The Agony and the Ecstasy: Peterson guilty

Friday, November 12, 2004

Jury lowers the boom: 1st degree murder for Laci, 2nd degree for Connor.

Sentencing phase will commence in a week. Death penalty clearly in play.

At 10:58 PM, Anonymous said...: Nate, you'd know more about the legal ramifications than me, but what does the murder conviction for Connor bode for the abortion crowd? I can't understand how you can hand out prison terms for ending the life of a fetus, but still maintain that a woman should have a right to end that life herself.

Enlighten me, O Wise One.
At 11:18 PM, Tortfeasor said...: I'm certainly no expert on anything, but I'll offer my thoughts.

You're right in that there seems to be a philosophical inconsistency in allowing abortion but declaring the intentional killing of another's fetus murder.

Unfortunately, abortion is, according to Roe, a constitutional right. As long as Roe is the law of the land, no state murder statute defining a fetus as a human being for purposes of a murder charge (as I'm sure CA must have), or any other state or federal staute, can have any affect on the legality of abortion. (A partial-birth abortion ban may be different, but even it may be considered unconstitutional under Casey, if I remember my con law correctly.)

Bottom line: the murder conviction for Connor's death does highlight the philosophical inconsistency with abortion, but that's it.
At 11:25 PM, Tortfeasor said...: PS. Make that "effect," not "affect," in the post above. Sorry, I'm anal about that kind of stuff.