Scott Roeder likely just got himself a life sentence. A while back I wrote what I consider my most controversial writing comparing Scott Roeder to John Brown and the pre civil war before the civil war, Bleeding Kansas of the 1850's, along with the problems of utilitarian thought. He's defense crashed and burned, and the judge didn't buy it.
There's one way where there was a possible longshot of this defense having any logic. This wasn't it.
From the AP
WICHITA, Kan. – The judge in the trial of a man accused of murdering an abortion doctor dealt the defense a major setback Thursday, ruling that the jury cannot consider a lesser charge of manslaughter.
The ruling came hours after Scott Roeder took the stand in his own defense and admitted killing Dr. George Tiller, saying he acted to save the lives of unborn children.
Roeder's attorneys had hoped to win a lesser conviction of voluntary manslaughter, which requires them to show their client had an unreasonable but honest belief that deadly force was justified. The charge carries a considerably lighter sentence than murder.
Roeder testified that he considered elaborate schemes to stop the doctor, including chopping off his hands, crashing a car into him or sneaking into his home to kill him.
But in the end, Roeder told jurors, the easiest way was to walk into Tiller's church, put a gun to the man's forehead and pull the trigger.
Testifying as the lone defense witness, Roeder calmly explained what he admitted publicly months ago — that he killed Tiller to save unborn children.
"Those children were in immediate danger if someone did not stop George Tiller," Roeder said as the jury watched attentively but without a hint of surprise.
"They were going to continue to die," he said. "The babies were going to continue to die."
Roeder has pleaded not guilty to murder in the attack at the Wichita church where Tiller was an usher. Witnesses have described how Roeder walked into the building's foyer on May 31 shortly after the service started, approached Tiller and fired a single shot before fleeing.
After Roeder's testimony, District Judge Warren Wilbert ruled that the jury would not be permitted to consider the manslaughter charge because abortion, including late-term abortion, is legal in Kansas and because Tiller did not pose an imminent threat.
"There is no immediate danger in the back of a church," the judge said. He also ruled out a second-degree murder conviction, which does not involve premeditation, because it was clear Roeder planned the killing.
"It would be hard for a reasonable fact-finder to find anything other than the defendant formulating his belief and then planning on multiple occasions ... to carry out his intention to (kill) Dr. Tiller."
Imminent. Imminent. Imminent. That's the key word, and fatal flaw in Roeder's defense.That's the flaw even if abortion was rightly illegal.
The judge did the right thing. The law is clear. Roeder also talked himself out of 2nd degree or manslaughter. There's one key word that Roeder, does not know the meaning. Immediate. There was no way that the babies were in imminent or immediate danger of being legally murdered (and that's what it is) by George Tiller. Tiller was in his church. That alone kills the defense.
If I standing next to John Smith, and if he is likely to kill somebody tomorrow, I can't legally shoot and kill John Smith, no matter how good my knowledge is that he is going to kill someone. I couldn't legally shoot and kill Adolf Hitler in 1932. I couldn't legally shoot and kill Oliver Cromwell before his reign of terror on Ireland. It doesn't matter how much of a evil bastard Tiller, Cromwell, and Hitler happen to be. All of those three had time to change their ways. Their victims were not in IMMEDIATE danger, and that is the key word here. If I had the advanced knowledge of a murder about to happen the next day or so, what I'd have to do is call the cops.
I have sympathies and understand why Scott Roeder and John Brown did what they did, but it's not the right road. Brown helped start the Civil War. Roeder made a martyr of a real piece of trash. That's God's job and the law's job to destroy Tiller, not ours. With the Peter Singer utilitarian mentality of the militant pro-aborts in academia, along with its eugenics influenced past (and I'd argue present), it can come back and bite us badly. I said this when it happened.
Was John Brown's methods the best way to end slavery? Bleeding Kansas was the precursor of the US Civil War, which killed more Americans than any other war in history. 620,000+. It ended slavery, although reconstruction was incomplete and Jim Crow lasted another 100 years.
Was John Brown's actions right? Was there a better way? What will the ramifications be from Scott Roeder's actions, if he is guilty? Will it severely damage the pro-life movement for a period? Right now, the left on Kos wants to basically all but criminalize it through RICO and the so called Patriot Act (which I ALWAYS opposed). Guilt by association. They are blaming Bill O'Reilly for this which is laughable. This is typical of the left. Destroy free speech that disagrees, lump them together, and call them racists, terrorists, etc. This needs to be fought. Don't apologize for our views. We are right.
However, damage was done by Roeder (if guilty) who took the low road. Can you be pro-life by offing a killer.
If you are a proponent of utiltarian philosophy (which I am not), you could make the argument that this, and John Brown's actions, were both right, for the same reason as if you had a chance to back in time and kill off Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, Oliver Cromwell, Saddam Hussein, Bin Laden, and the like, it should be done. That is the ultilitarian argument at its extreme, and the mindset used for Brown and Roeder. It is one I can understand and it is a very logical argument that can be made. Take out this person for the greater good. It is also a very dangerous game, as one utilitarian on the other side is Peter Singer, who supports post birth abortion (infantcide) and involuntary euthanasia. That's not the road I want to go down. Eugenics. The founder of Planned Parenthood, Margaret Sanger, was a eugenics leader. I don't even need to invoke Godwin's law to take it to the full extreme. All of this was to off "undesirable" people for the greater good. Most of us all agree, or should agree that the pro-slave settlers in Missouri, George Tiller, Cromwell, and the like were bad people, but let's remember we are dealing with power here. This is social politics. Because of our views, some people don't like us very much either, thinks we are bad people, and may not shed many tears if we are offed if we are too outspoken or "dangerous." Some of those people may even have the law or government behind them. It's a nasty double-edged sword, and one I don't want to be a part of.
The only hope here for Roeder is for jury nullification, such as what I believe happened in the OJ Simpson case. I don't expect it to happen. From that testimony alone, as much as I can not stand George Tiller, I'd have to support a conviction.
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