US Ex-cleric Executed for Murdering Abortion Doctor

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, September 04, 2003

US Ex-cleric Executed for Murdering Abortion Doctor

A former US cleric was executed Wednesday for shooting to death an abortion doctor and his bodyguard, becoming the first person put to death in the United States for anti-abortion violence.

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A former US cleric was executed Wednesday for shooting to death an abortion doctor and his bodyguard, becoming the first person put to death in the United States for anti-abortion violence.

Paul Hill, a former Presbyterian minister, was executed by injection in the southeastern state of Florida. He was sentenced to death for shooting Dr. John Bayard Britton and his bodyguard to death and wounding the wife of the bodyguard in July 1994.

Hill, 49, said he killed the abortion doctor and his bodyguard to save the lives of unborn babies.

"If you believe abortion is a lethal force, you should oppose the force and do what you have to do to stop it," Hill said in the execution chamber.

Opponents to death penalty had urged a halt to the execution, and some warned that Hill's death would lead to more violence against abortion clinics.

Abortion clinics and police in Florida were on high alert for possible reprisals, and several officials connected to the case had received threatening letters.

Hill became the 57th prisoner executed since Florida resumed executions in 1979.

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