The first man to face the death penalty in the United States for killing a doctor who performed abortions has been executed.I’m not a supporter of state execution. As I wrote back in July, I’m against the death penalty not because I’m soft on crime or because I think execution is a cruel and unusual punishment but because human fallibility means that every so often we execute people who are innocent of the crime for which they were convicted.
Paul Hill, 49, died by lethal injection in northern Florida, following his conviction for the murder of two people outside an abortion clinic in 1994.
But this guy: deliberately murders two people, admits to the killings, is duly tried and convicted, shows no remorse and says he would kill again. From my point of view, I can’t see any reason to commute the sentence to life imprisonment. To me, the only thing cruel and unusual about Paul Hill’s punishment is that the State of Florida has had to wait so long to administer it.
The Miami Herald was one of a number of newspapers and television stations granted access to Hill on the day before the execution.
In the hourlong interview, Hill appeared relaxed and said he was without remorse. He provided a chillingly detailed account of the shooting, telling reporters how he hid the shotgun in an antiabortion protest sign and arrived early at the Pensacola clinic that day to avoid police. He said he killed Barrett first, then he pointed the shotgun at ''the abortionist,'' reloading and firing five more rounds ``until all moving stopped.''On the day of his execution, it’s worth remembering Hill’s victims and some of the other victims of a peculiarly American form of terrorism.
''It doesn't take long to realize that killing a mass murderer under those circumstances is a reasonable thing to do, and under the circumstances, is something I believe was long overdue,'' Hill said.
