Murder of Jim Pouillon

Overview

On the morning of September 11, 2009, 63-year-old activist Jim Pouillon was shot and killed while leading a protest against abortion across the street from Owosso High School in Owosso, Michigan. He had been protesting against abortion since 1988 and was a member of Operation Save America. Pouillon relied on an oxygen tank to breathe. His death was evidently the first known killing of an activist while protesting against abortion.

Pouillon was shot at 7:20 a.m. EDT by a gunman firing from a passing vehicle. A witness recorded the vehicle's license plate number. Around the same time, police were alerted to a second shooting: businessman Michael Fuoss had been shot 17 times at a gravel business he owned. While killing Fuoss, the gunman reportedly told him, "You should be nicer to your employees." Within an hour of Pouillon's shooting, police traced the recorded license plate to Harlan James Drake, a trucker born March 8, 1976, and arrested him. Drake indicated he had shot both victims.

Police said Drake was offended by anti-abortion material Pouillon had displayed near the school in the preceding week. Drake stated he killed Pouillon because he and his mother were upset by a graphic, bloody sign displayed where children could see it. A spokesperson for the Center for Reproductive Rights said the shooting did not appear tied to the abortion debate and that Drake was not an abortion-rights activist. Authorities said Fuoss had no connection to the anti-abortion movement.

Legal Proceedings

While in custody awaiting trial, Drake attempted suicide by breaking a television and using the glass to cut his wrists. His attorney, Robert Ashley, argued Drake suffered from depression stemming from a 2004 motor-vehicle accident that killed two teenagers — an accident in which Drake was involved but not found legally responsible — and that this rendered him mentally incompetent at the time of the killings. On September 30, 2009, Drake was found incompetent to stand trial and was remanded to the Michigan Department of Mental Health. He was later declared fit to stand trial. During testimony, Drake described committing the murders and made jokes, testimony described as damaging to his defense. On March 11, 2010, a jury found Drake guilty on both counts of first-degree murder. On April 22, 2010, he was sentenced to life imprisonment and expressed remorse for the pain caused to the victims' families.

Reactions

Anti-abortion groups and leaders described Pouillon as a martyr. Lori Lamerand, president of Planned Parenthood East Central Michigan, called the killing tragic and expressed concern about potential retaliation. President Barack Obama called the killing "deplorable," saying violence is never the right answer regardless of which side of a public debate one is on. Pouillon's family offered conflicting accounts of him: his daughter Mary Jo Pouillon described him as not wanting to hurt anyone who hadn't hurt his family, while his estranged son, Dr. James M. Pouillon, wrote that his father used the protests to harass and threaten women, including female family members.