There IS no excuse for this man and no way that he can ever make amends for the evil he has done. This is not an “extremist” – this is a murderer.
CNN: Anti-abortion extremist apologizes to slain doctor’s widow
BUFFALO, New York (AP) — An anti-abortion extremist defending himself against charges related to a doctor’s slaying decided not to cross-examine the man’s widow.
Instead, he gave her an apology.
“Mrs. Slepian, I just wanted to say I’m sorry. I respect you and your family,” James Kopp, 52, said quietly to Lynne Slepian, wife of Dr. Barnett Slepian, after her testimony Tuesday at the start of Kopp’s federal trial.
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Kopp used his opening statement to tell jurors that Slepian’s death was “a full-bore, 100 percent tragedy” but was not murder because it was not malicious or premeditated.
He has acknowledged planning the shooting for a year and then firing a high-powered military rifle with telescopic sights from the woods behind the Slepian home, but he has said he meant only to wound the doctor to prevent him from performing abortions.
“Shoot them in the head, blow up a car, riddle their body with bullets like they do in the movies. That’s how you kill someone” with premeditation, Kopp said.
He urged jurors to look for evidence of premeditation or malice toward Slepian. “If you don’t see it, that’s me proving my case,” he said.