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John Tanner says God and the law
are on his side in the holy war -
against obscenity
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2 FLORIDA MAGAZINE JULY 1, 1990
July 1, 1990 Volume 37, No. 26
CONTENTS
Smut buster*8
State attorney John Tanner sees pornography consuming this nation in
a hellish blaze, and he aims to stomp it out. His methods have drawn
ardent admirers, harsh critics and national attention. But he’s not
about to stop the fight. Not as long as he sees the fire still burning.
By Mike Thomas
Cover photo of John Tanner by Joe Burbank
The outlaw in-laws 18
He kept a respectful, even fearful, distance from his mother-in-law. But,
she wanted him dead, anyway. The reason? She didn’t like him. It
didn’t matter that her daughter loved him. But it did to police. They
taped the well-to-do South Florida woman as she hatched her plot.
By John deGroot and Barbara Walsh
DEPARTMENTS
Only in Florida 4
A few moments with 6
Letters 7
Footprints 2i
Table matters 27
Crossword puzzle 28
Florida fashion 29
Sunday at Bob’s 30
Sal Recchi, Editor; Jay Hamburg, Joyce Jones, Associate Editors; Santa
Choplin, Design Director; Mary Diaz, Art Director; Michael McLeod, Kate
Santich, Barbara Stewart, Mike Thomas, Staff Writers; Charles Fishman,
Susanne Hupp, Scott Joseph, Bob Morris, on Patteson, Contributing
Writers; Joan af Advertising Sales
Manager; Ted Gauvin, Suzan Goldin, rete Sales Representatives;
Robin C. Shank, Production.
Florida is the Sunday magazine of The Orlando Sentinel and is published weekly with the newspaper. Florida is
incorporating Fonda Sener ‘and Florida Satan a fopsoed radenag Sot.
‘nel Communications Co. Eten ad ava cffoes: 63 N. Grange Aven, ‘Orlando, Fla. 32801. rn
prohibited trademark of the Back Sopies may be purcnased at the Rader
ted Fyne a role ade newspaper. Back copies may be
ie desk at 89 NG ‘Avo. Lellers should be addressed to Florida magazine, P.O. Box 2603, Oreo, fe
me en Pc So ite
ov
THE FIRE ROARED
through the marsh, a
100-foot tall inferno
turning everything in
its path into a black-
ened wasteland.
Flames jumped from
treetop to treetop —
igniting them as if
they were giant wood-
en matches. Smoke
billowed for miles
around.
Hell was coming in
a hurry.
From his back yard
in rural Flagler Coun-
ty, John Tanner saw
the flames, coming
toward his house. He
saw it all) even though
no one else could see
one ember‘or spark.
What he saw was a
vision from God.
And so John Tanner
had a talk with the
devil that evening.
Burn my house, Tan-
ner told him, and Tl
double my contribution to the church building
fond. The house of God will rise that much faster.
It was the spring of 1985, when brush fires
raged through Flagler County, burning down
homes and shutting down highways. Strong winds
spread the flames through drought-dried woods.
The forestry service was powerless to stop them.
The fires marched east toward John Tanner’s
house. A friend told him he would lose his home.
And Tanner smiled.
“God won't let that
happen,” he said.
Then the fires
seemed to burn out.
But Tanner knew bet-
ter; he had his vision.
And so he went to the
hardware store to buy
hoses because God
helps those who help
themselves.
Sure enough, the
fires rekindled. They
swept through the
woods to the dried out
creek bed behind Tan-
ner’s house. He evacu-
ated his family and
took his hoses to fend
the flames from the
dock.
Firefighters in a
helicopter hovered
overhead, futilely ©
dumping water. The
black smoke sur-
rounded Tanner, and
the chopper pilot lost
sight of him.
His house was doomed. He would be, too, if he
didn’t get out of there.
Then the wind suddenly shifted to the south. It
blew the wall of flame right by Tanner’s house,
barely missing it. Later, a firefighter from the
helicopter went to Tanner’s home.
“We didn’t save your house,” he said. “God
saved it.”
He didn’t have to tell Tanner the obvious. Tan-
PHOTO BY MARK LOSEY
8 FLORIDA MAGAZINE JULY 1, 1990
FLORIDA MAGAZINE JULY 1,1999 9
ner says God. has helped him a
Jot since he was born again 11
years ago. God helped him
crawl out of the freezing moun-
tains when he lost touch with a
hunting party. God saved his
marriage. God re-introduced
Tanner to
God showed Tanner that
there was more to life than
John Tanner. And because of
that, he ran for the state attor-
ney’s office in 1988 and won
haridily. He took a sharp cut in
pay — but serving man goes
hand in hand with serving God.
Now, Tanner sees another
fire burning. It is. roaring
through our neighborhoods,
burning right into our homes. It
is much more dangerous than
the brush fires of 1985. This
fire destroys families and con-_
sumes women and children.
Tanner sees rape in ‘this fire,
and incest and even murder.
It is the fire of hard-core por-
nography. Tanner, the born-
again Christian, is outraged by
this evil fire. Tanner, the state
attorney, plans to extinguish it.
He is on a crusade against
pornography in his seventh cir-
cuit — encompassing Volusia,
Putnam, St. Johns’ and Flagler
counties — the likes of which
Florida has never | seen. Tt has
Tanner, standing in his back yard, is an avid bow hunter and outdoorsman.
attracted nati and has
made Tanner the most controversial state
attorney in Florida. .
There is no middle ground in this bat-
tle. You either support Tanner, or you
find him very dangerous.
Opponents say ‘Tanner is trying to cen-
sor people in their own living rooms.
"They accuse him of demagoguery, of try-
ing to cure the complex social problems of,
rape, incest, spouse abuse and child mo-
Jestation with a thinly veiled religious cru-
sade.
Criticism comes even from those who
Tanner says he is trying to protect.
“We are opposed to an individual using
the powers of state to impose religious
beliefs on others and making criminals of
people who don’t agree,” says Ellen
Hone, president of the Orlando chapter of
the National Organization for Women. “I
wish he’d protect us from real crimes like
rape, spouse abuse and-incest. We don’t
need to be protected from freedom.”
To his supporters, many of them con-
servative Christians, Tanner has become
a champion. Finally, they have a politician
who gives them more than lip service,
who agrees that lines-must be drawn in
what we see and hear or our society will
crumble as surely as Sodom and Gomor-
rah.
Tanner has drawn that line. To him,
any film depicting explicit scenes of sex-
ual intercourse is obscene and illegal.
“Tf regulating morality is legal; then
why do we regulate murder?” says the
Rev. George Crossley, a Christian radio
talk show host in Apopka. “He [Tanner] is
a man who is simply doing his job. He is
40 FLORIDA MAGAZINE JULY 1, 1990
‘This blaze
we've started in
the seventh
district will go
statewide and
consume the
nation.’
-John Tanner
standing up for Christians.”
Tanner is fighting hard. Some say he is
fighting dirty. He has threatened video
store owners who rent adult films with
racketeermg charges that would wipe out
their personal finances. He has used
grand juries to intimidate stores into re-
moving materials that have never been
found obscene by a jury.
Tanner smiles when asked about the
New Testament quote: “The meek shall
inherit the earth.”
He answers with the Old Testament:
“God created a great many strong war-
riors in his kingdom — David, Samson,
Joseph, Abraham. God’s people are full of
warrior leaders.”
Warriors like John Tanner.
“Tf I fight,” he says, “I fight to win.
“We are in a war we must win. I expect
this blaze we've started in the seventh
district will go statewide and consume the
nation.”
JOHN TANNER’S OFFICE LOOKS
like a scene out of the television series
Twin Peaks. There is a stuffed deer head
on the floor by his desk and.a stuffed elk
head resting in the corner. He killed the
elk and his daughter killed the deer. The
Tanner family puts its own meat on the
table; there is too much fat and too many
additives in store-bought beef.
Hanging on the wall is an oversized
picture of a surfer that seems out of place
in a state attorney's office. He is maneu-
vering on a sleek board with a towering
wave in hot pursuit. Leg muscles are
taut. Stomach is trim. This surfer is an
athlete. Closer inspection reveals this
surfer is John Tanner, 51. While he puts
in long hours at the job, there have been
many days when Tanner has come in late
or left early because the surf was up.
There are no diplomas, plaques, awards
or pictures of Tanner with governors and
senators hanging on the wall. There is no
mistaking what he takes the most pride
in,
“Tm athletic,” he says. “I have an ag-
gressive, competitive personality.”
Tanner was in the Army’s special
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forces. Now he goes off by himself for a
week to hunt in the rugged western
mountains with a bow. He competes in
triathalons where contestants swim, run
and bike long distances. And he snow skis
on the black-diamond slopes, the steepest
and most dangerous.
He became an attorney because fight-
ing in a courtroom fs “as high a combat
a civilized society allows to exist.”
nv hon he talks, there is never any
doubt, hesitation or reflection. He often
answers “absolutely” instead of yes. His
demeanor, his charisma, his good looks,
his ramrod straight posture remind. you
of Col. Oliver North.
This Tuesday morning, Tanner sits qui-
etly behind his office desk, across from
the surfing picture, reading pages. and
occasionally marking’ them with-a pen. He
doesn’t say hello or offer any coffee. He
simply begins the conversation in mid-
stride.
“This is like running an election cam-
paign,” he says, without looking up. “We
are dealing with an uneducated and un-
informed media. Until we can reveal the
truth to the media, we can’t educate the
people.”
He doesn’t say he is talking about por-
nography; that is taken for granted. He
finally looks up and smiles. It is a tight,
controlled smile, a Jimmy Carter smile.
Tanner is intense, as tight as the string
on his hunting bow.
Today, he has cleared his docket to talk
to a reporter. He doesn’t particularly care
for the “liberal” media, but it’s his only
tool to get out his anti-pornography mes-
sage.
“The publie thinks we are talking about Play-
boy bunnies dancing around with their tops off.
They don’t know what we are attacking — incest,
group sex, intercourse with dead turkey car-
casses. There is a film of men raping a woman in
the anus at knifepoint, and she calls the police
and then the police come and rape her and her
daughter. What in the world are people thinking
when they defend that as freedom of speech?”
~Hard-core pornography, he says,.causes “rape,
kidnapping and molestation and murder of wom-
en and children.
“Qne-hundred percent of pedophile cases in-
volves the use of pornography.”
Tanner,-has been accused-more than once of
exaggerating his case for shock value.
“Sometimes you look at John Tanner’s quotes
and think, ‘This guy is not thinking?” says Paul
Meredith, a former prosecutor under Tanner who
now is representing a video store: owner in the
obscenity battle.
“T looked at hundreds of child molestation
cases and three -had pornography involved in
them,” he says. “And one of those was pictures of
children in underwear from a [department store]
catalog. That is pornography to you-if you are a
pedophile.”
Tanner often refers to the scene with “dead
turkey carcasses,” giving the impression of a man
having sex with a recently killed bird. The scene
actually is a farcical one involving a Thanksgiv-
ing-style dinner.
Tn explaining why Volusia | has twice the per-
centage of sex offenses as Seminole,
crime against women?
“Absolutely. What else does it promote? That’s
all it promotes.”
Tamer takes a similarly hard stand against
violent movies, such as slasher films, but says he
can do. nothing about them because they do not
meet the Supreme Court definition of obscenity.
“Tf it was up to me, there would not be the
saturation of extreme violence and explicit ero-
tica blended together in a sick soup that is fed to
our nation as ent ” he says. “It is sub-
tle ‘and deadly. It is like cancer. But I only en-
force the laws as written. The American public
needs to govern itself, to. call advertisers and
television stations, and refuse to buy movie tick-
ets.
“Kids have become so inured to violence that
they. are killing for tennis. shoes and jackets,” he
says.
“The fact is we now are beginning to reap the
harvest of a totally entertainment
media. Slowly and surely the slime is creeping
over our knees and approaching our waist. If
someone doesn’t turn up the heat, the cesspool
will come over our nose and mouth and consume
us”
IT IS A LITTLE AFTER 7 AM. SATURDAY
and John Tanner has on his running shorts. Out-
side, the sun paints the rural surroundings with
an orange tint. It is peaceful and beautiful out
here in the woods where Tanner lives in a large,
home that sits on 40 acres.
Tanner says: “What that tells me is that Volu-
sians are going to Seminole County and getting
all fired up [at adult stores] and coming back to
rape our women and children.”
Says Randy Fisher, a psychology professor at.
University of Central Florida: “Fhat is one of the
dumbest things I've ever heard a public official
say.”
Fisher, who has studied pornography for 15
years, says violence, not depictions of graphic
‘sex, is what can incite violent sex erimes.
“Tn general, it seems pretty clear that non-vio-
lent pornography has minimal harmful effect,
probably no effect, to contributing to violent be-
havior,” Fisher says. “Violent, pornography, like
violent non-pornography, probably does encour-
age violent behavior, but even that link is a weak
one.”
Ninety to 95 percent of pornographic films
contain no violence, Fisher adds.
But Tanner tolerates no shades of gray in this
debate: Any graphic depiction of intercourse —
violent or otherwise — encourages sex crimes.
People who don’t recognize this, he says, are like
people who kept insisting the world was flat de-
Spite all evidence to the contrary.
People. get addicted to pornography, Tanner
says. They end up masturbating a dozen times a
day while watching films. Soon, they no longer
are content to watch the action and go act out
their fantasies. Pornography feeds minds like
mass killer Ted Bundy’s. It pushes warped minds
over the edge and even can twist normal minds.
The same applies to some musie, such as that
produced by the rap group 2 Live Crew.
“You can hear a woman being beaten, blows.
landing, hear her moaning and groaning and beg-
ging for mercy,” he says of a 2 Live Crew song.
“And then you hear her adoration and total sub-
mission and enjoyment of violent assault. It per-
petuates the rape myth. After you force them,
they love it.”
But can such musie actually cause violent
For neighbors, Tanner has a herd of deer and
some alligators, one of which ate one of his dogs
a while back. There also is the occasional rattle-
snake.
The inside of the house is spacious and cozy.
Despite his strong religious beliefs, there are no
crosses or other icons visible. it seems.
that Tanner belongs to a denomination dedicated
to guns and surfing. There is a large rack: of ri-
fles in the living room, along. with a bevy of tro-
phies that his daughters have won in surfing
competitions.
Tanner is ing ready for a 5-mile run, but
first he must do his chores. He goes out to the
small barn and digs out some oats for the fam-
ily’s four horses. Grace the cat watches. Tanner
found him as a kitten in the middle of the high-
way and named him Grace because by the grace
of God, Grace is alive.
Then Tanner gets breakfast for Orville Piggen-
bacher, a wild boar that the family found when it
was newborn and has raised to its current size of
about 70 pounds.
Soon Orville will sprout tusks and that’s when
Tanner will release him to the wild. Tanner can
be compassionate and warm hearted. But he also
has no qualms about pulling back the bowstring.
So, Orville better watch out after he’s released or
Tanner may not recognize the pig when he’s out
hunting and bring it back to the dinner table.
With the animals fed, Tanner takes off for a
run with his dog and a guest. He trots along at
about an 8-minute-a-mile pace, talking easily the
entire time.
After the run, he gets on a bicycle and begins
eranking. Zipping along deserted roads, he talks
about his disdain for the modern politician, the
fence sitter who consults polls before making a
decision. There is a generation of followers hold-
ing office, he says. A politician should take a
stand, establish a record and give the people
something to hang their vote on in the next elec-
tion.
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FLORIDA MAGAZINE JULY 1,1990 14
Modern politicians’ aré soft. They are
indecisive. They are scared of their own
shadows. They are everything that this
man pedaling at-20 mph is not.
A politician would not have prayed with
and counseled serial killer Ted Bundy.
But Tanner did it-and made no apologies,
despite cries for a recall election and even
death threats. It was the Christian thing
to do, he says.
Tanner talked Bundy into confessing to
other murders before the killer’s execu-
tion in the electric chair — a feat that
teams of investigators spent years trying
to do. He still speaks fondly of Bundy and
believes the serial murderer repented his
crimes.
A follower would not have taken on
Amtrak. For years, its trains dumped raw
sewage along tracks across the United
States. Tanner was the first to challenge
the practice, successfully prosecuting the
railroad company for dumping sewage in
the St. Johns River.
And then came the pornography battle,
which promises to become the corner-
stone of Tamer’s term as state attorney.
He realizes his outspoken position could
be political suicide, yet he won’t back
down.
When critics such as the American Civ-
il Liberties Union accused him of mixing
religion and government, Tanner an-
swered them by appearing on the evening
news in a Baptist church giving a sermon
about the evils of pornography. He
seemed to be taunting them.
some raising “God is for John Tanner”
signs, the state attorney said, “Those who
would continue to lead this community
and this nation into everlasting darkness
have wakened a-sleeping giant — God's
Army.”
‘Aner Tanner finishes biking, he is
scheduled to attend an anti-pornography
rally with his wife, Marsha. That is why
he got up so early for his workout. The
rally is sponsored by various churches
and the American Family Association, a
national Christian organization that be-
lieves even magazines such as Playboy
should be banned.
valle rally is in response to an earlier
rally staged by video store owners op-
posed to Tanner. More than 1,000 attend-
ed that one. Some protesters doctored
pictures of Tanner, making him look, like
Adolph Hitler. Others wore Nazi uni-
forms.
Tanner’s supporters decided to fight
rally with rally.
There are about 1,500 people waiting to
cheer Tanner at the county courthouse in
DeLand. They are standing out in the hot
sun to welcome one of their own. A man
holds a sign that proclaims, “Pornography
will bring the judgment of God down on
the nation.” ’
Their leader, standing in the heat and
dehydrated from his workout, tells them
what they want to hear: “This nation is in
a sea of filth. Folks, we just pulled the
‘As the church congregation cheered, ~
John Tanner and his wife, Marsha.
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They clap and-shout their ap-
proval. But one man, shaking
and nervous, approaches Tan-
ner afterward to say he dis-
agrees and will do everythi
possible in 1992 to see he is not
re-elected.
Later, Tanner says, “I feel so
sorry for that man. I think he is
addicted to pornography.”
JOHN TANNER SAYS
there is a great misconception
when it comes to the issue of
free speech and hard-core por-
nography. It is this: The U.S.
Supreme Court has ruled that
obscenity is. not protected by
the First Amendment.
The court’s definition of ob-
scenity leaves plenty of room
for debate. Basically, it is that.
pornographic material that vio-
lates.a community's standards
of decency, has no artistic value
and appeals only to prurient in-
terests is illegal. ~
Tanner says he.is not threat-
ening free speech. That’s a
smoke screen put out there by
the smut dealers, a noble ban-
ner to wrap around the garbage
they pedal. Tanner says he sim-
ply is enforcing the law.
He also is quick to point out
that state attorneys. have been
prosecuting obscenity cases for
years, and that several commu-
nities — including Jacksonville
— prohibit the sale or rental of
adult videos. Deputies in
Broward County recently ar-
rested two members of 2 Live
Crew on obscenity charges and
their album, As Nasty As They
Wanna Be, has been banned in
Broward County.
His is not a one-man crusade,
Tamner says.
But no other elected official
has taken such a high public
profile against pornography or
used such relentless, some say
illegal, tactics.
Those who know Tanner are
not surprised by his approach.
Before taking over the state at-
torney’s office in 1989, Tanner
spent 21 years as a very suc-
cessful defense attorney. He
was known for innovative and
ssive pursuit of his clients’
interests.
His strategy was to attack, to
put the prosecution on the de-
fensive.
In one highly publicized case,
he successfully defended Volu-
sia judge Wiley Clayton in 1986
and 1987 against 23 misde-
meanor and two felony charges
of abusing his office. Tanner
blasted prosecutors, saying the
charges were politically moti-
vated and “the worst abuse of
the criminal justice system I
have ever observed.”
Says Mike Lambert, a former
prosecutor who went head to
head with Tanner in several
cases before, joining him as a
law partner: “He never gave up
on-a client. If he lost, he’d ap-
peal. And if he lost that, he’d
still keep dealing with you to
get a better sentence. Finally
you'd go along with him just to
get the case behind you,
to get him out of there.
a prosecutor from Tanner's of-
fice sent a letter to a Palatka
video store warning it about 10
R-rated videos and one PG-13
video, including movies such as
Pink Floyd’s The Wall. While
Tanner says the letter was
iled without his permission,
store owner Wayne Spillers has
removed the movies from his
shelves. -
“Tf you got threatened by the
state attorney’s office wouldn't
you take them off the shelf?”
Spillers says. “If you were a
video store owner, what would
you do?”
Spillers’ attorney, Paul Mere-
dith, who used to work for Tan-
ner in the state attorney’s of-
fice, says his former boss is
abusing the system.
“What he is doing is illegal,”
says Meredith, who filed a law
suit challenging Tanner’s use of
the grand jury. “If someone is
breaking the law, you arrest
them — you don’t threaten
them. Tanner doesn’t want to
prosecute these cases because
he can’t win.”
Even Tanner’s friend and
former law partner, Mike Lam-
bert, doesn’t believe non-violent
pornography would be found
obscene in a courtroom.
Very few lawyérs would
do that.
“He has one of the best
legal minds I’ve ever had
the privilege of working
with.”
Today, Tanner’s No. 1
client is the anti-pornogra-_
phy movement.
The usual procedure for
tackling a pornography
case would be to arrest a
video store owner, charge
him or her with selling ob-
scene material and go to
trial. Then a jury would
decide whether the mate-
rial was obscene.
Such cases are tough to
win because there must be
a unanimous decision by
the jury. And if prosecu-
tors lose, they are hard
pressed to pursue similar
cases because a precedent
has been set that the ma-
terial does not violate the
community standard.
Tanner took a different
tact. His goal was to get
store owners to remove
adult videos and record-
ings voluntarily, thereby
avoiding the courtroom al-
together. He used grand
juries to do this. With
prosecutors presenting all
the evidence to jurors,
Tanner's’ office got grand
juries in each of the four
counties of his circuit to
report that several videos
and rap recordings were
obscene.
Tanner then warned
merchants that they
would be prosecuted for
selling any material on the
list or any material like it.
He has threatened them
with an anti-racketeering
law designed to punish
members of big-time
criminal organizations by
taking all money and pos-
sessions they may have
gained through illegal
acts.
His offensive is aimed
at mom-and-pop neighbor-
hood video stores as well
as stores that deal only in
adult materials. In one
overly zealous move,
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Tanner draws enthusiatie supporters for crusade.
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-J ohn Tanner
“T think if he [Tanner] pros-
ecutes a film that simply shows
explicit heterosexual sex, the
jury will find it not offensive,”
he says. “The thing that both-
ers me is people are afraid of
him. They think Tanner is a
madman. They need to go toe-
to-toe with him and get this re-
solved, to not be afraid of be-
ing prosecuted.”
That day may be coming
soon. Tanner finally had two
video store owners in Volusia
arrested for renting obscene
movies. He charged them after
they demanded he return
tapes that his office confiscated
to show to the grand jury. This
may be the ultimate test on
how far Tanner will be able to
take his obscenity war.
“Lose the case?” he says.
“No way. Sex with a turkey
carcass. Anal rape. I could get
six video store owners to agree
that’s obscene.”
JOHN TANNER WAS A
college freshman when he saw
his first adult film.
“I was truthfully shocked
id disgusted,” he says. “The
ladies were all fat and wearing
black garters and stockings.
There was penetration and
masturbation and ejaculation.
It was disgusting. It turned me
off totally. It offended the ba-
sic core of my being. It was not
something of interest to a nor-
mal, healthy male.”
This was years before Tan-
ner became a born-again
Christian. And now, despite his
eburch sermon about pornog-,
raphy rousing the wrath of
God’s army, he says his battle
has nothing to’ do with religion.
© Tt is a legal issue, he says, and
an issue of protecting women
and children.
“What if I were an orthodox
Jew or a committed Catholic?”
he says. “Would there be the
same hysterical outery? I dare
. say they would not be saying,
+ ‘He’s.an orthodox Jew, that’s
why he’s doing this.”
“It is popular in the press to
beat up on fundamentalist
Christians. I don’t consult the
Bible for legal precedents or
for my role as a prosecutor.
The fact that my moral and re-
ligious views are consistent
with the law presents no con-
flict for me. I believe I would
have come to the same conclu-
sion about pornography if I
was a or not.”
When Tanner, became a
Christian 11 years ago, he was
a hotshot defense attorney
bringing in the big bucks, liter-
ally cruising the fast lane in a
Porsche.. He worked long
hours and stopped at bars on
the way home for a drink with
He spent scant time with his
wife, Marsha, and his daugh-
ters, Carmel and Lisa.
“We were on the verge of a
divorce because of my failure
as a husband and father,” he
says. “Building a career Wok
precedence over everything,
including my family. I was a
total success in the eyes of the
world and a total failure in the
eyes of my family and God,
and I didn’t even know it.”
Marsha Tanner her
husband’s hectic and high-
stress schedule was pushing
? him toward an early grave.
“T told him that me and my
next husband are going to en-
joy all these things you have
bought for us,” she says.
About 12 years ago, Tanner
even defended an adult theater
against obscenity charges. He
lost. “I was doing okay until
the man fin the film] urinated
on a woman’s head,” Tanner
says.
Shortly afterward, Tanner
says,he had a “night of enlight-
enment” that is too personal to
discuss. He did, however, talk
about it in an article in Charis-
ma & Christian Life magazine
last year.
Tanner told the magazine he
was saying a bedtime prayer
with his daughter when he felt
the power of God come over
him and he was temporarily
blinded. God rebuked him for
the way he was’ raising: his
children, telling Tanner that,
he was a-failure for not teach-
ing them the spiritual side of
life.
Tanner began going to
church and-in the ensuing
months was born again.
John and Marsha rekindled
their relationship as a result.
“She is my best. friend,” he
says. And then, passing-on the
ultimate compliment,:“She can
hit a dime at 50 yards with a
muzzle loader [flintlock rifle].”
In 1985, Tanner says, he and
Mike Lambert agreed not to
defend any more obscenity
eases. Lambert, however, tells
the story a bit differently.
“Quite frankly, I took the
cases,” he says. “We agreed I
would do them-under my
name, not the firm’s name. We
split the business 50-50. But he
‘said to keep the money from
these cases for yourself. He
didn’t want any money from it.
It shocked me because John
Tanner loves a dollar.”
Tanner had taken his stand
against pornography before
meeting Ted Bundy, Lambert
says. But his convictions be-
came that much stronger after
Bundy told him how pornogra-
phy fueled his violent ram-
pages.
“That’s when it settled in
with him, when it became-an
obsession to correct it,” Lam-
will, says
Tanner. Regardless of the
criticism. Regardless of the po-
litical fallout.
“T have attracted a great
deal of scorn, anger and ha-
tred, not only from the pornog-
raphers but unfortunately
from genuinely concerned citi-
zens who are misinformed as
to the law and effect of por-
nography,” he says.
“That saddens me. Some
people think I want to take
away their rights. If I had five
minutes, I could convince them
I am doing what the law re-
quires and it is good for them
and the community.” |
Mike Thomas is a writer for
the magazine.
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Ht, 8. [DIST LIIIIS eee _ By
PM-Bundy-Tanners 310
Tanner Denies He Was Trvine To Delay Bundy Execution
d44érw-r1h
TIAYTONA BEACH, Fla. ~~ (AP) ~- State Attorney John Tanners
whe has visited with susrected serial killer Ted Bundy So
times in the past twa vears, has denied reports that he is
treving ta delay Bundy’s scheduled @xecution.
Bundy’s defense attorneys were pressing his final appeals
through the courts seeking ta stop their client’s execution
Tuesday for the 1979 murder af Lake City Junior high schaal
student Kimberly Leach.
Tanner said his effarts to get a message to authorities
that Bundy is willing to talk about unsolved cases to palice
have been miscartrued.
Bundy, 42. once named as a suspect in the disaprearances
ef 34 vouns women, also is under a death sentence for the
danuary 1978 slaving of two sorority sisters at Florida State
University.
The Prosecuter said he had visited Bundy as part of a
prison ministry and he said Bundy asked him to relay the
request for “*adeauate time’ ta talk about other cases,
believing that Tanner’s pasitioan as a state attorney would
carry more clout than if it was delivered by a defense
attorney.
Tanner said Bundy did not discuss how much time he neededs
be he added that he condemned inmate didn’t get adeauate
time, he would say nothing.
Tanner, whe became state attorney in Daytona Beach this
month, said relavine Bundy’s message throush the Florida
Kepartment af Law Enforcement was miscantrued as being a Plea
to delay the execution.
Bob Cummings, assistant commissioner of the FOLE said
Wednesday that Tanner had Jokinaly told him Bundy might need
““two am three vears’* ta discuss the other cases.
“*T wish IT hadn“t said that. I told Cummings IT was not
negotiating for Theedore Bundy: but that I’m sure Bundy would
want two or three years,“ Tanner said.
Meanwhile, Bundy did agree ta meets beginning teday, with
Police officials from the Northwest.
SALAZAR -MH-O1-20 LOZ4EST
The Orlando Sentinel
Saturday, January 28, 1989
Tanner won’t
pray again
with inmates
By Cindy Schreuder
OF THE SENTINEL STAFF
HOLLY HILL — State Attorney
John Tanner said Friday he has
quit the prison ministry program
that led him to pray with serial
killer Ted Bundy because the
work made some constituents un-
comfortable.
Hundreds of phone calls and
letters from people questioning
Tanner’s involvement with Bundy
have come to Tanner’s Daytona
Beach office, he said. Although
the reaction has turned from neg-
ative to “90: percent positive,”
‘Tanner said he will no longer pray
with prisoners.
“A small percentage of the pub-
lic-is uncomfortable with it,” said
Tanner, a born-again Christian
who has been state attorney for
about a month. “They feel it’s
somehow inappropriate.
“T think public perception and
trust is absolutely essential,” Tan-
ner said. “I want to keep public
confidence in the office.”
While Bundy
was on death
Tanner’s wife,
Marsha, some-
times accompa-
nied him.
Bundy invited
Tanner to visit
him after Tanner wrote him let-
ters as part of his prison ministry.
Last week, Bundy told Tanner
he was ready to confess to mur-
ders and asked the state attorney
to contact law enforcement agen-
cies. Bundy was electrocuted
Tuesday for slaying 12-year-old
Kimberly Leach of Lake City. Be-
fore his death, he confessed to 23
murders,
He was a suspect in other cases,
however. Bundy’s lawyer James
Coleman has said that since 1986,
his client has confessed to “two or
. Please see TANNER, D-7
Tanner
Scientist investigates
lagoon’s slimy pg
J
x+k The Orlando Sentinel, Saturday, January 28, 19g
TANNER
From D-1
three dozen” murders in priva
hb torneys and F
role in Bundy’
, said Martinez still
has confidence in him, On Thur:
day, the governor’ ce asked
Tanner to prosecute a case in an-
1it because the state at-
torney there has a conflict of in;
t.
's certainly clear evidence the
or has no less confidence in
me than in any other state attor-
y,” ¥ 0 declined
al circuit the
in or other details.
“Jon Peck, the governor’s press
unavailable for
Tanner would handle the other
ircuit’ in addition to serv-
ing as state attorney for the 7th
Judicial Circuit, which includes
Volusia, Flagler, Putnam and St.
Johns counties.
fter Bundy’s execution, Tan-
‘aid he received calls from the
Bundy is believed to have
The most heartbreaking call came
from Beverly and Donald Burr,
Id daughter disap-
's ago. At the time.
al
14, and living just 2
y either could not or
ide information about |
the child, Ann Marie. “Apparently,
there was no answer,” Tanner
families needed the information
only Bundy could have provided,
“ “That killing was more than 25
s ago, and those peopl il
haven't t been able to put it asi
Tan id.
Tanner
in Bundy’s ay during a
meeting of the V st ia County po-
though collat
been a result.
He asked the chie:
his role to their police officer:
“Please tell your people, because I |
need their support,” he said. “I
need their tru
ork
Sq
Linij
“| Keane:
FURNITURE S SINCE 9
2nd protest over state attorney’s actions attracts small crowd |
By Pat LaMee
(OF THE SENTINEL STAFF
ORMOND BEACH — About two dozen Volu-
sia County residents attended a rally Sunday
to protest State Attorney John Tanner’s in-
volvement with convicted killer Ted Bundy,
who was executed last Tuesd.
‘The small attendance at her second rally
didn’t stop Peggy Barbee, 48, of Ormond
Beach, from planning a third protest for 2 p.m.
Saturday. Barbee said the protest may lead to
a recall attempt.
“We didn’t have a great turnout ...,” Barbee
said. “Last week the storm limited the crowd,
but today’s small gathering is probably be-
cause I live way out west of town.”
Saturday’s protest will be at the Daytona
Beach courthouse annex on Orange Avenue,
she said. That was the site of the first rally a
week ago where a few protesters gathered in
stormy weather.
“Pye had calls from Putnam County all the
way south to New Smyrna Beach from people
who want to protest Tanner’s working with
Bundy,” Barbee said. “He’s elected to pros-
ecute killers, not to help them get off or delay
their execution.”
Tanner said Sunday that he didn’t know the
group was meeting and that he had been in-
formed of the first rally by his staff. He said he
was not invited to s oeak at either gathering
and spent Sunday at the beach with his fam-
ly.
“Tf the first one was too rainy, I guess this
one was too sunny,” Tanner said of the rallies.
The state attorney has denied any effort to
delay or stop Bundy’s execution. While Bundy
was on death row, Tanner, a born-again Chris-
tian, visited him about 50 times to pray and
read the Bible. Tanner’s wife, Marsha, some-
times accompanied him. Bundy invited Tan-
ner to visit him after Tanner wrote him letters
as part of his prison ministry. Tanner became
involved in the prison ministry while he was a
private defense lawyer. He was elected state
attorney in November, after defeating 20-year
incumbent Stephen Boyles.
Two weeks ago, Bundy told Tanner he
was ready to confess to murders and asked the
state attorney to contact law enforcement
| If the first one [rally
date] was too rainy, |
guess this one was
too sunny.
— John Tanner
agencies. Before he was executed last week for
the murder of 12-year-old Kimberly. Leach of
Lake City, Bundy had confessed to 23 mur-
ders.
Tanner’ has said he visited Bundy to help
him make peace with God. He said his motiva-
tion to get the confessions was to provide
some peace of mind for families of murdered
women.
Tanner announced Friday that he will stop
his prison ministry because he said the work
made some of his constituents unhappy.
But on Sunday, Barbee said the protest will
not be dropped because of Tanner’s announce-
ment
That's all talk,” she said. “I don’t think
he’ll change. If he is the true Christian he
says, he won't drop his religious beliefs.”
