by Archana Subramaniam by CNB
Roanoke Times Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc. DATE: SATURDAY, March 13, 1993 TAG: 9303130081 SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-3 EDITION: METRO SOURCE: Associated Press DATELINE: PENSACOLA, FLA. LENGTH: Short
CLINIC SHOOTER MAY FACE DEATH PENALTY
Women seeking abortions were directed to other cities Friday, and a prosecutor said he expected to seek the death penalty against a man accused of killing a doctor during an anti-abortion protest.The city's two clinics where abortions are performed have been closed since Wednesday's shooting of Dr. David Gunn. He was the only doctor to perform abortions at the clinics.
State Attorney Curtis Golden said he expected a grand jury would indict Michael F. Griffin on a charge of first-degree murder, possibly as early as next week. If so, Golden said, he would seek the death penalty, his policy in premeditated murder cases.
Two doctors at a clinic in Melbourne resigned Thursday because of the killing. But the executive director of the National Abortion Federation in Washington said she knew of no other resignations, adding that most people in the abortion-rights movement would carry on.
Women seeking abortions at the two clinics Friday were referred to clinics in the nearby town of Mary Esther, in Tallahassee and in the Alabama cities of Mobile and Montgomery.
Officials said both Pensacola clinics would reopen Monday.
John Burt, a lay preacher from nearby Milton, who led the demonstration being conducted when Gunn was slain, said protesters would return when the clinics reopen.
"If they have a doctor, we will demonstrate," Burt said. "More babies are going to die so we are going to try to stop that from happening. If it causes trouble, so be it."