Shelley shannon george tiller jr

Rachelle Ranae "Shelley" Shannon born March 31, [ 1 ] is an American anti-abortion extremist [ 2 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ] who was convicted in a Kansas state court for the attempted murder of George Tiller by shooting him in his car in Wichita, Kansas in At her sentencing in U. District Court in , the presiding judge described Shannon as a terrorist and agreed with prosecutors that she was a threat even from behind bars.

Shannon became involved in the anti-abortion movement around After the murder of an abortion provider in Pensacola in , Shannon wrote at least 25 letters to the perpetrator, calling him a "hero" and "brave soldier" and describing her disillusionment with nonviolence. On August 19, , Shelley Shannon shot physician George Tiller in both arms, while he was in his car outside his Wichita , Kansas abortion clinic.

Shannon was a resident of Grants Pass, Oregon , [ 13 ] and had been a part of the anti-abortion movement for at least five years at the time she shot Tiller. She had written in support of Michael Griffin , the murderer of David Gunn , calling Griffin "the awesomest, greatest hero of our time.

She is accused of trying to gun down a Wichita physician, Dr. George R. Tiller, 52, widely known as one of only a half-dozen doctors in the.

Under cover of such a fracas, Shannon shot Tiller with a semiautomatic pistol. Tiller was assassinated on May 31, , by Scott Roeder. At her trial in state court, Shannon testified that there was nothing immoral about trying to kill Tiller. While incarcerated in Lansing, Kansas , Shannon signed the Army of God 's statement in support of the actions of Paul Jennings Hill , identifying herself as a "prisoner of Christ".

On June 4, , she pleaded guilty to setting fires at several abortion clinics in Oregon , California and Nevada. She had been indicted by federal grand juries on 30 counts in connection with fires and butyric acid attacks at nine clinics. Charges included arson , interference with commerce by force and interstate travel in aid of racketeering.

Redden sentenced Shannon to 20 years in prison—a substantial upward departure from sentencing guidelines. In sentencing her, Redden called her a terrorist.