Posted on 07/18/2005 9:15:29 AM PDT by Rodney King
A nurse critically injured when Eric Rudolph detonated a bomb outside an abortion clinic described him Monday as "a monster" who should be put to death. "The full responsibility for this would have been the death sentence," said Emily Lyons.
She spoke at a sentencing hearing for Rudolph, who avoided a death penalty under a plea agreement in which he confessed to deadly bombings in Birmingham and Atlanta.
"When it was your turn to face death, you weren't so brave again," Lyons told the federal courtroom
"You want to see a monster, all you have to do is look in the mirror," she said.
Rudolph, an anti-abortion extremist who remained defiant when he admitted setting the deadly explosions, has discussed his reasons only in written statements. Defense attorney Judy Clarke said he would speak at the sentencing hearing.
"It really doesn't matter what you say because I will go back to my home and you will go back to jail. The clinics in town will still be open and abortion will still be legal," Lyons said.
Rudolph, 38, pleaded guilty in April to setting off a remote-controlled bomb that maimed Lyons and killed police officer Robert "Sande" Sanderson outside the New Woman All Women clinic on the morning of Jan. 29, 1998.
He also faces sentencing Aug. 22 in Atlanta for the 1996 Olympics bombing that killed one woman and injured more than 100, as well as 1997 bombings at an abortion clinic and gay bar in Atlanta.
Under the plea agreement, he will be sentenced to four life terms without parole for the Birmingham and Atlanta bombings. But victims in both cities were getting the chance to speak about the harm he had caused.
As the hearing began, U.S. District Judge Lynwood Smith ruled that any proceeds Rudolph might receive from books or other projects must go to pay restitution to his victims.
In a statement distributed after his guilty pleas, Rudolph portrayed himself as a devout Christian and said the bombings were motivated by his hatred of abortion and a federal government that lets it continue.
"The fact that I have entered an agreement with the government is purely a tactical choice on my part and in no way legitimates the moral authority of the government to judge this matter or to impute guilt," Rudolph said.
Lyons was wounded by flying nails and other pieces of shrapnel in the bombing. She has undergone 21 operations, lost her left eye and has visible scars on her arms and legs. She is no longer physically able to work.
Under the plea agreement, Rudolph disclosed hidden explosives in the mountains of western North Carolina, where he was captured in May 2003 after more than five years as a fugitive.
Emily is obviously a product of the public schools. Why "would have been"?
Funny, when they describe Palestinians who set off bombs laced with nails, they don't use the term "extremist" but rather "militant" or "activist."
As if what she is supporting in the abortion clinic isn't reprehensible.
It's people like Rudolph who make it worse for people who are anti-abortion. He is sick! What he did was reprehensible he deserves whatever he gets!
Yes, thank God, all is right with the world.
/sarcasm
Eric Rudolph is NO hero, despite his supposed "motives".
She's right, he Is a monster and more.
He's a terrorist, and I'd hang him.
Period.
So would I!
Thanks.
First, know that I am Pro-Life and I think the nurse is wrong in her CAreer Path.
HOWEVER,
I saw a few people here and elsewhere who were DEFENDING Eric Rudolph because he was "killing all of the right people".
(Like the rent-a-cop and the people at the Olympics REALLY needed that. Right)
Rope's cheap.
Hang him.
People like him hurt our cause. People see him and tend to think we are all like him. That woman did not deserve that no one does. Her career choice is her own choice. She will have to deal with her maker when the time comes on that.
EXACTLY.
And no, she did not deserve what happened to her.
Killing thousands upon thousands of babies for a buck? Whats wrong with that? /sarcasm
Bingo.
Rudolph and anyone else who targets civilians is a terrorist.
There is NO justification for their actions.
If you are anti-abortion, you fight it at the ballot box. That's what seperates us from people like Bin Laden.
Yep. Fry him. Or needle him, whatever. Just delete him.
}:-)4
Dead is good in his case.
I thought the rest of the story was pretty much straitforward. The abortion lobby is evil, but Rudolph is still a POS.
He should get the death penalty. What he did was pro-death, not pro-life. It was un-Christian and he hurts the witness of the church everytime he opens his mouth.
As an abortion nurse, she should be adept at handing out death.
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