The jury in the George Tiller killing convicted Scott Roeder of murder in the first degree. From the story:
Jurors swiftly convicted an abortion opponent of murder Friday for shooting to death one of the only doctors to offer late-term abortions in the U.S., a killing the gunman claimed was justified to save the lives of unborn children.More NewsThe jury deliberated for just 37 minutes before finding Scott Roeder, 51, of Kansas City, Mo., guilty of premeditated, first-degree murder for putting a gun to the forehead of Dr. George Tiller on May 31 and pulling the trigger.//
There was no other verdict to reach. George Tiller enthusiastically engaged in the odious practice of late term abortion. But that did not justify murder, nor should Roeder’s desire to save babies mitigate the punishment. Roeder not only murdered a man, he acted as a vigilante. Nothing could be more dangerous in a free society. Nothing could more violate the principles of love and service for which the pro life movement strives to stand.
January 30th, 2010 | 8:20 am
Very well said Wesley; nothing to add.
January 30th, 2010 | 9:20 pm
Yes , nothing is more dangerous in our society than a vigilante who takes life into his own hands. Especially one who takes many lives into his own hands. There is justice and there is legality which in the case of abortion, is not just, of course. There is no wonder confusion reigns in this perverted society. A “pro life” person kills which of course makes him not pro life, but “pro choice” and he gets convicted of murder. An obviously “pro choice” doctor kills over and over again and is honored as “doctor” and exonerated as a martyr when someone who is pro choice does the same to him. Quite confusing is it not? No I don’t condone it; but one can see why a person could be confused by the injustice of it all.
January 30th, 2010 | 9:49 pm
Violence begets violence.
January 31st, 2010 | 5:55 pm
I agree that the conviction is right, but the idea that nothing could be more dangerous than a vigilante to a free society, or more contrary to principles of love and service, surely cannot be literally true. There is nothing special about evils committed by a vigilante–they are not necessarily either more or less contrary to good or damaging to social order than any other evils.
January 31st, 2010 | 8:40 pm
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Southern Appeal, doctor horton and doctor horton, DNC DUDES. DNC DUDES said: Murder Conviction in Tiller Shooting: The jury in the George Tiller killing convicted Scott Roeder of murder … http://bit.ly/93bcCm #tcot [...]
February 1st, 2010 | 4:50 am
My head agrees with Wesley but part of me asks: “What if?” What if it were lawful to kill your newborn (as Peter Singer would allow) or to kill your elderly or severely disabled relatives (which is becoming legal in parts of the world)? Must Christians simply shout objections from the sidelines and not intervene? Evil is smuggled in with hard cases and good intentions and very soon those whom Lord Denning called “right-thinking people” resign themselves to doing nothing much about it.
February 1st, 2010 | 11:58 am
Ian: Christians once did live in a society that condoned infanticide by exposure, and even permitted the “man of the house” to kill his wife. It was the Roman Empire. Christians did not respond by violently attacking people engaged in those atrocities, but by taking the rejected children into their own homes, caring for the poor, etc. It changed the world.
February 3rd, 2010 | 4:28 am
Bonhoeffer is widely portrayed as a martyr for wanting to save Jews by plotting to kill Hitler, but by this reasoning he only got what he deserved when he was executed for treason.
Links
Blogs
Find Us
Contact