Scott Roeder: CONVICTED MURDERER (updated)

The jury deliberated for 37 minutes, and then convicted Scott Roeder of first degree murder, for killing George Tiller, MD in church.  He was also convicted of aggravated assault for threatening to shoot two church ushers as he ran away from the scene.  Hey, if he was so convinced murdering Dr Tiller was the right thing to do, why did he run away?  Why not stick around and proudly claim credit for shooting a man point-blank in the head?

The Judge in the case previously ruled that this murderer could not use a voluntary manslaughter defense.  Rightly so, in my opinion, since this murder occurred after ten years of pre-meditation and stalking of Dr Tiller, and there were no fetuses in danger of being aborted in the Reformation Lutheran Church lobby — Roeder’s main purpose for murdering Dr Tiller.

Abortion is legal in this country, even though anti-choicers have succeeded in making it very difficult to access legal abortion services.  Scott Roeder failed to accomplish the end of abortion by murdering Dr Tiller, and any future violence against women’s clinics and doctors will meet with the same failure.

Scott Roeder is no martyr to the cause — although he tried very hard to become one.  No, Roeder will be just another murderer in the prison world, having murdered a law-abiding citizen in church.

Rot in jail forever, Scott Roeder.  The Court will be far more merciful than you.

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UPDATE: Wayne A. Schneider’s take on Roeder’s conviction.

UPDATE 2:  Scott Roeder was today sentenced to life in prison:

Sedgwick County District Judge Warren Wilbert could have made the Roeder eligible for parole after 25 or 50 years, but gave him the harsher sentence because he said the evidence showed Roeder stalked Tiller before killing him.

Wilbert also sentenced Roeder to serve an additional year in prison on each of two counts of aggravated assault for threatening two church ushers in the melee. That means — allowing for possible time off those sentences for good behavior — Roeder won’t be eligible for parole for 51 years and eight months.

Roeder is 52 now, so he won’t be eligible for parole until he’s over 103 years old.

Rot in prison, murderer and domestic terrorist.  As predicted, Roeder received far more mercy from the Court than he showed Dr Tiller.

~Zooey

Dr Tiller, The Law, and the “Fear of God”

The 5th Estate 2009

Last weekend, after years of attacks by religious anti-abortion groups against himself his property and his staff, lawful abortion specialist Dr. Tiller was finally killed in the foyer of his church; long-time religious militant abortion opponent Scott Roeder is now charged with his murder.

Two years ago in Denver, Colorado, another abortion protest incident occurred in the foyer of a place of worship which also involved militant abortion opponents. In that particular case the local police responded immediately and no-one was killed.

In the subsequent trial of the accused, the litigant’s spokeswoman asked the judge to “consider the safety of ministry employees and visitors” when handing down the sentences.

Did you catch that?

The incident that the police so efficaciously reacted-to did not involve a confrontation between legal abortion providers and abortion opponents, but rather between two factions of the anti-abortion movement and with the aggrieved party asking for future protection from harassment and possible violence.

WTF?!!

After years of vandalism, fire-bombing, death threats and an assault with a deadly weapon by members of religious groups, Scott Roeder was observed by eye-witnesses and recorded on videotape in felony acts by attempting to sabotage the locks on Dr Tiller’s clinic—a federal offense under the FACE act.

The clinic provided the local police with the evidence of Roeder’s felony and the police did absolutely nothing.

That left Roeder free to take his anti-abortion crusade to the next level in which he “allegedly” murdered Dr Tiller in a church foyer a few days later.

…

Wichita police were provided with all the evidence they needed to arrest Scott Roeder immediately and charge him with a federal crime. They could have involved the FBI. Roeder could have been held on bail and if he made bail he could have been monitored by the FBI whilst awaiting trial.

Instead, nothing was done.

Dr Tiller is now dead, his clinic now closed, his employees now unemployed and women are further denied their legal and medical rights.

Meanwhile radical officially ‘religious’ groups use the particulars and principles of secular law for their own convenience and benefit even as they refuse to abide by them and seek to overthrow them, actively or passively abetted by supposedly secular authorities.

Scott Roeder was encouraged by religious leaders, his actions given justification by certain media authorities, his act enabled by the criminal negligence of the Wichita police and culpable Federal authorities.

When a religious organization in Colorado felt threatened by another more militant religious group, secular authority acted on mere trespass, but when a secular organization in Kansas had been attacked multiple times with vandalism, fire-bombings and assaults with deadly weapons and given clear evidence to act, Wichita authorities did nothing.

Read the rest of 5th Estate’s post on his blog here.

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A tour of the frothing at the mouth, head-spinning, spittle-flecked wingnut hate machine

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I’ve noticed something lately.  Racism, fear, and hate are running rampant in this country.

Well, not just lately, it’s been bubbling under the surface for years — it just seems much worse and “in your face.”  I would pinpoint the escalation at or about the time of the nomination of Barack Hussein Obama for the office of President of the United States.  Little by little, insinuations and fear-mongering became the order of the day for some people.  “He’s a Muslim!”  “He’s not an American!”  He’s a Socialist!!”  Cue the scary music!

Recently, President Obama nominated Judge Sonia Sotomayor to take the place of Justice David Souter on the Supreme Court.  Judge Sotomayor has a typical American “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” story — the kind we all love so well — and she’s totally qualified for a seat on the Supreme Court, having more experience than anyone currently sitting on that Court.  But who cares about all that!?  Apparently, she’s really a super-scary racist white-hating Mexican who wants to take away our guns! Eeeekkk!!!!

How about a little walk on the darker side of wingnuttia?  Come on, I’ll hold your hand…just make sure you hold mine, ok?

Hal Turner, a white supremacist and anti-Semite internet radio talker/blogger, has been arrested for inciting violence against two Connecticut lawmakers, because they want to pass a bill changing how the Catholic Church operates in that state.  Turner posted this on his blog:

“It is our intent to foment direct action against these individuals personally,” the blog stated. “These beastly government officials should be made an example of as a warning to others in government: Obey the Constitution or die.”

He also promised to list the home addresses of the Connecticut lawmakers.  I’m thinking jail is a great place for Mr Turner right now.

Next, we have Rob Williams and Arnie States of the KRXQ radio station in Sacramento, California.  These organisms (I hesitate to called them men — or human) went on a sickening rampage against gender dysphoric CHILDREN, calling them “freaks” and “idiots.”  States even made the claim that if his own son put on a pair of high-heeled shoes, he would beat him with the shoes and mentally degrade him.  Here’s a sample:

“I’m not open-minded once I look into sumpin’” one of the two men grunted at the beginning of the segment, their voices interchangeable. “I have every right to call you a freak and judge you on that. It makes me sick. ‘Mommy, I’m a girl trapped in a boy’s body,’” he simpered, mimicking an effeminate little boy. “I want to wear a dwess.”

It’s not good enough to shred adults they deem “effeminate” or “girly,” these two creepazoids are so inadequate that they have to go after children.

Are you still with me?  Ok, let’s descend a bit further into this pit of horrors…

Rachel Maddow looks at the history and connections of Dr. Tiller’s accused killer

This is a good followup to the excellent post by 5th Estate from June 3, 2009:

Religious White Christians Can’t Be Terrorists

From Raw Story:

MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow interviews an employee of the Central Family Medicine clinic about the startlingly recent history of terroristic acts by Scott Roeder, accused murderer of Dr. George Tiller, and his connection to Operation Rescue.

Former religious right leader takes responsibility for Tiller death

Raw Story:

Frank Schaeffer, author, “Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back” explains to MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow how hateful speech leads to violent acts.

This is an amazing piece of video. Words do have consequences. This man’s honesty is incredibly moving, enlightening and frightening at the same time, and what he has to say is right on the money. People like Bill O’Really, Rush Limbaugh, et al. They incite hate and fear on a daily basis. It’s ratings to them – it’s real to the people who listen and hang on their every word.

These people have to know what they are doing, the effect they can have. There are so many people who listen daily, and live on every word they utter. We are a nation filled with guns of every sort and size, with easy access to them, and it only takes one slightly unhinged (or just ”committed to the cause”) person or group to take matters into their own hands. These people on the TV and radio who spout such vile hatred, continually pushing those fear buttons, and targeting individuals with their spewing, have to understand the impact they are having… And yet they continue spewing… And targeting.

They are as responsible for what happened as the man who pulled that trigger. And, I would guess, as Frank Schaeffer says in this video, even as they publicly try to distance themselves from this act of violence they are probably, privately, celebrating this doctor’s death…