John C. Salvi III (March 2, 1972 – November 29, 1996) was an American anti-abortion extremist who carried out fatal shootings at two abortion facilities in Brookline, Massachusetts on December 30, 1994.
An insanity defense at his trial was not successful and he was convicted of two counts of murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
In the mid-morning of December 30, 1994, John Salvi walked into the Planned Parenthood clinic on Beacon Street in Brookline, Massachusetts, carrying a black duffle bag.
[1] Approximately forty people were in the room during the assault; of these, five were wounded, including several men who were accompanying women seeking abortions.
[1] Salvi left Planned Parenthood and drove west on Beacon Street to the Preterm Health Services office.
[6] Salvi was captured in Norfolk, Virginia the day after the shootings, after firing over a dozen bullets into the Hillcrest Clinic.
On February 5, 1996, Salvi was put on trial in a Massachusetts state court for the murders of Lee Ann Nichols and Shannon Lowney.
[6] His defense attorneys introduced sections of a long, rambling diary Salvi kept to bolster their claims of mental illness.
"[16] President Bill Clinton called on all Americans, regardless of their views on abortion, to condemn the act of "domestic terrorism.
"[16] Hillcrest Clinic, in Virginia, had been a target of pickets by Donald Spitz, a known supporter of anti-abortion violence, before Salvi attacked it.
[19] The Massachusetts Citizens for Life requested that Spitz not attend Salvi's trial, because of his outspoken endorsement of anti-abortion violence.
[21] On November 29, 1996, at 6:05 a.m., Salvi was found dead in his prison cell at MCI Cedar Junction in Walpole, Massachusetts with a garbage bag over his head tied around his neck.
Judge Barbara Dortch-Okara invoked the legal principle of abatement ab initio, which says that a conviction may not stand if the accused dies before his appeals are exhausted.
"[6] Salvi's mother expressed sadness after his death that her son was not placed in a facility to deal with his mental illness but instead in a general prison population.