CNN reported that Dear loudly proclaimed himself “guilty” and had almost 20 other outbursts in the courtroom as he was charged with 179 felony charges, including eight options of first-degree murder and 131 counts of attempted first-degree murder.
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The disturbance, as prosecutors formally presented murder and other charges against Robert Lewis Dear, 57, bolstered assertions by Planned Parenthood executives that the attack on the Colorado Springs clinic was motivated by anti-abortion sentiments. “Let it all come out”.
In 2002, Dear was charged with being a peeping Tom; those counts were dismissed. It wasn’t immediately clear what impact his outbursts might have on the case against him since he was not being asked to enter a plea on Wednesday.
Prosecutors have not said whether they will seek the death penalty.
The hearing Wednesday was in stark contrast to Dear’s first court appearance, when he spoke to friends and relatives of the victims though a video feed three days after the attack. There will be no trial”, and “Seal the truth, kill the babies.
King was part of the team that represented Aurora theater shooter James Holmes.
In St. Louis, there are six Planned Parenthood locations that perform a variety of services, from birth control, to well-woman exams, to a variety of STD tests and other preventative care screenings, as well as abortion services. And a law enforcement official told The Associated Press this week that Dear asked at least one person in a nearby shopping center for directions to the clinic before opening fire.
Dear interrupted, “You’re not my lawyer.”
“You’ll never know what I saw in that clinic… the atrocities… the babies”, Dear later yelled.
“I’m not going to agree to their mental health evaluations where they’d want to take me and put me under psychotropic drugs so that I can’t talk like the Batman guy”, Dear said to the judge at the end of the hearing. He wounded at least nine more in what was a tense five-hour standoff with police until he surrendered.
The Sheriff’s Office there knew Dear from a single civil citation issued in 2014 for allowing his dogs to run wild.
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Abortion-rights groups say the publication of a series of videos purporting to show clinic workers across the country offering to sell fetal tissue have led to a surge in violence against abortion clinics. “He’s behind Planned Parenthood”, one officer said about seven minutes into the incident.
