Federal officials are considering charging Scott Roeder with violating the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE), reports Judy Thomas for the Kansas City Star. This is despite the fact that Roeder has already been convicted of murder in state court for killing abortion doctor George Tiller.
Constitutionally, the "dual sovereignty" doctrine permits the federal government to prosecute after a conviction or acquittal in state court for the same crime. As a matter of policy, though, it is rarely done. It is justified, in my opinion, when an acquittal or a grossly inadequate sentence is the result of some major malfunction of the state court system. That occurred in cases of violence against civil rights workers in the early 60s, for example. I see no reason for it here. Roeder was convicted of the highest degree of offense available under Kansas law, first-degree murder. (The crime is not capital under either Kansas or federal law.) A 51-year-old man who is ineligible for parole for 50 years is not going to see the outside of the prison wall again.
The other justification given in the article is to investigate whether others were involved in a conspiracy. I think other tools are more appropriate for that.
Generally speaking, crimes by one person against another should be matters of state criminal law. Federal law enforcement should be used for inherently federal issues such as national security, smuggling, or counterfeiting, large organized crimes rings that cross state lines and are beyond the capacity of any one state to prosecute, and malfunctions of the state system itself.
Constitutionally, the "dual sovereignty" doctrine permits the federal government to prosecute after a conviction or acquittal in state court for the same crime. As a matter of policy, though, it is rarely done. It is justified, in my opinion, when an acquittal or a grossly inadequate sentence is the result of some major malfunction of the state court system. That occurred in cases of violence against civil rights workers in the early 60s, for example. I see no reason for it here. Roeder was convicted of the highest degree of offense available under Kansas law, first-degree murder. (The crime is not capital under either Kansas or federal law.) A 51-year-old man who is ineligible for parole for 50 years is not going to see the outside of the prison wall again.
The other justification given in the article is to investigate whether others were involved in a conspiracy. I think other tools are more appropriate for that.
Generally speaking, crimes by one person against another should be matters of state criminal law. Federal law enforcement should be used for inherently federal issues such as national security, smuggling, or counterfeiting, large organized crimes rings that cross state lines and are beyond the capacity of any one state to prosecute, and malfunctions of the state system itself.
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