'The Babies Were Going to Die the Next Day'

'The Babies Were Going to Die the Next Day'

Yesterday Scott Roeder, who killed Kansas abortion doctor George Tiller last May, took the stand in his own defense at his murder trial in Wichita. But since Roeder admits to shooting Tiller in the head at his church after carefully planning the act, he really has no defense to offer. Judge Warren Wilbert would not allow him to argue that his crime was necessary to prevent a greater evil—i.e., Tiller's continued murder of unborn children. Nor would Wilbert allow Roeder to argue that he should be convicted of voluntary manslaughter instead of first-degree murder because he acted based on "an unreasonable but honest belief that circumstances existed that justified deadly force." Wilbert nevertheless allowed Roeder to explain his motive to the jury. "I did what I thought was needed to be done to protect the children," he said. "I shot him....If I didn't do it, the babies were going to die the next day." Barring jury nullification, this explanation won't have any impact on the verdict, so the trial seems pretty pointless from a legal perspective. Roeder freely admits to what the law defines as premeditated murder, and under the law his motive makes no ...