Criminal Justice
Accused Killer of Abortion Doc Admits Shooting, Says Abortion Is Murder
The man accused of killing abortion doctor George Tiller last May has taken the stand in his Wichita, Kan., trial and admitted he pulled the trigger.
Defendant Scott Roeder explained his motive: his belief that abortion is murder, the Associated Press reports. The Wichita Eagle reported this exchange:
Public Defender Mark Rudy: “You’ve sat here and listened to the trial. Do you dispute any testimony presented by the state.”
Roeder: “I do not.”
Judge Warren Wilbert said before the trial began that he may allow the jury to consider the possibility of a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter. Kansas statute defines the offense as “an unreasonable but honest belief that circumstances existed that justified deadly force.”
