody of a little toddler boy, that`s serious, somebody with an Oxycontin problem, somebody that`s willing to lie to a judge.
What about it? Out to Beatty Cohan, psychotherapist and author. What do you think happens to these judges when they get, for instance, this country superstar in front of them?
BEATTY COHAN, PSYCHOTHERAPIST: I think, Nancy -- I think that they are really star struck. I mean, if this were not a superstar, the judges would probably send her to prison, as they would anybody else who did not live up to their probation and who committed fraud with writing a prescription. And I think that she`s really getting off easy.
GRACE: Joining me right now is a special guest, Kim Helper. She is the district attorney general in Williamson County, Tennessee. She is handling the McCready case. Ms. Helper, thank you for being with us. Tell us about this particular probation violation.
KIM HELPER, DA GENERAL, WILLIAMSON COUNTY: Nancy, in this case, Mindy McCready was ordered to serve two years in Tennessee state prison. Under Tennessee law, any sentence that is two years or less enables someone to be released after serving 30 percent of the sentence, with the rest to be served on probation. And that`s exactly what happened here to Ms. McCready.
In May, the probation officer had information that there may have been falsification of some of the public service work documentation, and that is the basis of the probation violation warrant that was issued earlier this week.
GRACE: You know -- with me, everybody, is the district attorney general joining us from Franklin, Tennessee. This is quite an extensive little resume she`s got going on, Kim. Why has it taken so long for there to actually be jail time? I know there was jail time one time before.
HELPER: Nancy, there actually has been jail time in this case, and I think we need to be clear about that.
GRACE: OK.
HELPER: She originally was ordered to serve three years` probation, which is by statute in Tennessee, the preferred sentence when someone is involved with prescription drug fraud. And that`s exactly what happened here. There was no special treatment whatsoever.
GRACE: OK.
HELPER: She violated the probation with the new charges coming out of Davidson (ph) County, including the DUI and driving on suspended license. And because of that violation, she was going to be resentenced. And while that resentencing was pending, she picked up a new charge in Florida. So as a result of that...
GRACE: Hold on, Kim. What new charge was that?
HELPER: That would be the incident involving her mother.
GRACE: OK. Now, that charge -- that charge was leveled against McCready. There were no charges against the mother, correct?
HELPER: To my knowledge, there were no charges against the mother.
GRACE: I want to tell you, Kim, I agree with you. I agree, when you`ve got someone with a drug problem -- and that`s -- especially when it`s their first offense that you know about -- you should really be about helping them, getting them into rehab, trying to get them straight. But at a certain point, when that`s not working, it is a violation of the law.
OK, pick me up right there with the Florida incident with the beating of the mom.
HELPER: Absolutely. And what occurred up here in Tennessee was there was, in essence, sort of a joint probation violation sentencing hearing. And as a result of that sentencing hearing, the judge found that she violated her probation and ordered her to serve a two-year sentence, in essence, in the Tennessee state prison. But as I said earlier, under Tennessee law, after 30 percent of that sentence, she is eligible and entitled for release back on probation. And that`s what happened. I mean, the judge here followed the law. Everything has been done to the letter of the law. She was on probation.
There was an indication, which is addressed in the warrant, that there may have been a falsification of public service work. A violation warrant was issued. She was picked up. She was able to bond out because bond was set on that warrant. And it is now set for July 8 for a hearing on that probation violation. At that hearing, the judge then has the option of ordering her to serve the rest of that two-year sentence.
GRACE: Ouch. And you know what, Kim -- everybody, with me is Kim Helper, the district attorney general there in Franklin, Tennessee. I want to thank you for clearing that up about the judge. It`s good to know that in this case, so far, anyway, she hasn`t been treated differently because she`s a celebrity, that I can tell at this juncture. But this is a mighty long list of entries on her rap sheet. We`re going up on one, two, three, four, five, six.
Out to the lines. Sacha in California. Hi, Sacha.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi. Hi. I love you, Nancy.
GRACE: Thank you for watching, and thank you for calling in. What`s your question, dear?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My question is a concern.
GRACE: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Here`s my thing. I`m a certified alcohol and drug counselor. OK. I worked very hard to get that credential. My concern is if she`s treated like everybody else, most people with that many offenses would have been incarcerated until she was released to a recovery home. Obviously, she has anger management issues in addition to her drug addiction. Why hasn`t that ever been addressed until now?
GRACE: You know, that`s an interesting question. Out to Beatty Cohan, psychotherapist. Very often, when I was prosecuting, we would have Alcoholics Anonymous, put somebody in lockdown rehab. If they wanted to go to private rehab, fine. But now I see anger management issues also being addressed by the court, but not everywhere, Beatty.
COHAN: No. That`s true. And I mean, clearly, Nancy, this woman has some pretty serious problems. And you know, I would be very concerned as a mom for her to be regain custody of her children at this point. She`s got to deal -- she`s got to deal with her psychological problems.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She started to become belligerent towards the staff members, and she was at multiple times (INAUDIBLE) officers to calm down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mindy McCready seemed on top of the world. The country music singer is still making headlines, but not for her music. The singer faced drug charges and most recently violation of probation. This time, the country singer is accused of falsifying her community service records, a judge ordering McCready to complete 200 hours for getting her hands on Oxycontin with a fake prescription.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Joining me right now is a former member of Trick Pony, a long- time associate of Mindy McCready, now in a lot of trouble. The country singer is now being accused, after a long list of entries on her rap sheet, of actually faking community service records to a judge. She had gotten a sweetheart deal to start with, with community service and probation. And now this.
Out to Ira Dean -- Grammy-nominated. You may be familiar with "Poor Me." That was a big single, "On a Night Like This," "Just What I Do." Ira Dean, thank you for being with us. How long have you known McCready?
IRA DEAN, FORMER MEMBER, TRICK PONY: Nancy, first of all, I just want to tell you I love you.
GRACE: Thank you.
DEAN: But I`ve known -- you`re welcome. I`ve known Mindy since before we even got signed, really. We`ve done a lot of package shows together. And of course, Trick Pony got signed to a record deal. We`ve done a lot of shows together, and I saw her at the country radio seminars not too long ago this year here in Nashville.
GRACE: What is her deal? She`s got the whole world in front of her, all this talent, all this money, a baby boy, he`s beautiful. Why all this?
DEAN: I have no idea. I mean, I`ve been in my share of trouble, too, you know. We come from nothing. We get, you know, from nothing to something. And then sometimes...
GRACE: Hey, you`re preaching to the choir. You`re preaching to the choir, Ira Dean.
DEAN: But the one thing -- OK, Nancy, I`ve got to -- the one thing that cracks me up is falsifying your community service records because as country music, you know, we -- the community, we give so much back to, like, T.J. Martell (ph), St. Jude`s. I mean, we do so much community service giving back, it kind of -- that one -- you can lie about your age or your weight but not your community service.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Country music singer Mindy McCready spoke publicly against abuse. Once a victim herself, now she`s charged with domestic battery. Deputies came to her mother`s house after McCready called 911.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And that is just the tip of the iceberg.
We are taking your calls live. Out to Dawn in Michigan. Hi, Dawn.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. How are you?
GRACE: I`m good, dear. What`s your question?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Being that Oxycodone is a very habit-forming drug, is she or will she be checked for drugs randomly?
GRACE: Good question. Joining me right now, another special guest. James Moon is with us. This is Mindy McCready`s attorney. Mr. Moon, thank you for being with us. Does she have a drug problem still? Is she having random urinalysis?
JAMES MOON, ATTORNEY FOR MINDY MCCREADY: She is undergoing random urinalysis, and all of her tests to date have been clean since her release. So any issues of her having a drug problem, I would disagree with that.
GRACE: Well, I mean, something had to be going wrong with those fake Oxycontin prescriptions.
MOON: Previously, she very may have well had a problem, Nancy, but I do know since her release, she`s tested clean on every single test she`s undergone.
GRACE: Mr. Moon, what is Ms. McCready doing in order to get custody back of her little boy, if anything?
MOON: She`s going to parenting classes right now. She is undergoing some psychiatric treatment with a life coach. She`s doing everything the court has asked her to do to get her child back.
GRACE: Mr. Moon, I`m glad to hear it. Your client is extremely talented, and to see it all go straight down the tubes over an Oxycontin problem?
Everyone, we are taking your calls live. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Country star Mindy McCready is in trouble again. McCready arrested in Tennessee, accused of violating her probation.
Authorities say she lied about her community service, ordered to 200 hours, as part of an illegal prescription case.
You may remember McCready hit headlines late last year after a scuffle with her own mom in Florida then resisting police.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED 911 OPERATOR: Is there any injuries?
MINDY MCCREADY, COUNTRY MUSIC STAR: She`s made marks on herself to make it look like I hurt her. I have a baby in my arms. My mom is attacking me. Please help me.
UNIDENTIFIED 911 OPERATOR: Stay on the line with me.
MCCREADY: Please help me. Please help me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Right now, McCready on $5,000 bond, released just two hours after she`s booked into Williamson County Jail.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GRACE: Joining me right now, as we`re taking your calls live, is Miss McCready`s attorney, James Moon. He`s a veteran trial lawyer. He`s joining us out of Ft. Myers, Florida.
Mr. Moon, listening to McCready`s 911 call, nobody`s attacking her. It`s totally silent. She says her mom`s attacking her and blames her mother of self-inflicting wounds to the face.
JAMES MOON, MINDY MCCREADY`S ATTORNEY, ALVAREZ, SAMBOL, WINTHROP & MADSON, P.A.: Well, I think what you need to keep in mind is the charges that she allegedly beat her mother were ultimately dropped against her. And during her guardianship trial, testimony actually came out that she made that 911 call where she had locked herself into a bedroom.
GRACE: Now it`s my understanding.
MOON: So it is important.
GRACE: . that the mother also said -- also refused to go forward with the charges because she didn`t want to ruin Mindy McCready`s country music singing career. That`s why the charges were dropped. They were not dropped because the prosecution did not think the case had merit.
MOON: That`s not necessarily correct. During the guardianship hearing, the facts -- the true facts came out in the case where in fact both of them were aggressors towards each other. And other witnesses had actually testified that they felt the situation was overblown and that some people overreacted.
It wasn`t simply because she didn`t want to ruin her daughter`s career. That has no validity.
GRACE: Well, if the mother is violent, then why did Mindy McCready agree to custody? The mother has -- is raising Mindy McCready`s toddler boy.
MOON: The mother is not violent. There was some sensationalism with what was reported through the media. What ultimately occurred through the testimony that was elicited in the guardianship trial was simply that there was an escalated verbal argument.
Children Family Services in Florida sufficiently did a background check on the mother. They feel that the child is no danger. Mindy feels the child is no danger and that`s why the mother now has custody.
GRACE: Mr. Moon, I`ve read the police report. When the police arrived at the location, the mother`s face was bleeding over both eyes. Mindy McCready was not bleeding. In fact, she got that wound to the face when she tried to resist arrest with police.
MOON: Well, again, during the guardianship trial, the testimony that came from the mother, the stepfather and other witnesses there indicated that, in fact, there was aggression by both of them towards each other, that it simply wasn`t one-sided with Mindy.
And that the police made it -- at that point, the police made a recommendation to arrest Mindy. And people also testified they felt it was overblown.
GRACE: I want to go back to Ira Dean, former member of Trick Pony, Grammmy-nominated singer.
Mr. Dean, again, thank you for being with us. I know that you started out in the trenches around the time you met Mindy McCready. Did you see her change as she shot to the top?
IRA DEAN, KNOWS MINDY MCCREADY, FORMER MEMBER OF "TRICK PONY": No. Like I said, I just saw her at CRS and I thought she was -- she looked great. And I`ve never seen any of this.
GRACE: So you knew nothing about the dependence on OxyContin?
DEAN: No. I mean, I was probably too busy battling my own demons, probably.
GRACE: Yes, yes. And speaking of that, I want to go to Dr. Marty Makary with Johns Hopkins.
Dr. Makary, OxyContin, oxycodone, incredibly powerful. If you are addicted to that, what are the symptoms?
DR. MARTY MAKARY, PHYSICIAN, PROF. OF PUBLIC HEALTH, JOHNS HOPKINS: Well, Nancy, it`s actually the longest-acting narcotic on the market. And the reason it`s used is really for cancer pain. It blocks pain receptors like cocaine. The only difference between it and cocaine is it`s on a prescription pad and cocaine is available on the street.
GRACE: Out to the lines, Shirley in Pennsylvania. Hi, Shirley.
SHIRLEY, PENNSYLVANIA RESIDENT: Hi, Nancy.
GRACE: What`s your question?
SHIRLEY: Keep up the good work. You`re doing a great job, you and your staff.
GRACE: Bless you, thank you.
SHIRLEY: My question is when they arrest these people like her and Hulk Hogan`s son, before they even put them in -- why isn`t there a federal law for across the whole United States -- and I mean this sincerely -- that when these people, whether popular or not, go to -- are forced to go to rehab right away and do the jail time afterwards.
That way they know exactly what they`re in jail for. There`s no doubt there`s no drugs involved at that time.
GRACE: You know, I`ll tell you why there`s not a federal law, because these are state violations. So it`s up to each state as to how they handle it.
But I`d like you to know, Shirley in Pennsylvania, that when I was prosecuting drug cases, when I had an addict, someone with a drug dependency, I would start off recommending to the judge -- they could take it or leave it -- treatment, Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, random urinalysis, community service.
Something to help them before it escalated to jail.
I want to go now to Charlene in Pennsylvania. Hi, Charlene.
CHARLENE, PENNSYLVANIA RESIDENT: Hi, how are you doing?
GRACE: I`m good, dear. What`s your question?
CHARLENE: Well, you had an attorney on there that had the comment in reference to OxyContin, and that they need to be weaned off of it.
GRACE: Yes.
CHARLENE: And I was actually on OxyContin for a back injury. And I totally disagree. Three days after having surgery, I was completely off of all of the medication. And I had no side effects from the OxyContin.
I think it`s pretty much, if you are in pain, the OxyContin, pretty much, for me, what it did is it toned down the pain, made it enough for me to function. And I think a lot of it is these doctors that are prescribing it, they`re not diagnosing the actual problem and they`re giving the higher medications. And that`s where the addiction is coming in effect.
GRACE: Well put.
Penny Douglas-Furr, I think she`s talking about you.
PENNY DOUGLAS-FURR, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I think what I`m going to say, Nancy, is it depend how long you`re on the OxyContin and what you`re on the OxyContin for. It sounds like she had surgery, so it was maybe a week.
If somebody has a back injury, it could go on for months.
GRACE: To Cathy in Ohio. Hi, Cathy.
CATHY, OHIO RESIDENT: Hi, Nancy, how are tonight?
GRACE: I`m good, dear. What`s your question?
CATHY: Where I live in Ohio, we have something called drug court.
GRACE: Yes.
CATHY: Why don`t they have these in other states? And maybe she`d benefit from it.
GRACE: You know, that`s an excellent point.
You know, to Kim Helper, the district attorney general there in Tennessee in Williamson County, we had that in Atlanta, too, just drug court.
Now the OxyContin charge, that was in Florida or Tennessee?
KIM HELPER, D.A. GENERAL, WILLIAMSON COUNTY, TN.: That charge was here in Tennessee. And, Nancy, we do have a drug court program here in Williamson County that has been very successful with many of the participants.
But I think, Nancy, as you know -- and I think what your viewers need to realize -- is that someone needs to want to be part of that drug court problem.
GRACE: You`re right.
HELPER: . or program for them for it to be successful.
GRACE: You`re right. You`re absolutely right, Kim. You can get sentenced people to all the rehab and all the Alcoholics Anonymous and the random drug screening, urinalysis. If they don`t want to do it, they`ll find a way to beat it. They will find a way.
Out to Tommi Jean in Tennessee. Hi, Tommi Jean.
TOMMI JEAN, TENNESSEE RESIDENT: Hello, Nancy.
GRACE: Hi, dear. What`s your question?
TOMMI JEAN: First let me tell you, I love your show. We watch you every night. Love your twins.
GRACE: I`m a big fan of Tennessee. I actually trained there for some of my antitrust work and consumer protection work with the Federal Trade Commission. And I want to thank you for watching, my Tennessee friends.
What`s your question, dear?
TOMMI JEAN: Well, I want to know where the father of this child is. I asked where the child is, and I understand that he is with his grandmother.
GRACE: Good question.
Out to James Moon. This is Miss McCready`s attorney. No stranger to a courtroom.
Mr. Moon, where`s the father in all this?
MOON: The father has been exercising his visitation rights, but at this point the court felt it was in the best interest of Zander to be with the grandmother where he`s close with his family and taken care of.
GRACE: Does he visit? Does the father visit?
MOON: It`s my understanding he has exercised some visitation with his son, yes.
GRACE: Back out to Larry Holden, editor in chief with "Country Weekly." He`s known McCready for 10 years. What now?
LARRY HOLDEN, EDITOR IN CHIEF, "COUNTRY WEEKLY": We get letters and e- mails every day from fans who are always hoping that Mindy will get straight and gets her career back.
Country fans are really forgiving until it reaches a point where they can`t forgive anymore. And I think what -- if Mindy can just get herself straight, she has a chance to get back on the charts and be back in country music.
But it`s really all up to her. It sort of like the rehab that you were talking about earlier.
GRACE: Mr. Holden, what I wish for Miss McCready is not only that she`s back on the charts but that she can get her son back, that she would want her son back.
To Larry Holden, Ira Dean, James Moon and Kim Helper, it`s been a real pleasure to have you on.
Everyone, the rest of our panel is sticking with us because when we come back, the mystery surrounding 23-year-old mom Stacy Peterson. Husband/cop Drew Peterson`s own 15-year-old son goes before the grand jury.
And tonight, exclusive photos emerge. Drew Peterson parties hardy at a local bar, taking celebrity shots with all the ladies.
Hey, why aren`t you looking for your wife?
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UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The grand jury investigating the death of Drew Peterson`s third wife and the disappearance of his fourth wife have called Peterson`s very own 15-year-old son.
Peterson telling local reporters he`s upset his son was put through four hours of questioning. This as pictures surfaced in the "National Enquire" showing Drew Peterson allegedly partying with the ladies in a local bar.
The investigation into Kathleen Savio`s dry bathtub drowning heating up. State police tearing out the bathtub from the house where Savio died.
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GRACE: And to top it all off, in addition to his son, his 15-year-old son having to testify in front of a grand jury, thanks to dad being under suspicion, photos of him turn up -- oh, here they are. Nice shot. But that`s not your wife.
These are from the "National Enquirer." Their authenticity has not been challenged. Here is Drew Peterson out having a great night at a bar, taking celebrity photos with all the ladies.
Shouldn`t he be looking for his dead wife?
Out to Kathy Chaney with the "Chicago Defender." What`s the latest with the 15-year-old boy testifying in front of the grand jury?
KATHY CHANEY, REPORTER, CHICAGO DEFENDER: His 15-year-old son was called yesterday before the grand jury about the disappearance of his stepmom Stacy and about the dry bathtub death of his mom, Kathleen Savio, four years ago.
And Drew is upset about that. He said that he only agreed to have his two teenaged sons be interviewed last year at the Will County Child Advocacy Center contingent upon them not being called to the grand jury.
But now he feels that Illinois state police thumbed their nose to his request.
GRACE: Well, you know -- to Joe Hosey, reporter with the "Herald News" and author of "Fatal Vows." Joe, that`s not his decision. Children have to come testify. It`s never a good thing but little children have to come testify in the interest of justice.
JOE HOSEY, REPORTER, HERALD NEWS, AUTHOR OF "FATAL BLOWS": Absolutely, you`re right. And I`m sure that they treated them in a sensitive manner.
In fact, the spokesman for Jim Glasgow stressed that the children were treated well. Drew and Brodsky both told me that they had cut this deal with the state police. They told me that, I think, the end of February right after they were -- they went on Matt Lauer`s "Today" show that they had cut a deal with the state police.
They were annoyed about it then because that`s when the children were actually subpoenaed. They`ve been kind of -- I think they`ve been trying to delay it, fight it. But I guess Tom went Thursday.
GRACE: Do we have any idea what his testimony was, Joe?
HOSEY: Oh, I couldn`t tell you.
GRACE: Right.
HOSEY: I mean, I have no idea what his testimony might have been. They were asking about Kathleen or Stacy or both. I really don`t know. I think Chris will be coming up soon in the next couple of weeks.
GRACE: I think you`re right, Joe.
With me, Joe Hosey and Kathy Chaney.
To Pam Bosco, the Stacy Peterson family spokesperson -- Pam, what was their reaction to the boy testifying at grand jury?
PAM BOSCO, STACY PETERSON FAMILY SPOKESPERSON: We`re -- very pleased that he actually went and finally got a chance to go before the grand jury. You know -- and I was going to say Mr. Drew Peterson should have done his job right the first time, being the great father and dad that he is, and not pled the Fifth when he went before the grand jury. Maybe his son wouldn`t have had to go.
GRACE: You know what? You`re absolutely correct.
Out to the lines, Julia in South Carolina. Hi, Julia.
JULIA, SOUTH CAROLINA RESIDENT: Hi, Nancy.
GRACE: What`s your question, dear?
JULIA: Well, first of all, we love you, Nancy. I just want to tell you that -- you and your family.
GRACE: Thank you. Thank you very much.
JULIA: My question to you is how it is that we`re not keeping him quiet and don`t have a gag order on him. He keeps running his mouth on TV but he don`t want his children to testify. Looks like he`s getting rich off these interviews.
GRACE: You know, to Penny Douglas-Furr and Daniel horowitz, you know, it is a case of the pot calling the kettle black, Penny. He`s talking all over the place, but he doesn`t want anybody else to talk.
DOUGLAS-FURR: I think he just doesn`t want his children to talk. That`s not the same thing as an adult. And there`s really no case, so where could a judge put a gag order? There`s no case yet.
GRACE: And Dan Horowitz, there is no father-son privilege.
DANIEL HOROWITZ, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: None at all, Nancy. I mean this kid can testify against his father, which he certainly is doing. And Drew can complain all he wants, but he`s got nothing that he can do about it.
GRACE: Everyone, we are taking.
HOROWITZ: But I tell you something -- go ahead.
GRACE: We`re taking your calls live, everybody. But right now to "CNN HEROES."
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My dad bought this land in 1947. I`ve been here all my life. It`s home. It`s where we belong.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s our roots.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People don`t realize how tough it is until you lose everything.
Anything in the path of the tornado, you name it, it was gone. We didn`t have no insurance.
BILL GROSS, COMMUNITY CRUSADER: The family farmer is in danger. And so when a major injury, illness or natural disaster occurs, it`s devastating to them.
I`m Bill Gross and I help family farmers in crisis.
We`re ready to go.
Farm rescue is operated all by volunteers. And we`re very proud of that. The volunteers are eager to come in. And by the time we leave, we have their crop planted or harvested. I was raised on a family farm in North Dakota and now an airline pilot for UPS.
However, my heart never left the farming community. I firmly believe that if you`re going to help people, you should do something that you know how to do. And so I started farm rescue to help the farmers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In a situation like we`re in, there`s no way we`d be able to survive on our own. They seed 200 acres of wheat and about 530 acres of soybeans. We got a place we can call home again. It`s a new beginning.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It sure is.
GROSS: If Farm Rescue didn`t come in and plant these farms, and they would not be able to maintain their livelihood. The families are very, very thankful and become lifelong friends.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: "HEROES" brought to you by.
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GRACE: What a week in America`s courtrooms. Take a look at the stories and, more important, the people who touched our lives.
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UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Newlywed Tina and Gabe Watson head out on a scuba diving adventure on the Great Barrier Reef. But just minutes later the beautiful bride ends up dead on the bottom of the ocean.
The suspected murderer, her husband of just 11 days.
GRACE: With us is Tina Watson`s father.
TOMMY THOMAS, FATHER OF THE BRIDE TINA WATSON: I told her that I really wasn`t happy with the diving lessons. I didn`t think it was a thing Tina had ever wanted to do. I didn`t particularly consider it safe.
GRACE: That`s complete BS. All this business about strong current. This is a dive where they all went down to chain from the bottom of the boat which was anchored at the bottom. Nobody else was having a problem.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The ex-husband of pregnant Megan Touma breaks his silence and wants to know Megan was apparently never reported missing.
GRACE: It`s four days, not two days that she was in there. Didn`t anybody go in to clean the room?
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The maintenance supervisor at the hotel says there was a "Do Not Disturb" sign hanging from the doorknob.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Hundreds of volunteers searching frantically for 7- year-old Randy and his 3-year-old sister Denim. The two went missing just 20 yards from their home. Police say they only have one suspect. It`s Randy and Denim`s father.
GRACE: This according to police actually happened on Father`s Day.
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GRACE: Let`s stop and remember Army Major Dwayne Kelley, 48, South Orange, New Jersey, killed, Iraq, on a third tour, a Rutgers grad, and 20-year decorated veteran of the New Jersey state police. Served the counterterrorism unit. Fluent in Arabic, loved New York Knicks, American Indian and Arabian food. Leaves behind grieving mom, Vera, widow Manita and two daughters.
Dwayne Kelley, American hero.
Thanks to our guests but especially you for being with us.
Tonight a special good night from the New York control room. Good night, Bret, Liz.
Everybody, we`ll see you tomorrow night 8:00 sharp Eastern, and until then, good night, friend.
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