WICHITA | In a blow to the defense, the judge in Scott Roeder’s murder trial ruled today that jurors will not be allowed to consider the less serious charge of voluntary manslaughter.The ruling by Sedgwick County District Judge Warren Wilbert came after Roeder took the stand Thursday, admitting he killed abortion doctor George Tiller in his church last May and that he had been thinking about doing so since 1993. “There was nothing being done and the legal process had been exhausted, and these babies were dying every day,” Roeder said. “The lives of those children were in imminent danger. If someone did not stop him, the babies were going to continue to die.” Closing arguments will begin Friday morning, and then jurors will begin deliberations on whether to convict Roeder of premeditated, first-degree murder.The defense presented its case on Thursday with Roeder as its only witness.Roeder had hoped that if he had the chance to explain in detail to jurors why he killed Tiller, they might see the necessity of his actions and convict of him voluntary manslaughter.In fact, that became a linch-pin issue in the past month after the judge said he would allow such testimony. That decision galvanized those on both sides of the issue. Roeder supporters were delighted that he would have the chance to expose what they described as a “baby-killing industry.” But abortion-rights advocates were outraged, saying that turning the trial into a referendum on abortion could lead to further violence against doctors.In the end, Wilbert allowed the testimony but restricted how much Roeder could say about abortion. And at the end of the day he ruled that he would not give jurors the option of considering a voluntary manslaughter conviction.Such a defense requires that a person must be stopping the imminent use of unlawful force, he said. “There’s no imminence of danger on a Sunday morning in the back of a church,” Wilbert said, “let alone unlawful conduct.” “In the state of Kansas, abortions are legal.” Dressed in a black suit, white shirt and red tie, Roeder began testifying before noon after Wilbert denied the defense’s attempt to call former Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline as a witness. Roeder testified that the evidence presented by the prosecution was accurate, and in fact he added some details.Roeder said he bought a .22-caliber handgun on May 18, went target shooting with it on May 30 and used it to shoot Tiller in the forehead on May 31 while Tiller was serving as an usher in his church. During his testimony, Roeder also revealed that he had taken a loaded gun to Tiller’s church on three prior occasions — in August 2008, on May 24 and to an evening service the night before Tiller died. He said he intended to kill Tiller each time, but Tiller was not at those services. And Roeder disclosed what he did with the .22-caliber Taurus handgun that he used to shoot Tiller. He said he stopped in Burlington, Kan., while heading home to Kansas City on U.S. Highway 75 after the shooting. “There was a parking lot with gravel and a big dirt pile,” he said. “I wrapped the gun in cloth and then buried it in the dirt.” He said he intended to eventually retrieve the still-loaded gun if he hadn’t been caught. Roeder testified that he later told his attorneys where to find the gun but that efforts to locate it were unsuccessful. Roeder also said that he’d considered other ways to stop Tiller from performing abortions, including cutting Tiller’s hands off with a sword and taking a sniper shot at him outside his clinic.

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Posted on Thu, Jan. 28, 2010 07:20 PM

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Roeder trial: Judge rules out manslaughter option

By JUDY L. THOMAS

The Kansas City Star

Jeff Tuttle

Scott Roeder listens to Sedgwick County District Judge Warren Wilbert while testifying in his own defense during his first-degree murder trial on Thursday, Jan. 28, 2010, in Wichita. Roeder admitting under oath that he shot Dr. George Tiller inside Tiller's church on May 31, 2009.

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WICHITA | In a blow to the defense, the judge in Scott Roeder’s murder trial ruled today that jurors will not be allowed to consider the less serious charge of voluntary manslaughter.

The ruling by Sedgwick County District Judge Warren Wilbert came after Roeder took the stand Thursday, admitting he killed abortion doctor George Tiller in his church last May and that he had been thinking about doing so since 1993.

“There was nothing being done and the legal process had been exhausted, and these babies were dying every day,” Roeder said. “The lives of those children were in imminent danger. If someone did not stop him, the babies were going to continue to die.”

Closing arguments will begin Friday morning, and then jurors will begin deliberations on whether to convict Roeder of premeditated, first-degree murder.

The defense presented its case on Thursday with Roeder as its only witness.

Roeder had hoped that if he had the chance to explain in detail to jurors why he killed Tiller, they might see the necessity of his actions and convict of him voluntary manslaughter.

In fact, that became a linch-pin issue in the past month after the judge said he would allow such testimony. That decision galvanized those on both sides of the issue.

Roeder supporters were delighted that he would have the chance to expose what they described as a “baby-killing industry.” But abortion-rights advocates were outraged, saying that turning the trial into a referendum on abortion could lead to further violence against doctors.

In the end, Wilbert allowed the testimony but restricted how much Roeder could say about abortion. And at the end of the day he ruled that he would not give jurors the option of considering a voluntary manslaughter conviction.

Such a defense requires that a person must be stopping the imminent use of unlawful force, he said.

“There’s no imminence of danger on a Sunday morning in the back of a church,” Wilbert said, “let alone unlawful conduct.”

“In the state of Kansas, abortions are legal.”

Dressed in a black suit, white shirt and red tie, Roeder began testifying before noon after Wilbert denied the defense’s attempt to call former Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline as a witness.

Roeder testified that the evidence presented by the prosecution was accurate, and in fact he added some details.

Roeder said he bought a .22-caliber handgun on May 18, went target shooting with it on May 30 and used it to shoot Tiller in the forehead on May 31 while Tiller was serving as an usher in his church.

During his testimony, Roeder also revealed that he had taken a loaded gun to Tiller’s church on three prior occasions — in August 2008, on May 24 and to an evening service the night before Tiller died. He said he intended to kill Tiller each time, but Tiller was not at those services.

And Roeder disclosed what he did with the .22-caliber Taurus handgun that he used to shoot Tiller. He said he stopped in Burlington, Kan., while heading home to Kansas City on U.S. Highway 75 after the shooting.

“There was a parking lot with gravel and a big dirt pile,” he said. “I wrapped the gun in cloth and then buried it in the dirt.”

He said he intended to eventually retrieve the still-loaded gun if he hadn’t been caught. Roeder testified that he later told his attorneys where to find the gun but that efforts to locate it were unsuccessful.

Roeder also said that he’d considered other ways to stop Tiller from performing abortions, including cutting Tiller’s hands off with a sword and taking a sniper shot at him outside his clinic.

Posted on Thu, Jan. 28, 2010 07:20 PM

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