Abortion-clinic attacker out of prison

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — An anti-abortion activist who shot and wounded Kansas abortion doctor George Tiller in 1993 and attacked clinics in several states has been released from prison in Oregon.

The U.S. Bureau of Prisons on Wednesday confirmed the release of Rachelle “Shelley” Shannon, 62. The bureau said she will be on supervised release for three years. Conditions of her release aren’t public.

Shannon was sentenced to 20 years in prison for six fire bombings and two acid attacks at abortion clinics in California, Oregon and Nevada.

She received 11 years for shooting Tiller, who was fatally shot in Wichita in 2009 by another anti-abortion extremist, Scott Roeder, who visited Shannon several times in prison.

The Kansas City Star reported that Shannon had been staying at a halfway house in Portland, Ore., since May. She has been in federal custody for 25 years.

“We’re extremely concerned,” said Katherine Spillar, executive director of the Feminist Majority Foundation. “We’re alerting providers, briefing them and making sure they have enough security precautions in place.”

The Rev. Donald Spitz, an anti-abortion activist who stayed in contact with Shannon, said he talked to Shannon on Monday and described her as upbeat about her release but said he didn’t know Shannon’s plans.

Spitz, the leader of Pro-Life Virginia and sponsor of the Army of God website. said abortion-rights activists should not be worried about Shannon’s release.

“I don’t think she’ll be doing anything violent,” said Spitz, “Of course, no one knows, but I’d be very surprised.”

AP/SCOTT APPLE Jessica White of San Francisco takes a snapshot using her phone as she enters an exhibition Tuesday of the work of photojournalist, musician, writer and film director Gordon Parks at the National Gallery of Art in Washington. Her father, the African-American artist Charles White, was a friend of Parks, as well as the subject of one of the photos in the exhibit. Shown is Parks’ iconic 1942 photograph called “American Gothic” that portrays Ella Watson, who worked cleaning the offices of the Farm Security Administration in Washington.