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The State of Florida is going to grant "Martyrdom" via State-Assisted Suicide to Paul Hill at
6pm on September 3, 2003 in revenge for his murder of Dr. John B. Britton, 79, of Fernandina
Beach, and retired Air Force Lt. Col. James H. Barrett, 74, of Pensacola. Hill used a shotgun
to kill the two men on July 29, 1994 outside what then was known as the Ladies Center. They
were killed after pulling into the parking lot in Barrett's pickup. Barrett's wife, June, was
wounded.
Paul Hill, an anti-abortion extremist, murdered Dr. Britton because he worked at a facility
that provides abortions. Hill readily admits that he committed this act of terror with the
full knowledge that he could receive the death penalty. Hill wanted to put the abortion
issue on trial by using the "necessity" defence (which is like being justified in breaking
into a locked house that is on fire in order to save the people in the house from burning).
However, Hill was not allowed to use that defence, nor was he allowed to use the attorney
that he wanted, and thus he reportedly remained mostly silent during his trial. From the
time he was sentenced to death, Hill has sought to drop his appeals and be executed.
Paul Hill wants to die for his cause and has repeatedly said that he is willing to sacrifice
his life to save unborn babies. According to his spiritual advisor, Hill believes Jesus told
him to kill the abortion doctor. According to others who champion Hill's action, "20 or 30
babies were saved that day." Extremist anti-abortion activists have several web pages in
which they discuss their perspective about Paul Hill, suggesting that what he did was
"justifiable homicide." One such page includes a list of the types of people for whom
similar treatment ("justifiable homicide") is warranted. Just about anyone who does not
agree with these extremists would fit into one of the categories on that list, which is a
thinly veiled invitation to any person for whom "Jesus speaks to me" to go out and take
similar actions.
WARNING
- the following
link takes you to one such extremist web page. If you click on this link, you will be
immediately subjected to gruesome photographs of dead people and chopped up fetuses. Once
on that site, you can hear an interview with Paul Hill's spiritual advisor which provides a
window into the thinking of this crowd.
(http://www.christiangallery.com/)
TAKE ACTION
Florida's "Pro-Life" governor Jeb Bush is acting in a particularly irresponsible way by once
again allowing "the tail to wag the dog" when he signs a death warrant for a prisoner who
wants to be executed. By helping Paul Hill martyr himself, Jeb Bush is giving Hill and his
followers a platform to encourage others to copy the crime. Rather than the deterrent that
death penalty advocates suggest is provided by executions, the martyrdom of Paul Hill is a
prime example of how the death penalty can actually encourage more murder and violence.
No person other than the Governor himself can stop the martyrdom of Paul Hill. Please write
to Governor Bush and ask him to commute Paul Hill's death sentence to life in prison with no
possibility of parole, because killing Hill will actually encourage more murders.
Write to the Governor of Florida:
Governor Jeb Bush
The Capitol
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001
Telephone: (850) 488-4441 or
FAX (850) 487-0801
E-mail:fl_governor@eog.state.fl.us
Alternate e-mail: Jebbush@jeb.org
If you are writing from outside of Florida, please send a copy of your letter to:
The Tallahassee Democrat
Letters to the Editor
P.O. Box 990
Tallahassee, FL 32302
(850) 599-2173
Fax: (850) 599-2295
email to: tdedit@taldem.com
If you are writing from within Florida, please send a copy of your letter to your local news
paper(s), along with a letter to the editor marked "for publication." You might also try
simply marking your letter to Jeb! "for publication," and perhaps they'll run that! As
always, FADP requests that if your letter is printed, please send us an original of the full
page on which the letter appears, to the address shown below.
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Dr. Britton's step-daughter wrote to Governor Bush. It took more than a
week for the Governor, who says "executions are for the victim's families"
to have an assistant call Ms. Fairbanks to acknowledge her letter. See
below....
Dear Governor Bush:
As the stepdaughter of John B. Britton, M.D. who was murdered by Paul
Jennings Hill on July 29, 1994, I am asking that you commute Hill's death
sentence to life without the possibility of parole. Killing people is
against the law in any circumstance, and by the execution of Paul Hill, you
are enabling the killing to keep perpetuating in the
circle of violence. I do not want to witness murder, killing by gun,
lethal injection, electric chair, or any other mode of violence. The
violence must stop. Killing must stop. Even though Paul Hill claims he
wants to be killed, that will do nothing except allow him to be a martyr -
it will not stop the right of women to have abortions, nor solve any other
problem in this world. It will cause more pain in the name of the spirit of
life. Please stop the killing.
Catherine Britton Fairbanks
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Catherine Fairbanks reports on 8/29/03
"Jeb Bush's office just called - someone by the name of Wendy. She stated
that the Governor wanted to let me know that he received my email, but was
firm in his stand of "upholding the law." By that, he feels obliged to go
ahead with the murder. I told her that the murder would not accomplish
anything, and that I felt this was a pre-planned murder, the same as Paul
Hill had done. She said that was my opinion. She seemed very cold and
very firm in her support of Jeb Bush...."
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Is the martyrdom of Paul Hill an irresponsible invitation to unstable extremists to
commit similar actions?
RADICAL REACTIONS TO FLORIDA MURDER
(source: compiled from Reuters reports, August, 1994)
Catholic Priest Rev. David Trosch has led the way encouraging anti-choice
activists to kill abortion providers. Since Paul Hill murdered Dr. John
Britton and James Barrett last month, Trosch has become a media celebrity.
His many television appearances have included the Today Show, CNBC and dozens of
local news broadcasts. Among his many quotes excusing these
gruesome murders were these gems: "God smiles on those who take a life to
save the lives of the 'unborn.'" and "Defending
innocent human life is not murder."
Advocates for Life released a statement saying that "While Paul Hill may
have been genuinely concerned to protect children and justified in shooting
abortionist John Britton, he may have been wrong in the shooting death of
the bodyguard."
Donald Spitz [Paul Hill's spiritual advisor], spokesman for Operation
Rescue Chesapeake, reacted to the murders with this statement, "If there
was a sniper in the school yard sniping off children one by one and the
only way you could stop him was by stopping that sniper ... you would stop
that sniper."
Michael Bray, a Bowie, Md., pastor who served four years in prison for
bombing clinics in the Washington area and has just written a book called
"A Time to Kill," said, "There is no prohibition in the Bible against
killing." The ancient Hebrew word translated as "kill" in the commandment
"Thou shalt not kill" does not refer to self-defense, Bray argues.
All of these activists say they would not themselves kill a doctor. They
say they are either too important to the cause, too committed to their
families or too smart to publicly proclaim their intentions. Before the
recent murders in Pensacola, Paul Hill assured several friends that he
would not himself resort to violence.
Visit
www.christiangallery.com/hill.html
to see a letter from the above-mentioned Michael Bray, in which he suggests to the
Florida clemency board that one of the benefits of commuting Paul Hill's sentence would
be: "You prevent reactionary violence from radicals."
Visit
www.christiangallery.com/biblicaljustice.htm
to read "Biblical Justice for Baby Murderer's"
Visit
www.christiangallery.com/InvitationtoMurder.htm
to see if YOU fit into one of the categories making your murder a "justifiable homicide."
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Here is information recently compiled for FADP regarding the sentences
received by other anti-abortion terrorists
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Paul Hill is the first anti-abortion protester sentenced to death.
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Michael Griffin was the first anti-abortion protester to kill a doctor
(inspiring Paul Hill), but he was sentenced to life for the first Pensacola
murder (of Dr. David Gunn).
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John Salvi killed receptionists at two clinics in Massachusetts, but was
found to be insane. He committed suicide in jail.
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James Kopp used a sniper rifle to kill Dr. Slepian in upstate New York,
but was extradited from France only on the condition that he not face the
death penalty. Kopp recently was sentenced to 25 years to life for that
murder.
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Eric Rudolph will eventually go to trial on a death-penalty charge for
killing an off-duty police officer who was guarding a clinic that was
bombed in Alabama. (He is also charged with the Atlanta Olympics bombing.)
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There have been other clinic/provider shootings and bombings, but not
that resulted in death.
According to the Associated Press:
"After Hill was condemned in December 1994, he said he welcomed execution
because he believed it would prevent abortions by inciting more violence
against abortion providers.
"He also said he had been inspired to kill Britton and Barrett by the
actions of Michael Griffin, an anti-abortionist who fatally shot another
doctor in Pensacola in 1993."
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