In a blow to crazed neo-cons around the country, a Sedgwick County judge has rejected the argument that Dr. George Tiller’s murder at the hands of Scott Roeder was a “necessity defense” on the behalf of fetuses. According to an article today in the Topeka Capital-Journal, Judge Warren Wilbert rejected the argument after citing a 1993 trespassing case where the Supreme Court said vigilante action against abortion providers would “not only lead to chaos but would be tantamount to sanctioning anarchy”.
Such a groan-inducing argument in Roeder’s defense would have set a very disturbing precedent in potential future cases of violence against abortion providers (and let’s face it, there will be many more as long as people like Scott Roeder and organizations like Operation Rescue). While it is not necessarily a surprise that the argument was rejected, it is still a relief.
The Capital-Journal has suggested that Roeder’s defense team may ask for the charges against their client be reduced to “voluntary manslaughter” (“an unreasonable but honest belief that circumstances existed that justified deadly force”), which would feature a less harsh sentence. In the most technical sense, it would be accurate. Fundamentalists really do believe in their actions, but when somebody is shot and killed for that belief, being delusional really shouldn’t be an excuse. We’ll just have to see what Roeder’s attorneys actually pull out next.
Loading ...