TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida man who killed an abortion doctor in 1993 will appear before the state’s parole board on Wednesday.
Michael Griffin was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison after shooting Dr. David Gunn in May of 1993. Gunn was shot as he arrived to perform abortions at a Pensacola, Florida, clinic while abortion opponents were holding a demonstration on the other side of the building.
Gunn was the first abortion provider slain by an anti-abortion extremist. Griffin is serving his sentence at Blackwater River Correctional Facility in Milton.
The National Abortion Federation says there have been 11 murders, 26 attempted murders, 42 bombings and 186 arsons directed at abortion providers. Griffin said during a 2010 interview that abortion doctors should live in fear and terror.