Rachelle Ranae "Shelley" Shannon (born March 31, 1956) is an American

anti-abortion Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respons ...

extremist who was convicted in a

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

state court for the

attempted murder Attempted murder is a crime of attempt in various jurisdictions. Canada Section 239 of the ''Criminal Code'' makes attempted murder punishable by a maximum of life imprisonment. If a gun is used, the minimum sentence is four, five or seven ye ...

George Tiller George Richard Tiller (August 8, 1941 – May 31, 2009) was an American physician from Wichita, Kansas. He gained national attention as the medical director of Women's Health Care Services, which was one of only three abortion clinics nationwide ...

by shooting him in his car in

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had ...

in 1993.Phillips, Don. (August 22, 1993).
Violence Hardly Ruffled Protest Ritual
." ''The Washington Post.'' Retrieved June 10, 2006.NARAL Pro-Choice America Foundation. (2006)
Clinic violence and intimidation
. Retrieved April 13, 2006. She was also convicted in

U.S. federal court The federal judiciary of the United States is one of the three branches of the federal government of the United States organized under the United States Constitution and laws of the federal government. The U.S. federal judiciary consists primaril ...

for ten attacks at

abortion clinics Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

using arson or acid. At her sentencing in U.S. District Court in 1995, the presiding judge described Shannon as a

terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

and agreed with prosecutors that she was a threat even from behind bars. She served her sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution in Waseca, Minnesota and was released in November 2018.

Involvement in anti-abortion movement

Shannon became involved in the anti-abortion movement around 1988.

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' Antiabortion Extremist Indicted in Attacks on Clinics in West ''
, October 25, 1994. Retrieved January 9, 2007. She was arrested several times for trespassing and physically obstructing access to clinics. After the murder of an abortion provider in Pensacola in 1993, Shannon wrote at least 25 letters to the perpetrator, calling him a "hero" and "brave soldier" and describing her disillusionment with nonviolence. She traveled to Kentucky to visit John Brockhoeft, convicted of firebombing a Cincinnati abortion clinic.

Attempted murder of George Tiller

On August 19, 1993, Shelley Shannon shot physician

in both arms, while he was in his car outside his Wichita,

abortion clinic. Shannon was a resident of

Grants Pass, Oregon Grants Pass is the county seat of Josephine County, Oregon, United States. The city is located on Interstate 5, northwest of Medford, along the Rogue River. The population was 39,189 at the 2020 census. History Early Hudson's Bay Company hunt ...

, 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." Tiller's Wichita clinic was the site of frequent demonstrations and incidents of direct action by those opposed to abortion and of counter-demonstrations by

abortion rights Abortion-rights movements, also referred to as pro-choice movements, advocate for the right to have legal access to induced abortion services including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their pre ...

activists. Under cover of such a fracas, Shannon shot Tiller with a semiautomatic pistol. Tiller was

assassinated Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have a ...

on May 31, 2009, by

Scott Roeder On May 31, 2009, George Tiller, a physician from Wichita, Kansas, who was nationally known for being one of the few doctors in the United States to perform late terminations of pregnancy (also known as "late-term abortions"), was murdered by Sc ...

Trial and imprisonment

At her trial in state court, Shannon testified that there was nothing immoral about trying to kill Tiller. The jurors needed only an hour to convict her of

Time Magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on Mar ...

''The Week March 20-26''
, April 4, 1994. Retrieved 2010-12-08. She was sentenced to 11 years in prison. While incarcerated in

Lansing, Kansas Lansing is a city in Leavenworth County, Kansas, United States. It is situated along the west side of the Missouri River and Kansas-Missouri state border. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 11,239. It is the second most pop ...

, Shannon signed the Army of God's statement in support of the actions of

Paul Jennings Hill Paul Jennings Hill (February 6, 1954 – September 3, 2003) was an American minister and anti-abortion terrorist who murdered physician John Britton and Britton's bodyguard, retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel James Barrett, in 1994. Hill was ...

, identifying herself as a "prisoner of Christ". On June 4, 1995, she pleaded guilty to setting fires at several abortion clinics in

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

. She had been

indicted An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concept often use that of an ...

by federal

grand juries A grand jury is a jury—a group of citizens—empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential crime, criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or ...

on 30 counts in connection with fires and

butyric acid Butyric acid (; from grc, βούτῡρον, meaning "butter"), also known under the systematic name butanoic acid, is a straight-chain alkyl carboxylic acid with the chemical formula CH3CH2CH2CO2H. It is an oily, colorless liquid with an unple ...

attacks at nine clinics. Charges included

arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...

, interference with commerce by force and interstate travel in aid of racketeering.

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' Guilty Plea Expected In Fires at Clinics''
June 4, 1995. Retrieved January 9, 2007. On September 9, 1995, U.S. Federal District Court Judge James A. Redden sentenced Shannon to 20 years in prison—a substantial upward departure from

sentencing guidelines Sentencing guidelines define a recommended sentencing range for a criminal defendant, based upon characteristics of the defendant and of the criminal charge. Depending upon the jurisdiction, sentencing guidelines may be nonbinding, or their applic ...

. In sentencing her, Redden called her a terrorist. He sided with prosecutors who contended that Shannon was a threat even from behind bars. The federal sentence was set to begin only after the completion of Shannon's 11-year state incarceration for shooting Tiller. Her daughter, Angela Shannon,Denny Walsh,

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper. It is also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely distributed. It is currently o ...

'' '93 LETTER''
Jun 6, 1996. Retrieved January 9, 2007. was prosecuted for sending a death threat in 1993 to George Woodward, a

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

doctor who performed abortions. (The letter arrived on March 3, 1993 — a week before the murder of David Gunn.) The elder Shannon attempted to take the blame for the death threat, but in view of Angela's

fingerprint A fingerprint is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. The recovery of partial fingerprints from a crime scene is an important method of forensic science. Moisture and grease on a finger result in fingerprints on surfac ...

s having been found on the letter, Angela was convicted and sentenced to 46 months' incarceration in 1997.FindLaw.com
''USA v SHANNON 97-10057''
. Retrieved January 9, 2007. Her sentence was finished in 2001. In 1998, Shannon filed a lawsuit contending that the sewage system in the Kansas prison was inadequate, and that sewage backups created unhealthful conditions for the inmates. Her lawsuit was dismissed by Federal District Court Judge Kathryn Vratil in

Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City, abbreviated as "KCK", is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas, and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As of ...

. The dismissal was upheld by a 2-1 vote of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, stating there wasn't sufficient proof the warden knew about the sewer problems. Before Shannon's attorney could refile, the sewer system and other problems were corrected.Robert Boczkiewicz, The Topeka Capital-Journal
'' Sewage lawsuit dismissal upheld''
Jul 11, 2001. Retrieved January 9, 2007. Shannon had been in ongoing contact with controversial anti-abortionist

Donald Spitz Donald Spitz is an anti-abortion Christian terrorism, Christian terrorist in the United States. He lives in Chesapeake, Virginia, where he runs the websites of and is a spokesperson for Army of God (Terrorist Organization), Army of God, an anti-ab ...

during her incarceration at Waseca federal prison as well as at the time of her release.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shannon, Shelley 1956 births American people convicted of arson Assassination of George Tiller American failed assassins American people convicted of attempted murder American prisoners and detainees Army of God (United States) Living people People from Grants Pass, Oregon Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government Perpetrators of religiously motivated violence in the United States

Involvement in anti-abortion movement

Attempted murder of George Tiller

Trial and imprisonment

See also

References