James Charles Kopp(born August 2, 1954) is anAmericanwho was convicted in 2003 for the 1998sniper-stylemurderofBarnett Slepian, an AmericanphysicianfromAmherst, New Yorkwho performedabortions. Prior to his capture, Kopp was on theFBIs list ofTen Most Wanted Fugitives. On June 7, 1999, he had becomethe 455th fugitive placed on the listby the FBI. He was affiliated with the militantRoman Catholicanti-abortiongroup known asThe Lambs of Christ.
He has been referred to as aterroristby the National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism,and was "well-known in militant anti-abortion circles, where he was nicknamed Atomic Dog".
Early life
James Charles Kopp was born inPasadena, Californiaand raisedLutheran, but later converted toRoman Catholicism. Kopp graduated from theUniversity of California, Santa Cruzin 1976, with a bachelors degree in biology, going on to take a masters degree in embryology fromCalifornia State University Fullerton. Kopp started providing support to anti-abortion groups after his girlfriend underwent an abortion, and used his technical abilities to create special locks that protesters then used on the doors of abortion clinics.
Murder
On October 23, 1998, at approximately 10 p.m., Barnett Slepian was standing in the kitchen of his home inAmherst, New York. Kopp fired a single shot from ariflefrom a nearby wooded area, which entered the Slepian home through a rear window. Slepian was a well-knownobstetrician/gynecologistwho performed abortions at a womens clinic inBuffalo, New York. He also maintained a private medical practice in an office inAmherst, New York. Within hours of the murder, anti-abortion militants posted Slepians name crossed out on their internet website, which also served as "a virtual hit list of doctors who carry out abortions".
Fugitive
The FBI believed that Kopp received assistance in fleeing the US, althoughIrishanti-abortiongroups denied they assisted him.
Kopp fled toMexicounder an assumed name and later toIreland. He then fled Ireland one step ahead of police on a ferry toBrittany,Franceon March 12, 2001, with two Irish passports besides his original U.S. document.
Arrest and Extradition
On March 29, 2001, Kopp was arrested withoutincidentby French law enforcement in the town ofDinan,Brittany, just after picking up a package containing $300outside of a post office.The United States requested hisextradition.Attorney GeneralJohn Ashcroftpromised that thedeath penaltywould not be sought, handed down or applied, a prerequisite according to theextradition treatybetween France and the United States.Ashcrofts promise was made over the objections ofNew York State Attorney GeneralEliot SpitzerandErie CountyDistrict AttorneyFrank Clark, both of whom wanted thedeath penalty, though such a sentence is not available in the New York State criminal justice system. Spitzer and Clark argued that the charge of murder was astate charge, not afederal charge, and Ashcroft had nojurisdictionin the matter. The instruction chamber of the Rennes Court of Appeals ruled in favor of extradition. Kopp and his attorney, Herve Rouzaud-Le Bouef, appealed this ruling, stating that the "unsigned embassy letter was insufficient as a guarantee, prompting Ashcrofts unusual direct intervention.
In May 2002, Kopp waived all possibleappealsin France and returned to the U.S. in June 2002.
Trial and conviction
On March 11, 2003, Kopp waived his right to ajury trial. Based upon an agreement between the defense and prosecution — Erie County Assistant District Attorney Joseph Maruszak anddefense attorneyBruce Barkett —Erie CountyJudge Michael DAmico would be required to find Kopp guilty or not guilty based on a single document of facts. In addition, the judge could not consider lesser charges; he had to find Kopp guilty or not guilty ofsecond-degree murder. Kopp had confessed his role in the shooting to police, claiming he only meant to wound Slepian. DAmico found him guilty and sentenced him to the maximum penalty, 25 years tolife imprisonment, on May 9, 2003.[9]DAmico told Kopp "Its clear the act is premeditated; there is no doubt about it. You made an attempt to avoid responsibility for the act. What may appear righteous to you is immoral to someone else."[10]The Appellate Division, Fourth Department, upheld the conviction on July 7, 2006 (Shawn P. Hennessy, attorney for respondent and Timothy Murphy, attorney for appellant). He is currently serving his sentence atFederal Correctional Institution, Mendota, his BOP ID being 11761-055.
Appeals
Kopp filed an appeal with theUnited States District Court for the Western District of New York. JudgeRichard Arcarawas selected to preside. Arcara limited what Kopp could say on the stand and prohibited the defense from showing pictures of abortedfetuses. There are also limitations to witness accounts. If found guilty in federal court, Kopp faced a mandatory life sentence. Kopp was charged with violating the Clinic Entrances Act and using a weapon in the murder of Slepian. Koppchose to act as his own attorney.On the second day of the federal trial, and duringcross examination, Kopp moved to have the court reporter from his previous state trial read back statements pertaining to abortion. Judge Arcara forbade this, holding that under the federal rules of evidence, Kopp was barred from stating anti-abortion, religious or moral reasoning for his actions, which effectively prevented Kopp from giving any rationale for his actions.
Kopp was also charged in theUnited States District Court for the Western District of New Yorkon a count of violating theFreedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act. Kopp dismissed his court-assigned attorney, an assistant federalpublic defender, and chose to represent himself. On June 20, 2007, he was sentenced tolife imprisonmentplus 10 years for illegal use of a firearm.Additionally, the court ordered his belongings auctioned off in order to pay $2.6 million to Slepians family. Arcara told Kopp at the end of the trial:
You served as prosecutor, judge, jury and executioner. You decided that you know better than any law.
In his opening statement to the jury, Kopp said that although Slepians death was "a full-bore, 100 percenttragedy" it wasnt murder because it was not malicious or premeditated. He did acknowledge that he had planned the shooting for a year, and that he fired a high-powered rifle with telescopic sights, but that he had only meant to wound the doctor (to keep him from performing abortions). Kopp claimed that murder means "Shoot them in the head, blow up a car, riddle their body with bullets like they do in the movies. Thats how you kill someone."
On April 6, 2009, The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the life sentence holding that all issues raised were without merit.
Other possible crimes
It has been speculated that Kopp has committed other crimes besides killing Slepian. The FBI notes that "the shooting was similar to shootings in theRochester, New Yorkarea, and threeCanadiancities during the fall of 1997, in which abortion doctors were shot in their homes".Kopp has been charged by Canadian authorities in the 1995 shooting of anOntario, Canadadoctor, Hugh Short, one of a string ofRemembrance Day Shootings.Garson Romalisand Jack Fainman were also shot and wounded by unknown assailants.An unnamedPerintondoctor was shot on October 28, 1997, the bullet narrowly missing their head. The doctors name has been withheld by Monroe County police.
Co-conspirators
Kopp received help from a sympatheticanti-abortionactivist couple, a Vietnam veteran and former stage and film actor Dennis Malvasi and his wife Loretta Marra ofBrooklyn, who pleaded guilty to one count each ofconspiracyin helping Kopp avoid capture. Marra and Malvasi had communicated extensively with Kopp, telling him also via electronic communications that "the coast is clear", referring to his proposed secretive return to US via Canada, and also to his use of their home as a safe house.On August 21, 2003, they were sentenced to time served, and released in October that same year. The two fugitive assisters later relocated to Newark, New Jersey outlet and briefly changed their names to Joyce Maier and Ted Barnes.
The murder ofBarnett Slepianinspired an episode ofLaw and Order: Criminal Intent, "The Third Horseman", in season 1, episode 11.
Singer/songwriterAni DiFrancowrote and performed the song, "Hello, Birmingham" about Kopps shooting of Dr. Slepian. It is the sixth track on her tenth studio album,To The Teeth.
