Gosnell Acquitted on 3 Counts of Murder, 5 Counts of Corpse Abuse in Grisly Murder Trial

It's shaping up to be a dramatic day in the courtroom for those keeping a watchful eye on the Dr. Kermit Gosnell case. According to columnist J.D. Mullane, a writer for the Bucks County Courier Times, the abortion doctor was acquitted this morning on three counts of murder.

In a series of tweets from inside the courtroom, Mullane described the dismissals, noting that Gosnell still has five murder charges remaining against him (in sequence from oldest to newest):

[blackbirdpie url="https://twitter.com/jdmullane/status/326721248291856384"]

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[blackbirdpie url="https://twitter.com/jdmullane/status/326731833758867456"]

Jack McMahon, the attorney representing Gosnell, apparently asked Judge Jeffrey Minehart for an acquittal. After a recess, Minehart's decision was noted. As Mullane reports, "Acquittals came after...Jack McMahon argued that DA could not prove babies were alive when [the abortion doctor] severed necks."

Martin Luther King Jr.'s niece, Alveda King, corroborated this development. King, who is also in the courtroom, tweeted that Gosnell has been "acquitted on 3 counts murder of babies and 5 counts of corpse abuse but stays on trial for 4 counts of murder of babies & 1 adult."

[blackbirdpie url="https://twitter.com/alvedaking/status/326737677061873664"]

LifeNews.com's Steven Ertelt described the events in detail:

Gosnell’s defense attorney asked the judge to drop three of the charges for killing the babies and the judge agreed with the contention there was not enough evidence to convict Gosnell on those charges. He still faces the other charges the prosecution has brought and the murder trial will continue on them.

Common pleas court Judge Jeffrey Minehart also dropped five counts of corpse abuse at the request of his defense attorney Jack McMahon and did not explain his ruling dropping any of the charges.

The defense has argued that there were no live births at Gosnell’s Women’s Medical Center abortion clinic and contends the babies died during abortions and their necks were snipped afterwards. But former Gosnell staffers testified they saw signs of life even after the abortion had been completed — saying the babies “jumped” and “screamed” and tried to escape.

Last week, the prosecution rested, with defense picking up today. According to Mullane, McMahon told the court that the defense plans to call witness through next week.

As TheBlaze has extensively reported, Gosnell has been on trial for the death of an adult woman who passed away following an alleged botched abortion. The other seven charges were for the purported killing of babies at his clinic, Women's Medical Society.

Gosnell has now been cleared of three of these murder charges (read extensive details about the case here).

This is a breaking news story. Stay tuned for updates.

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