Posted on 05/09/2003 1:34:15 PM PDT by Jean S
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) - Anti-abortion extremist James Kopp was sentenced to 25 years to life Friday for the sniper slaying of a doctor, declaring without a trace of remorse: "I wish I could do 10 life sentences or 10 death penalties" to save the unborn.
Kopp, 48, received the maximum for the 1998 murder of Dr. Barnett Slepian, 52, an obstetrician-gynecologist and father of four who was cut down by a bullet that came through his kitchen window.
Kopp, a militant known in anti-abortion circles as "Atomic Dog," told the judge he did not intend to kill Slepian, but would do it again.
"Why should the safety of Dr. Slepian be put over the safety of unborn children?" he asked in a packed courtroom that included a few supporters. "I wish I could do 10 life sentences or 10 death penalties to save them."
Kopp lay in wait with a rifle behind Slepian's suburban Amherst home and fired a single shot after the doctor returned from a memorial service for his father. The abortion foe fled the country and became one of the FBI's most-wanted fugitives.
He was captured in France two years ago. France agreed to his extradition only after U.S. prosecutors gave assurances they would not seek the death penalty.
Kopp was convicted by the judge in March in an unusual one-day trial after waiving his right to have a jury decide his fate. At Kopp's request, the judge was presented with a 35-page list of facts agreed to by both sides - including an admission by Kopp that he fired the deadly shot.
Defense attorneys argued that Kopp meant only to wound the doctor. But prosecutors countered that his choice of weapon - a Russian-made, scope-equipped assault rifle - and his use of aliases in buying it pointed to an intent to kill.
"You made an attempt to avoid responsibility for the act," Erie County Judge Michael D'Amico said Friday. "What may appear righteous to you is immoral to someone else."
Prosecutor Joseph Marusak called Kopp a "cowardly assassin."
"He's hiding out at night and he shoots a man in his back, killing him instantly practically and then runs away," he said. "This defendant is nothing more than a dangerous sociopath, plain and simple."
Kopp still faces a federal trial on a charge of interfering with the right to an abortion, which carries a maximum life sentence. He is also a suspect in the wounding of four abortion providers in Canada and Rochester between 1994 and 1997.
Authorities said that after the slaying, Kopp was driven to Mexico by a friend. From there, he traveled to Ireland and France, where he was captured at a post office as he tried to retrieve money sent by a New York City couple who admitted helping him.
The couple, Loretta Marra and Dennis Malvasi, face up to five years in prison after pleading guilty last month to conspiracy.
AP-ES-05-09-03 1617EDT
I wonder what part of "Thou Shalt Not Kill (Murder)" Kopp and his accomplices didn't understand?
I wouldn't go that far. The abortionist killed hundreds of innocent babies. I'm not condoning what Kopp did, but he killed one man who made money slaughtering children. I would hardly put them at the same level.
If an added description is required, then perhaps: Dr. Barnett Slepian, 52, an obstetrician-gynecologist and father of four and killer of hundreds
He murdered one murderer.
His victim murdered hundreds of innocent childen.
They both got precisely what they both deserved.
I wish you could too, you nutcase. You are one nasty sicko.
OK. And what of the killer doctor? He's normal, right?
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