Tiller suspect says he’s ‘treated as a criminal’

WICHITA, KAN. —  The man accused of killing Kansas abortion doctor George Tiller said Thursday from the county jail that he’s “being treated as a criminal” even though he hasn’t been convicted.

In a brief telephone conversation with the Associated Press, Scott Roeder also disputed what he called “broad-brush” characterizations of him as anti-government.

“I want people to stop and think. It is not anti-government, it is anti-corrupt government,” said Roeder, who called from the Sedgwick County Jail in response to a written request for an interview.

Roeder, 51, of Merriam, Kan., has been charged with first-degree murder in Sunday’s shooting of the late-term abortion provider at a Wichita church. Roeder, who also is accused of assaulting two witnesses, was arrested a few hours later.

When asked to discuss the shooting, Roeder refused.

“I haven’t been convicted of anything, and I am being treated as a criminal,” he said.

District Judge Warren Wilbert set Roeder’s bond on Thursday at $5 million, reversing an earlier ruling to deny bond. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 16. If convicted on the murder charge, Roeder would face a mandatory life sentence and would not be eligible for parole for at least 25 years.