Update (May 15): The Associated Press reports that Kermit Gosnell has been sentenced to a third life term in prison.
"Gosnell received another 2 1/2 to five years in prison for the 2009 overdose death of a patient," AP reports. "He is not eligible for parole, and will die in prison."
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Update (May 14): According to the Associated Press, abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell has been sentenced to two life terms in prison.
Gosnell agreed not to appeal yesterday's conviction on three counts of first-degree murder and, as a result, did not face the death penalty in the sentencing phase of his trial.
BREAKING: Pa. abortion doc convicted of killing babies agrees to forego appeal, is spared death sentence. -SS– The Associated Press (@AP) May 14, 2013
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A jury has reached decisions on more than 260 charges against Philadelphia abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell, finding him guilty of first-degree murder on three of four charges involving the deaths of four babies.
The Washington Post reports that the trial will now transition "into a sentencing phase to decide whether Gosnell should receive the death penalty or face life in prison."
Jurors told the judge this morning that they were hung on two charges against Gosnell, but returned after deliberation with a complete verdict. In addition to the 'guilty' verdict in the three first-degree murder cases, Gosnell also was found guilty of "involuntary manslaughter in the drug-overdose death of a patient who had undergone an abortion."
Reporter JD Mullane, who was following the story from inside the courtroom, broke the news via Twitter:
Phila abortionist Kermit #Gosnell guilty 1st degree murder in 3 of 4 babies.– jdmullane (@jdmullane) May 13, 2013
Tweets from Reuters followed soon after:
Philadelphia abortion doctor Gosnell convicted of murdering infants faces possible death penalty #developing– Reuters US News (@ReutersUS) May 13, 2013
Following the verdict, Planned Parenthood vice president Eric Ferrero said, "This case has made clear that we must have and enforce laws that protect access to safe and legal abortion, and we must reject misguided laws that would limit women's options and force them to seek treatment from criminals like Kermit Gosnell."
Similarly, NARAL Pro-Choice America president Ilyse Hogue stated that "justice was served to Kermit Gosnell today and he will pay the price for the atrocities he committed. We hope that the lessons of the trial do not fade with the verdict. Anti-choice politicians, and their unrelenting efforts to deny women access to safe and legal abortion care, will only drive more women to back-alley butchers like Kermit Gosnell."
But National Right to Life President Carol Tobias emphasized "the result is the same for the baby whether it meets its end in a shabby clinic like Gosnell's or a brand new Planned Parenthood facility–a painful death."
"Those babies would have died just as painfully if he had killed them inside the womb, as most late-term abortionists do," Tobias stated.
CT previously noted the uproar over the lack of media coverage of Gosnell's trial, and noted when a judge threw out three of the murder charges against him.
Editor's Note: This post has been updated.
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