May 21, 2001--
The most famous person in Utah, for today at least, is polygamist Tom Green.
Or, as he says, perhaps he's the most infamous.
He's been in non-stop media interviews all day long, following his polygamy conviction last Friday night.
News Specialist John Hollenhorst has been following the media barrage.
Perhaps there's so much interest because of the complex social, moral and legal questions in the trial.
Or maybe it's just the novelty, the bizarreness, the quirkiness of the story.
Whatever the reason, it was hard to turn on a TV in America today without seeing Tom Green.
Tom Green was on the go all day, shuttling from one interview
to another.
He and various wives were on CNN.
The Today Show.
And just about every other network, commenting on his religious convictions and his court conviction.
We caught up with him between networks.
TOM GREEN/CONVICTED POLYGAMIST: "I THINK THAT THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE IN THIS STATE THAT WOULD BE VERY HAPPY IF TOM GREEN WAS LOCKED UP DURING THE OLYMPICS. AND IT LOOKS LIKE IT MIGHT GO THAT WAY."
He's no stranger to publicity. Tapes from the 1990's were played as evidence in court.
NBC Dateline.
Jerry Springer.
Judge Judy.
French TV. 1999.
SCENES FROM FRENCH TV, 1999: "THIS IS SHIRLEY. MY SECOND WIFE."
"I'M HANNA. I'M THE 5TH AND AT THE MOMENT I'M THE LAST. AND I MARRIED HIM WHEN I WAS 14."
Utah's best known groom was even on Japanese TV a couple years ago.
Today, Utah's image and Tom Green's crime were fused together
again in a wall-to-wall media chitchat. When Green was tied up somewhere else, various experts weighed in.
FROM CNN'S "BURDEN OF PROOF": "HE'S HAD HIS 15 MINUTES OF FAME AND I THINK THAT'S WHY HE WAS PROSECUTED."
REV. LOU SHELDON/TRADITIONAL VALUES COALITION: "AND THE BIBLE AS A WHOLE DOES NOT ALLOW FOR POLYGAMY."
HELEN FISHER/ANTHROPOLOGIST: "VERY DEFINITELY WHEN PEOPLE SAY THERE'S A LOT OF JEALOUSY INVOLVED, THERE IS. I'M NOT SURE THAT THE HUMAN ANIMAL IS REALLY BUILT TO SHARE VERY EASILY."
TV anchors weighed in with their two cents.
MATT LAUER/NBC TODAY SHOW: "AND BECAUSE YOU'VE SPOKEN OUT AND THE OLYMPICS OF COURSE ARE COMING TO SALT LAKE CITY, THE LAST THING PEOPLE THERE WANT ARE STORIES AND JOKES ABOUT POLYGAMISTS AND MULTIPLE MARRIAGES."
And callers had their moments, too.
PHONE CALLER: "HE IS NOT WHAT YOU WOULD CALL A MORMON. HE CANNOT BE. HE WOULD BE EXCOMMUNICATED."
So, will all that publicity help Tom Green win on appeal?
TOM GREEN: "PROBABLY NOT. BUT IF I GO DOWN, I'M GOING TO GO DOWN SWINGING."
Green did his first TV interview 14 years ago, right here on Channel Five. He says all he ever wanted to do was to get people to understand his side of the story. Today he definitely had his chance to get that message out.
NBC Interview Transcript
Deseret News
Green Trial Stories
