10/26/09
THE BEGINNING OF ME ACTUALLY PUTTING MY OWN WORDS INTO THIS BLOG
Elated and relieved, yet sad and deflated
1-30-10
10/26/10
The Assassination of Dr. Tiller (1 of 6)
The following YouTube Video should play all 6 videos of the series in immediate succession.
10/25/10
Kansas City Star - Tiller Documentary to Air Tonight by Aaron Barnhart
One of the more chilling scenes in "The Assassination of Dr. Tiller" is captured in grainy courtroom video from March 2009.
There is George Tiller, the Wichita doctor, on trial for 19 misdemeanors related to his controversial late-term abortion practice.
And there, in the back of the courtroom, seated next to the leader of the anti-abortion group Operation Rescue, is Scott Roeder, the Kansas City man who — two months after Tiller was cleared on all 19 charges — walked into Tiller's church and shot him.
The first documentary film since Roeder was sentenced to 50 years without parole comes from MSNBC anchor Rachel Maddow, whose show at 8 p.m. today will be pre-empted for the film's premiere.
Maddow, who co-created and narrated the film, said she did it to shed new light on the contentious case.
The film, 43 minutes long with commercial breaks, begins as a straightforward true-crime account.
An usher at Wichita's Reformation Lutheran Church, Gary Hoepner, recounts the morning of May 31, 2009, when he saw Roeder raise the gun to Tiller's head and pull the trigger. Wichita homicide chief detective Ken Landwehr, Sedgwick County District Attorney Nola Foulston and a member of Roeder's defense team, Mark Rudy, describe Roeder's prosecution and conviction.
Then the film rewinds to tell the story of the two men and what led them to that fateful day: how Tiller became an abortion provider, locked horns with Operation Rescue, was shot in both arms by Shelley Shannon in 1993 and defied every attempt to shut down his practice.
How Roeder committed to the anti-abortion cause after becoming a born-again Christian, walked away from his wife and child, began to consort with extremists and came to believe that "nothing was being done" to stop Tiller — feelings that exploded after the doctor's acquittal.
But the film deviates often from the true-crime genre to make statements about the relationship between
politics and violence.
Maddow describes "a growing sense of paranoia and anxiety" surrounding Tiller as the protests escalated. Several of Tiller's colleagues, including doctors Susan Robinson and Shelly Sella, discuss the climate around the clinic, as do three former patients of Tiller's who agreed to be interviewed on camera.
Operation Rescue's Troy Newman and Randall Terry, who helped lead the protests in the 1990s, and Mark Gietzen, chairman of the Kansas Coalition for Life, agreed to be interviewed by MSNBC.
According to a news release, Newman agreed to participate, despite reservations about Maddow's pro-abortion-rights views, so that he could tell "the story of the tens of thousands of innocent babies killed by abortion during Tiller's long and checkered abortion career."
But that's not all Newman has to say in the film. He's shown describing at length a citywide leaflet campaign Operation Rescue undertook that linked Tiller with his "collaborators," including area businesses such as cab companies. His account is sandwiched between quotes from Tiller's friends and associates, who call the campaign intimidating and say it led to fears for their own safety as well as the safety of Tiller and his family.
"I don't think they could wake up a day and feel secure in the knowledge that nothing was going to happen to them," says Paul Ryding, who was at church the morning Tiller was shot.
Robinson, another doctor at the clinic, describes Roeder as a "rather dull guy" who was merely "reacting to an atmosphere of hatred." She's echoed by her colleague Sella, who says that "if the climate had not been like that... Scott Roeder would not have killed Dr. Tiller."
In an interview with the Kansas City Star, Maddow, a Rhodes Scholar and progressive political activist, elaborated on what useful information she hoped her film would provide.
"Some folks think that extremely radical political tactics are necessary because of their strongly held views on abortion," she said. "There are consequences for that. And those consequences have very little to do with abortion and everything to do with our tolerance for violence and extremism."
Read more: http://www.kansas.com/2010/10/25/1556821/tiller-documentary-to-air-tonight.html#ixzz17IU0Dtd1
There is George Tiller, the Wichita doctor, on trial for 19 misdemeanors related to his controversial late-term abortion practice.
And there, in the back of the courtroom, seated next to the leader of the anti-abortion group Operation Rescue, is Scott Roeder, the Kansas City man who — two months after Tiller was cleared on all 19 charges — walked into Tiller's church and shot him.
The first documentary film since Roeder was sentenced to 50 years without parole comes from MSNBC anchor Rachel Maddow, whose show at 8 p.m. today will be pre-empted for the film's premiere.
Maddow, who co-created and narrated the film, said she did it to shed new light on the contentious case.
The film, 43 minutes long with commercial breaks, begins as a straightforward true-crime account.
An usher at Wichita's Reformation Lutheran Church, Gary Hoepner, recounts the morning of May 31, 2009, when he saw Roeder raise the gun to Tiller's head and pull the trigger. Wichita homicide chief detective Ken Landwehr, Sedgwick County District Attorney Nola Foulston and a member of Roeder's defense team, Mark Rudy, describe Roeder's prosecution and conviction.
Then the film rewinds to tell the story of the two men and what led them to that fateful day: how Tiller became an abortion provider, locked horns with Operation Rescue, was shot in both arms by Shelley Shannon in 1993 and defied every attempt to shut down his practice.
How Roeder committed to the anti-abortion cause after becoming a born-again Christian, walked away from his wife and child, began to consort with extremists and came to believe that "nothing was being done" to stop Tiller — feelings that exploded after the doctor's acquittal.
But the film deviates often from the true-crime genre to make statements about the relationship between
politics and violence.
Maddow describes "a growing sense of paranoia and anxiety" surrounding Tiller as the protests escalated. Several of Tiller's colleagues, including doctors Susan Robinson and Shelly Sella, discuss the climate around the clinic, as do three former patients of Tiller's who agreed to be interviewed on camera.
Operation Rescue's Troy Newman and Randall Terry, who helped lead the protests in the 1990s, and Mark Gietzen, chairman of the Kansas Coalition for Life, agreed to be interviewed by MSNBC.
According to a news release, Newman agreed to participate, despite reservations about Maddow's pro-abortion-rights views, so that he could tell "the story of the tens of thousands of innocent babies killed by abortion during Tiller's long and checkered abortion career."
But that's not all Newman has to say in the film. He's shown describing at length a citywide leaflet campaign Operation Rescue undertook that linked Tiller with his "collaborators," including area businesses such as cab companies. His account is sandwiched between quotes from Tiller's friends and associates, who call the campaign intimidating and say it led to fears for their own safety as well as the safety of Tiller and his family.
"I don't think they could wake up a day and feel secure in the knowledge that nothing was going to happen to them," says Paul Ryding, who was at church the morning Tiller was shot.
Robinson, another doctor at the clinic, describes Roeder as a "rather dull guy" who was merely "reacting to an atmosphere of hatred." She's echoed by her colleague Sella, who says that "if the climate had not been like that... Scott Roeder would not have killed Dr. Tiller."
In an interview with the Kansas City Star, Maddow, a Rhodes Scholar and progressive political activist, elaborated on what useful information she hoped her film would provide.
"Some folks think that extremely radical political tactics are necessary because of their strongly held views on abortion," she said. "There are consequences for that. And those consequences have very little to do with abortion and everything to do with our tolerance for violence and extremism."
Read more: http://www.kansas.com/2010/10/25/1556821/tiller-documentary-to-air-tonight.html#ixzz17IU0Dtd1
'The Assassination of Dr. Tiller' New documentary looks into whether there were larger forces behind abortion doctor's murder
'The Assassination of Dr. Tiller'
New documentary looks into whether there were larger forces behind abortion doctor's murder
msnbc.com news services
updated 10/25/2010 1:28:13 AM ET
Nearly a year and a half after the murder of Kansas abortion provider George Tiller, msnbc is airing the documentary "The Assassination of Dr. Tiller," detailing events leading to the crime.
Scott Roeder, 52, of Kansas City, Mo. was found guilty of first-degree murder of Dr. George Tiller last January. On the witness stand, Roeder admitted that he shot Tiller in the head, saying it was in defense of the lives of unborn children. Tiller was one of the nation's few late-term abortion providers.
The msnbc documentary includes interviews with eyewitnesses to the murder, trial footage of Roeder on the stand, never-before-seen video of Tiller talking about an attempt on his life, and an interview with Roeder's ex-wife, Lindsey. She traces Roeder's path from his anti-abortion stance to murder: his obsession with Paul Hill, the man convicted and executed for murdering Florida abortion provider John Britton, and his communication with Rachelle Shelly Shannon, the woman in prison for attempting to kill Tiller in 1993.
"It was hard to live with," said Lindsey Roeder in the film.
Despite the verdict against Roeder and his life sentence, Tiller's former co-workers continue to seek justice. In the documentary, they lay responsibility not on Roeder but on anti-abortion activists, who they believe created the "atmosphere of hatred" and have targeted the clinic for years. Doctors and nurses who worked with Tiller recount, on camera, intimidation tactics aimed at anyone associated with the clinic.
"We were under siege the whole time," says Cathy Reavis, a nurse at the clinic.
"The anti-abortionists who don't carry guns definitely incite the ones who do," said Shelly Sella, one of Tiller's fellow doctors.
Reavis specifically singles out Operation Rescue, an activist group who posted clinicians' names, photographs, and profiles online. Operation Rescue filed numerous complaints against Tiller's clinic with the Kansas state board. The group takes credit for bringing Tiller’s abortion practice into the national spotlight, particularly on Fox News' "O'Reilly Factor." Host Bill O'Reilly talked about the doctor numerous time, sometimes calling him as "Tiller the Baby Killer."
Operation Rescue president Troy Newman agreed to be interviewed for the msnbc documentary, despite what the organization fears will be a "heavily slanted" presentation.
After the murder, police discovered a piece of evidence — a slip of paper with Operation Rescue's phone number — in Roeder's vehicle.
Newman flatly denies that the group had any ties to Roeder or the murder. He acknowledges the media attention the group received following this news, but clarifies that the phone number was an informational hotline for the organization and has been widely published online. "We're certainly not suspects in this case," he says.
"We were shocked and horrified about [Dr. Tiller's murder] just like everybody else," Newman says.
For the documentary's co-creator and narrator, Rachel Maddow, the story is more than about a crime against an abortion provider.
"Scott Roeder was linked to a number of different political and protest groups," says the msnbc host . "One of the things that was hard to report on at the time was the widespread evidence of people celebrating the murder — it was all over the Web on Twitter, on Facebook, on blog comments. Those anecdotal observations didn't necessarily fit into the daily news coverage of the murder — but it's one of the things that stuck with me, that made me want to look into the story in more depth."
"Anti-abortion forces have succeeded in restricting the availability of abortion through lots of means short of outright prohibition — everything from punitive regulations... to physical intimidation and harassment of abortion providers," says Maddow
. "Harassment, intimidation, and violence shouldn't be confused with the noble tradition of American protest — they're crimes, and they should be investigated and prosecuted as such."
The investigation may not be over: The Associated Press reported earlier this month that a federal grand jury is looking into whether there is a broader case involving radical anti-abortion activists.
Two of Roeder's former roommates recently told the Kansas City Star that they testified before a grand jury. "They're trying to see if there is any conspiracy," said one of Roeder's former roommates, who declined to be identified.
"The Assassination of Dr. Tiller" airs Monday, Oct. 25, 9 p.m. ET on msnbc.
New documentary looks into whether there were larger forces behind abortion doctor's murder
msnbc.com news services
updated 10/25/2010 1:28:13 AM ET
Nearly a year and a half after the murder of Kansas abortion provider George Tiller, msnbc is airing the documentary "The Assassination of Dr. Tiller," detailing events leading to the crime.
Scott Roeder, 52, of Kansas City, Mo. was found guilty of first-degree murder of Dr. George Tiller last January. On the witness stand, Roeder admitted that he shot Tiller in the head, saying it was in defense of the lives of unborn children. Tiller was one of the nation's few late-term abortion providers.
The msnbc documentary includes interviews with eyewitnesses to the murder, trial footage of Roeder on the stand, never-before-seen video of Tiller talking about an attempt on his life, and an interview with Roeder's ex-wife, Lindsey. She traces Roeder's path from his anti-abortion stance to murder: his obsession with Paul Hill, the man convicted and executed for murdering Florida abortion provider John Britton, and his communication with Rachelle Shelly Shannon, the woman in prison for attempting to kill Tiller in 1993.
"It was hard to live with," said Lindsey Roeder in the film.
Despite the verdict against Roeder and his life sentence, Tiller's former co-workers continue to seek justice. In the documentary, they lay responsibility not on Roeder but on anti-abortion activists, who they believe created the "atmosphere of hatred" and have targeted the clinic for years. Doctors and nurses who worked with Tiller recount, on camera, intimidation tactics aimed at anyone associated with the clinic.
"We were under siege the whole time," says Cathy Reavis, a nurse at the clinic.
"The anti-abortionists who don't carry guns definitely incite the ones who do," said Shelly Sella, one of Tiller's fellow doctors.
Reavis specifically singles out Operation Rescue, an activist group who posted clinicians' names, photographs, and profiles online. Operation Rescue filed numerous complaints against Tiller's clinic with the Kansas state board. The group takes credit for bringing Tiller’s abortion practice into the national spotlight, particularly on Fox News' "O'Reilly Factor." Host Bill O'Reilly talked about the doctor numerous time, sometimes calling him as "Tiller the Baby Killer."
Operation Rescue president Troy Newman agreed to be interviewed for the msnbc documentary, despite what the organization fears will be a "heavily slanted" presentation.
After the murder, police discovered a piece of evidence — a slip of paper with Operation Rescue's phone number — in Roeder's vehicle.
Newman flatly denies that the group had any ties to Roeder or the murder. He acknowledges the media attention the group received following this news, but clarifies that the phone number was an informational hotline for the organization and has been widely published online. "We're certainly not suspects in this case," he says.
"We were shocked and horrified about [Dr. Tiller's murder] just like everybody else," Newman says.
For the documentary's co-creator and narrator, Rachel Maddow, the story is more than about a crime against an abortion provider.
"Scott Roeder was linked to a number of different political and protest groups," says the msnbc host . "One of the things that was hard to report on at the time was the widespread evidence of people celebrating the murder — it was all over the Web on Twitter, on Facebook, on blog comments. Those anecdotal observations didn't necessarily fit into the daily news coverage of the murder — but it's one of the things that stuck with me, that made me want to look into the story in more depth."
"Anti-abortion forces have succeeded in restricting the availability of abortion through lots of means short of outright prohibition — everything from punitive regulations... to physical intimidation and harassment of abortion providers," says Maddow
. "Harassment, intimidation, and violence shouldn't be confused with the noble tradition of American protest — they're crimes, and they should be investigated and prosecuted as such."
The investigation may not be over: The Associated Press reported earlier this month that a federal grand jury is looking into whether there is a broader case involving radical anti-abortion activists.
Two of Roeder's former roommates recently told the Kansas City Star that they testified before a grand jury. "They're trying to see if there is any conspiracy," said one of Roeder's former roommates, who declined to be identified.
"The Assassination of Dr. Tiller" airs Monday, Oct. 25, 9 p.m. ET on msnbc.
10/11/10
Roeder May Face Federal Indictment posted by: Jessica Pieklo - 10-11-2010
Roeder May Face Federal Indictment
posted by: Jessica Pieklo
10-11-2010
Even though Scott Roeder is in prison for the brutal murder of Dr. George Tiller, it looks like the case may not quite be over yet. According to reports, a federal grand jury is investigating a possible broader conspiracy behind the murder. The source, who spoke only on a condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to publicly disclose the investigation said that federal civil rights prosecutors were holding grand jury proceedings in Kansas City, looking into whether a broader case surrounds Dr. Tiller's death.
The investigation is built in part on Roeder's own trial testimony where he testified that he discussed his planned attack with others. Prior to the trial Roeder was in contact with Operation Rescue's senior policy advisor Cheryl Sullenger. Sullenger is no stranger to domestic terrorism. She tried to blow up a clinic 20 years ago.
Roeder also has strong ties to the militia movement, so any investigation would necessarily look into those ties as well. Two of Roeder's former roommates have already testified before the grand jury as well. One of the roommates, Tim Parks, testified that the grand jury was asking him about a Bible study group that Roeder attended, making the other members of that group possible targets as well.
During the trial the U.S. government had sent a civil rights prosecutor down to watch the trial, so the grand jury is a likely outcome of those observations. While it may take a while it is well worth the time, particularly if the prosecutors can establish a link between people like Sullenger and militia members. The fact that the grand jury has been called and is taking testimony also shows that, finally, the federal government is treating crimes against reproductive health care providers as the acts of domestic terrorism that they are.
Read more: murder, kansas, trial, abortion, civil rights, womens rights, tiller, roeder, reproductive justice
posted by: Jessica Pieklo
10-11-2010
Even though Scott Roeder is in prison for the brutal murder of Dr. George Tiller, it looks like the case may not quite be over yet. According to reports, a federal grand jury is investigating a possible broader conspiracy behind the murder. The source, who spoke only on a condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to publicly disclose the investigation said that federal civil rights prosecutors were holding grand jury proceedings in Kansas City, looking into whether a broader case surrounds Dr. Tiller's death.
The investigation is built in part on Roeder's own trial testimony where he testified that he discussed his planned attack with others. Prior to the trial Roeder was in contact with Operation Rescue's senior policy advisor Cheryl Sullenger. Sullenger is no stranger to domestic terrorism. She tried to blow up a clinic 20 years ago.
Roeder also has strong ties to the militia movement, so any investigation would necessarily look into those ties as well. Two of Roeder's former roommates have already testified before the grand jury as well. One of the roommates, Tim Parks, testified that the grand jury was asking him about a Bible study group that Roeder attended, making the other members of that group possible targets as well.
During the trial the U.S. government had sent a civil rights prosecutor down to watch the trial, so the grand jury is a likely outcome of those observations. While it may take a while it is well worth the time, particularly if the prosecutors can establish a link between people like Sullenger and militia members. The fact that the grand jury has been called and is taking testimony also shows that, finally, the federal government is treating crimes against reproductive health care providers as the acts of domestic terrorism that they are.
Read more: murder, kansas, trial, abortion, civil rights, womens rights, tiller, roeder, reproductive justice
10/9/10
The Wichita Eagle - Grand Jury Probing Tiller Death
A federal grand jury is investigating whether last year's murder of a Kansas abortion provider was connected to a broader case involving radical anti-abortion activists, a federal law enforcement official familiar with the case said Friday.
The official spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to publicly discuss the investigation. The official said several federal civil rights prosecutors were holding grand jury proceedings in Kansas City, looking into whether a broader case surrounded the May 2009 death of George Tiller.
Tiller was among the few late-term abortion providers in the U.S. before he was fatally shot in his Wichita church by anti-abortion activist Scott Roeder.
"Yes, there is a grand jury investigation. I can tell you that there are several attorneys from Washington, D.C., looking into this matter and are looking into the broader case than just the actual incident that occurred in Wichita," the official said.
A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Kansas declined comment Friday.
Roeder, who admitted to the shooting, said during his trial in January that he believed the killing was justified to save the lives of unborn children. Roeder, of Kansas City, Mo., was sentenced to life in prison.
At least one Justice Department civil rights prosecutor attended Roeder's trial, along with agents from the FBI. Shortly after Tiller's death, the Justice Department increased security around women's health facilities and opened an ongoing investigation.
In recent days, talk of a sitting grand jury in Kansas City began swirling among some anti-abortion activists who have kept in contact with Roeder, including Jennifer McCoy.
"It won't change things for Scott, and that is what makes me think the problem is the rest of us," said McCoy, who was sentenced in 1997 to 2 1/2 years in prison for arsons at two Virginia abortion clinics. "They have gone in trying to prove some conspiracy that doesn't exist."
McCoy, who said she has not been subpoenaed, now lives in Wichita and befriended Roeder after his arrest in Tiller's death. She said she learned about the grand jury investigation from Roeder.
Tiller's clinic in Wichita has been closed since the doctor's death. The building is for sale.
Read more: http://www.kansas.com/2010/10/09/1533917/source-grand-jury-probing-tiller.html#ixzz17ITOT6Tm
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