A year ago on Memorial Day, we lost a true friend to women and a true American hero: Dr. George Tiller. While Dr. Tiller's death was violent and borne of hate, we know — from the witness of his patients and family — that he lived a life of love, compassion, and courage.
The person who murdered Dr. Tiller, Scott Roeder, never once denied that he killed Dr. Tiller; he admitted to years of planning and to finally stalking Dr. Tiller to his church on May 31, 2009, and shooting him there, in front of friends and family, as he handed out programs for that Sunday's church service. But in spite of all that, Roeder still argued that he should be found to be less culpable — that he should be treated more leniently for his crime. Make no mistake: Roeder was not arguing that the killing was an accident, that he misunderstood the circumstances in the church that morning, or that he was suffering from mental illness or delusion at the time of the shooting. Roeder was arguing that he was less culpable for Dr. Tiller's murder because he honestly believes that the constitution should not protect the right to abortion. In other words, that vigilantism is ok if you really mean it.
