(Thumbnail image: The Wichita Eagle)

A Kansas jury found Scott Roeder guilty of gunning down abortion doctor George Tiller after just 37 minutes of deliberation.

Roeder now faces a mandatory life sentence with possibility of parole after 25 years.

We’re looking at perspectives from CNN, True/Slant, ABC, and MSNBC to focus on the verdict.

Even though it was a murder trial, abortion took center stage as Roeder’s attorneys pressed for a lesser charge. But as one analyst told Good Morning America that could have caused some trouble.
 

“It’s interesting, the concern here was that if a lesser charge were considered, because the motivation of the killer was, he thought honestly though unreasonably he had to protect life it might be open season on doctors committing abortions because you knew you could get a lesser charge.”

The presiding judge told the court that the focus of the trial should be murder and not abortion. But as the discussion started to shift, so did the focus in the courtroom.

True TV’s Ryan Smith talked with CNN about the changing pace of the trial.

“This is exactly what the judge didn’t want. He did not want someone to get on the stand and talk about their views on abortion, but the problem was the defense was trying to show his belief in doing why he did what he did. So the key is when that happened prosecutors started objecting, they had to start over.”

One blogger for True/Slant wasn’t buying the defense plea though. To him murder is still murder.
 

“His lawyer’s argument was an endorsement of fanaticism. Since Roeder believes that all abortions are murder, he felt justified in executing Dr. Tiller – ‘to protect the children.”

But as NBC’s Pete Williams told MSNBC regardless your stance on abortion, the facts remain just that, facts.

“Under the Kansas law, to have this imminent harm thing, you have to show number one that there was some imminent danger and number two you were trying to stop something that was illegal. The judge said there was nothing imminent about a guy who was in church, that’s where Dr. Tiller was killed and that abortion is legal in Kansas."

So what do you think? Is Roeder’s verdict fair? Or do his convictions on abortion justify his actions?

Writer: Maurice Scarborough

Producer: Newsy Staff