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Convicted Florida Killer Speaks Out
Aired September 02, 2003 - 15:19 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: A very unusual jailhouse interview is taking place in Florida this afternoon. Reporters hear from a prisoner on death row one day before his scheduled execution. The prisoner is Paul Hill, a convicted killer of an abortion doctor and his escort.
CNN's Brian Cabell has the latest from the state prison in Starke, Florida -- Brian.
BRIAN CABELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Judy, we just got out of that prison press conference about 15 minutes ago.
And I can tell you, Paul Hill, for a man who faces death in 29 hours almost exactly, who is a condemned man, truly, for whom there is really no hope, was remarkably calm, composed, articulate, even amiable throughout his one-hour press conference. For the first half- hour or so, he detailed his life. He was born in Miami, he says, to Godly parents. He was a rebellious youngster throughout his teenage years.
And, at 17, he experienced conversion. Then he went to a seminary. And there, he said he saw a right-to-life film and that changed his life, he said. He was married. He had three kids, came to Pensacola not far from here. And that's when he decided, he said, to act on his beliefs. He had a shotgun. He practiced with it. It jammed. He got another shotgun. He bought it. And he practiced with it for a few days. And then, in 1994, he shot three people, Dr. John Britton, an abortion provider, James and June Barrett, two escorts who were with him, not far from the clinic where Mr. Britton was practicing.
As for any remorse in this case, Hill says absolutely not.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL HILL, CONVICTED MURDERER: And people might question me and say, well, would you do it again? And if I were put in similar circumstances, I believe would act similarly. People have asked me whether I have any remorse about what I did.
And I can honestly say that, if I had not acted when I did and in the way I did, that I could not look myself in the mirror.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABELL: He met with his wife and his three children yesterday. He's meeting with legal advisers -- a legal adviser -- today and also some friends. He, himself, will not appeal his case, but he says this legal adviser says he will out of conscious, but he does not want it to succeed. He will meet again with his family tomorrow, including his mother and father.
Then he will have a last meal, a last meal of steak and broccoli and orange sherbert. And then, at 6:00 p.m., Judy, he is scheduled for a lethal injection. He should be dead, they say, within 10 to 15 minutes -- back to you.
WOODRUFF: All right, Brian Cabell, some remarkable words from Paul Hill, as he said, showing no remorse.
Thanks very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired September 2, 2003 - 15:19 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: A very unusual jailhouse interview is taking place in Florida this afternoon. Reporters hear from a prisoner on death row one day before his scheduled execution. The prisoner is Paul Hill, a convicted killer of an abortion doctor and his escort.
CNN's Brian Cabell has the latest from the state prison in Starke, Florida -- Brian.
BRIAN CABELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Judy, we just got out of that prison press conference about 15 minutes ago.
And I can tell you, Paul Hill, for a man who faces death in 29 hours almost exactly, who is a condemned man, truly, for whom there is really no hope, was remarkably calm, composed, articulate, even amiable throughout his one-hour press conference. For the first half- hour or so, he detailed his life. He was born in Miami, he says, to Godly parents. He was a rebellious youngster throughout his teenage years.
And, at 17, he experienced conversion. Then he went to a seminary. And there, he said he saw a right-to-life film and that changed his life, he said. He was married. He had three kids, came to Pensacola not far from here. And that's when he decided, he said, to act on his beliefs. He had a shotgun. He practiced with it. It jammed. He got another shotgun. He bought it. And he practiced with it for a few days. And then, in 1994, he shot three people, Dr. John Britton, an abortion provider, James and June Barrett, two escorts who were with him, not far from the clinic where Mr. Britton was practicing.
As for any remorse in this case, Hill says absolutely not.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL HILL, CONVICTED MURDERER: And people might question me and say, well, would you do it again? And if I were put in similar circumstances, I believe would act similarly. People have asked me whether I have any remorse about what I did.
And I can honestly say that, if I had not acted when I did and in the way I did, that I could not look myself in the mirror.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABELL: He met with his wife and his three children yesterday. He's meeting with legal advisers -- a legal adviser -- today and also some friends. He, himself, will not appeal his case, but he says this legal adviser says he will out of conscious, but he does not want it to succeed. He will meet again with his family tomorrow, including his mother and father.
Then he will have a last meal, a last meal of steak and broccoli and orange sherbert. And then, at 6:00 p.m., Judy, he is scheduled for a lethal injection. He should be dead, they say, within 10 to 15 minutes -- back to you.
WOODRUFF: All right, Brian Cabell, some remarkable words from Paul Hill, as he said, showing no remorse.
Thanks very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
