Dr. James Dobson to Discuss 20th Anniversary of Ted Bundy's Final Interview

January 21, 2009

Colorado Springs, Colo. – Focus on the Family founder and chairman James C. Dobson, Ph.D., is scheduled to appear on Friday’s edition of the new Fox program “Glenn Beck” to discuss his historic final interview with Ted Bundy.

Friday marks the 20th anniversary of Dobson’s Jan. 23, 1989, conversation with Bundy, one of the most notorious serial killers in American history. The interview took place on the eve of Bundy’s execution in a Florida state prison.

“My purpose in going on Glenn’s show is to discuss the reason why Bundy chose me for his final interview when every major news anchor at every TV network was jostling for an exclusive with him,” Dobson said. “Bundy wanted to talk about the role media violence and particularly violent, hard-core pornography had played in his years-long killing spree, and he knew the mainstream media wouldn’t report that story.”

Bundy took care not to blame his murderous actions on his addiction to pornography – but made clear it played a significant role in his crimes.

“Pornography can reach out and snatch a kid out of any house today. It snatched me out of my home 20, 30 years ago,” he told Dobson. “I’ll tell you, there are lots of other kids playing in streets around the country who are going to be dead tomorrow and the next day and the next day and next month, because other young people are reading the kinds of things and seeing the kinds of things that are available in the media today.”

“Sadly, Bundy was right,” Dobson said. “Pornography has been found in the possession of almost every killer where sex was the motivation, including two of the most notorious serial killers of the last two decades: Green River Killer Gary Leon Ridgway and BTK Killer Dennis Rader.

“No, not everyone who uses pornography becomes a murderer, but there are serious consequences to pornography addiction. Studies done since my conversation with Bundy have documented corrosive effects on marriages and families, such as increased marital distress and risk of separation and divorce; decreased marital intimacy and sexual satisfaction; and a devaluation of monogamy, marriage and child-rearing."

In addition to footage already made public through Focus on the Family’s 1989 release of a videotape called “Fatal Addiction," the ministry has made available to Beck’s production team never-before-seen footage from Dobson’s interview with Bundy.

“We found some very interesting segments in the vaults featuring Bundy talking in more detail about the things that fuel a serial killer’s actions,” said Gary Schneeberger, vice president of media and public relations for Focus on the Family. “It is our hope that ‘Glenn Beck’ will show some of this footage to reinforce the truth Bundy spoke two decades ago – pornography is corrosive to individuals and to society.”

About Focus on the Family: Reaching more than 220 million people in 155 nations, Focus on the Family is a Christian nonprofit organization dedicated to helping families thrive worldwide. Founded in 1977, Focus on the Family provides practical tools, spiritual resources and emotional support to families at every stage of life. Focus on the Family is online at www.focusonthefamily.com.