Philadelphia abortion doctor gets third life sentence
Dr Kermit Gosnell was convicted this week of first-degree murder in the deaths of three babies born alive, then stabbed with scissors. He was given two life sentences on Tuesday in a deal with prosecutors that spared him a potential death sentence, and the third sentence was handed down yesterday.
Gosnell was also sentenced to two to five years in prison for the 2009 overdose death of a patient. The sentences are consecutive, meaning Gosnell, 72, will spend the rest of his life in prison.
The case has made Gosnell a flashpoint in the nation’s bitter debate over legalised abortion.
Prosecutors argued that Gosnell savagely killed late-term babies born alive by severing their spines, and taught several staff members the technique. Nine former clinic workers were convicted in the case, and four others pleaded guilty to murder.
Despite the notoriety of the case, Gosnell has seemed serene in court during the two-month trial, and apparently sees himself as a medical pioneer and tireless advocate for inner-city patients.
“I wanted to be an effective, positive force in the minority community,” Gosnell told The Philadelphia Daily News in 2010 interview, when he predicted he would be “vindicated” of the allegations in a grand jury report.
