Paulhillpcstatements

Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (FADP) opposes every execution because the death penalty is a failed public policy on moral, economic and social grounds. Because of these well documented flaws, we do not believe the government should have the power to kill its own citizens. FADP supports the alternative sentence of life without the possibility of parole because it allows for both the punishment of offenders and the protection of society.

The case of Paul Hill demonstrates how the death penalty truly continues the cycle of violence: Hill deplores what he sees as the “violence” of abortion but reacts to it by the use of violence. Now the state of Florida will use violence against Hill, and encouraging anti-abortion extremists to respond to Hill’s execution with more violence. Where will the cycle end?

Governor Bush has refused to commute Hill’s sentence, maintaining that he has a duty to carry out the law. But Governor Bush also has a duty to protect the innocent citizens of Florida who could be harmed by violence inspired by the deliberate killing of Paul Hill. The fact of the matter is that Governor Bush has an option that would serve the dual purpose of punishing Mr. Hill and protecting the citizens of Florida: He can commute the death sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

FADP asks Governor Bush to reconsider this case in light of Hill’s statements, and the reaction of Hill’s supporters. Paul Hill has a press conference scheduled for September 2nd. At that time he will be given a microphone and a podium which will allow him to broadcast his beliefs and his justification for violence to the entire world. Giving Paul Hill a platform to encourage others to more violence is wrong, and it does a disservice to the victims in this case.

We remember the victims, but not with more killing. Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (FADP) remembers Dr. John B. Britton and retired Air Force Lt. Col. James H. Barrett, the victims in this case. With the signing Paul Hill’s death warrant and his subsequent execution, Paul Hill becomes more famous, and his message of violence is trumpeted even louder. John Britton and James Barrett are forgotten, and that is wrong.

In closing, the unfortunate casualty in the case of Paul Hill is once again the truth. Floridians deserve more than sound bites about this critically important issue which devours a huge portion of the taxpayer’s dollars. Floridians deserve to understand fully how the death penalty system is actually practiced in Florida. Therefore, FADP renews its call to the Governor to enact a time-out on executions in Florida until the citizens can be independently assured that the legal system is both fair and accurate. Also, FADP ONCE AGAIN challenges Governor Bush to personally and publicly debate the merits of the death penalty.

Don’t let the Paul Hill case lead to another fiasco where innocent people die because governmental officials failed to connect the dots.

We appeal to Governor Bush to commute the death sentence of Paul Hill, scheduled for execution on September 3, 2003, to life in prison without possibility of parole. His brutal
murders of Dr. John Britton and Lt. Col. James Barrett outside of an abortion clinic were an unjustifiable attack on human life and we unequivocally condemn and renounce his actions. Abortion kills unborn children, hurts women and is a terrible wrong; taking lives as Paul Hill did is no less a terrible wrong.

Paul Hill’s actions have not helped to increase respect for life of the unborn. His execution will further desensitize society’s understanding of the sacredness of all human life. The dignity of human life can never be taken away, even in the case of someone who has done great evil. Regardless of Paul Hill’s actions, we must learn to respect every human life, including the lives of those who fail to show that respect for others. His execution will only perpetuate a cycle of violence and further promote a sense of vengeance in our society. The sacredness of human life and the dignity of the human person are not privileges we earn by good deeds, nor are they forfeited by whatever crimes one commits.

The state has a right and responsibility to protect society and punish criminals. When society can be kept safe from criminals, we should not execute them. Florida’s alternative of life in prison without parole is a severe punishment, allows the possibility of conversion for the sinner, and gives us the opportunity to forgive their wrong doings.

Please stay this execution.

The scheduled execution of Paul Hill is the chance for us to see the error of the belief that we can teach that killing is wrong by killing those who kill.

The State of Florida plans to execute Paul Hill because he executed Dr. John Britton and Lt. Col. James Barrett because, in turn, Paul Hill held them responsible for executing unborn children.

Paul Hill is responsible for violence against life. Still, I can’t get it out of my head and heart that our society’s prevailing disregard for the dignity of life, whether that of the unborn child, the Cuban or Haitian refugee, or even one who has done great evil, has played a hand in the nurturing of a Paul Hill. It could be said, very sadly, that he is one of our “star” pupils.

Why can’t we muster a collective moral will and legislative resolve to declare this formula insanely appalling? This formula distorts our efforts to administer justice. I would urge Governor Bush to see that it is past time to declare a moratorium on the death penalty.

The evil of violence can never be made right by any form of violence.

My experience on death row with Ricky Sanchez-Velasco, serving as his spiritual advisor and present to him before and during his execution this past October at Florida State Prison, has deepened my resolve. Violence will be transformed only by love, by our intentional and collective loyalty to the life of every human being, no matter their individual deficiency or sufficiency.

Father Fred Ruse
St. Matthew Catholic Church
Winter Haven, FL
August 25, 2003

Christians have struggled for centuries with the question of if and when killing a human being is justified. Christians moved from a position of absolute refusal to defend oneself even from fatal attack, to the writings of Thomas Aquinas in the Summa Theologiae in the fourteenth century, allowing for self-defense and a just war, which remain the standard for Western law with regard to the use of force.

The first criterion for the use of force is that the force used to prohibit harm to an individual must be the least amount of force reasonably necessary to protect oneself or another. Shooting an abortionist, then, is not the least amount of force necessary to prevent the killing of unborn children. A whole array of nonviolent tactics could prevent an abortionist from getting on with the grisly business of killing children.

Stopping an act of aggression in defense of oneself or another must be done with the moral certitude that great harm will be inflicted upon that individual if force is not used, and that the force about to be used will indeed stop it. Since we cannot know for certain what is in the heart and mind of a particular abortionist on any given day as he goes into the abortuary, we cannot prove that harm will be done to an individual. Each of the abortionists who have testified at the Pro-Life Action League’s “Meet the Abortion Providers” six conferences, is someone who walked into his or her abortion clinic one day for the last time – to clear out his desk and quit.

It is crucial also to remember that the provider is not the principal threat to the baby’s life. The abortionist is the hired killer. The mother is the imminent aggressor, or principal cause of the abortion, and she is frequently under pressure from a boyfriend, a husband, or a parent. She is still free to go to another abortionist if the first one is unavailable. The challenge of a true pro-life activist is to help the pregnant woman recognize the value of her child and to help her cope with the factors that are leading her to an abortion.

A person attempting to prevent harm to an individual cannot intend to inflict mortal injury on the aggressor. Since the Christian has a scriptural mandate to love his enemies, when intervening for the life of oneself or another, the Christian cannot intend to kill the aggressor, even if that should be the result.

We in the pro-life movement have the obligation to seek remedies to the grievous injustice of abortion. But we may not fight evil with evil or inflict mortal injury to attain our goals. We are called upon to be examples of the peaceful, nonviolent resolution of injustice. We are not the ultimate judges of the actions of the abortionist. Our job is to educate him or her on the value of life and the grave evil of his actions, to pray for him and provide him the opportunities and incentive to quit the abortion business. We leave to God the awesome responsibility of Judge.

Paul Hill’s philosophy, much as he may believe in it, is one of anarchy. While there is no question that the abortionist is a a murderer – many freely admit to murder abortionists on a confused theory that our brand it – it is not our rightof homicide is “justified.” We should convert abortionists, not kill them. And as to the fear that Paul’s execution, even though we oppose it, will make him a martyr and lead to copycat killings of abortionists, we tot
ally reject it. Those who believe that miss the fact that what Hill did was to make a martyr of the abortionist and took the focus off of the true victims, the unborn and their unhappy mothers, and made it more difficult for the true workers out on the streets and sidewalks in front of the clinics to do their job of conversion.

We pray for Paul Hill, and believe that he should not be executed, in part because he was not permitted use of the defense of necessity, which he requested and thus did not get a fair trial, but don’t see him as a martyr. Few in the pro-life movement do.

August 24, 2003

To the Editor [of the Palm Beach Post]:

The Board of the South Palm Beach County National Organization for Women has expressed its opposition to the death penalty and in particular the planned execution of Paul Hill.

Hill was convicted of murdering Dr. John B. Britton,69, a Florida abortion provider and his volunteer escort, James Barrett,74, outside a Pensacola clinic in 1994.

Although we deplore Hill’s crimes, we cannot condone more violence, even state-sponsored and authorized, as capitol punishment is. Hill should be made to serve a life sentence without parole. This will have the dual benefit of forcing him to face his crimes for the rest of his life, and perhaps offer a true and strong warning to others.

Many fear that his death would trigger a wave of violence directed against other people and clinics, in the United States. There are websites that are already envisioning such a result and Hill himself promotes the idea.

According to the Associated Press, and Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty:
“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.”

We hope other Floridians will join us in protesting the death penalty and ask for a life sentence without parole for Hill. We are sending this letter to Governor Jeb Bush.

Sincerely,
South Palm Beach County NOW Board of Directors
P.O. Box 880213
Boca Raton, FL 33488-0123