New York Times Editorial: A Verdict Against Vigilantism

New York Times Editorial: A Verdict Against Vigilantism
Copyright by The New York Times
Published: February 1, 2010
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/02/opinion/02tues3.html?th&emc=th


On Friday, a Kansas jury convicted an anti-abortion extremist of first-degree murder for the shooting death of a Wichita abortion provider, Dr. George Tiller. It was a just verdict, but it was not only the judgment of guilt that mattered in this case.

The trial sends an important message upholding the rule of law.

It was never in doubt that Scott Roeder shot Dr. Tiller, who was gunned down in the foyer of his church as he handed out bulletins on Sunday, May 31. Indeed, Mr. Roeder admitted it in court.

What was in doubt was how the jury would react to the defense’s attempts to portray the killer as somehow less culpable because of his fevered opposition to abortion and his outrage that abortion rights are constitutionally protected in this country.

The fact that the jury convicted Mr. Roeder after deliberating just 37 minutes was a stunning rejection of that argument. The verdict’s clear-eyed response to an ugly act of vigilantism should be welcomed on both sides of the political divide over abortion rights. When people turn to violence to further their political or moral beliefs, it amounts to an attack on our whole democracy and civil society.

The state judge in the trial, Warren Wilbert, also deserves credit for refusing to allow the jury to consider convicting Mr. Roeder of the lesser crime of manslaughter based on his opposition to abortion.

Political beliefs, no matter how sincerely held, do not lessen accountability for murder.