AP: Abortion Doctor's Killer Convicted Again

[Eugene]

Abortion Doctor's Killer Convicted Again
Anti-abortion extremist convicted of killing N.Y. doctor in 1998

BUFFALO, N.Y., Jan. 25, 2007
By CAROLYN THOMPSON Associated Press Writer

(AP) A man already serving time in a state prison for the sniper-shooting death
of a doctor was convicted Thursday on a federal charge of targeting and killing
the man because he provided abortions.

The jury deliberated about four hours over two days before deciding James Kopp
violated the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act in the 1998
slaying of Dr. Barnett Slepian.

Kopp, who represented himself during the two-week trial, tried to convince jurors
during his closing arguments that he didn't mean to kill Slepian when he fired
from woods into the doctor's Amherst home. Kopp said he intended only to wound
him to prevent him from performing abortions the next day.

-snip-

He faces life in prison without parole for the federal conviction.

Full article: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/25/ap/national/mainD8MSFQL80.shtml

[TechBear_Seattle]

1. "I didn't mean to kill the man I was shooting. Honest!"

:eyes:

[kenny blankenship]

2. Best out of four?

[Hobarticus]

3. What happened to his staunch and courageous convictions?

Doesn't their schtick justify murder to save the unborn?

Guess saving his ass is more important than his convictions, in this case.

So long, sucker.

[Judi Lynn]

4. So a pointless, pathetic man stood behind a tree, concealed by the darkness,

and looked through his telescopic sight at an unsuspecting man standing in his own goddamned kitchen and dropped him. What could be more heroic?



Too bad his years of being quoted and admired by the dregs in his violent, mentally ill, right-wing trolls' club are coming to an end, as he disappears behind bars in his little orange jumpsuit.

[chelsea0011]

5. I'm still waiting for the Feds to round up all the terrorists he

associated himself with. Isn't there a war against terrorism going on?

[mitchum]

14. Just like the Feds rounded up all of the other terrorists that Rudolph...

associated himself with?
Oh, wait a minute...

[IronScorpio5]

6. I dont support the death penality....

but i could make an exception in his case.


ROT IN HELL.

[bleedingheart]

7. The anti-choice crowd is a violent and crazy group

yes they have their little passive grannies that stand with their signs, but there are the folks like the ones I encountered during a Kerry rally that tried to push me into traffic because i didn't agree with them.

This guy deserves life in prison for killing that doctor.

[Tesha]

8. The religiously insane are, well, insane. (NT)

[Manifestor_of_Light]

10. Scary scary scary!!

I encountered them during a civil trial that Planned Parenthood brought against them and i was a sub court reporter.

Flip Benham, Randall Terry, all those guys are scary. Being in the same room with them gave me PTSD.

Too bad I can't sue them for having to breathe the same air they did at that time.

[jamesinca]

22. terror in the mind of god

a good book by Mark Juergensmeyer. It explains what is wrong with these people.
ISBN # 0-520-24011-1

[SoyCat]

9. That headline ticks me off. The doctor provided abortions which didn't make him

an "abortion doctor"; it made him a gynecologist.

[baldguy]

11. And Kopp is always a "militant anti-abortion activist"

They should call him & his accomplices what they are - terrorists.

[NobleCynic]

12. While I see no problem with this man serving life w/o parole

This does smack of double jeopardy.

[rexcat]

13. No...

He is serving a state sentence for murder and now he gets to serve a federal sentence for violating the U.S. Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act. Two different charges here but both charges and convictions based on murdering the physician. The Federal charges were not for murder per se.

[NobleCynic]

16. I think a good lawyer could get him off the second charge on double jeopardy

The line of reasoning would follow thusly.

Someone murders someone who is in the military. Do you charge him with treason as well as murder? Why not charge him with assualt and battery too? Why not throw in attempted murder as well? How about damaging government property? Technically you can argue for all of these. So why not? None of these other charges would be murder per se.

Charge him with murder. Put him away for life. Leave it at that.

[mondo joe]

17. To be double jeopardy he'd have to face the same charge a second time.

He did not.

And since he was convicted on the first, what difference would it make ANYWAY?

It's hardly unusual for one person to face multiple charges related to the same crime. You'd have a fuck of a lot of precedence to overturn if you could convince anyone that that was double jeopardy.

[NobleCynic]

18. Dupe

Dupe

[NobleCynic]

19. On looking at double jeopardy again

In current law, this doesn't fall under double jeopardy because of the "separate sovereign" exception in addition to the point you raised regarding different charges. Separate soverigns (states are considered separate entities from the federal government) are not precluded from both filing charges on the same crime. Double jeopardy seems to apply only to charges from the same sovereign entity. I'm wrong on both counts in current common law. You were correct.

I still have a strong objection to the modern practice of applying every charge conceivable to a crime (Usually just to force a plea bargain). This man deserves to be put away for life. But it is this practice combined with mandatory minimums that has contributed heavily to our ridiculous prison population.

The practice in general still strikes me as wrong and wasteful. He should have been charged once, given a life sentence, and it should have been left at that. A second trial is a waste of taxpayer money at the very least.

[Betty]

15. right to life

my ass.

[jamesinca]

21. life ends at birth in their minds

Pro life means the death penalty is ok and killing somebody who is pro choice is ok.

[Joe Bacon]

20. Kopp HAS a Right To Life

I will defend his right to life, ESPECIALLY when he is placed in the same cell as a 300 pound bodybuilder :evilgrin: