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Florida put to death anti-abortion militant Paul Hill on Wednesday for the shotgun murder of a doctor and his bodyguard at an abortion clinic, after Hill said his execution would make him a martyr.

Florida put to death anti-abortion militant Paul Hill on Sept 3, 2003 for the shotgun murders of a doctor and his bodyguard at an abortion clinic.     [Reuters]

The 49-year-old defrocked Presbyterian minister was pronounced dead at 6:08 p.m. EDT at the Florida State Prison in Starke, a prison spokesman said. Hill was put to death by chemical injection, becoming the first person executed in the United States for murdering a doctor who performed abortions.

He was sentenced to die for killing Dr. John Britton, 69, and his bodyguard, James Barrett, 74, at the Ladies Center in Pensacola, Florida, on July 29, 1994.

Prison spokesman Sterling Ivey said that as Hill lay awaiting the lethal injection, his last words were: "If you believe abortion is a lethal force, you should oppose the force and do what you have to stop it. May God help you to protect the unborn as you would want to be protected."

Hill declined a sedative and thanked Jesus for his loving family and for saving him from his sins, Ivey said. "His mood was positive even as he made his final statements," he said.

Minister Jeff White(L) leads a group of supporters of convicted murderer Paul Hill as they pray minutes before his execution in Starke, Florida, Sept 3, 2003. Florida executed the anti-abortion militant for the shotgun murders of a doctor and his bodyguard at an abortion clinic. He was put to death by chemical injection, becoming the first person executed in the United States for murdering a doctor who performed abortions.    [Reuters]

Claps of thunder from a passing storm echoed in the death chamber after the deadly chemicals were injected, Ivey said. Hill took a couple of short quick breaths and was pronounced dead six minutes after the injection, he said.

Hill's body will be released to his wife after a routine autopsy, Ivey said.

Hill said in a jailhouse interview on the eve of his execution that he had no regrets and no remorse for the killings.

"I believe the state, by executing me, will be making me a martyr," said Hill.

Abortion rights activists feared his execution would spur a wave of reprisal violence by fringe elements of the anti-abortion movement, and warned abortion providers to step up security at clinics. Violent attacks at U.S. abortion clinics, from bombings to invasions to snipers, have subsided in the past five years.

Hill met with his wife, son, sisters and parents for about three hours before being taken to the death chamber, Ivey said.

In addition to a smattering of pro- and anti-death penalty activists who show up for every execution, about 60 Hill supporters gathered in a cow pasture across from the prison to protest his execution.

They carried signs reading: "Dead Doctors Can't Kill" and "Rev. Paul Hill Going to Heaven, Dr. Britton Gone to Hell."

"There are several million people out there, maybe a hundred million, who believe abortion is murder," said a Hill supporter, the Rev. Michael Bray. "Any of those acting on that assumption could do this (kill doctors) unless they are absolute pacifists."

Mainstream anti-abortion groups say Hill, who advocated what he calls "justifiable homicide" of abortion providers, represented a narrow fringe even within the extremes of the movement.

Police were investigating death threats sent in anonymous letters to the judge who sentenced Hill and to three state legal and corrections officials. Investigators declined to comment on reports the letters contained bullets.

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