Anti-abortion violence 40 Days For Life—issued statements condemning the 2009 murder of Kansas late-term abortion doctor George Tiller. In a 2009 press release, Operation Rescue founder Randall Terry issued a statement calling for peaceful protests to expose abortionists. According to Media Matters and the Colorado Independent, however, Terry has also lead apparently contradictory public prayers that an abortion provider would "[convert] to God" or that "calamity [would] strike him". Terry added that he hoped the "baby killer would be tried and executed for crimes against humanity". The doctor targeted by Terry's prayers said to the press, "He's clearly inciting someone, anyone, to
George Tiller Nazi war criminals, while Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Professor Jacob Appel described Tiller as "a genuine hero who ranks alongside Susan B. Anthony and Martin Luther King Jr. in the pantheon of defenders of human liberty". The trial took place in March 2009, with the jury finding Tiller not guilty on all charges on March 27, approximately two months before his death. Dr. Tiller struggled with substance abuse, which came to a head in 1984 when he was arrested for driving under the influence. He sought treatment, overcame his difficulties, and later served on the Kansas Medical