Dr. Tiller's Murderer Should Be Charged as a Terrorist

Scott Roeder, the man arrested in the murder of Dr. Edwin Tiller, should be charged as a terrorist under Federal law.

Tiller's murder was clearly political and was designed to not only try and force Roeder's personal religious beliefs with regards to abortion onto others which is the stock and trade of anti-abortion activists, but is also the goal of extremists everywhere, from Al-Qaeda to the Taliban.

The idea is always to intimidate and punish those who don't believe as they do whether its a bombing at a hotel in Bali, or Roeder's murder of Dr. Tiller. There is not a speck of legal or philosophical difference between what Roeder did and what Al-Qaeda and the Taliban have done around the world from the U.S. to Spain, Bali and the UK.

The Justice Department should take jurisdiction over this case, charge him as a terrorist, and try him in federal court under the US anti-terrorist statutes as having committed murder while engaging in an act of terrorism, and if found guilty, be sentenced accordingly, which, in this case would probably bring the death penalty.

Obama's response to the murder came from page 97 of The Politician's Handbook of Standard Reactions (he expressed "shock and outrage" over the killings and said we cant resolve our difference with "heinous acts of violence" which makes one wonder if nicer acts of violence are okay), more needs to be done.

Obama needs to instruct the Department of Justice to seek jurisdiction in the case and charge Scott Roeder with a terrorist act resulting in the death of a U.S. citizen.