20/20 9/28 on ABC

ABC News’ ‘Truth and Lies: Jonestown, Paradise Lost,’ Airs Friday, Sept. 28

Sept. 18, 2018

ABC NEWS PRESENTS DOCUMENTARY ON 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF JONESTOWN, THE LARGEST MURDER-SUICIDE IN AMERICAN HISTORY

Seventh Installment of the No. 1-Rated ‘Truth and Lies’ Series Features New Interviews
With Jim Jones’ Two Surviving Sons and Former Members

‘Truth and Lies: Jonestown, Paradise Lost’ Airs Friday, Sept. 28 (8:00 – 10:00 p.m. EDT), on ABC

ABC News presents a documentary on the 40th anniversary of the largest murder-suicide in American history when over 900 members of the Peoples Temple, living in what was known as the Jonestown settlement in Guyana, consumed a deadly cyanide-laced drink on the orders of leader Jim Jones. The special documents the tragedy through the lens of Jones’ two surviving sons, Jim Jones Jr. and Stephan Jones, featuring new interviews in which they open up about their father, regrets and forgiveness. By piecing together rare video, audiotapes and FBI documents – declassified in just the past decade – diaries and letters from those who died in the murder-suicide, and archival footage, ABC News explores the lingering questions about Jones, his religious and social justice movement, and the horrific events that unfolded on Nov. 18, 1978. “Truth and Lies: Jonestown, Paradise Lost” airs Friday, Sept. 28 (8:00–10:00 p.m. EDT), on ABC.

The special includes new interviews with former members including Deborah Layton, a defector who wrote “Seductive Poison: A Jonestown Survivor’s Story of Life and Death in the Peoples Temple”; Leslie Wagner-Wilson, who fled through the jungle with her young child the morning the massacre happened; Yulanda Williams, who discusses how Jonestown was not the paradise she was promised; and Laura Johnston Kohl, who explains how she was able to overlook red flags within the group. The documentary also reports on the shocking murder of U.S. Congressman Leo Ryan who came to Jonestown the day before the massacre with a news crew in an attempt to assist people who may have been held against their will.

In 1955, the Peoples Temple was founded by Jones in Indianapolis, Indiana. After undergoing significant criticism, the organization relocated to San Francisco where Jones became a political force. However, after allegations of abuse were raised about the organization, Jones once again moved the group, this time to the jungles of Guyana. He preached to his followers that they would build a utopia – known as Jonestown – that would be free of violence, racism and oppression from the U.S. government. 

Jonestown turned out to be the exact opposite of paradise. Members were forced to work in fields and were harshly punished if they questioned Jones. Over time, Jones began to compare himself to Jesus and became paranoid that the media, government and others were out to get him. The day of the massacre, Jones ordered his followers to commit a “revolutionary act” in an attempt to convince everyone that consuming the poisonous mixture wasn’t suicide and instead had a greater, more profound meaning. Jones was found dead with a gunshot wound to the head, most likely self-inflicted.  

The documentary on Jonestown is the seventh installment of the No. 1-rated “Truth and Lies” series. Launched by ABC News in 2017, the first six specials were on the Menendez brothers, Charles Manson, Watergate, Laci Peterson, Waco and Tonya Harding.

The special is produced by ABC News. David Sloan is senior executive producer. Muriel Pearson is executive producer.

ABC News’ ‘20/20’ Airs Friday, Sept. 28, on ABC

Sept. 27, 2018

‘20/20’ TRAVELS ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND TO CHINA INVESTIGATING FENTANYL, THE DRUG THAT KILLED PRINCE AND HAS BEEN LINKED TO THOUSANDS OF DEATHS NATIONWIDE

Hour Features First Interview With Prince’s Half-Sister on His Death

‘20/20’ Airs Friday, Sept. 28 (10:01 – 11:00 p.m. EDT), on ABC

Music superstar Prince’s death shocked the world when he overdosed on counterfeit prescription pills, made of the synthetic opioid fentanyl. Over two years later, deaths from similar black market pills continue to plague the country. ABC News correspondent Bob Woodruff investigates the crisis by shedding light on families who have lost loved ones to fentanyl and traveling to China in search of some of the undercover labs that are responsible for online sales and shipping the drug to the United States. “20/20” also features a rare interview with Prince’s half-sister, Sharon Nelson, who opens up for the first time on what killed him and her family’s crusade to find the source of his deadly pills. “20/20” airs Friday, Sept. 28 (10:01 – 11:00 p.m. EDT), on ABC.

Woodruff investigates online fentanyl sales, goes on a ride-along with authorities in Lawrence, Massachusetts, who are cracking down on fentanyl street sales and to John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City where customs agents are fighting a nonstop battle to detect incoming packages of fentanyl.

“20/20” tells the stories of Tosh Ackerman, Catherine Brady and Tiffanie Scott, all of whom took what appeared to be anti-anxiety pills or painkillers that turned out to be counterfeits made with fentanyl. Ackerman, 29, from Santa Cruz took what he believed was a Xanax. The next morning, he was found dead due to the fake pill. In Kissimmee, Florida, Brady was found dead inside boyfriend Eric Falkowski’s home. After her death, authorities discovered bags of bogus pills and raw fentanyl powder inside the residence, evidence of Falkowski’s counterfeit pill operation. After being released on bail, Falkowski fled to a town outside Nashville, Tennessee, and re-started pill production. Shortly after his arrival in Tennessee, 20 overdose calls were made in a 24-hour period in the nearby town of Murfeesboro. Authorities traced the outbreak to Falkwoski and an accomplice.

 “20/20” is anchored by David Muir and Amy Robach. David Sloan is senior executive producer.