Hard 50 Motion Rejected

A judge has rejected a motion arguing that the man convicted of killing Wichita abortion provider Dr. George Tiller should not be subject to the Hard 50 sentence when he is resentenced.

An attorney for Scott Roeder argued in Sedgwick County Court Friday that a change in state law regarding how sentences of life in prison without any chance of parole for 50 years are imposed should not be applied retroactively to Roeder.

Sedgwick County Judge Warren Wilbert rejected the argument Friday. The judge also denied a motion for a new trial.

Roeder’s original Hard 50 sentence was among many vacated by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that juries, not judges, should impose such sentences.

Roeder’s resentencing date has not been scheduled.

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Associated Press information from: The Wichit Eagle