house? mostly it would just make me angry and certainly cemented my feelings about why i was working there. but no one is targeted as intensely or tenaciously as dr. tiller and his family. for them, real violence always looms. he purchased a bulletproof jeep and wore a bulletproof vest. he had the federal marshals living with him for something like 30 months, in his house. there s no way i can imagine what his family went through. that s impossible for me to comprehend that. i don t think they could ever wake up a day and feel secure and acknowledge that nothing was going to happen. in an effort to attract as much attention as possible to their campaign against dr. tiller, operation rescue soon set their sights beyond the wichita city limits. one of operation rescue s major goals was to make george tiller s name, or at least his abortion facility and what he
so wrong that someone who was so incredible, so amazing could be killed. for what? during the murder investigation, authorities discover a piece of evidence in scott roeder s car that potentially connects him to operation rescue. when questioned, operation rescue president troy newman flatly denies any ties to roeder or the murder. one of our cards was found on the dash board of scott roeder s car. it was the contact number that was the information line. it was the number people called to find out when the prayer vigils were, what time court hearings started, when the rallies were. that phone rang nonstop it was published on the internet. we re not suspects in this case. nearly six months later on january 2, 2010, the jury delivers their verdict on scott roeder. it takes only 35 minutes to reach a decision. we, the jury, find the defendant, scott roeder, guilty
stream of complaints about dr. tiller s practice. in june 2007 they have some success with this tactic. dr. tiller is charged with 19 misdemeanor counts connected to an alleged illegal relationship with a physician who had approved a number of late-term procedures. in kansas in order to do a post-viable abortion, you have to have a second kansas physician who evaluates the patient and agrees that the pregnancy represents a threat to her health. and that physician could not be legally or financially tied to dr. tiller. dr. tiller was accused of having a financial relationship with her. in 2009 he stands trial in a wichita courtroom. operation rescue is confident it is just a step away from accomplishing its mission, getting dr. tiller s medical license revoked. that s correct.
his head, you pulled the trigger. yes. and do you feel that you have successfully completed your mission? he s been stopped. sedgewic k-911. somebody just came in and shot him in our church. somebody shot someone? yes, dr. tiller. dr. george tiller was just shot. that morning, dr. tiller s staff passes the tragic news to each other by phone. i called joanne first. of course, she was devastated. cathy said they shot doctor. i remember specifically cathy said they. that s exactly how we thought of it, they. we knew exactly who they were. then i called dr. sella and i can still hear her screaming in my ears. oh, no. oh, no. you re kidding. you re kidding. i don t think i ve ever experienced that kind of grief. it seemed so wrong.
long before scott roeder shoots and kills dr. george tiller in his church on may 31, 2009, america had a long history of extreme violence against abortion providers and their employees. 1993, dr. david gunn is shot to death in pensacola, florida. 1994, two clinic workers are murdered in brookline, massachusetts. 1998, dr. barnett slepian is gunned down by a sniper as he stands in his own kitchen in buffalo, new york. in addition to three other murders, the national abortion federation reports that more than 200 american clinics have been subjected to bombs and arson since 1977. those are acts of domestic terrorism, which are intended to intimidate. so if i kill one doctor, maybe i ll intimidate a hundred doctors. my business is legal. their business of anarchy is illegal. reporter: george tiller was one doctor who could not be intimidated. he was one of just three physicians in the united states