Murder of Jim Pouillon
The murder of James Pouillon occurred on September 11, 2009, when pro-life activist James Pouillon was shot dead while protesting abortion in front of Owosso High School in Owosso, Michigan.[1]. Soon after, police were alerted to another murder, that of local businessman Michael Fuoss, which they connected Pouillon's killer. Police arrested Harlan James Drake and charged him with the crimes.[1]
Pouillon was a well-known local activist and member of Operation Save America.[1] It was apparently the first time an activist had ever been murdered while protesting abortion.[2] On September 30 Drake was deemed incompetent to stand trial and was remanded into the custody of the Michigan Department of Mental Health.[3]
Shooting and arrest
Pouillon was shot At 7:20 a.m. EDST by a gunman in a passing vehicle as he protested across the street from Owosso High School in Owosso, Michigan. One witnesses recorded the license plate number of the vehicle, and an hour later police arrested Harlan James Drake. Drake indicated to police that later that same morning he had also shot Michael Fuoss at the gravel business Fuoss owned.[1] Authorities said Fuoss was not connected to the pro-life movement.[2]
A Center for Reproductive Rights spokesperson said the shooting did not seem to be tied to the abortion debate, due to the murder of Fuoss.[2] Police said Drake was offended by Pro-life material that Pouillon had displayed across from the school for the previous week.[1] Drake received life imprisonment and expressed no remorse for any pain caused to the families.[4]
Responses
Several Pro-life groups and leaders have deemed Pouillon a martyr.[5][6]Lori Lamerand, president of Planned Parenthood East Central Michigan, stated the killing was tragic and expressed concerns people would retaliate.[7] President Barack Obama has called the killing "deplorable" and stated that, "whichever side of a public debate you're on, violence is never the right answer."[8] Pouillon's funeral was held at the Owosso High School football stadium.[9]
Soon after the murder Pouillon's estranged son James M. Pouillon, a podiatrist in Grand Rapids, criticized his father in an online post. This post, which was quickly circulated in the media, attributed Pouillon's activism to a "pathological hatred of women", claimed that he had wished to provoke others into violence against him, and concluded that "Owosso is now rid of a madman."[10]
The right-to-life organization Operation Rescue has named Pouillon "Person of the Year" for 2009.[11]
See also
References
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- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "Police: Shooting suspect offended by anti-abortion material". CNN. 2009-09-11.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Fitzsimmons, Emma (2009-09-11). "Anti-Abortion Protester Slain in Michigan; Suspect in Custody". New York Times.
- ↑ Chapman, Mary M. (October 1, 2009). "Incompetence Ruling in Killing of Abortion Protester". The New York Times. Retrieved May 13, 2010.
- ↑ Detroit Free-Press
- ↑ WLNS
- ↑ Reuters
- ↑ MLive
- ↑ AP
- ↑ "In Focus: Jim Pouillon". WVCY-TV. 2009-09-25.
- ↑ Laura Angus (September 17, 2009). "James M. Pouillon criticizes father, slain pro-life activist James L. Pouillon, in online post". mlive.com. Retrieved December 11, 2009.
- ↑ http://www.operationrescue.org/archives/slain-activist-james-pouillon-named-operation-rescue%e2%80%99s-2009-%e2%80%9cperson-of-the-year%e2%80%9d/comment-page-1/#comment-309623
