Paul Jennings Hill

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Paul Hill


Born	February 6, 1954(1954-02-06) Miami, Florida
Died	September 3, 2003 (aged 49) Raiford, Florida
Penalty	Lethal injection
Status	Deceased
Occupation	Minister (defrocked)
Spouse	Karen Denise Demuth
Parents	Oscar Jennings Hill, Louise Hill
Children	Justin, Gloria and Joy Hill

Paul Jennings Hill (February 6, 1954 – September 3, 2003) was the first person in the United States to be executed for killing an abortion provider.

[edit] Early life

Paul Hill was born in Miami, Florida on February 6, 1954, to Oscar Jennings Hill, an airline pilot, and his wife Louise. Hill was raised in Coral Gables, where he was popular in high school, but had been charged with assault at the age of 17 by his father when his father attempted to get treatment for his son's drug problem.

Hill's religious conversion happened two years later in 1973, after walking home from working a construction job. He enrolled in Belhaven College later that year.

[edit] Early career

Hill graduated from Belhaven College and Reformed Theological Seminary. Following his ordination in 1984, Hill became a minister affiliated with both the Presbyterian Church in America and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church.

He was excommunicated in 1993 following a number of nationally televised appearances, in which he claimed to be the new national spokesperson for abortionist killers, revealing himself to be a fanatical pro-life activist, with connections to the Army of God.^[1]^[2]

Though no longer employed as a pastor, Hill supported his family through an auto detailing franchise, largely through a network of new car dealerships and used car lots. However, the dealers began to use less and less of his services after learning about his anti-abortion agenda.

[edit] Crime and punishment

On July 29, 1994, Hill approached a Pensacola, Florida abortion clinic with which he was familiar. When he spotted physician John Britton and his clinic escort, James Barrett, outside, he shot them both at close range with a shotgun. In addition to the two murders, Hill seriously wounded Barrett's wife. He was arrested that same day.

On December 6, 1994, Hill was sentenced to death by lethal injection under Florida law.

In a statement before his execution, Hill said that he felt no remorse for his actions, and that he expected "a great reward in Heaven". During his trial, the judge did not allow Hill to use an affirmative defense of justification. Hill said he viewed the acts as defensive rather than retributive. Hill left behind a manuscript manifesto^[3] which his backers promised him they would publish. That manifesto and his address to the jury that convicted him echoed the words of John Brown,^[4] who had attempted to incite a violent insurrection to end slavery in the United States. Hill was not apologetic for the killings, and in his last words he encouraged others who believe abortion is an illegitimate use of lethal force to "do what you have to do to stop it".^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]^[9]