A former Protestant minister who murdered an abortion doctor and his bodyguard has been executed in the United States.
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Protesters outside the Florida prison yesterday
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Paul Hill (49) is the first person to be put to death in the US for anti-abortion violence.
He was condemned for shooting dead Dr John Bayard Britton and his bodyguard, retired Air Force officer James Herman Barrett. Mr Barrett's wife was wounded in the attack outside the Ladies Centre in Pensacola, northern Florida on July 29th, 1994
Since the killings, Hill showed no remorse and urged anti-abortionists to use whatever means to protect the unborn.
"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 as he laid strapped to a gurney in the execution chamber of the Florida State Prison.
"May God help you to protect the unborn as you would want to be protected."
Death penalty opponents and others had urged Governor Bush to halt the execution; some of them warned Hill's death would make him a martyr and unleash more violence against abortion clinics.
But the governor said he would not be "bullied" into stopping the execution.