WICHITA, Kan. (AP) _ A man charged with shooting a prominent Kansas
doctor who performed late-term abortions has been advocating through
mailings from his jail cell that such killings are justifiable and
communicating with individuals on the fringes of the anti-abortion
movement, weeks after suggesting others might be planning similar
attacks.
Scott Roeder, 51, is charged with first-degree murder and aggravated
assault in the May 31 death of Dr. George Tiller _ an attack that
reignited the national debate over late-term abortion and gave Roeder
icon status among extremists in the anti-abortion movement.
From his cell in Sedgwick County jail, Roeder has been sending
anti-abortion pamphlets that laud Paul Hill, who was convicted of
murdering an abortion provider in 1994, as an "American hero,'' and
include examples of Hill's writings about how the killing of abortion
providers is justifiable.
Hill was executed in 2003 for killing Dr. John Bayard Britton and
his bodyguard outside a Pensacola, Fla., abortion clinic.
Roeder has also been corresponding with Rev. Donald Spitz _ whose
Army of God group's Web site celebrates Hill and who says he sent
Roeder seven of the pamphlets at Roeder's request _ and Linda Wolfe,
an Oregon activist who has been jailed about 50 times for
anti-abortion activities and who is close friends with a woman
convicted of shooting Tiller in the arms in 1993. She says Roeder
mailed her one of the pamphlets.
No one has accused Roeder of breaking any laws because of his
jailhouse correspondence. But local and federal law enforcement
agencies took seriously a threat Roeder made during a June 7
interview with The Associated Press that there are "many other
similar events planned around the country as long as abortion remains
legal.'' A judge raised Roeder's bond to $20 million, citing his
comment to the AP, after a prosecutor argued Roeder's ability to get
his message widely disseminated should lead a reasonable person to
believe he is engaged in "alleged acts of American terrorism.''
FBI and Justice Department officials declined to comment about
whether they were concerned about Roeder's jailhouse contacts. The
Sedgwick County public defender's office, which is representing
Roeder, did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. And
the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office declined to speak
about the matter.
Sedgwick County Sheriff Robert Hinshaw said he has assigned a
trusted person to read all of Roeder's incoming and outgoing mail. He
said Roeder has received about 100 letters.
Jail officials typically check incoming mail for contraband such as
pornography or drugs but do not attempt to read all of the more than
97,000 pieces of mail inmates get each year unless there is a
specific concern, such as in Roeder's case. Outgoing mail is normally
sealed by inmates and not read by prison officials.
Unless there is a blatant concern in an outgoing letter, such as
escape plans, inmate mail is not censored. Less obvious issues are
referred to the department's law department for review because of
First Amendment concerns, the sheriff said.
"Everyone in this jail has all the constitutional rights, except
those I can restrict for the safety and security of the facility,''
Hinshaw said.
Angel Dillard, a Christian music songwriter from Valley Center,
Kan., said she's been questioned several times since striking up a
friendship with Roeder after the Tiller shooting.
"They just wanted to check us out and make sure we weren't some nuts
that were planning to pick up where Roeder left off,'' Dillard said.
"We have no plans to do anything of violence to anyone. We are
reaching out to someone who we know is totally alone right now.''
Dillard and her husband have exchanged several letters with Roeder
and spoken to him by phone, and she plans to visit him next week. She
said Roeder has not spoken about Tiller's killing, and has only
shared Biblical scripture and asked her to pray for an end to
abortion.
Spitz _ whose Web site likens Tiller to Adolf Hitler and features
multiple essays supporting "defensive action'' and justifiable
homicide _ said he had never heard of Roeder until Roeder's arrest
and said they have never spoken specifically about the Tiller
shooting.
"He did that out of the blue, came out of nowhere _ a
run-of-the-mill, pro-life guy and he goes out and does this,'' Spitz
said of the alleged shooter. "He is not a run-of-the-mill, pro-life
guy any more though.''
Spitz, who said he became a good friend of Hill's before his
execution, said he sent Roeder seven pamphlets advocating justifiable
homicide that Roeder wanted to mail others. He said authorities had
not contacted him about Roeder and that he has no plans to kill an
abortion doctor himself.
"You have to be called to do that because when one does that your
life is basically over,'' Spitz said.
Linda Wolfe, an anti-abortion advocate from McMinnville, Ore., who
is friends with Shelley Shannon, who shot Tiller in both arms 16
years ago, said Roeder mailed her a pamphlet after she mailed him a
$20 money order and a letter telling him why she no longer believed
killing abortion providers was justifiable.
She said Roeder asked her to pass the pamphlet along to someone else
if she agreed with it, or to mail it back to him if she didn't. She
said she threw it out.
"If he knew me, he wouldn't send me a pamphlet on Paul Hill _ who I
saw on death row,'' Wolfe said, explaining Hill had been a friend.
