Updated: The Kansas City Star quotes a friend of Scott Roeder, saying the man accused of killing George Tiller is preparing to take the stand and testify at the trial.
"Scott is absolutely planning to testify," said Dave Leach, an anti-abortion activist from Des Moines who visited Roeder in jail last night. "He's been practicing with his attorneys."
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The prosecution's first-degree murder case against Scott Roeder, the man accused of the man accused of killing Wichita abortion provider George Tiller, is expected to wrap up today.
You can watch the trial via KMBC Channel 9's live stream. Court started at 9 a.m.
Here's what came out of court yesterday.
Abortion-rights advocates are asking the feds to ratchet up their investigation of "a possible conspiracy of anti-abortion violence" before another abortion provider is killed, according to The Kansas City Star. The feds say their investigation is "open and ongoing."
Operation Rescue founder Randall Terry made a cameo, claiming to
be "a voice for the babies who perished at George Tiller's hands." He
wants the jury to know Roeder's reason for killing Tiller, the Star reported.
"We are not coming to condone or condemn Scott Roeder'sactions," said Terry, whose group staged the 46-day "Summer of Mercy"
protests in Wichita in 1991 that resulted in more than 2,600 arrests.
"That decision will soon rest with the jury. However, there are those
who want to pretend this trial has nothing to do with child-killing by
abortion; that is a farce. It's like saying that the trials of Nat Turner and John Brown had nothing to do with slavery."
Meanwhile, Operation Rescue distanced itself from Terry, saying Terry
"regrettably" traveled to the trial. Operation Rescue's Advisory Board
issued this statement:
"The Board of Operation Rescue wants to make it clear thatRandall Terry has no affiliation or involvement with Operation Rescue.
That has been the case for over 17 years.
"Sadly, Randall Terryhas chosen to abandon the Christ-centered principles contained in the
historic Operation Rescue Pledge of Non-violence. By refusing to
condemn the actions of Scott Roeder, Mr. Terry has completely abandoned
the core principles of Operation Rescue.
"Mr. Terry's relentless thirst for media attention has ledhim down a road of extremism, fringe actions, and bizarre media stunts
which have isolated him from the pro-life community and the timeless
principles of an organization he helped establish.
"Our prayer is that Randall will return to a place ofhumility and sanity and once again embrace the cross of Christ and stop
choosing to be involved in cheap and pathetic public relation stunts
that harm the pro-life message."
For all things Roeder trial, check out the Wichita Eagle's special section and reporter Ron Sylvester's up-to-the-minute Twitter updates
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