Shooter of pro-life activist does not feel bad about murders

Mar 10, 2010 / 23:38 pm

The man accused of shooting and killing a pro-life advocate and a local business man in Michigan took the stand in his trial on Tuesday, saying he does not feel bad about the murders but believes he deserves punishment. The pro-life activist’s sign upset his mother and nieces and should not have been shown to children, he said.

On the morning of Sept. 11, 2009, 33-year-old Harlan Drake shot and killed James Pouillon, who was holding a sign protesting abortion outside Owosso High School. Later that day he killed businessman Mike Fuoss, who he claims was unkind to his mother.

The day before the shootings, Drake had had lunch with his mother who was upset by the graphic signs. She told him that Pouillon was protesting at the high school.

“Kind of under my breath, I said, 'I'll take care of that tomorrow,'” Drake said in court on Tuesday, NBC 24 reports.

"I did not believe that he should be showing the sign to children, especially at a high school where young girls of impressionable age would see that and either be disgusted or scared," he continued, saying that his nieces saw the signs and had nightmares.

Driving to the high school on the day of the shootings, Drake claimed his only thought was that they “didn’t have to see that sign again.”

Asked by his attorney why he hoped Pouillon would not be there, Drake said “so that I wouldn’t have to shoot him.”

Drake’s defense has argued that he is battling mental illnesses and was insane at the time of the shootings. The prosecution has argued that his thought processes show premeditation.

The accused shooter said he deserved to die for murdering two people, but that he does not feel bad about doing it, NBC 24 reports.