PUBLISHED SUNDAY, AUGUST 24, 2003

Lines blur as death penalty, abortion collide

Life-and-death issues add emotional twists as Sept. 3 execution nears

Read also: Nine years after crime, Hill prepares for death
Hill lives in world of black and white
'I want it to be over'

Troy Moon
@PensacolaNewsJournal.com

The anti-abortion governor refuses to halt the execution of Paul Hill, sentenced to death for the murder of a doctor who sometimes performed abortions and the murder of the doctor`s escort.

The head of a national group against abortion has volunteered to "pull the switch" and send Hill to his death. Another abortion-opposition group, Florida Right To Life, says Hill forfeited his right to live.

The American Civil Liberties Union - staunch supporters of a woman`s right to choose - is hoping the execution will be halted. So is the stepdaughter of one of the victims.

Abortion opponent Mark Farmer of Pensacola holds a cross Friday in front of the site of the 1994 slayings committed by Paul Hill. Michael Spooneybarger @PensacolaNewsJournal.com

Get a scorecard, because when two of the most divisive issues of our time merge - abortion and the death penalty - it`s sometimes hard to know who is on which side.

Hill is scheduled to die Sept. 3 for the shootings of Dr. John Britton and retired Air Force Lt. Col. James Barrett outside The Ladies Center on July 29, 1994.

"We live in an upside-down world," said the Rev. Flip Benham, national director of Operation Rescue, an abortion-opposition group. "You`ve got people who hate capital punishment and want to stop the execution, but they love the killing of little children. It`s a strange union."

Susan Watson, chairwoman of the Panhandle Chapter of the ACLU, which supports a women`s right to choose to have an abortion, said there is no contradiction in the organization`s hopes that Hill will not be executed.

"This case isn`t about abortion," she said. "The ACLU is a staunch opponent of the death penalty for everyone."

The abortion issue is explosive - seven people have been killed over it, said Dallas Blanchard, retired University of West Florida sociology professor and author of "The Anti-Abortion Movement and the Rise of the Religious Right."

"The death penalty isn`t quite as explosive, but it`s still an issue that causes debate," Blanchard said. "We have a higher rate of violence, period, in our country, and the death penalty is an example. We`re just a violent nation."

Already, some of the tension surrounding the issues is starting to show.

Last week, four people were sent threatening letters concerning Hill`s scheduled execution - each letter contained a bullet. State and federal agents are investigating the letters and bullets sent to Attorney General Charlie Crist, Corrections Secretary James Crosby, Florida State Prison Warden Joe Thompson and Circuit Judge Frank Bell, who sentenced Hill to death.

"There have been threats to renew violence if he is executed, and I take that seriously," Blanchard said. "I think it would be so much better to have him sitting in prison for the rest of his days."

Britton`s stepdaughter, Catherine Britton Fairbanks, hopes Hill isn`t executed.

"Violence begets violence," she told the News Journal early last week. "There is no murder of any kind that justified killing the murderer."

That`s how many who oppose the execution feel.

Amnesty International, a worldwide civil rights organization, posted on its Web site that "Paul Hill is scheduled to be killed by the people of Florida in revenge for his murder" of the two men.

Others feel the same.

"I`m pro-choice, but I don`t believe in the death penalty," said Laura Dyson, 24, of Pensacola. "I think it`s barbaric, like we`re out for blood. Civilized societies shouldn`t kill anyone."

Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty is trying to organize a demonstration at the Florida State Prison in Starke in the hours leading up to the execution. Watson said there could be a demonstration in Pensacola, though no final decision has been made by ACLU members.

"We`ve broadened our coalition in this case to include some in the pro-life movement," said Abe Bonowitz, director of Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty.

Still many activists against abortion are quick to distance themselves from Hill and say he deserves his fate.

"The person committed the crime, and now he has to face the consequences," said Lynda Bell, spokeswoman for Florida Right To Life. "Abortion is the killing of innocents, but, to me, it doesn`t justify Paul Hill."

Benham said Hill showed the same "blatant disregard" for life as abortion providers and should "die for his sin."

"Killing Paul Hill is not murder," Benham said. "It`s justice. I`d pull the switch myself and have no problem with it."

A few moments later, Benham quoted the Bible - Genesis 9:6, to offer his justification for hoping Hill`s execution will take place: "Whoso sheddeth man`s blood, by man shall his blood be shed - for in the image of God made he man."

The strange thing is, that`s the verse posted on a Web site for the Army of God - another abortion- opponent group - to justify Hill`s actions.

"They have that up there?" Benham asked. "Well, the Army of God is such a joke. Some groups think it`s all right to kill an abortion doctor. Not us. Killing two unarmed people is murder. Killing Paul Hill is not murder. It`s justice."