Friday April 23, 2010
Pouillon Murderer Sentenced to Life in Prison
By John Jalsevac
April 23, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Harlan Drake, the truck driver who shot and killed pro-life activist James Pouillon and local gravel pit owner Mike Fuoss, has been sentenced to life in prison.
The sentence was handed down by Circuit Judge Gerald D. Lostracco on Thursday. According to the Flint Journal, the judge told Drake that, “As you go off to prison today, you’re certainly no hero in anyone’s book.”
Drake shot and killed Pouillon on September 11, 2009, as the pro-life grandfather stood outside of the Owosso High School, holding a sign with the picture of a child and the word “Life” on one side, and a picture of an aborted baby on the other.
Drake stated during the trial that he specifically targeted Pouillon for his pro-life activities, and that he only decided to kill Fuoss, a former employer against whom he had a grudge, after shooting Pouillon and realizing that he had nothing to lose.
Troy Newman of Operation Rescue told LifeSiteNews.com in response to the sentencing that “I think it’s the right decision. It serves the cause of justice. It sends a clear message to other people that murdering Christians will not be tolerated.”
“But,” he continued, “we never celebrate when people experience tragedy in their lives. We’ll pray for Harlan that he has a conversion in jail, some time in the future.”
Of Pouillon, Newman said: “He’s one of the 21st century martyrs, clearly.” Last December Operation Rescue announced that the organization was posthumously awarding Pouillon the 2009 Person of the Year Malachi Award.
During the murder trial, Drake expressed no regret for killing Pouillon and Fuoss. However, prior to hearing his sentence on Thursday, he apologized to the families of the two men. “I would like to apologize to the families of the men I shot,” he said. “They don’t deserve the pain they feel, but I did – I deserve to go to jail forever.”
However, he also launched a verbal assault on the judge, calling him a “hypocrite and a racist,” after the judge accused Drake of seeking to be a “hitman” to settle his grudges.
Family members of the two murdered men read statements about the deceased.
“Mr. Drake, you took away my (grandpa), the person who I trusted most,” said Holly Pouillon, who read a statement by her 16-year-old daughter Madison. “I wish you would have gotten to know him as a man, not just hate.”
Pouillon was killed only minutes after dropping Madison off at the very school in front of which he was holding his pro-life sign when he was shot.
Holly said, however, that she forgave Drake. “May God be with you.”
See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
Drake Found Guilty of Murdering Pro-Life Activist Jim Pouillon
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/mar/10031111.html
Accused Pouillon Murderer: I Don’t Feel Bad
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/mar/10030910.html
Well-Known Local Pro-Life Activist Gunned Down in Michigan
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/sep/09091101.html