Witness questioned about contact with Operation Rescue

Contact: Troy Newman, President, 316-841-1700; Cheryl Sullenger, Senior Policy Advisor, 316-516-3034; both with Operation Rescue, info@operationrescue.org

WICHITA, Kans., Nov. 19 /Christian Newswire/ -- Three witnesses took the stand on the third day of testimony in a hearing where late-term abortionist George R. Tiller is asking District Court Judge Clark Owens to dismiss 19 criminal charges against him based on "outrageous prosecutorial conduct."

Investigator Tom Williams testified for the third straight day about his involvement in an investigation of Tiller that began under former Attorney General Phill Kline.

Williams was questioned about his interview with Dr. Ronald V. Erkin, a retired psychiatrist who reviewed ten abortion records that had been obtained by Kline through a subpoena with the permission of the Kansas Supreme Court.

Dr. Erkin told Williams that he believed that the diagnoses of mental health conditions used to justify the post-viability abortions were not irreversible conditions as required by law.  However, he also told Williams that he believed that the definition of "irreversible" was a matter subject to debate.

In an affidavit supporting 30 criminal charges against Tiller, Williams referred to Dr. Erkin's opinion that Tiller's diagnoses were not substantial and irreversible conditions.  Monnat tried to persuade the court that Williams engaged in deception and outrageous conduct when he did not include Erkin's statements about the debate over the definition of "irreversible."

Disney and Monnat sparred throughout the day.  At one point, Disney rose to object to a question and Monnat lost control of his emotions and began angrily shouting in a tremendously loud voice over Disney's objections.  The outburst shocked courtroom observers.

"Monnat seems to process everything through a faulty filter of paranoia, which leads him to find evil motives behind every action of those who were investigating Tiller," said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman.  "His frequent inflammatory questioning was obviously meant to play to the media in the courtroom.  Mr. Monnat needs to keep his day job because an Academy Award just is not in his future."

Monnat was also suspicious that Williams may have had contact with "anti-abortionists."  He asked Williams if he ever visited the Operation Rescue web site and if he ever interviewed OR representatives Troy Newman and Cheryl Sullenger or a number of other pro-life persons.  Williams could not recall doing so.

Also testifying was Jared Reed, a minor employee under Kline, and Eric Rucker who worked with Kline in both his tenures as Attorney General and Johnson County District Attorney. 

Thursday, witnesses could include Steven Maxwell, an attorney who worked for Kline during the Tiller investigation, and disgraced former Attorney General Paul Morrison, who resigned after his adulterous affair and attempts to impede abortion investigations became public.

The hearing is expected to be extended into next week.  If Tiller's motion to dismiss is denied, he is scheduled to stand trail on March 16, 2009.

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