Eric Rudolph Pleads Guilty, Says U.S. Abortion Policy Primary Reason for Clinic, Olympic Park Bombings

Main Category: Abortion
Article Date: 15 Apr 2005 - 11:00 PDT

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Eric Rudolph on Wednesday in courtrooms in Birmingham, Alabama, and Atlanta pleaded guilty to four bombings -- including two at abortion clinics, one at an Atlanta-area gay bar and one at the 1996 Olympics -- that killed two people and wounded more than 120 others, saying that he committed the crimes to call attention to the U.S. government's "abominable sanctioning of abortion on demand" and homosexuality, the... AP/Detroit Free Press reports (Wyatt, AP/Detroit Free Press, 4/14). As part of a plea deal with Department of Justice officials, Rudolph admitted to a 1998 bombing at a Birmingham, Ala., abortion clinic that killed a police officer and critically injured a nurse; a 1997 bombing of an Atlanta-area abortion clinic; a 1997 bombing of an Atlanta gay and lesbian nightclub, which injured five people; and the 1996 bombing at the Olympic Games in Atlanta, which killed one person and injured 111 others. Rudolph also disclosed the location of 250 pounds of dynamite and a bomb more powerful than the one detonated at Olympic Park. Rudolph, who was captured in North Carolina in May 2003 after a five-year manhunt, faced a possible death sentence if convicted of the Birmingham bombing (Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, 4/13). However, as a result of the plea bargain, Rudolph will be sentenced to four consecutive life sentences without parole, which he will serve in a maximum-security prison, the AP/Free Press reports (AP/Detroit Free Press, 4/14). Authorities plan to house Rudolph in a county jail in Birmingham until he receives his official sentencing, which is expected within the next three months, the AP/Salt Lake Tribune reports (Reeves, AP/Salt Lake Tribune, 4/14).

Rudolph Statement
In an 11-page statement released on Wednesday, Rudolph said he regrets the casualties of the Olympic bombing but said he makes "no apologies" for his bombings because they were "justified," the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. "Because I believe that abortion is murder, I also believe that force is justified ... in an attempt to stop it," he said, adding, "The agents of this government are the agents of mass murder" (Rankin/Torpy, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 4/14). Rudolph said he decided to bomb Olympic Park in Atlanta to "confound, anger and embarrass the Washington government in the eyes of the world for its abominable sanctioning of abortion on demand" (Statement text, 4/13). He also attacked President Bush and his supporters for allowing abortion to continue in the United States (Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 4/14). Rudolph added, "I am not anarchist. I have nothing against government or law enforcement in general. It is solely for the reason that this government has legalized the murder of children that I have no allegiance to nor do I recognize the legitimacy of this particular government in Washington" (AP/Detroit Free Press, 4/14). Rudolph also said he originally planned to detonate five bombs at the 1996 Olympics in hopes of forcing a stop to the games and had planned to bomb the North Carolina FBI command post that was in charge of tracking him or an Asheville, N.C., abortion clinic, the Charlotte Observer reports (Dodd, Charlotte Observer, 4/14).

Media Coverage
Several broadcast programs reported on Rudolph's guilty plea, including the following:

• ABCNews' "World News Tonight": The segment includes comments from Emily Lyons, who was injured in the Birmingham clinic bombing (Osunsami, "World News Tonight," ABCNews, 4/13).
  


• CBS' "Evening News": The segment includes comments from Lyons (Stewart, "Evening News," CBS, 4/13). The complete segment is available online in RealPlayer.
  


• NBC's "Nightly News": The segment includes comments from Jim Cavanaugh, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent-in-charge of Rudolph's case, and former ATF official Jack Killorin (Williams, "Nightly News," NBC, 4/13). The complete transcript and video segment in Windows Media are available online.
  


• NPR's "All Things Considered": The segment includes comments from Lyons and John Hawthorne, the husband of a woman who died in one of Rudolph's bombings (Peeples, "All Things Considered," NPR, 4/13). The complete segment is available online in RealPlayer.
  


• NPR's "Day to Day": Don Plummer, a reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, discusses the trial (Brand, "Day to Day," NPR, 4/13). The complete segment is available online in RealPlayer.
  


• NPR's "News & Notes with Ed Gordon": Henry Schuster, a journalist and co-author of the book, "Hunting Eric Rudolph," discusses Rudolph's background and motivation behind the bombings (Gordon, "News & Notes with Ed Gordon," NPR, 4/13). The complete segment is available online in RealPlayer.
  


• NPR's "Morning Edition": The segment includes comments from ATF official Joe Kennedy and U.S. Attorney David Nahmias (Lohr, "Morning Edition," NPR, 4/14). The complete segment is available online in RealPlayer.
  


• PBS' "NewsHour with Jim Lehrer": PBS' Terrence Smith discusses the plea with Plummer (Smith, "NewsHour with Jim Lehrer," PBS, 4/13). The complete segment is available online in RealPlayer.
  

"Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork.org kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

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