Scott Roeder, the man who admitted to reporters that he killed Wichita abortion provider George Tiller, cannot use the so-called "necessity defense," arguing killing Tiller was justified to save fetuses that would have been aborted.
Sedgwick County District Court Judge Warren Wilbert denied the defense motion yesterday, citing no evidence of "imminent threat," according to the Wichita Eagle
The Eagle also reported that the judge left open the possibility of Roeder's defense offering evidence and arguments that Roeder killed Tiller "in the belief that he was saving the lives of the unborn." Such a possibility paves the way for Roeder's public defenders to ask jurors to consider lesser crimes than first-degree premeditated murder. Like voluntary manslaughter.
On rejecting the necessity defense, Wilbert reportedly said:
"I recognize we could all have our own individual personal views, religious views, moral and ethical views," Wilbert said in his ruling. "But the United States Supreme Court has come down many, many years ago in Roe v. Wade that an abortion is a legal and constitutionally protected decision by the mother and... by health care providers."Warren also denied Roeder's request to move the trial outside of Wichita.
January 11, 2010, and expected to last a week. Roeder's actual trial is
likely to begin January 19 and last two weeks.
In early November, Roeder reportedly confessed to killing Tiller in an interview with the Associated Press.
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Hello there,
My name is Jack Steele. I am the informant who helped police solve the James Kopp case.
I provided the tip that led to the arrest and conviction of James Kopp, who shot three Canadian doctors before shooting and killing an American doctor. Kopp is an anti-abortion fanatic who targeted the doctors because they were performing abortions.
A Canadian police task force put up a reward of $547,000 for information leading to Kopp�s arrest and conviction. I provided that information, which the FBI has acknowledged. (The FBI paid me their part of the reward already.) But today the Canadian police task force refuses to pay me the promised reward money. The FBI has written two letters protesting this injustice.
I�ve created a website to make people aware of what�s happened: http://canadianpolicereward.or...
I hope you�ll publicize my website. The actions of the Canadian police are bound to have a chilling effect on other tipsters in criminal cases, and sends a horrible message to other people who would do harm to abortion providers in Canada and the US.
--Jack Steele
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