Author: Carolyn Marie Fugit

Scott Roeder, in his testimony Thursday, decided as far back as 1993 that Dr. George
Tiller needed to die. He thought of several different ways
to do it. He could not do it outside the clinic. He drove by the neighborhood
where Dr. Tiller lived but could not get in. He could not do it at the Sedgwick
County Courthouse while Dr. Tiller was on trial. In August 2008, he went into
Reformation Lutheran Church with a Smith and Wesson 9 millimeter gun in a
shoulder holster under his suit coat but did not see Dr. Tiller in order to
kill him. He pawned his 9 mm and an SKS Chinese assault rifle. On May 18th,
2009, he bought a Taurus P-22 caliber handgun, one that would fit in his pocket;
he picked it up on May 23rd, 2009, and then drove to Wichita to kill Dr. Tiller
in church on Sunday, May 24th. He did not see Dr. Tiller so drove back home to
Kansas City, Missouri. On May 29th, he spent some time with his son, going to
dinner and a movie. On May 30th, he bought more ammunition then drove to
Topeka. He visited his childhood neighborhood, wondering if a childhood
friend’s mother still lived there. He drove out to his brother’s, took target
practice, and when his gun stopped working right, took it in to get fixed and
bought more ammunition. He then drove towards Wichita, stopping to shoot on
occasion on his way. He carried the gun in with him on May 30th as he attended
Saturday night service. He did not see Dr. Tiller so he left, checked into a
nearby hotel, watched TV, ate dinner, prepared for the next day, and went to
bed. On Sunday morning, he checked out, drove to the church, backed into a
parking spot, went inside the church, and sat down, having not yet seen Dr.
Tiller. After service started, he saw Dr. Tiller leave the sanctuary and
followed. A few seconds later, he put the gun against Dr. Tiller’s head and
pulled the trigger. He ran out of the church. Realizing he was being followed,
he told Gary Hoepner to stop following, he had a gun. He got to his car, and as
he started to drive away, Keith Martin stepped in front of it. He told Martin
to move, and when Martin did not, repeated his instruction and said he had a
gun. Martin threw a cup of coffee into the car. Roeder drove out of Wichita and
stopped in "Valley View" for lunch and gas. He continued until he
reached Burlington where he changed out of the coffee-stained white shirt and
into a denim shirt. He wrapped the loaded gun in cloth, with the intention of
retrieving it someday, and buried it in a pile of dirt. He then continued back
home to Kansas City, Missouri. At some point, he told his attorneys where he
had hidden the gun, but when they returned, the pile of dirt – along with the
loaded gun used to kill Dr. Tiller and threaten both Hoepner and Martin – was
gone.

After testimony Wednesday, the prosecution refused to
rest until such time as the defense proffered – offered testimony outside the
presence of the jury – their witnesses. After some arguments regarding one of
the witnesses, former Kansas Attorney General Phil Kline came in to deliver
what the defense expected him to testify to. After wandering off-topic a couple
of times, venturing into inappropriate testimony regarding legal investigations
that are protected and flat out saying Dr. Tiller performed illegal abortions –
charges which were dismissed and others for which Dr. Tiller was acquitted –
Kline was asked to leave while the court discussed whether he would be allowed
to testify. Judge Warren Wilbert ruled he had nothing to offer that would be
within the scope of a murder trial and would not help Roeder’s defense, saying
"As I sat here and listened to Phil Kline testify, … It’s exactly what
this court seeks to avoid." With no more witnesses for the defense to
proffer, the state rested at 11:07 am.

Public Defender Steve Osburn delivered his opening
statement. Roeder, he said, felt Dr. Tiller "broke the spirit of the
law" when he performed late abortions for reasons of mental health of the
woman. A preview of the rest of the day, Osburn outlined Roeder’s beliefs and
actions, saying Scott Roeder fired one shot into Dr. Tiller. He also threatened
both Hoepner and Martin before heading out of town.

The defense called one witness: Scott P. Roeder. Before
the jury came in, Roeder was asked for the record if he waived his right
against self-incrimination as guaranteed under the Fifth Amendment. He was told
he would have to answer all questions asked of him and could not confer with
his attorneys. He agreed and took the stand. After learning he was born in
Denver, Colorado, he was asked if he had sat through the whole trial and if he
did not dispute the evidence with "very, very few exceptions." Roeder
said this is true.

Roeder was not really religious as a child and did not
consider himself Christian. In 1992, while watching The 700 Club, Roeder decided to give himself over to Jesus Christ.
He describes himself as "born-again." While he had always thought
abortion was wrong, he did not become interested in it until around that time.
In 1993, Rachelle "Shelley" Shannon shot Dr. Tiller. Around this
time, Roeder determined the only way to stop abortion–"the killing of
children" as he put it–was to kill Dr. Tiller. He never focused on any
other abortion provider. He visited Shannon in prison and began to protest at a
clinic in the Kansas City area, offering "sidewalk counseling". He
did not see himself as protesting but that some people held signs and did
protest alongside the counseling. During this time, he met like-minded people
who also believed in murdering providers, though he did not discuss it with
just anyone outside the clinic. He said no one tried to talk him out of
killing, though he did not tell anyone he planned on killing Dr. Tiller.

Over the years, he thought of many different ways to kill
Dr. Tiller including chopping his hands off with a sword. He decided this would
not put an end to abortion as Dr. Tiller could still teach others. He also
thought about assassinating Dr. Tiller with a sniper rifle, but this plan had
problems. He thought about killing Dr. Tiller at his home, but his home was
inside a gated community and he could not get in. He felt the only place Dr.
Tiller was vulnerable, his only "window of opportunity," was to kill
Dr. Tiller at church where he would not be in his armored car, be without a
bulletproof vest, and without a bodyguard.

In 2000, he began traveling to Wichita to protest outside
Women’s Health Care Services. He also protested outside Reformation Lutheran
Church a couple of times. In 2002, he parked his car by St. George’s Orthodox
Cathedral, right next to Reformation Lutheran, and walked over to the church. A
law enforcement officer stopped him and asked what he was doing there. Roeder
said he was moving to Wichita and was looking for a new church. When asked if
he knew Dr. Tiller went there, he said he did not know whom Dr. Tiller was.
Roeder did not return to Reformation Lutheran for a few years. In August of
2008, he began visiting the church again. He caused no ruckus and no
disruptions. He wanted the people in the church to trust him, to feel
comfortable with him, so he could kill Dr. Tiller there. As Gary Hoepner
testified, Roeder succeeded in this mission. He carried a gun in with him on
August 24, 2008; May 24, 2009; May 30, 2009; and May 31, 2009. He feels no
regret for killing Dr. Tiller. And after he did, he simply tried to go home, at
one point even thinking he would go to work the next day.

As Roeder explained his position on abortion, he said his
religious beliefs and opinions on abortion "go hand-in-hand." From
conception forward, he explained, "It is not man’s job to take life,"
only God’s, except for self-defense or the defense of others. He stated
uncertainty that abortion is acceptable to save a woman’s life. Other medical
exceptions are not acceptable, he said, only life, and certainly not mental
illness. Abortion is not acceptable to him in the case of incest and rape
because, "two wrongs don’t make a right."

At about 4:05 pm, Roeder finished testifying about his
murder of Dr. George Tiller and aggravated assaults of Gary Hoepner and Keith
Martin, and the defense rested. The jury is excused. We wait as the court, the
state, and the defense prepare for motions regarding jury instructions. During
this time, around 5:00, Mark Rudy informs the press that, shortly before Roeder
testified, they informed police the location of the gun. At that time,
authorities began a search in Burlington, KS.

As Wilbert introduced his draft proposal of the jury
instructions and voluntary manslaughter was not among them, the few pro-choice
activists left in the courtroom breathed a sigh of relief, one expressing even
more joy. The defense asked for the instruction, and arguments commenced. After
some arguments, Wilbert explained in detail – largely repeating previous
statements and case law – why he was denying the request. Most of the argument
revolved around imminence – that Roeder believed Dr. Tiller was an imminent
threat – though Wilbert stated he failed to prove this, even by his own
admission by stating he killed Dr. Tiller 22 hours before he would perform
another abortion. Wilbert quoted from the case that rather defines voluntary
manslaughter in Kansas, and in that ruling, 2 hours was not considered
"imminent." Wilbert then continued: justified use of deadly force
requires that the imminent threat be unlawful. And no matter what people
believe, abortion is legal and Roeder provided no information that Dr. Tiller
was breaking the law. He re-emphasized another case – one that dealt with
protesting Dr. Tiller many years before – that stated allowing any form of the
necessity defense would "not only lead to chaos but would be tantamount to
sanctioning anarchy."

The jury will return Friday morning to receive their
instructions – to convict or not on one count of first-degree premeditated
murder and two counts of aggravated assault – and hear closing arguments. We
may know as soon as Friday evening their verdict.

As we left the courthouse Thursday night, it began to
snow. It seemed as if the sky felt the cold
inside the courtroom coming from Scott Roeder and opened up on Wichita.

Carolyn Marie Fugit is on assignment for RH Reality Check covering the trial of Scott Roeder.

For several months, we have heard stories about Scott
Roeder’s assassination of Dr. George Tiller. We have heard many stories through
the media from people near the case but not part of it. In July, we got the
first taste of what we would expect to hear in the trial: two ushers near Dr.
Tiller chased Roeder who threatened them; a late-comer to church saw the
license plate; and Dr. Tiller died of from a single shot, the gun pressed right
against his head. During last week’s opening statement, the prosecution said
they would introduce evidence that Roeder stayed in Wichita overnight after
going to his brother’s in Topeka for target practice. When he was arrested, he
was wearing shoes that contained Dr. Tiller’s blood. The gun has still not been
found. We’ve heard stories from eyewitnesses, seen photographs of important
items, and heard law enforcement retracing evidence. And today, we put the
final pieces together.

Friday, we heard the 911 call Kathy Wegner made after she
heard a gunshot, turned around, and saw Dr. Tiller lying on the ground. Dr.
Paul Ryding heard the gunshot, went into the foyer, and tried to help Dr.
Tiller though he figured it was too late. Two Wichita police officers describe
answering the call to help, their arrival at the church, and described the
pictures of the scene and Dr. Tiller.

After the weekend, Gary Hoepner told us that as he was
talking to Dr. Tiller, he saw Roeder walking out of the sanctuary. He looked at
the table and, in the corner of his eye, saw Roeder shoot Dr. Tiller. He chased
after, hearing Roeder shout back that he had a gun. Keith Martin, on the other
side of the foyer, heard the shot, saw someone running out, and gave chase a
different way. He stood in front of Roeder’s car. Roeder told him to move, but
he didn’t. Roeder pointed his gun at him, told him again to move, and he did.
As Roeder drove off, he threw the coffee he still had into the open window.
Pastor Kristin Neitzel saw Roeder at the special Pentecostal service Saturday,
May 31st. She thought it was odd that he left very early in the service. She
sat down where he had sat and found an envelope with an odd message. On that
Sunday, she led the service, telling the congregants of the shooting before
leading them in prayer.

On Tuesday, we heard a great deal of evidence. Roeder
stayed in a hotel near the church, chatting with the clerk before he left.
Shortly after he reached Gardner in Johnson County, sheriff deputies pulled him
over and arrested him. When his car arrived in Wichita, unspent ammunition was
found inside along with the shirt he was wearing in the church. There were
coffee spots on the car that were consistent with Martin tossing the cup at
him. We learned Roeder had bought the gun in Lawrence approximately two weeks
before, picked it up the week before, and ammunition for it the day before. He
went to Topeka for target practice at his brother’s house. The gun had some
problems so they took it to a gun shop in Topeka, bought some more ammo and
some gun oil.

Today began with Gary Miller, the firearm and tool mark
examiner for Sedgwick County. He examined bullet fragments and shell casings
from both the church and Roeder’s brother’s in Topeka. He said he could not
positively say the bullets were fired from the same gun. He could say, however,
that all the casings found in Topeka matched the one found in the church: they
were fired from the same gun.

Shelly Steadman is the DNA lab manager at Sedgwick
County’s Forensic Science Center. She examined blood on the pants Roeder was
wearing at his arrest. She said what she was able to examine was Roeder’s
blood. The blood on one of the shoes he was wearing, however, matched Dr.
Tiller’s.

Dr. Jaime Oeberst is the District Coroner and chief
medical examiner for Sedgwick County. An x-ray showed fragments near an entry
wound and a larger fragment at the back of Dr. Tiller’s head. She said soot
deposits, among other evidence, showed the gun was placed on Dr. Tiller’s head,
as he was looking down, when he was shot.

With this, the jury left. Before the prosecution will
rest Thursday morning, there were a couple of legal matters that needed to be
handled. The defense had subpoenaed Jeanne Tiller for Dr. Tiller’s appointment
records. The defense withdrew this subpoena: Dr. Tiller’s patients will remain
confidential. The judge also squashed a subpoena for Deputy Attorney General
Barry Disney. The defense said they wanted him to testify that he tried Dr.
Tiller last March "in good faith". Judge Wilbert ruled this was unnecessary
and was irrelevant. The defense wanted to make sure the record reflected their
objections and reasons for the subpoena for the Court of Appeals.

From now on, the defense will have to proffer – meaning
outside the presence of the jury – what evidence any witness will testify about
before they will be allowed to testify. Tomorrow will start with the defense
proffer of former Kansas Attorney General Phil Kline. It is at this time that
Roeder will try to say he held the "honest but unreasonable belief"
required for voluntary manslaughter. But before the jury will deliberate, the
defense must satisfy the judge that they have proved Dr. Tiller provided an
imminent threat. Only the next couple of days will tell.

Carolyn Marie Fugit is covering the trial of Scott Roeder on assignment for RH Reality Check.  Click here to see her report from Day One and Two.

On the third day of Scott Roeder’s trial for the murder of
Dr. George Tiller testimony was heard from Wichita Police Department detectives and
officers, Sheriff’s deputies, FBI Special Agents, and clerks, all of whom talked about the days their paths crossed with Roeder.

The Sunday morning of May 31st 2009, Lt. Kenneth Landwehr, commander of
the homicide squad, received a call that there had been a shooting. After being
briefed and examining the crime scene, Landwehr worked with other law
enforcement agencies in Kansas and other states, issuing a BOLO, "Be on
the lookout." He talked with the District Attorney about possible other
targets and notified Nebraska. Other officers, including Jason Bartel, were checking
with every hotel in Wichita to see if Roeder had checked in. Saturday, he
checked into the Garden Inn near Kellogg and Rock, about three miles south of
the church. The week before, he had stayed at the Starlight Motel, about a mile
and a half west of the Garden Inn on Kellogg, the major highway through
Wichita.

Sandy Michael had the misfortune of checking Roeder out
of the hotel on Sunday, May 31. She remembered he seemed "happy-go-lucky" and
friendly as he checked out. He had paid with cash and used a coupon – readily available
throughout Wichita – reducing the rate for the night to just under $40. He
arrived the night before around 6:10 pm and left Sunday around 9:30 am, on his
way to the church.

In Johnson County, Kansas, approximately three hours
northeast of Wichita via the fastest highway route, Johnson County Deputy
Andrew Lento patrolled his area of the county. It is usually "very
quiet" Sunday mornings in the furthest south patrol of the county. That
morning around 10:40 am, he was informed of a BOLO for a car with Johnson County
plates. Lento let other officers north of him aware of his plan: at about 1 pm,
he would go as far south as he was permitted on I-35 and wait in the median; if
he saw the car, he would follow it north until they could back him up. They had
been informed the driver was armed, making this a high-risk traffic stop
needing at least 3 officers. A half hour later, he saw a light colored car
headed towards him, the shiny K-State Wildcat vanity plate visible nearly a
half mile away. He got behind the car and confirmed the plate number as the one
they were looking for. A few miles later, they pulled him over and took
him into custody.

The car was sealed for evidence, and Roeder
taken to the county jail where Lento took several pictures of Roeder, dressed
in a denim shirt and black slacks. He noticed some blood spots on a shoe and
his slacks. On cross examination, Steve Osburn asked if the car made any
attempts to leave the highway once Lento’s car got behind him. Lento said he
did not and agreed with Osburn that Roeder complied and did not resist his
arrest.

After Roeder’s car arrived in Wichita, Crime Scene
Investigator Andrew Maul began his investigation. First thing he pointed out to
the jury were a few light brown splashes. He had been told that an usher – Keith
Martin – had thrown a cup of coffee at the car as it drove away.  In the
photographs, we can see some landed on the hood, on the roof, and on the
partially-opened window. He informs us the splatters he saw were consistent
with the throwing of a coffee cup. Inside the car, he found a white shirt with
brown spots on it, two ties, live rounds under a seat, a box of ammunition,
several papers from the driver’s side visor – bulletin from the church for May
24; a welcome pamphlet; another handout , this time with Rev. Lowell
Michelson’s name and phone number; another handout from the service on May 30
with a note written on it; card from the Garden Inn; and a check copy from a
checkbook made out to the Bullet Hole – car registration information in the
glove box, and an insurance card in the names of David and Karen Roeder. He
also found a "nasty-looking, serrated, sheath-type knife," he said,
under the front passenger seat and more bullets in the back. He showed us the
white shirt with coffee stains – Keith Martin’s doing all the way back in
Wichita.

In Kansas City, Missouri, FBI Special Agent Andrew Alvey
was asked to look for evidence in the house where Roeder lived. Earlier, the
address from Roeder’s driver’s license and car registration were searched only
to find no one had lived there in a while. Alvey went in and found a bedroom in
disarray. On the bed lay an open and empty suitcase, an empty gun box laying in
front of it. In the living room lay a calendar underneath a remote control. He
also found a receipt for ammo from the Bullet Hole and a church bulletin from
Reformation Lutheran for August 24, 2008.

We hear from three employees of Jayhawk Pawn and Jewelry
in Lawrence who helped Roeder purchase a small .22 caliber handgun and some
ammunition. One explained to him they only carried two brands of ammo for that
size gun – a low velocity and a high velocity. Since Roeder had said he wanted
the gun for target practice, it was recommended that he buy the low velocity as
it is not as loud. However, it had to be loaded from the top of the gun, not in
the magazine, one at a time. As he checked out Roeder, buying one of each kind,
Roeder chit chatted with another patron he had been talking to beforehand.
Later that day, Roeder and another man went to High Plains Gun Shop in Topeka.
Roeder said his gun was not working right. The gun, we hear, was dirty, dry,
and the handle was held on with electrical tape. It was not working properly,
he was told, because he was using the wrong ammunition. While the owner of the
shop fixed the gun, Roeder asked about proper ammo. He bought two different
kinds, some gun oil, and a bumper sticker. Roeder and the man he came in with
spent about half an hour in the store.

Monday morning, Highway Trooper Denton Murray received a
phone call from a man calling himself David Roeder. His daughter had received a
phone call from the media asking about Scott. David was concerned the gun used
to kill Dr. Tiller had his fingerprints on it. As it was explained to Murray,
Scott went to Topeka Saturday afternoon for some target practice at his
brother’s. The two went to High Plains Gun Shop when the gun would not shoot
properly. Murray and FBI Special Agent Michael Miller went out to David’s house
in a more rural part of Shawnee County. On June 1st and 2nd, Miller found
several shell casings and a few bullets on David’s property. They had been told
David owns two guns that Scott use to own – a 9 millimeter and an assault
rifle. He says while they were told the 9 millimeter gun had been used for
target practice in the past, they had not found any spent casings for it those
days, only for the 22. They did not identify what type of shells they found as
they "let the scientists back in the lab make that determination."

Today, we learned how Roeder was apprehended, what he had
in his car on May 31st, that he stayed overnight in Wichita both the night
before and the week before, that he had purchased a gun two weeks earlier, and
that just the day before, he had his gun fixed, bought the correct ammunition,
and made sure his gun worked before he found his way into a special Pentecostal
service at Reformation Lutheran Church. The day before he finally carried out
his plan to assassinate Dr. George Tiller.

Carolyn Marie Fugit is working on assignment for RH Reality Check to cover the trial of Scott Roeder, and Kansas politics more broadly.

Last week, the Kansas City Star reported that Kansas state Senator Tom Holland is looking at a run for Kansas Governor against United States Senator Sam Brownback. Brownback is known for staunch anti-choice politics, and as governor, much anti-abortion legislation that has died by veto the last 7 years will sail into law. Holland has a strong pro-choice record though is not well-known outside his area of northeast Kansas.

What chance do Kansas women have to hold our ground?
Holland was first elected to the Kansas House of Representatives in 2002 where he served until he moved to the Senate after the 2008 election. He is known as great campaigner, excelling at raising money and reaching out to his constituents. He unseated two Republican incumbents. Should he decide to run, he will enter the race at least a year after Brownback.

During the summer of 2009, it was widely rumored Kansas Democratic Party chair Larry Gates would run for governor, but he backed out in November. Tom Wiggans, a Kansan by birth who lived in California for many years, formed an exploratory committee the same month only to decide against running in December. With both these men running, others interested in running held back.

It remains to be seen if Holland will ultimately run, but he is one of our best options to defeat Brownback.

Kansas essentially has three unofficial political parties: the ultra-conservative Republicans, moderate Republicans, and Democrats. When now-Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius won her first gubernatorial election in 2002, the Republican party splintered between the conservatives and moderates with a conservative candidate taking the party nomination. She won with 53% of the vote.

2002 was also the year Kansans elected Republican Phill Kline as Attorney General. The election was close: Kline beat unknown Chris Biggs with only 50.3% of the vote.

When Sebelius ran for re-election in 2006, she chose for her running mate a former chair of the Kansas Republican Party, Mark Parkinson, who had switched parties to run. That same year, another high profile Republican, Johnson County District Attorney Paul Morrison, switched parties to run against Kline. Both Sebelius and Morrison handily defeated their conservative opponents in landslide victories.

Statewide, Kansans generally vote for moderate Democrats over conservative Republicans.

Holland’s biggest advantage is Brownback’s very conservative politics. However, Brownback has spent the last year shoring up support among moderate Republican politicians, including four-term Secretary of State Ron Thornburgh who originally filed to run against Brownback in the Republican gubernatorial race but backed out in June only to join Brownback’s campaign.

Also working against Holland is that he’s a Democrat. He is also pro-choice. While his record is not 100%, he has supported important pro-choice legislation. With at least three choice-related bills coming up this session in the Kansas Legislature – abstinence-plus sexual education, another attempt to defund Planned Parenthood, and tougher restrictions on late abortions even though the only clinic in the state to provide them closed after Dr. George Tiller was murdered – Holland’s votes will undoubtedly play a role in the next election.
Though one of Kansas’s three abortion clinics is now closed, Kansas conservatives are still on the move to restrict abortion out of existence by making it too difficult for women seek an abortion. Defunding Planned Parenthood – passed in 2009 but vetoed by Governor Parkinson – will dramatically impact access to reproductive health care, including contraception. And while Kansas does not require schools to teach abstinence-only sex ed, there is no policy for a more comprehensive approach.

It looks bleak for Kansas women right now. If Holland does run against Brownback, he starts considerably later. Brownback has been making efforts to unite the conservative and moderate factions of the Kansas Republican Party. But Holland runs a good campaign, has many supporters in his district, and is a moderate. It will be difficult, but there is hope, however slight, that Kansans will continue to stand behind a moderate governor. Kansans should find that hope in Tom Holland.

Carolyn Marie Fugit is covering the trial of Scott Roeder on assignment for RH Reality Check.

DAY TWO (DAY ONE FOLLOWS BELOW)

Walking into the Sedgwick County Courthouse Monday
morning, I saw a van covered in anti-abortion messages. Missionaries to the
Pre-Born Iowa, formed by Army of God member Dan Holman, was parked in front,
displaying grotesque images, pretty images, and messages saying abortion causes
breast cancer and against vaccination. Inside, David Leach waited for day two
of the trial to start. He and two companions talked to some members of the
media. I chatted with representatives from the Feminist Majority Foundation and
the National Abortion Federation. Outside the courtroom, the conversation was
all about abortion. Inside, it was suppose to be about a murder.

First in the morning are two ushers Scott Roeder
threatened after he shot Dr. George Tiller. Gary Hoepner stood at the
refreshments table with Dr. Tiller, chatting about donuts. He saw Roeder come
out of the sanctuary but thought nothing of it as he had seen Roeder the week
before. He looked down then saw someone else out of the corner of his eye and
looked up to see Roeder shoot. 
Hoepner followed, trying to keep him from escaping. As they ran across
some grass, Roeder told Hoepner to stop following him, that he had a gun.
Public Defender Mark Rudy tried to say Hoepner could not be certain Roeder was
shouting at him, but Hoepner said Roeder turned his head and shouted it back at
him. Rudy tried again, as he had on Friday, to make a witness say protestors
often disrupted services because Dr. Tiller provided abortions. Hoepner did not
bite. In an attempt to play towards the lesser charge of voluntary
manslaughter, Rudy asked if Hoepner thought "what [Roeder] did was
reasonable?" Hoepner stated simply, "No." Later, he recalls
letting his guard down, choking up because he felt bad he couldn’t stop Roeder.

Keith Martin was not near Roeder when he shot Dr. Tiller,
but after he heard a loud pop, he turned around to see Dr. Tiller on the ground
and Roeder running across a courtyard. He tried a shortcut through Fellowship
Hall, not quite catching up with Roeder. Martin stared him down briefly as he
got into his car before Roeder stated he had a gun. As he drove off, Martin
threw his cup of coffee into the open driver’s side window, not knowing
entirely why. District Attorney Nola Foulston asks Martin about various
disruptions at the church over the years. He remembered five such times inside
the church and many protests outside. Rudy wanted to know if these protests
were against Dr. Tiller or against the church for having Dr. Tiller. Martin
said they were not just about Dr. Tiller: he had received mail stating he
should not be a Sunday school teacher because of the church he attended. He
described the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America’s social statement on
abortion, one that individuals have no obligation to abide by. It was adopted
in 1991 and has not been changed since. After a series of objections, the
defense decides they may recall Martin at a later date, presumably to talk more
about Dr. Tiller, Reformation Lutheran Church, and anti-abortion protestors.

On Sunday, May 31, 2009, Pastor Kristin Neitzel lead the
service. The night before, at a special Pentecostal service, she noticed Roeder
arrive late and sit away from the rest of the congregation. He left within 10
minutes of the service starting. She followed him out, concerned for security
reasons: ushers had told her late summer, early fall 2009, that they were
concerned about him. She would sit where he had been sitting and notice an
envelope on the pew. A question was written on the outside, asking if the
church was a 501(c)3 under the IRS tax code – a tax-exempt charitable
organization. On the witness stand, she identified a series of bulletins from
the church: August 2009; May 24th, 2009; May 30th, 2009. Sunday morning as she
lead service, she heard a sound she thought was the dropping of a hymnal. After
an usher pulled Senior Pastor Lowell Michelson out of the sanctuary, she was
asked if she wanted to continue with the service. She felt she should. After
the sermon, in accordance with the police, she informed the congregation of the
shooting, and lead them in prayer before they left the church for the day.

Day two ended with Judge Warren Wilbert reminding the
jury to not discuss the case or pay attention to any media coverage, paying
special heed to an issue of GQ published over the weekend that discussed the
case in detail. Outside, Leach and three others had their picture taken in
front of their van by convicted domestic terrorist Michael Bray. As the sun set
in Wichita, Kansas, everyone left, readying for Tuesday.

*********************

DAY ONE:

The first day of Scott Roeder’s murder trial introduced
us to courtroom decorum and evidence that had not yet been discussed in the
media, a preview of what to expect. Friends and supporters of Scott Roeder sat
only a few feet from the family of Dr. George Tiller.

Before the trial began, Judge Warren Wilbert reminded
everyone in the gallery to behave. We could not make audible noises – no grunts
or moans or cheers – and non-verbal cues – facial expressions or body movements
– that could influence the jury. If anyone disobeyed, they would be made to
leave. He could even hold them in contempt of court. Not everyone was pleased
by this. They had been waving to Roeder as he entered the room, and he had been
smiling back at them. Some of Roeder’s supporters would struggle with this
order for proper decorum throughout the day.

Judge Wilbert heard two motions, already brought before
the court. The prosecution requested, once again, that a defense for voluntary
manslaughter not be allowed. District Attorney Nola Foulston described it as
"a wolf in sheep’s clothing," a backdoor for the necessity defense.
Judge Wilbert reminds the court and the public that the defense does not need
to provide any evidence and is presumed innocent. He cannot rule out evidence
before he hears it. He denied their motion "at this time," allowing
them to bring objections on specific evidence later in the trial. The defense
once again asks for a change of venue after recognizing they accepted the jury
that has yet to be sworn in. The judge once again denies their request. The
trial will be held in Wichita.

After the jury is sworn in, Foulston gives her opening
statement. She reminds the jury that she is not presenting evidence, only what
she believes the evidence will show. On the morning of May 31, 2009, Scott
Roeder put a gun to George Tiller’s head and shot him. 911 received the first
call shortly after 10:02 am. A couple minutes later, another call gave dispatch
a description of the car and a plate number. And at 10:13 am, Dr. Tiller was
pronounced dead.

Roeder had stayed overnight at a hotel in Wichita, more
than three hours from where he lived. He stayed at a different one the week
before. When he was pulled over, officers found shoes in his car that had Dr.
Tiller’s blood splattered on them. At his home in Missouri, the FBI found a box
for a gun, a calendar with May 30 and 31 highlighted, a church bulletin from
Reformation Lutheran Church from August of 2008, and an ammunition receipt. The
day before, he went to his brother’s in Topeka, about an hour west of Kansas
City, and had some shooting practice. The FBI found several shell casings, one
of which was the same brand as the one found near Dr. Tiller’s body in Wichita.
The gun has still not been found.

The defense did not offer an opening statement at this
time, and the first witness was called. Diane Gage is Director of Emergency
Communications. We hear the first 911 call. The woman on the line, Kathy
Wegner, was distraught, telling 911 that Dr. Tiller had been shot in church and
the shooter had left. Gage walked through the times of the calls to 911 and to
emergency services. The first officer arrived at 10:07 Sunday morning and the
last one left after 7 Monday morning.

Wegner takes the stand and describes that morning. She is
quite matter-of-fact until she talks about the shooting and seeing Dr. Tiller
on the ground. She made the first call to 911. From the business office, she
could see others gathering around Dr. Tiller. She heard his wife, Jeanne,
scream. We are shown a picture taken that morning, Dr. Tiller laying many feet
away. A Roeder supporter from Texas begins to sway, beaming with joy at the
image of Dr. Tiller’s body. Security warned her to sit back and not smile or
she would have to leave. She begrudgingly complied. Meanwhile, Mrs. Tiller and
their family look away.

Two Wichita police officers describe the call and their
arrival at the church, showing more gruesome pictures. The last witness for the
day is Dr. Paul Ryding, a veterinarian specializing in equine medicine. He
tried to resuscitate Dr. Tiller. He remembered seeing Roeder towards the end of
2008. He remembered Roeder did not participate in the worship service, and when
he tried to engage Roeder later, Roeder was defensive, his conversation
fragmented. Public Defender Mark Rudy tried to make Ryding say he was on the
lookout for strangers because of Dr. Tiller’s field of medicine, a line of
questioning he used during the preliminary hearing. Ryding worked hard not to
go there. Rudy misunderstood part of Ryding’s testimony and started to say the
reason Ryding was suspicious of Roeder was because of abortion. Judge Wilbert
asked the jury to leave while the record was read back. Judge Wilbert offered
Rudy the benefit of the doubt that he simply mis-heard the testimony. He said
the line of questioning would not be allowed unless the witness opened the
door. "But the door is not open," he stated. After the jury came
back, Rudy once again tried to get Ryding to say Dr. Tiller was killed because
of his practice. Judge Wilbert did not allow it. As he had said before, this
trial will not be about abortion.

With less than an hour left in the day, Judge Wilbert
called the day to an end reminding the jury to keep an open mind through the
weekend. We leave the courtroom one day down, several more to go.

After months of motions, calls to the media, and the ensuing circus surrounding his trial, Scott Roeder will finally "have his day in court." This morning, January 22nd, 2010, the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, Roeder’s trial for the first-degree murder of Dr. George Tiller begins with opening statements.

Since May, we have heard much about Dr. Tiller, his practice, and his life. Dr. Tiller’s clinic was bombed in 1986, was part of the "Summer of Mercy" in 1991, and he was shot in both arms in 1993 by Rachelle "Shelley" Shannon. He and his staff, going about day-to-day life, were regularly followed by anti-choice forces, protesting their homes, leafleting their neighbors, and digging through their trash. Websites were dedicated to following Dr. Tiller, his staff, and his volunteers. For several years, he had private security for both his clinic and himself. They attended church with him for a while. But he stood unprotected, living as a normal Wichitan, when Scott Roeder cruelly shot Dr. Tiller as he ushered at the church he had attended for years.

We have also heard much about Roeder, his personal life, and his beliefs. His ex-wife, Lindsey, said he was quite normal when they were married. But in the early 90s, he started to change. He became obsessed with a televangelist, sending him the money they needed for their young family. He eventually moved out, and in 1996, a police officer pulled him over and found explosives in the trunk of his car. A court found him guilty of criminal use of explosives, but the search of his car was illegal and the conviction dropped.

He has been involved with the most radical of anti-choice activists: he visited Shannon while she was in jail in Topeka for shooting Dr. Tiller; he spent time with Regina Dinwiddie, one of the first people tried under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act; he has been in regular contact with David Leach, publisher of Prayer & Action News which included writings from Roeder, and who reprinted the Army of God manual.

In the days before he traveled to Wichita, witnesses at the Aid to Women abortion clinic in Kansas City, Kansas, saw him running away after gluing the locks of the clinic, though the FBI did not investigate.

Thursday evening, 8 men and 6 women had been seated, most of them over 40 according to Ron Sylvester of the Wichita Eagle. Friday will see a few final motions, the jury being sworn in, and opening statements. It will also see Dinwiddie, Leach, Donald Spitz, and other activists for anti-abortion terrorism out in force and in the courtroom to support Roeder.

Dr. Tiller’s family is not expected to be in the courtroom though friends, including former clinic employees and escorts, will be there. After all, this trial is about murder, the murder of a man who helped thousands of women, who contributed to his community, who was involved in his church, and who trusted women.

This post is part of our "What Does Choice Mean to You?" series commemorating the 37th anniversary of Roe v. Wade.

My grandmother was Catholic and a life-long Republican.
During the Democratic National Convention in the summer of 2008, she asked me
what my opinion on abortion was. This was an incredibly awkward conversation
for me as I do not discuss politics with my exceptionally conservative family.
Much to my surprise, she was simply confused. She had heard stories about women
who honestly needed abortions. By the end of it, we had both decided the issue
was very complex, too complex to legislate.

Choice isn’t simply deciding on pregnancy. It’s about the
complex nature of life. Women and men follow a variety of paths in life. Even
those remarkably similar are starkly different. Most of us just want what is
best for ourselves and our families. We must have access to information and be
given the opportunity to consider it, weigh it, and make a decision that best
meets the needs of ourselves, our families, and (hopefully) our communities. We
must be able to discuss it openly and honestly with people, be they our
doctors, our families, or our friends. If our conversation is dismissed, our
lives are dismissed.

Our choices aren’t always the right ones, but if we are
unable to discuss them, we have less of a chance of making healthy decisions.
All too often, we are dissected, categorized, abused, ignored, labeled,
idolized, molded, belittled, negated – regardless of our sex – and if we veer
off the path decided for us, we are haunted, taunted, mortified, attacked,
demolished all in the name of faith, family, community, country, rightness,
justice. People are lost to ideology.

Choice is the conscience decision-making process we
engage in to do what is best for ourselves, our homes, and our families. It is
having access to information. It is having access to our options. And it is
being able to carry out our decisions. Choices are sometimes easy, sometimes
difficult; sometimes our own, sometimes made for us; sometimes public,
sometimes private. But they are what make us human. And humans are too complex
to legislate.