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Crime and Justice With Ashleigh Banfield
Drunk Mom Kills 2 Kids in DUI Wreck; Teen Strangled in Boyfriend`s Home; The Lighter Side of Walter White; Pastor Tells Kids in Mall "Santa Does Not Exist"; Police Help Man Pop the Question. Aired 8-9p ET
Aired December 12, 2016 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[20:00:00] ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, HLN HOST (voice-over): A family shattered.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have started the coping process.
BANFIELD: A Florida mom allegedly binges on shots and drives her car full of kids straight into a utility pole.
A teenager who dreamed of wearing Air Force blues will have to settle for prison orange...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Never seen this coming.
BANFIELD: ... after being accused of strangling his high school sweetheart.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He loved her so much.
BANFIELD: And "Breaking Bad`s" Walter White comes alive on TV again, even if only for a few minutes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Walter White joins us now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello, Jake.
BANFIELD: Will actor Bryan Cranston drop another clue tonight if there`s a sequel to the "Breaking Bad" kingpin?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No movie, no nothing, no Walter White ever again?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know (INAUDIBLE) never say never.
BANFIELD: And while we`re at it, did you know that Bryan secretly pursues justice in his spare time?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BANFIELD: Good evening, everyone. I`m Ashleigh Banfield. This is PRIMETIME JUSTICE.
Tonight, eight children riding home from a party in Fernadina (ph) Beach, Florida. Behind the wheel, this woman, Tonya Capallia-Eason. Sounds run
of the mill, but it was anything but run of the mill. She allegedly has multiple drinks before getting into the vehicle. She loses control, drives
into the oncoming lane, and then into the road and smashes into a utility pole. The car flips over. Two of Capallia-Eason`s children are killed. A
third child of hers is injured, and so are five other kids in the vehicle who are not her kids.
After the crash, her blood alcohol tests well above the legal limit, at levels that would severely impair her body, her mind and her judgment. And
if that`s not bad enough, she was allegedly firing back shots while at the party, and people told her she was too drunk to drive.
Ed Dean joins me now. He is the morning host at WBOB. How bad was the scene when the police got there?
ED DEAN, WBOB: It was so bad, Ashleigh, that when onlookers came in and helped out what was a need, the call to 911 was, There`s children, and in
fact, there`s a lot of children on the scene that`s hurt.
BANFIELD: And what about the positions of the children? Were they in seatbelts?
DEAN: There was no -- the question is, is whether or not. That`s been still being trying to figure out by the police. We just came on -- before
we came on the news tonight, we found out that Tonya Easeman (sic) had lied to authorities. She actually claimed that night that she was a passenger
in that car, not the driver itself. And then, in fact, we realized that we`d been told that she was in seatbelts, but no clue of whether (ph) or
not the children seatbelts.
BANFIELD: So Ed, I`m not sure I understand. The police get to the scene. The car is over on its roof. She is apparently hanging in a seat belt, in
the driver`s seat, and is telling them she wasn`t the driver?
DEAN: That`s what the police came out and did reported today on the news, that she claimed that she was a passenger in there. The problem with the
story is besides her son, you also had a 7-year-old, two 13-year-olds, and three 15-year-olds in that car. The question is, is if she wasn`t driving,
who was?
BANFIELD: What was the blood alcohol level, ultimately, when we know that the legal limit is .08? What was hers?
DEAN: Ashleigh, she doubled the legal limit. As you just mentioned, Florida state law, blood alcohol level is 0 -- is .08. She was at .148,
double the legal limit.
BANFIELD: Ed, stand by for a moment, if you would Andrew Bird is the father of 8-year-old Nehemiah and 9-year-old Nick. And he joins me now
live from Minnesota.
Andrew, I`m so sorry that we`re talking to you under these circumstances. How did you learn about what had happened to your two sons?
ANDREW BIRD, FATHER OF VICTIMS: I`m actually in Michigan, not Minnesota. But my reaction -- I was actually at work when I got the phone call. One
of the other children involved, her father actually called me and informed me about what had happened. And I was immediately just devastated.
I was unable to really even hardly talk, so I immediately called my wife to come get me from work, and one of my co-workers took care of things as far
as work goes, calling supervisors and stuff and informed them what happened.
BANFIELD: It is bad enough to get that kind of news, Andrew. How much of the detail did you learn immediately of the circumstances surrounding a
crash that killed your sons?
BIRD: I was initially told that Tonya had been drinking at a party and she had crashed the vehicle with the kids inside.
[20:05:08]And I was also immediately told -- I mean, my first reaction was to ask if the kids were all right, and the person that called me informed
me that they were not and that Nick and Nehemiah didn`t make it, and that Nina was in a local hospital there, receiving care.
BANFIELD: You`re talking about your third child, your daughter who survived but was in that crash and was injured. How badly was she injured?
BIRD: She wasn`t -- she wasn`t injured that bad. She did have some injuries that were potentially serious, the main one being, as I was told
by the hospital staff there, that they were concerned that there may be some bleeding around her kidney. Since then, that`s all cleared up, and
physically, she`s doing very well.
BANFIELD: Does Nina have a lot of memories of what happened?
BIRD: She does. As far as what those memories are, I won`t go into detail on those at this point. But she does remember parts of what happened.
BANFIELD: What do you hope will come out of this?
BIRD: Well, obviously, I hope that nobody else has to go through this again. The decision -- I would hope that she would not have the
opportunity to make those types of decisions again, that she is -- that they make sure that she cannot put anybody else`s life in danger.
BANFIELD: Andrew, don`t go away. Stand by for one moment. I want to get some of the legal issues involved with what this case is ultimately going
to mean. Joining me now is Dr. Imran Ali, who is a resident physician at Bridgeport Hospital in New Haven, Connecticut.
Doctor Ali, the blood alcohol level that Tonya Capallia-Eason had -- is it the kind of level whereby party goers would know for certain that she was
completely incapacitated, not able to drive a car safely?
DR. IMRAN ALI, PHYSICIAN: Absolutely. I want to make it much easier. Instead of doing 0.14 or 0.12, just think of it in the way we measure it in
the blood serum, 50 milligrams per deciliter of blood. So her blood alcohol level was 148. So the legal limit would be 80 milligrams. So she
was 148. She was definitely above that.
BANFIELD: Almost double. So you know, pragmatically speaking, if we see someone at a party who is .148, as the reports come in about Tonya, it
would be brutally clear -- I mean, I`m just trying to get the idea of -- some people don`t look drunk at all at .08, and they would blow over and
they would be DUI. But at .148, clearly, you`d blow over. But what would you appear to be?
ALI: Well, the thing is you would get cerebellar (ph) ataxia. You would get loss of balance. And I think there were reports of her having
difficulty just getting into the SUV, and people were trying to tell her about that. So it`s really unfortunate.
BANFIELD: So Ed Dean, what Dr. Ali just said, people were trying to tell her about that -- there are these reports of people at the Halloween party
who said they tried to stop her. What do you know about that?
DEAN: Ashleigh, the interesting thing about that question you just asked - - this wasn`t an adult Halloween party, this was a children`s Halloween party. According to eyewitness authorities there that told police that
there was no representation of whether or not she was drunk or not when she showed up at the party. But there she was drinking rum. She had several
shots of Jell-o pudding.
And in fact, at around 11:45 before she left, she helped cleaned up the place. And many of those of the eyewitnesses said, Don`t go anywhere,
you`re drunk, don`t do anything. They even asked her get her keys according to the police reports to authorities. The question is, is how
they and why did they let her go with eight other children in that Ford Expedition?
BANFIELD: And here is something that a witness said, calling 911. "Oh, my God, we told her not to drive and she did anyway." The 911 operator says,
"Was she drinking?" The witness says, "Yes, she was, and she wouldn`t listen to us and she drove off anyway."
Clearly, these are the kinds of things that are going to come into play in a trial as serious (ph). She is charged with felony DUI resulting in
death, two counts of them.
Joining me now, former prosecutor Randy Zelin and defense attorney Misty Marris, as well. I guess the first question would be why would it take so
long to charge her? Because this has just happened over the weekend, and this was a Halloween party two months ago. Why this delay?
MISTY MARRIS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: It is a very strange situation, Ashleigh, but all we can opine is that they were really collecting all of the
evidence.
[20:10:06]Some of the common (ph) law (ph) evidence outside of the breathalyzer test. For instance, talking to witnesses, speaking to her.
And that is likely the reason why the police waited to charge her until now.
BANFIELD: There were eight kids in this car, Randy. Two of them, her own, died. Six of them were injured. So far, there are just these two counts
pertaining to the deaths of her two children. What about the six who were injured? What does that do to this?
RANDY ZELIN, FORMER PROSECUTOR: There are -- first of all, it`s very difficult. And I`m rarely at a loss for words, but when you watch that
father, if`s very difficult to actually be able to speak. But I have to put my lawyer -- my lawyer hat back on.
What you have is a few things. You`ve got the additional charges because you`ve got the reckless conduct causing the deaths. You`ve got reckless
conduct causing the injuries. You`re got endangering the welfare of every minor. And I`ll tell you something. This woman -- not only the woman but
the friends are very lucky that this was not California because California has a good Samaritan law and when there are minors involved, if you don`t
really do something to stop it, you could find yourself locked up at all (ph).
But to Misty`s point, what took so long? This was blood, to the doctor`s point. So the blood has to go out. It has to go out to the lab. It`s got
to be analyzed. We didn`t discuss whether it`s whole blood versus plasma, which could affect the reading. But to Misty`s point, yes they`re going to
cross, dot, do it all because lock it down with this woman.
BANFIELD: They got their ducks in a row on this one.
Andrew, our hearts and our thoughts go out to you and Nina as you, you know, get through the holiday season, and we do wish you the best. And
thank you for sharing your story with us tonight. Appreciate it.
BIRD: Yes. Thank you.
BANFIELD: We`re following some other news tonight, as well. Jurors in the Dalia Dippolito retrial got to see something they were not supposed to see
today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ms. Dippolito, I`m Sergeant Ramsey (ph). I`m the one that called you. Thank you for coming. I`m sorry to call you. Listen, we
had a report of a disturbance at your house and there were shots were fired. Is your husband Michael? OK, I`m sorry to tell you, ma`am, he`s
been killed.
DALIA DIPPOLITO, CHARGED WITH HIRING A HITMAN: Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He`s been killed, ma`am.
DIPPOLITO: No!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: That is the undercover video of Dalia Dippolito being told by Boynton Beach police that her husband was dead. But you probably know by
now, having seen this video possibly before several times, Mike Dippolito wasn`t dead, and those police were tipped off by an informant that Dalia
was allegedly planning to have her husband killed, so they set up this sting.
The video was originally excluded by the judge. But after Dalia Dippolito`s defense team claimed that she was entrapped by the police, the
prosecutors saw their opening. They argued that jurors should see the video for themselves, and shazam, they did.
The defense has wrapped up the closing arguments. The prosecution is expected to wrap up by tomorrow.
Alyssa Wright was a beautiful 19-year-old looking forward to a long life ahead. But that was not going to happen. She was strangled. And what`s
bizarre is that it was allegedly by her high school sweetheart.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Her big old smile just charmed everybody.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She took care of me. She always made sure I was OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The outpouring of love and prayers means so much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Also ahead, you know Bryan Cranston as the one who knocks from "Breaking Bad," but he`s also a dad who`s passionate about finding missing
kids, and he`s here with us tonight.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:17:44]BANFIELD: A Covington, Georgia, couple attend their high school prom. He wants to join the Air Force, and things seem really promising.
Then he allegedly strangles her in his home. As the victim`s mom tries to cope with the loss, we`re also trying to figure out what possibly could
have happened here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MELINDA WRIGHT, ALYSSA WRIGHT`S MOTHER: Never seen this coming, ever. He loved her so much, and that`s all he would say is, you know, do so much for
her. He loved her so much, and that`s all he would say is, you know, do so much for her.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now Wright`s mother says she doesn`t know how to feel toward him.
WRIGHT: I don`t wish no harm to him. But I`m angry. I`m hurt.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: So the question is, obviously, why? Why did this happen? Joining me now, PRIMETIME JUSTICE producer Michael Christian. That`s the
question. What on earth went wrong? No one seemed to report any problems between these two.
MICHAEL CHRISTIAN, PRIMETIME JUSTICE PRODUCER: No, Ashleigh. From all accounts, this was a loving couple. He was very protective of her. They
had started dating their senior year in high school. They went to the prom together. But unlike so many high school sweethearts, they stayed together
since they graduated in May. So this just came out of the blue.
BANFIELD: And they didn`t seem to have any issues on the table that particular night, either.
CHRISTIAN: No, not that we know of. She was home that night. She spoke to her mother. Her mother says that she seemed to be in perfectly normal
spirits. She went over to his home, his parents` home, and then the next thing we knew, there was a call to police to report to the home for some
unspecified trouble.
BANFIELD: So how did she die?
CHRISTIAN: She was strangled, but we don`t know exactly how she was strangled, what was used, hands, a tie, a rope, we just don`t know. But we
know that death was by strangulation.
BANFIELD: But there`s also a report that there was blood on the suspect at the time, which doesn`t suggest that this was a quick process.
CHRISTIAN: That`s true. There is a police report which makes mention of that this strangulation apparently happened following a physical
altercation. Now, again, we don`t know about altercations in the past. We don`t know the specifics of this one. But apparently, there was some sort
of physical back and forth between them before she was killed.
[20:20:02]BANFIELD: Tianna Alcarez is Alyssa Wright`s sister and she joins me live now from New York. Tianna, can you hear me?
TIANNA ALCAREZ, ALYSSA`S SISTER: Yes, ma`am.
BANFIELD: Tianna, can you shed any light on what seems to be, you know, really a flummoxing story. No one seems to understand how this could have
happened. Do you know anything more?
ALCAREZ: I -- to be honest, I`m hearing a lot more from you than we have anybody else.
BANFIELD: The police aren`t helping you to sort of walk through what`s happened to you and your family, to get you up to speed on the details
they`re finding out?
TIANNA: No, ma`am, not at all.
BANFIELD: What did you know about Elijah?
TIANNA: He -- he was sweet. He was -- he was so good to her. He was -- he`s family-oriented. He played with my kids. He would take Alyssa
anywhere she wanted to go. He`d do anything for her.
BANFIELD: Do you know, Tianna -- it`s a bit confusing as we look through the police documents, it appears that a sister called 911, that a sister of
Alyssa called 911. But you`re a sister and it wasn`t you. Do you have another sister? Is this a mistake in the report?
TIANNA: It wasn`t -- that`s false information. We -- me -- we didn`t call 911. His sisters called 911.
BANFIELD: And what did they tell the police when they called 911?
TIANNA: I`m not really sure. I didn`t get full detail. I just know that they said that they were scared, so they just called 911.
BANFIELD: So you are in the dark about this, as everyone is. You`re no closer to details, even though this is your sister who died.
TIANNA: That was my little sister.
BANFIELD: What can you tell us about her?
TIANNA: She -- she was a hard worker. She was pretty much the backbone and life to everyone. She looked after everyone. She looked after me.
She looked after my mom. She looked after our baby sister. She looked after my kids as if they were her own.
BANFIELD: Tianna, your mom seems as in the dark about this as you are. I want to play again what she said about all this and about him in particular
in an interview. Have a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WRIGHT: Never seen this coming, ever. He loved her so much, and that`s all he would say is -- you know, do so much for her. He loved her so much,
and that`s all he would say is, you know, do so much for her.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now Wright`s mother says she doesn`t know how to feel toward him.
WRIGHT: I don`t wish no harm to him, but I`m angry. I`m hurt.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Tianna, it must be just excruciating for your family as you`re trying to figure out -- this just happened on Tuesday. Is there anything
you know going forward as the next step in all of this?
TIANNA: No, and that`s what we -- we`re waiting. We`re waiting. We want to know -- we`re waiting just like the rest of everybody else.
BANFIELD: Tianna, I appreciate you taking the time to speak with us, and I`m so sorry that we`re meeting under these circumstances. Your sister --
she was beautiful, just a beautiful girl, and I wish you and your family well as you try to navigate these next months and days.
TIANNA: Thank you.
BANFIELD: Thank you, Tianna. And we`ll continue to watch that story, as well. As mystifying as it is, sometimes it takes days for those police
reports to actually bear out and (ph) information to clear up. So we`ll watch that for you, as well.
also tonight, coming up information next, Bryan Cranston. You probably know him as the evil genius Walter White.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRYAN CRANSTON, ACTOR: You clearly don`t know who you`re talking to, so let me clue you in. I am not in danger, Skyler, I am the danger! And guy
opens his door and gets shot and you (INAUDIBLE) me? No. I am the one...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Oh, yes, he seems really mean, right? He`s not. He actually is one of the nicest guys I`ve ever met.
[20:25:00] (INAUDIBLE) how are you? Welcome, welcome.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CRANSTON: Where did Mr. Bannon find you?
CRANSTON: In the comments section at Breitbart.
(LAUGHTER)
CRANSTON: And I`m really surprised you tracked me down because I`ve kind of been off the grid for a while.
CRANSTON: Mr. White, how did you even get considered for this job? Do you know Donald Trump?
CRANSTON: No. No. But I`m a big fan. I like his style. He acts first and then asks questions later.
(LAUGHTER)
CRANSTON: I also like that wall he wants to build. Nothing comes in from Mexico, meaning a lot less competition for the rest of us.
(LAUGHTER)
CRANSTON: You mean jobs?
CRANSTON: Sure.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: I love it, Bryan Cranston, having some fun on "Saturday Night Live," riffing on the presidential transition and his famous alter ego
Walter White. He`s here live with us.
Thanks for coming in!
CRANSTON: So good to see you again.
BANFIELD: It`s better to see you. I always love our conversations...
CRANSTON: Thank you.
BANFIELD: ... especially when you drop these little nuggets, like Walter White might not be dead. And I do believe I sensed a little of that in the
"SNL" skit?
[20:30:10] CRANSTON: Yes. There was the line there that he says, well, there might be a little problem in getting confirmed by the congress
because he faked his own death and there was only three other people in the Trump cabinet that had done that so, yeah, that`s fun.
BANFIELD: You know, you left us all hanging, except for the fact that you are so prolific, you keep pumping out all these projects and books and
movies and plays and films, which is why you`re here. The movie that you`re coming out on, I think, December 23rd?
CRANSTON: Right.
BANFIELD: I know the date because I`m having eye surgery that day, so I can`t see it that day, sorry.
CRANSTON: Literally cannot see it that day.
BANFIELD: Literally, but I`ll see it, you know, when I can. But it`s with James Franco, who is so hilarious.
CRANSTON: He`s hilarious in this. It`s called "Why Him?." And it`s a simple premise about a good, upstanding mid-west guy, lovely family, good values.
BANFIELD: That`s you.
CRANSTON: That`s me.
BANFIELD: Right.
CRANSTON: The apple of his eye, his daughter, is going to Stanford, she`s bright, she`s independent, and I`m just so thrilled for her life. And she
then starts dating James Franco and his character. And with the tattoos and the cursing. And it just drives me crazy, because this is not at all who I
imagined would be with my daughter.
BANFIELD: He`s like the worst ever. Except for the fact that he`s a tech tycoon. We have the clip. So I want to play a little bit of "Why Him?" and
then I`m going to ask him about "Why Him?." Have a look.
CRANSTON: Him or me?
BANFIELD: You.
CRANSTON: Me.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES FRANCO, ACTOR: I feel like I know you after everything that Steph told me about you, but so much for saying.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ned, stay away.
CRANSTON: Nice. So you just do this pink panther thing? From the pink panther movie when Cato attacks Inspector Clouseau to keep him sharp?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: So I see you through all these iterations of Bryan, I see you as Trumbo, I see you as Walter White, I see you as LBJ as how (ph) and I
wonder if this more of a return to your funny "Malcolm in the Middle" hell guy than any of those other serious, crazy killers.
CRANSTON: Yes, You`re saying that LBJ was a crazy killer? That`s interesting.
BANFIELD: Not that one.
CRANSTON: Conspiracy theories.
BANFIELD: Right.
CRANSTON: Yeah, it was -- you know, I was very fortunate to have a long run with "Breaking Bad" and that garnered some attention in other dramas, but I
was not getting offered comedies, and I love to do comedy. As a matter of fact, this movie was the most fun I`ve ever had on a movie set.
BANFIELD: Really?
CRANSTON: Ever.
BANFIELD: Was it James?
CRANSTON: James and Michael Key.
BANFIELD: Oh, my Go, Michael Key.
CRANSTON: Megan Mullally.
BANFIELD: But you`ve got a lot of range, to go from Walter White to this guy and LBJ, if you haven`t seen it, it was so spot on. I`m not blowing
smoke here. I saw you in the play on broadway. It was frightening. How good you were. Is it harder to do comedy or is it just a delight for you to try
anything?
CRANSTON: There is a timing element to comedy that is not necessarily embedded in drama, and it`s a little more delicate. Yeah, it`s a little
more delicate.
BANFIELD: Comedy is more delicate?
CRANSTON: Yeah. Comedy is more delicate. It could fall flat. A joke could just fall flat completely. Whereas with drama, you can take your time, you
can change the tone of it. You can change the pacing of a line and it still works.
BANFIELD: There`s this thing in your book "A Life in Parts" where you talk about being a guy working on the loading dock and you weren`t acting. That
was you?
CRANSTON: Yeah.
BANFIELD: That was your job?
CRANSTON: Yeah.
BANFIELD: You worked on a loading dock where your foreman didn`t use your first name or anybody else`s.
CRANSTON: Right, just yelled at you, Cranston, you got to work faster. Let`s go, Cranston. Andy Garcia worked on that loading dock, too.
BANFIELD: Serious?
CRANSTON: Yeah.
BANFIELD: At the same same?
CRANSTON: Yes, seriously.
BANFIELD: No.
CRANSTON: Yes, yeah.
BANFIELD: So it made me think about all of us out here who are, you know, toiling away at what we do, trying to get better. Some of us work really,
really hard and have talent. And we just get to a certain level. And then there`s you, who you had all these valleys and peaks and some of those
peaks have been remarkably prodigious. I mean, how many -- I can`t count your Emmys, and a Tony.
But I wonder if it -- why? What is it about you that you got through all those ugly times, those tough times? Did you ever question what you were
that good, that you were going to make it?
[20:35:00] CRANSTON: Well, that`s an interesting questions. Are you gonna make it? "Make it" is different for everybody. For me, it was I just want
to be a working actor. If I can make a living as an actor, that`s my success.
To this day, that is my proudest professional accomplishment, is that at the age of 25, until now, I`m 60, that`s all I`ve done professionally.
That`s all I had to do for a living. And that is my -- I`m just so pleased with that. Anything that goes beyond that is really gravy.
BANFIELD: Is it that -- because anybody watching is wondering how can I be more like you? What can I get from you, that magic? Is the secret sauce
being happy with where you are and not always assuming you`re not where you should be?
CRANSTON: Yes. The sense of entitlement cannot be exist with you or else it will -- the level of resentment will grow, and you`ll become bitter and
cynical and just an awful person. Yeah. I tell young actors all the time, look, you better love acting.
You better -- the empowerment that you feel as an actor on stage or in a film or television show has to be so great that you are able to withstand
the negativity that comes with the abundance of actors. There`s never going to be a shortage of actors.
BANFIELD: Never.
CRANSTON: So you better love it.
BANFIELD: Just like a local restaurant.
CRANSTON: Yeah.
BANFIELD: There is never a shortage of actors.
CRANSTON: No. And jobs like working on the loading dock is something just - - it really solidified my resolve.
BANFIELD: You are.
CRANSTON: It really does and it toughens you up.
BANFIELD: Yeah. If you`re tough, can you stay for a little bit? I have this thing I want you to watch, because this guy who is coming up, it just --
it`s Christmas, and I love the Christmas spirit and anybody who dampens that gets my goat.
And I wonder how you would feel about it. So hold for one second, because during the holidays you often hear people don`t forget the reason for the
season. But then there`s this pastor who decided to prove that in a very unusual way. Have a peek.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID GRISHAM JR., PASTOR: And we`re going to tell the children here today the truth that there is no Santa Claus. Kids, I want to tell you today,
that there is no such thing.
[20:40:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: A holiday spirit is everywhere, almost. Some serious grinches seem to be lurking about, trying to steal excitement, taking the magic out
of it for some of the little ones. I`m talking about an evangelist pastor in Amarillo, Texas. He has made it his mission to burst the Santa bubble.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
GRISHAM: Today, we`re at the mall in Amarillo, Texas, and we`re going to tell the children here today the truth that there is no Santa Claus. Kids,
I wanted to tell you today, that there is no such thing as Santa Claus. Santa Claus does not exist.
Don`t lie to your children and tell them there`s such a thing as Santa when you know in reality that there are no flying reindeer. There is no workshop
at the north pole. There is no elves making toys. That you buy all the gifts and put them under the tree. That`s all the truth. And there is no
real Santa Claus.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That`s enough!
GRISHAM: There is no Santa.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Those are my children.
GRISHAM: It is not your place to lie to your children. Tell them the truth about Jesus Christ. Tell them the truth about what Christmas is all about.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stop.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: The pastor you just saw in that video, his name is David Grisham, Jr., and he happens to be on the telephone now. Pastor, you have some
explaining to do. I understand where you`re coming from, that you believe wholeheartedly in your faith and your religion. But do you really think
it`s your place to do that to other parents and children?
GRISHAM: Well, Jesus said in the scriptures that go out and preach the gospel to every creature, so that would include adults and children alike.
So I`m just basically obeying the scriptures.
And the way God sees things is everybody does have a right to teach their children what they want, but God will supersedes the rights of man under
man`s law. And so God has appointed ambassadors of Christ to preach the gospel to everyone whether they choose to like it or not.
BANFIELD: So about the whole idolatry thing, would you tell them there is no tooth fairy either?
GRISHAM: Oh, yeah. There is no such thing as a tooth fairy?
BANFIELD: Okay.
GRISHAM: Probably less children believe that, though.
BANFIELD: Again, again, I get it. I get it. But you know, proselytizing has its limits as well, preacher. And really making kids cry can`t be in God`s
interest. Do you agree?
GRISHAM: Well, we are called to -- we as Christians, we`re called to tell people the truth, and our obedience is the measure of our success, and how
it falls on the ears of the hearer is entirely up to them. How they respond to it is entirely up to them. Now the reason.
BANFIELD: So again, I guess we could go back and forth about scripture, and there is "do unto others." Do you think it`s appropriate to hurt children`s
feelings and to make families sad? And I get that you like proselytizing. But don`t you see that there might be some limits?
GRISHAM: The limits on proselytizing are, as long as you`re not in sin, and as long as you`re not preaching false doctrine, those are the limits as
outlined by the Bible as far as proselytizing.
BANFIELD: What is wrong with Santa? It`s an additional part of Christmas. It doesn`t mean that they can`t mutually co-exist. I went to church and
learned about Jesus and still had a Christmas tree presence and Santa. And I came out okay, preacher. Why can`t you see that?
[20:45:00] GRISHAM: I came out okay, too. But the problem with telling people or telling your children that Santa Claus is real is it`s a lie. And
it`s wrong to lie. And God says he hates a lying tongue. So God hates it when you lie about Santa Claus.
Now, if it was like a Mickey Mouse thing where everybody just knew it was fake and it was just an addition like that, probably wouldn`t be an issue.
But when the children believe it in their hearts and the adults know they`re telling them a lie, they willfully lied and offended God.
BANFIELD: Oh, for heaven`s sake. Okay. You know -- okay. Merry Christmas. Bye. Joining me again, Bryan Cranston, Misty Marris, and Danny Cevallos. I
asked you to stay, because as I was.
CRANSTON: That`s hilarious.
BANFIELD: I only could think what would Walter White was standing with his kid in that line? What would you do?
CRANSTON: That would be dangerous. He thinks that the two are mutually exclusive, that you can`t be faithful to your beliefs and your religion and
still have this wonderful fantasy of a Santa Claus, who is in charge of rewarding good children, you know, and that`s just a lovely thing. So it`s
-- is this Pastor Grincham, is that what it is?
BANFIELD: Grisham.
(LAUGHTER)
BANFIELD: Nice. Nicely done. There is nothing -- where was security, though? I kind of thought -- the parents got -- look at this, this one pair
of dads came out, and I want to draw your attention real quickly to what was on his t-shirt as they tried to stop this guy. Take a look.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s not your decision for you to tell my kids what`s truth and what`s not.
GRISHAM: The truth is there is no Santa Claus. There is no Santa. And the truth is Christmas is about Jesus.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Okay, but the parents are all right with that.
GRISHAM: The parents are all right with lying to their kids.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah. Now your decision like that`s a sin.
GRISHAM: It`s a sin in the eyes of God. There is no Santa. Santa is not real. Your parents are lying to you. Don`t believe it. You all have a nice
day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CRANSTON: I think one guy had Air Force Academy. The other one had a Hello Kitty t-shirt.
(LAUGHTER)
MISTY MARRIS, LITIGATION ATTORNEY: Got it from Santa.
CEVALLOS: So between the two of them, this was a more sensitive side and a more, you know.
CEVALLOS: I would have thought of all the gospel missions, isn`t there something a little higher priority than going and telling the kids -- I do
remember when I found out Santa was my grandpa in a costume, it was the smell of bourbon and roast beef that tipped me off.
CRANSTON: That is good.
CEVALLOS: Look at these kids, yeah, he was terrific. You know what I`m talking about. But it`s disappointing. We all have to learn and we all find
out, but we really don`t need anyone helping us along the way.
BANFIELD: Yes. And we don`t need Billy Bob Thornton as a Santa and we don`t need that guy going out and, you know, destroying kids` dreams. I get it. I
get his point. By the way, folks, you need to know this. He is planning to do this again and again in Texas and Alaska.
Not sure why he chose those two states but he did. In the coming weeks, if you see him, perhaps the best defense is to tell your kids, that`s the
crazy guy and the police are looking for him. The crazy guy. And maybe the kids will then.
CRANSTON: I think he`s going to Alaska on his way to the north pole, is what I`m thinking.
MARRIS: Listen, I`m a Santa believer. I`ll put my lawyer hand on. This is private property.
BANFIELD: All right.
MARRIS: He would have been rejected.
BANFIELD: Santa is real for you, my friend.
CRANSTON: Oh, my gosh.
BANFIELD: But I got better news coming up. This one makes you feel better. Police rolling up to a convenience store. Believe it or not, weapons drawn.
I`m getting to the good part. This was actually all out of romance. Wait till you see what happened. It`s adorable.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get on the ground, now!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[20:50:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: Okay. So Bryan Cranston has been kind enough to actually stay on the panel to discuss this next piece of video, which I think is a really
feel-good piece of video. It doesn`t appear to be at first, but you have to play along with me, because it`s really special.
It`s from Mobile, Alabama. Daiwon McPherson has an encounter with the Mobile Police Department. At first, you think, oh, this is not going to go
well. And his girlfriend is with him, Shawna Blackmon, and that`s all I`m going to tell you. Watch how it plays out.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get on the ground, get on the ground, now!
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Hold on! Daiwon.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get on the ground.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who are you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`m his wife.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get his gun from him.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I will. Please back up. I`ll get it.
(APPLAUSE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I guess you`re not his wife.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How great is that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you crying?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: How great is that?
MARRIS: It`s great.
BANFIELD: Are you crying?
CRANSTON: That`s so romantic.
MARRIS: Now the bar is so high for every guy that wants to propose to his girlfriend. No longer is the jumbo tron at a Yankee game. A great idea. Now
you have to get law enforcement involved. You to get tased before you get married.
BANFIELD: And they had their tasers drawn. I mean, it was so real.
CRANSTON: That`s a little scary, though. Yeah, it`s a social statement, oh, my goodness. I don`t know. I -- I question this actually. I wonder how
sensible this was on many different levels.
BANFIELD: They were all in on it. Everybody standing around, everybody.
[20:55:00] And Daiwon McPherson who did the proposal said that he wanted this to be a social statement, specifically the message that police and
communities can work together. It doesn`t always have to be that video, it doesn`t always have to be something that we see and we`re devastated.
CRANSTON: Yeah, that`s nice.
BANFIELD: Which I thought was sweet. I have to see your reaction. Is this such a good idea?
CRANSTON: Yeah.
BANFIELD: For a woman, you know.
CRANSTON: The only bad part of the story is that she said no.
BANFIELD: She did not!
(CROSSTALK)
CRANSTON: I would marry you.
MARRIS: You better be sure. You better be sure that you`re getting a yes.
CRANSTON: That`s right.
BANFIELD: I have one thing to say to you about that -- Cranston!
CRANSTON: Cranston! Work faster.
BANFIELD: By the way, if you`re not busy for the next couple of years, you have a spot here.
CRANSTON: Yeah, I could provide the layman`s, you know.
BANFIELD: Far from it.
CRANSTON: Yeah.
BANFIELD: Far from a layman. You`re the every guy. Thank you, Bryan, it`s great to have you. Danny (inaudible), it`s great to have you guys. Thank
you, everyone, for watching. It has been great to have you with us. See you back here tomorrow night at 8:00 for PRIMETIME JUSTICE. Stay tuned, "THE
FORENSIC FILES" starts right now.
[21:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
