The Murder of Dr. Slepian:
James C. Kopp assassinated Dr. Barnett Slepian, an upstate New York obstetrician who performed abortions, on the night of October 23, 1998. Slepian was a married fathe of four at the time of this shooting.
Kopp, a committed anti-abortion activist waited for Slepian's arrival at his home in Erie County, New York, then shot Slepian with an assault rifle through the window of his house. The shot hit Slepian's shoulder, and Slepian died within the day.
In 2002, Kopp admitted in a newspaper interview to having shot Slepian.
With financial and logistical assistance from friends, Kopp went underground following the shooting. Four years later, authorities arrested Kopp in France when he went to pick up money sent him by friends in New York.
Kopp's murder of Slepian was arguably an act of terrorism. The spectacular shooting was designed to bring attention to a cause that Kopp sees in political and moral terms. Kopp has compared legalized abortion to the Nazi Holocaust.
Trial #1: Murder in the Second Degree:
Kopp was tried for murder in 2003 in Erie county. He did not dispute that he pulled the trigger that led to Dr. Slepian's death. Instead, Kopp argued in his trial before a New York State Court that the murder had been unintentional: his goal was to wound the doctor enough to make it impossible for him to perform abortions.
Kopp's argument failed to hold up in court, as the New York Times reported at the time:
''There are 100 ways to kill someone if that's what you want to do -- blow up their car, shoot them in the head, run them over with your car,'' said Mr. Kopp, who said he had aimed for Dr. Slepian's shoulder. ''To wound someone in a way that only injures them, that's tricky to do.''
D'Amico rejected that claim, and defense pleas for leniency. ''It's clear that the action was premeditated,'' he said. ''It's inconceivable to me that you would not have expected that your actions would have resulted in Dr. Slepian's death.''
The judge added, ''The pursuit of one's goals and objectives, no matter how moral or just you may believe them to be, does not allow you to inflict violence on someone else.'' (David Staba, Abortion Foe Who Killed Doctor Is Sentenced to 25 Years to Life," May 10, 2003)
Kopp was sentenced in May, 2003 to 25 years to life in prison.
Trial #2: Violating Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act:
In January 2007, Kopp was put on trial for a second time, on a different charge: violating a New York State law that prohibits protestors against abortion from using force to prevent people from entering clinics.
Kopp served as his own attorney in the trial.
He was sentenced to life plus ten years in prison, for his violation of federal law, on June 20, 2007.