By Kenny Macdonald and Mark Scott
Buffalo, NY – Testimony continued Wednesday in the federal trial of anti-abortion extremist James Kopp for the 1998 shooting death of Dr. Barnett Slepian.
One of Kopp's supporters in the courtroom was ejected after he shouted at Judge Richard Arcara. The judge was questioning the relevancy of Kopp's cross-examination of a witness when the outburst occurred.
Kopp is being tried on federal charges after being convicted of murder in a state court four years ago.
A prosecution ballistics expert testified about the shooting Wednesday afternoon. Attorney John Humann, who is assisting Kopp with his defense, said the testimony bolstered Kopp's argument that he did not intend to kill Slepian.
"The government's ballistics expert gave a whole bunch of reasons why somebody who is attempting to fire into a certain target area might be off an inch or two, which could make a difference in this case," Humann said. "I thought that was a positive development for Mr. Kopp, who claims he wasn't trying to kill him."
The trial resumed at 10:00 Thursday morning. Six witnesses were scheduled to testify. It's expected that one of them will be Buffalo News reporter Dan Herbeck, who wrote an article in 2002 in which Kopp confessed to the shooting.