Killer of abortion doctor must serve at least 50 years in prison

WICHITA, Kan. — It took an entire day to sentence Scott Roeder for killing abortion doctor George Tiller, and then much of the drama came at the end.

Sedgwick County District Judge Warren Wilbert handed down the harshest possible sentence, and Roeder shouted in defiance as he was led from the courtroom.

The "Hard 50" sentence requires Roeder, 52, to serve at least 50 years before he can be considered for parole.

"Mr. Roeder chose church ... where one would expect to be safe and let their guard down," Wilbert said. "He intentionally killed Dr. Tiller in the very place that abhors violence — a church.

"Mr. Roeder shot and killed Dr. Tiller at point-blank range and left him bleeding on the floor of the narthex, where everyone exiting the sanctuary could see that horrific scene."

The judge said the total disregard for reverence that should be shown in a house of worship "by itself is heinous, vicious and cruel," which are among the qualifications for a "Hard 50" sentence.

Wilbert also sentenced Roeder to 24 additional months for threatening two men who chased Roeder after he shot Tiller on May 31 inside his church.

Roeder had faced a minimum sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years. He was found guilty of first-degree murder on Jan. 29 after testifying at his trial that he shot Tiller in the forehead while Tiller was serving as an usher in his church.

Roeder interrupted the judge several times as he issued the sentence, saying "babies were dying" and "baby-murdering is chaos and anarchy."

As he was escorted out of the courtroom, he shouted at the prosecutors: "The blood of babies are on your hands."

The sentence came after hours of motions and testimony, a parade of character witnesses speaking on behalf of Roeder and a lengthy statement by Roeder during which he described numerous abortion procedures in graphic detail and called Tiller's church a "synagogue of Satan."

Tiller family attorney Lee Thompson spoke to the court on behalf of the family, calling the murder a "cruel act of domestic terrorism" and a hate crime.

"We aren't dealing with free speech or the right of expression with this case," he said. "It is an act of terrorism characterized by boasting and the complete lack of remorse."

Thompson said Tiller was a devoted father and grandfather and a defender of women's rights.

"He gave his life for the rights of women," he said. "The impact of his death on women throughout the world is like an earthquake."

Sedgwick County District Attorney Nola Foulston told Wilbert that Roeder's actions qualified for the "Hard 50" sentence under Kansas law. She said Roeder stalked Tiller for years, scoping out his gated community and his clinic, and on several occasions went into his church with a loaded gun searching for Tiller.

"This individual planned to kill Dr. Tiller as far back as 1993," Foulston said, "stealthily going after him as though he was a partridge in the woods. ... He should be given the longest sentence possible."

Mark Rudy, one of Roeder's attorneys, argued the circumstances didn't meet the requirements for a "Hard 50" sentence. He acknowledged the murder was premeditated but said it wasn't done in a cruel, heinous or atrocious manner or intended to harm anyone besides Tiller.

"You have no option but to impose a life sentence with parole eligibility after 25 years."

Security was tight in the courthouse Thursday, with a bomb-sniffing dog brought in to examine all bags and purses, including those of reporters. Eight Sedgwick County sheriff's deputies stood guard inside the courtroom, and several FBI agents observed the proceedings as well.

Roeder entered the room dressed in a gray jacket, red tie and dark pants, his ankles in shackles. The judge warned observers that outbursts would not be tolerated and said Roeder's witnesses would be limited to talking about his character and not espousing their views about Tiller and abortion.

Tiller's family members sat with two of their church pastors, clutching tissues and often hugging, holding hands and leaning on one another for support.

Those speaking on behalf of Roeder were Kansas City anti-abortion activists Eugene Frye and Regina Dinwiddie and her mother, Kitty Coons, and Iowa abortion opponent Dave Leach.

"I have visited with Scott in jail four or five times and have talked with him numerous times on the phone, and from those visits and phone calls I came to believe that Scott acted on his beliefs that abortion is murder of a preborn baby," Frye said.

Dinwiddie told the court that "Scott loved our country and he knew the terror of our Lord regarding the shedding of innocent blood."

Foulston objected to Dinwiddie's comments, asking the judge to dismiss her. Wilbert warned her not to talk about the abortion issue:

"You're now upon your own soap box," he said.

Roeder's defense team brought in a clinical psychologist who evaluated Roeder to testify about his findings. George Hough said Roeder's ability to conform to the law was "substantially compromised" because of his strong beliefs about Tiller and abortion.

Roeder began his own statement by talking about the "victims" of abortion, then read a brochure describing abortion procedures followed by reading a lengthy excerpt from a book written by Paul Hill, an activist who killed an abortion doctor and his bodyguard in Florida in 1994.

After that, Roeder began talking about what he said was documentation about Foulston's failure to enforce the law when it came to Tiller's practice.

Wilbert shut him down.

"You killed Dr. Tiller," he said. "You're not going to politically assassinate Nola Foulston."

Then Roeder told Wilbert that "if you were to obey the higher power of God himself, you would acquit me."

Roeder said it was the duty of the state to protect all people, "including those whom George Tiller killed. Had the courts acted rightfully, I would not have shot George Tiller. The blame for George Tiller's death lies more with you than with me."

Roeder complained repeatedly he wasn't being allowed to speak: "If this atrocity is ever going to end, this Holocaust, the truth has got to come out."

Afterward, Rudy said the defense will file an appeal.

There's no question that Tiller's death has had an impact on abortions in Kansas.

Just last week, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported that 121 late-term abortions — those at 22 weeks or more gestation — were performed in the state in 2009. That was fewer than half the 293 late-term abortions performed in 2007, the most recent year available for comparison.

That's one of the reasons Julie Burkhart said she founded the Trust Women PAC.

"The murder of Dr. George Tiller ... has left women all over the country without access to safe, legal later termination of pregnancy," said Burkhart, who worked with Tiller for eight years and ran ProKanDo, his political action committee. She said her group will fight proposed legislation that seeks to restrict access to late-term abortions and would work to elect candidates who support abortion rights.

Now the closest abortion clinics to Wichita are in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and the Kansas City area. The only clinics in the country where late-term abortions are available are in Omaha, Boulder, Colo., and Albuquerque, N.M., which began performing the procedures in response to Tiller's death.

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