The execution of Paul Hill - convicted of killing an abortion doctor
 

I'm going to try to get us to talk about something besides Kate Spade and that "oh so cool T.V. show that you watched yesterday."

Paul Hill, a Presbyterian minister who gunned down an abortion doctor and his bodyguard is scheduled to be executed on Septermber 3rd. (The first scheduled execution for anti-abortion related violence.)

If you don't know anything about this story, you can check some of it out here: Paul Hill

Personally, I don't think his actions were justified killings, even in the "name of the Bible." What are your feelings?

I generally don't support the death penalty. (Of course, I think our entire prison system is messed up, but that's a different topic...)

This seems to especially NOT warrant it.... The minister killed a doctor because the doctor killed a fetus/baby. So to teach the minister that killing is wrong, we kill him? It just seems weird to me.

He deserves it.

If he was sentenced to die then I'm totally in support of that.

Abortion is legal, murder is not.

We can't just have people running around with shotguns picking off unsuspecting people as they enter their workplaces because "God commanded them to."

I don't think that the point of capital punishment is to convince/teach the minister that "killing is wrong," rather I think it's society's way of saying, you're not worth keeping alive, your crime was that bad and it's that unlikely that you could be rehabilitated to become a productive, safe part of society.

I know that there are debates about whether the death penalty actually helps with deterrence, but maybe executing this guy will encourage other anti-abortion nuts to think twice before killing doctors. At least it makes the statement that the law won't be forgiving toward vigilantes who feel that they and their pet causes are above the law.

That is why it is ironic. In a sense the minister killed the doctor and his bodyguard to show them that abortion or "killing of a fetus" is wrong.

The bodyguard was not an abortion doctor, how was killing him justified by the bible like minister Hill claims? I don't get it.

I guess the bodyguard was an "accessory."

Generally it's best not to try and look for logic when someone's not playing with a full deck.

By his own admission, Hill killed two people. Before the crime took place, he carried signs calling for the execution of the doctors in the clinic. He chose to murder these two people; one of the consequences of this crime in Florida is the death penatly. He did the crime, now he must do the penalty.

due to the fact that one of the commandments is 'thou shalt not kill', i will say that i believe God doesnt command anyone to kill. i really hate when people use God to jusify their wrong doing. personally i depise the death penalty. to me, the criminal is getting off easy if we just kill them. they should go through long suffering.
from a religious standpoint, that minister let his 'flesh' get in the way of his 'morals'. no one is going to listen to you when you act like a hypocrite.

I really don't like the death penalty - I think it's too much "playing God" for my liking. However, in some cases it doesn't really bother me as much - and this is one of them. If he thought he was able to kill people because God wanted him to, then we can just tell him God wanted him executed.

And twinstars, I agree with everything you said.

I find people who kill abortion doctors to be especially disgusting, but I am against the death penalty.

well, as long as God commanded him to do it, it's ok with me.

he saved the babies!

FREE PAUL HILL

To me, the issue here is not abortion. The issue is murder. Let him pay the price. However, in my opinion, murdering an abortion Dr. is no worse than murdering any other person.

yah, but other people dont kill babies.

OMG, Blaine, why are you so depressing? You always bring up topics like this! Why can't we talk about Queer Eye for the Straight Guy? That show is SOOO hilarious.


:p

Anyway, I don't believe in the death penalty, but I don't think this guy should be treated any differently than anybody else. Though one might wonder why he wasn't suspected of being insane?

I used to support the death penalty but my views on it have changed. It's hard for me in this situation though because I feel like Paul Hill should be punished for killing the doctor and his bodyguard. IMO there is no justification for these murders.

I almost feel inclined to say that I can't wait until he is executed. It's sickening how some of pro-life supporters feel that killing abortion doctors is ok, when they are against the killing of a fetus. Man, fetus, life or death, it makes no sense to me. Notice I also said "some" because I know that Paul Hill doesn't express the views of all pro-life activists.

Now you might be able to see the bigger issues(s) with this case.

On one side you have pro-choice liberals that are against the death penalty who may or may not support the execution of Paul Hill depending on what issue they feel stronger about.

On the other side you have pro-life conservatives who are in support of the death penalty, possibly not wanting this man to die because he killed for the "pro-life" cause.

There are so many bigger issues, it's insane.

Imthachamp- dont act like babies have a higher value than adults. babies are precious, but no matter how you look at it, what paul did was murder. i am not God's personal spokesperson, but i KNOW that He wouldnt condone murder. that commandment i mentioned earlier doesnt say 'thou shalt not kill...unless you are saving the life of a child.' ( fyi: i think self defense is another story)

paul did not help the situation. women who want an abortion will just go to someone else. so who is paul saving here?

I don't support the death penalty, I never have and I never will. Didn't anyone else ever learn that two wrongs do NOT make a right? Just because he killed someone does not justify us killing him. That makes us no better than him at all. Put him in jail for the rest of his life, that's more of a punishment as he will have to live with knowing what he did every single day for the rest of his entire life.

I'm personally against abortion but I can't condone what Paul Hill did. I'm also against the death penalty (I feel that taking anyone's life is playing God.) I would rather that he would rot in jail, having to spend everyday thinking about two lives that he as a minister took away from the earth and how much a hypocrite he is for commiting a sin when he is supposed to lead people away from sin.

thank you. i couldnt agree more

I completely agree with your post, Bethany.

i think women who want abortions should be given the death penalty too.

FREE PAUL HILL

I would rather see Paul Hill rotting away in a prison cell for the rest of his life; lest his being executed makes him some sort of "martyr".

Re: The execution of Paul Hill - convicted of killing an abortion doctor
 

Like others who have already posted, I don't feel the issue here is abortions or whether or not he was an abortion doctor. It was the fact that he murdered living people.

This might be going out on a limb, but so what if his faith believes that abortion is wrong (as pertaining to the murders)? If people are on Mr. Hills side because their faith believes it is wrong and/or evil to have or perform an abortion, and they believe Mr. Hill's actions were "justified" by the Bible, than that would be like saying all those people who are terrorists and kill other races/cultures of people is ok since that is part of their beliefs.

Re: Re: The execution of Paul Hill - convicted of killing an abortion doctor
 

I was waiting for someone to bring this exact point up.

That's the one point that bothers me - that some might consider him to be a martyr.

it may be an opinion, but you are not in the position of these women. abortion is legal. while we may disagree, these women have the right to do what they feel. most of these women who chose abortions are scared and dont know what to do. to say that they deserve the death penalty is cruel cause these pregnacies could be the result of rape, incest, etc.

well...that's your opinion man.

Why does this thread have to turn into an abortion slugfest? The issue is murder...

abortion is murder

i know. we are still talking about the murder and its supposed justification

I don't support the death penalty.

I detest what Paul Hill, and his mentor, Michael Griffin, did.

I feel the anti-abortion bloc will use Hill as a martyr in the cause.

Therefore, I believe that he should remain in the Florida State Prison in Starke for the remainder of his days.

Yup and I would love to pull the switch myself!

If you are against it, I have one suggestion:
Don't have one! or if you are a guy take responsibility so you don't get a girl pregnant!

This is about the doctor NOT the issue of abortion! That is a whole nother thread!

I'd personally rather see him stay in jail - I think the martyr point is a valid one, and I'd rather not have him be a symbol of the cause through his death.

I guess the only justification this guy could POSSIBLY have is that in taking away one life, he supposedly saved many lives. I don't get the logic, don't like it, but maybe that's what he was thinking.

Wouldn't that still "kill" the baby? :p

If that Doctor would have performed say 30,000 abortions in a year then maybe Paul Hill performed a service to society.

That is thirty thousand lives saved . . . kind of anyway.

yeah, but wouldnt those women have rescheduled elsewhere?:confused:

we need more paul hills

Kill them all, every last one! Wait, wrong thread. That's a movie quote. How can anyone condone killing a Dr. for performing a legal procedure. I am pro life, and that includes the life of the murdered Dr. If Pro Lifers want to fight for their cause, they should fight in the arena of law, politics, and ideas, not in passing the ultimate judgment of taking the life of another.