MSNBC Films Presents "THE ASSASSINATION OF DR. TILLER," Reported By Rachel Maddow, Monday, October 25, 9 PM ET

Rachel Maddow turns to the documentary format to bring her viewers inside the intricate story of the events leading to the murder of Dr. George Tiller, a prominent Kansas abortion doctor who was fatally shot on May 31, 2009, by anti-abortion extremist Scott Roeder. "The Assassination of Dr. Tiller," an MSNBC Films and Peacock Productions presentation, will premiere on Monday, October 25th, at 9 p.m. ET.

"The Assassination of Dr. Tiller" provides first-hand accounts of Tiller's murder at this church in Wichita-including police footage of Roeder's arrest shortly after the murder and his compelling courtroom testimony where Roeder proudly admits to killing Tiller. The jury quickly found Roeder guilty and sentenced him to 50 years without the possibility of parole.

The documentary also includes a never-before-broadcast interview with Dr. Tiller describing a 1993 attack on his life where he was shot 5 times at point-blank range by anti-abortion extremist Shelley Shannon. Despite his life-threatening injuries, Dr. Tiller returned to work the very next day. Tiller said, "There was never any question in my mind that I was not going to go to work the next day. I was going to work-hell or high water. I'm not gonna be run over-I'm not gonna be run out. It's that simple."

The special features interviews with Scott Roeder's ex-wife, as well as colleagues from Dr. Tiller's clinic who experienced constant harassment both at work and in their own homes.

"This documentary has been a long time in the making, and we here at MSNBC are very, very proud of it," said Rachel Maddow. "This new MSNBC documentary explains how the murder happened and what we know of why it happened. We obtained a lot of new footage that has never been seen anywhere else and interviews with people who you will not believe we got interviews with."

The airing of "The Assassination of Dr. Tiller" on October 25th is especially timely, as Scott Roeder is now the subject of a federal grand jury investigation exploring whether his actions were part of a broader conspiracy. In addition, politicians on both sides of the political spectrum-from Sarah Palin to David Axelrod-agree that the debate over abortion continuing to be a legal option will be an extremely important issue in November's elections.  

Clips of "The Assassination of Dr. Tiller" will be available soon at WWW.MADDOWBLOG.MSNBC.COM.

"The Assassination of Dr. Tiller" is co-produced by MSNBC and Peacock Productions. Mike Rubin is Vice President, Long Form Programming, MSNBC. Scott Hooker is Senior Executive Producer, MSNBC. Timothy Smith is Senior Producer, MSNBC. Sharon Scott is the Executive-in-Charge of Peacock Productions; Keith McKay is Executive Producer; Toby Oppenheimer is the Producer; and Benjamin Ringe and Knute Walker are Executive Producers, Peacock Productions.