It took 12 of Scott Roeder’s peers 37 minutes to convict him of premeditated, first degree murder. The story will be all over the Internet in a few minutes, probably in variations of the Associated Press report in the New York Daily News:
WICHITA, Kan. – A man who said he killed prominent Kansas abortion provider Dr. George Tiller in order to save the lives of unborn children was convicted Friday of murder.
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.
He faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years when he is sentenced March 9. Prosecutor Nola Foulston said she would pursue a so-called “Hard 50″ sentence, which would require Roeder to serve at least 50 years before he can be considered for parole.
Tiller’s widow, Jeanne, and the rest of the family quickly exited the courtroom after the verdict. In a statement, Jeanne Tiller said “once again, a Sedwick County jury has reached a just verdict.”
We don’t argue with that. Mr. Roeder confessed to walking up to Dr. Tiller and shooting him in the head. Moreover, he did in front of multiple witnesses who testified to that effect during the trial. We’re not so sure about the part about his “legacy of service to women, the help he provided for those who needed it and the love and happiness he provided [the Tiller family]as a husband, father and grandfather.” But then, what else would they say? Our guess is that Saddam Hussein was saddened at the deaths of his sons.
Mr. Roeder will, of course, not be eligible for the death penalty. That would have required “aggravating circumstances” which were not found to be present, although we’re pretty sure that if they had been there the prosecutor would have found them. After 25 years, Mr. Roeder will be about 76 years old before he meets the parole board. If the judge imposes a “hard 50″ sentence, as the prosecutors have asked, he will be 101. Not that that is a comforting thought. Mr. James von Brunn was 89 years old when, the police tell us, he shot up the Holocaust Museum in Washington. He died in aFederal prison hospital in North Carolina, awaiting trial.
