Accused Tiller Shooter Calls Murder Of Abortion Providers Justifiable

Main Category: Abortion
Also Included In: Litigation / Medical Malpractice
Article Date: 12 Nov 2009 - 5:00 PDT

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In an interview with the Associated Press on Monday, Scott Roeder, the man charged in the shooting death of Kansas abortion provider George Tille, said the murder was justified because "preborn children's lives were in imminent danger," the AP/USA Today reports.

Roeder has pleaded not guilty to one charge of first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated assault in the fatal shooting of Tiller in the foyer of his Wichita church on May 31 (Hegeman, AP/USA Today, 11/10). His trial is set for Jan. 11 (McClatchy/Los Angeles Times, 11/10).

When asked if he killed Tiller, Roeder said, "That is correct," but added that he did not consider the act murder and has no intention of changing his plea to guilty. Roeder said he plans to use a so-called "necessity defense" in his upcoming trial, claiming that he killed Tiller to prevent future abortions, the AP/USA Today reports (AP/USA Today, 11/10).

However, Roeder's attorney, Steve Osburn, said there is no such thing as a necessity defense in Kansas law. Osburn said, "That does not seem to be the approach that is viable, nor is it the approach we intend to use" (Hegeman, AP/Google News, 11/11).

Lee Thompson, an attorney for Tiller's family, said allowing Roeder to use a necessity defense would "invite chaos and be tantamount to anarchy." Courts have previously prevented individuals accused of murdering abortion providers from using the defense (AP/USA Today, 11/10). "Any pretense that it's justifiable is legally wrong and reflective of the extremism that seems to characterize this act which is nothing more than an act of premeditated violence," Thompson said (McClatchy/Los Angeles Times, 11/10).

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