Scott Roeder Charged In George Tiller Killing

WICHITA, Kan. — An activist abortion opponent was charged Tuesday with first-degree murder in the death of late-term abortion provider Dr. George Tiller, and the prosecutor said the evidence in the case ruled out the death penalty. Scott Roeder, 51, was shown via a video link from the Sedgwick County Jail. He fiddled with the charging documents on a podium in front of him, and said "OK" three times as Judge Ben Burgess read the charges and explained the court process.

Burgess ordered Roeder to be held without bond and said he was not allowed to communicate with Tiller's family or two witnesses he allegedly assaulted. The judge told Roeder that he would be assigned a public defender.

"And I'll obviously be hearing from one of those lawyers between now _ or do you know how long it will be before I hear from one of those lawyers?" Roeder said.

Within two days, the judge answered to Roeder's only question in the brief appearance. A preliminary hearing is set for June 16.

Attorney Mark Orr with the Sedgwick County public defender's office said it had just been the assigned the case and had not had a chance to talk to Roeder yet.

If convicted on the murder charge, Roeder would face a mandatory life sentence and would not be eligible for parole for at least 25 years.

Sedgwick County District Attorney Nola Foulston would not release any details of the crime at a news conference after the hearing, but said evidence against Roeder ruled out the death penalty.

Kansas law requires that special circumstances exist for a defendant to be eligible for the death penalty. Such circumstances include the killing of a law officer, more than one person or a victim kidnapped for ransom or rape, or killed in murder for hire.

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In March, Roeder attended at least one day of Tiller's trial on misdemeanor counts, Operation Rescue president Troy Newman said Tuesday. Tiller was acquitted on 19 counts of failing to obtain a second, independent opinion before performing late-term abortions.

Roeder wore an anti-abortion T-shirt, which a court officer had him cover up.

"He was some guy on the fringe," Newman said. "Nobody knew him all that well other than his name."

Roeder is accused of shooting Tiller to death Sunday at the doctor's Lutheran church in Wichita as he was serving as an usher. Roeder also was charged with aggravated assault for allegedly threatening two people who tried to stop him.

Roeder was arrested about three hours after the shooting near Gardner, about 170 miles northeast of Wichita. His last known address is in Kansas City, Mo.

Roeder's family life began unraveling more than a decade ago when he got involved with anti-government groups, his former wife, Lindsey Roeder, told The Associated Press.

"The anti-tax stuff came first, and then it grew and grew. He became very anti-abortion," said Lindsey Roeder, who was married to Scott Roeder for 10 years but "strongly disagrees with his beliefs." They divorced in 1996 and have one son, now 22.

Roeder's brother, David, also said he suffered from mental illness at various times in his life.

Someone using the name Scott Roeder posted comments about Tiller on anti-abortion Web sites, including one that referred to the doctor as the "concentration camp Mengele of our day" _ a reference to the Nazi doctor who performed ghastly medical experiments on Jews and others at Auschwitz. The posting said Tiller "needs to be stopped before he and those who protect him bring judgment upon our nation."

Tiller's death has focused attention on the availability of third-trimester abortions, as the few remaining providers age with little interest from new doctors to offer such services.

Tiller's family says there were no plans yet to reopen his Wichita clinic, despite earlier comments from Dr. LeRoy Carhart, one of four physicians who worked at the clinic.

Funeral services for Tiller are planned for 10 a.m. Saturday at College Hill United Methodist Church.

Comments

[MarkInEugene]

This is a classic example of why words matter, why arcane religious belief is dangerous, why the extreme rhetoric of conservative shock jocks erode unity, foster discord, breed violence and undermine America.

Of course Rush Limbaugh,Ann Coulter, Malkin, Hannity, Reed, Dobson, Bill Donohue and the rest categorically reject any responsibility for instigating the warped logic that many religious fanatics use to vilify abortion providers.

There are plenty of unstable, borderline psychopaths walking around and it doesn't help when they are fed a daily dose of demagoguery, hate speech, and outright lies. I lay this tragedy squarely at the feet of the self-righteous, arrogant pundits that rule and pollute the American airwaves with their asinine rhetoric.

[RJII]

The GOP have a new hero. Another lunatic.

In a few more years, republicans will be eating each other live.

I say give him the d-penatly.

[Telemachus]

I'm still waiting for the indictment of the operators of the "Tiller Watch" web site for stalking, conspiracy, accessory before the fact, and aiding & abetting. Operation Rescue needs to be dismantled and all its assets seized under RICO.

Make no mistake: This is organized crime at work. The "one bad apple" excuse isn't going to fly.

[seachild]

if he's so proud of what he did, why would he please INSANITY?...

[PresidentRobertBooth]

He's not mentally ill, he's simply religious.

Although I think the two mindsets are similar anyway.

[CarmanK]

Roeder is a domestic terrorist and should be held in isolation, with no outside contacts except with a lawyer. He cannot write or speak from his cell to claim fame for his dastardly deed. He may not profit from his crime. He is no martyr. He is not insane, he is responsible for his actions and like the others of his ilk, he must be held accountable for his act of terriorism.

[wdw505]

his act of murder maybe if convicted......wow does innocent til proven guilty mean anything to you or was there a trial i missed

[BeefJerky]

Apparently, it didn't apply to any of the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. I doubt seriously that the authorities have the wrong man in this instance.

[crowepps]

Since Dr. Tiller actually HAD a trial and was acquited but then was 'executed for murder' anyway, apparently innocent till proven guilty is an outdated paradigm.

[Khirad]

That mug shot alone sums up the GOP.

[PoliticalRockChick]

INSANITY MY AS********************

[bucketlist]

All of this rhetoric is immaterial. It doesn't matter what you think. Whether you like it or not, it's results that matter. There used to be 3 late term abortionists nationwide. Now there are only 2.

[real1234]

What makes people like this different from the Talliban? They also believe they are doing a service for God.

[Chakamb]

Hey... real1234
This is what I call IN-TELL-I-GENCE
... who knows GOD, may be they confuse him with a DOG ?
Yeep...

[Khirad]

Nothing. A Terrorist is a terrorist.

[amistad]

please, just go and kick the bucket all ready.

[crowepps]

This is not correct. There used to be 3 late term abortionists nationwide who were willing to publicly reveal their names. Now there are 2 of THOSE left but there are hundreds who will do operations to help their patients while keeping the fact that they offer the service hidden from the anti-legal abortion terrorists - obviously for good reasons.

[wdw505]

names can be found at dr-tiller.com for anyone still looking for a third term abortion

[PoliticalRockChick]

Jesus said let him who is without sin cast the first stone. If some of you on here believe in the bible, call yourselves Christians, judge woman's right to choose, and condone what this murderer did to this doctor at a church of all places; then if there is a judgement day, I will ask Jesus, if I can sit and watch you rot in hell.

[bucketlist]

What makes you think Jesus will be interested in talking to you? You might want to wear something cool and airy that day.

[PoliticalRockChick]

I'll be watching from Heaven. Jesus will definitely want to talk to me, cause I've been someone who has not judge or cast out someone differ from me. I'm not God. I don't care if someone is gay, someone who believes in the right to choose, someone who wants to have multiple partners, someone who sins. I just laugh at those who are hypocrites who themselves sin and judge someone else who sin. I hate hypocrisy. Try to live like Jesus. I try to live within my means and help the poor and help the outcast. I don't believe in organized religions cause Jesus and God do not have a religion and I don't believe in the bible cause men, human beings wrote it.

[wdw505]

laughing i'm not religious

[amistad]

you are not very intelligent either.

[PoliticalRockChick]

Can I be jurist? Pleaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaase. So I can say GUILTY. LIFE IN PRISON.

[bubbuh]

Jurists must meet is a precumptive requirement for mental and emotional stability. Don't take it so badly. Most folks, including me, would make poor jurists.

[PoliticalRockChick]

In this man's case, I won't fall for the mental and emotional instability act. I don't budge and when I'm in a group of other thinkers or jurists who have to make a decision, I don't budge. This man is GUILTY. He should be placed with animals like him in lockdown forever and ever.

[gliderguy]

Slightly of topic, but "a reference to the Nazi doctor who performed ghastly medical experiments on Jews and others" Now, at least 15 million died, 6 million of which were Jews. Others were gays, handicapped, gypsies, Poles, Russians, etc. Why does it always have to focus on the Jews?

[bubbuh]

Okay, first you've tossed out a couple of numbers as if they were firm. Six million is the minimum number of Jews killed. The Jews were the largest single targeted group. The only reason more weren't killed in the camps is because there were killed outside of the camps or escaped. The total number of people destroyed is unknown. The probable second largest group targeted was the "incurables": the physically and mentally handicapped and the old. This group rarely made it to a camp. They were usually killed in hospitals and weren't "accounted for" in the way of other groups. The absolute minimum total is 11 million. The upper end is usually considered to be 17 million; but, it could be higher.

Now as to your question. The term Holocaust first came into use in reference to the Armenian genocide. From just before WWII and until about 1950 the term generally referred to all the mass murder done by the Nazis. The Germans had a specific term for killing Jews: the Final Solution. This came from the title of the report that proposed "automating" the killing of Jews. Once the death factories got rolling, it was only "natural" to extend their use to other "undesirables." After 1950, the Holocaust increasingly became identified with the Jews simply because the Jews were the only organized population of survivors.

[bubbuh]

They could lobby and shape the debate while others couldn't. No one ever proposed a Gypsy homeland, for instance. THe Holocaust, infact, displaced the original Jewish term, the "Shoah." Some people, in the way of people, try to claim exclusivity for the Holocaust for the Jews as if the deaths of the Jews was somehow more horrific than those of the other groups and despite the origins of the use of the term.

[GeoLee]

Yes, until I went to Germany I never knew there were so many other groups who were also exterminated such as jehobah's Witnesses. I had only heard about some fo the courageous ministers who had aided in the escapes fo Jews, but never certain other religions were targeted along wiht handicapped and the gypsies. It was enlightening.

[PoliticalRockChick]

Hitler and his friends hated everyone who were not pure white and have the same beliefs as them.

[PoliticalRockChick]

Also, there were different colors of badges to mark who were Gypsies, handicapped, jehovah's, gays, etc.

Wikipedia has an actual picture of the chart of the badges: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:German_concentration_camp_chart_of_prisoner_markings.jpg

I couldn't find the picture chart anywhere else, but this one is good example.

[PoliticalRockChick]

Red triangle — political prisoners (social democrats, trade unionists, liberals, communists, Freemasons, anarchists.) Some anarchists, and other "enemies of the state," were also given a black triangle.
Green triangle — "habitual criminals" (convicts, ofttimes Kapos, serving in exchange for reduced sentences or parole).
Blue triangle — foreign forced laborers, emigrants.
Pink triangle — homosexuals and sexual offenders (which also included, rapists, bestiality and paedophiles).[2]
Purple triangle — Religious dissidents, "Bible Students" (i.e. Jehovah's Witnesses) and neopagans
Black triangle — people who were deemed "asocial elements," including
Roma (Gypsies), who were later assigned a brown triangle
The mentally retarded
The mentally ill
Atheists
Alcoholics
Vagrants and beggars
Aristocrats
Intellectuals
Pacifists
Conscription resisters
The habitually "work-shy"
Prostitutes
Some anarchists.

Brown triangle — Roma (Gypsies) (previously wore the black triangle)

[jsingleton361]

Not surprisingly, the fine "journalists" at foxnation.com would rather cover if the recruiting center attack was domestic terrorism, how Cheney is a Susan Boyle fan, and a story (no joke) about a squirrel that steals flags from a cemetery before they put George Tiller's killing at the bottom half of the page, almost a footnote to these other pressing stories.

Fox News, your silence speaks volumes.

[wdw505]

Mr tiller is a footnote....so

[ObamAtomic]

zippy01 if you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen!

[twisted-european]

When will his book come out? Will he peddle it at Faux? Just asking ... ;-)

[twisted-european]

He looks like he's Limbabble's brother. Some of the Talibanized fringe of the GOP surely will adopt him.
Is he plumbing? Just kidding ... ;-)