Defiant in court, a man who murdered one of the few US doctors who performed late-term abortions used his sentencing hearing to do what the judge wouldn’t let him do during his trial — justify his crime by describing abortion in gritty detail.
Scott Roeder was sentenced on Thursday to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 50 years, the harshest sentence possible under Kansas law for gunning down George Tiller in the foyer of the Wichita physician’s church in May last year.
“I stopped him so he could not dismember another innocent baby,” Roeder said. “Wichita is a far safer place for unborn babies without George Tiller.”
Roeder, 52, was also sentenced to an additional year in prison on each of two counts of aggravated assault for threatening two church ushers as he fled. With time off for good behavior, Roeder won’t be eligible for parole for 51 years and eight months.
An attorney for Tiller, speaking in court as a friend of the slain doctor, said the toughest sentence would discourage other anti-abortion zealots from attacking doctors. Tiller’s widow, Jeanne, cried as the sentence for murder was announced.
“We only can hope that this sentence will serve as a deterrent to those who have conspired and continue to conspire to murder abortion providers,” the Tiller family said in a statement. “Certainly everything possible should be done by the prison system to insure that this man does not continue to foment hatred and violence from his prison cell.”
Roeder said that he had chosen to obey “God’s law” to save babies.
“I did kill him. It was not a murder,” Roeder said. “If you were to obey the higher power of God himself, you would acquit me.”
Roeder also took the opportunity to describe abortion procedures in detail, which he had been forbidden from doing during his trial.
Most abortions are legal in Kansas, and prosecutors were careful not turn the trial into a referendum on the issue.
Roeder accused District Judge Warren Wilbert of “duplicity” and said his trial was a miscarriage of justice because he wasn’t allowed to present testimony then about the evils of abortion. He also said God’s judgment against the US will “sweep over this land like a prairie wind.”
“He will avenge every drop of innocent blood,” Roeder said.
Forty minutes into his remarks, Wilbert stopped Roeder as he was about to publicly attack District Attorney Nola Foulston.
“It is not a forum for you to get on a soapbox for you to give your entire political beliefs,” Wilbert told Roeder.
Roeder later interrupted Wilbert several times as the judge pronounced sentence.
When Wilbert read from a previous court decision saying that allowing vigilantism would promote chaos, Roeder said: “Baby murder is anarchy and chaos.”
As he was being led away in handcuffs after the sentencing, Roeder shouted: “Blood of babies on your hands.”
Roeder’s ex-wife said the outbursts were characteristic of the man she knew. Lindsey Roeder said she and their son, Nicholas, were relieved by the sentence.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was