Dr. Tiller's Killer Could Get Less Than 5 Years Prison Time

by Alex DiBranco · 2010-01-11 21:19:00 UTC
Topics:

What should have been a straight-forward case against late-term abortion provider Dr. George Tiller's confessed killer took a frightening twist last week, when a judge ruled that Scott Roeder's lawyers can present a "voluntary manslaughter" defense.

The sentence for voluntary manslaughter can be a pitiful five years, and the maximum sentence is set at less than 13 years.

Katherine Spiller, executive vice president of the Feminist Majority Foundation, says that this move could lead to "open season on doctors." Another late-term abortion doctor, Warren Hern, says, "'This judge has basically announced a death sentence for all of us who help women."

Rev. Don Spitz, who maintains the website for the Army of God, an extremist anti-choice group that promotes the use of violence, was himself (pleasantly) surprised at the decision. Spitz agrees with Spiller and Hern that removing the risk of a death sentence or life imprisonment for killing a doctor "may increase the number of people who may be willing to take that risk."

Kansas law defines voluntary manslaughter as "an unreasonable but honest belief that circumstances existed that justified deadly force." Prosecutors warn of far-reaching implications for this decision: "Taken to its logical extreme, this line of thinking would allow anyone to commit premeditated murder, but only be guilty of manslaughter, simply because the victim holds a different set of moral and political beliefs than the attacker."

Photo credit: Ken_Mayer

Alex DiBranco is a Change.org Editor who has worked for the Nation, Political Research Associates, and the Center for American Progress. She is now based in New York City.
PREVIOUS STORY:
Nevada Personhood Initiative Tossed Out
NEXT STORY:
Fox News' Trotta Still Doesn't Get It: I Want Her Rape Apologism Off the Air

COMMENTS (93)

    Comment Policy

    · All fields are required to comment.

    [X]

    Comments on Change.org are meant for further exploration and evaluation of the campaign on Change.org. To that end, we welcome constructive comments. However, we reserve the right to delete comments which, as determined solely in our discretion: (1) are offensive, abusive, or off-topic; (2) include content solely intended to personally attack the campaign creator, (3) are designed to subvert or hijack comment threads rather than contribute to them; and/or (4) violate our terms of service and/or privacy policy. Repeat offenders may be permanently removed from the site at our discretion. Please also be advised that: (A) we do not actively curate and/or monitor in any manner whatsoever the comments made on the Change.org platform, and (B) the creator of each campaign on Change.org may remove any comment at her/his/its discretion.