“The jury deliberated for just 37 minutes before finding Scott Roeder, 51, of Kansas City, Mo., guilty of premeditated, first-degree murder in the May 31 shooting death” of Dr. George R. Tiller.
Interesting snippets from the trial:
Roeder’s attorneys were hoping to get a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter for Roeder, a defense that would have required them to show that Roeder had an unreasonable but honest belief that deadly force was justified.
But after hearing Roeder testify (emphasis mine), District Judge Warren Wilbert ruled that his lawyers failed to show that Tiller posed an imminent threat and the jury could not consider such a verdict.
Hmm…wish a transcript was available of that.
At one point Friday, District Judge Warren Wilbert stopped defense attorney Mark Rudy from using the word abortion when cross-examining a witness who had not first used it himself.
If the witness brings it up “that’s fair game, and you can explore it,” Wilbert said.
Paul Ryding testified he had an “awkward conversation” with Roeder when Roeder came to church services six months before the shooting. Ryding said he had a feeling Roeder had “an agenda,” without explaining what he thought that might be.
But Ryding steadfastly skirted the word abortion when pressed — leaving defense attorney Mark Rudy so plainly frustrated that he asked Ryding whether he had previously discussed his testimony with any officials other than detectives.
Nice. 
But lest we forget what else we’re dealing with here…
Photos of Tiller’s body after he was shot showed the doctor lying on his side, with much of his face obscured by blood. A large puddle of blood had pooled under his head.
A Roeder supporter seated in the public gallery grinned widely and swayed visibly in her seat as the gruesome photos were shown — leading a sheriff’s deputy to quietly issue her a stern warning.
Well, he’s locked up for at least the next 25 years. The best we could’ve expected, really. Rest in peace, Dr. Tiller, and I hope your family finds some closure in all this.
It would be nice if there were video of that grinning terrorist sympathizer to plaster all over the net, and show the scum for what they really are.
It’s probably impossible to put a new angle on this. As always, you have to stand in baffled awe of the irony that allows death worshipers to base their anger on fetal potential. I guess that’s a truism now. Something I’m interested in, though, is what our liberal/progressive/whatever-ya-wanna-call-it equivalents are. I’ve been trying to understand the underlying anger that allows these violent acts, and yes, there are things that would make me feel the same way. For instance, if there were centers performing involuntary lobotomies, or forcing children to watch Veggie Tales movies. I can understand the notion of being so angry that compromise isn’t possible. That’s been depressing me lately – if someone couldn’t talk me down from despising a (theoretical) lobotomy clinic, how are we supposed to talk down someone who feels the same way about abortion clinics?