THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, January 10, 1995 TAG: 9501100294
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: BROOKLINE, MASS. LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines
Wearing a bulletproof vest in court, John C. Salvi III pleaded not guilty Monday to murder and attempted murder in a shooting rampage at two abortion clinics that left two receptionists dead.
The 22-year-old student hairdresser was ordered held without bail.
Salvi's court-appointed attorney gave his first hint of strategy.
``John Salvi is a very young, very impressionable young man. He has developed some extraordinary beliefs based on his deeply felt religious feelings,'' J.W. Carney Jr. said. ``At the trial, the essential question will not be what happened, but why.''
Carney, who is known for his use of the insanity defense, would not comment on whether Salvi might employ such a defense.
Salvi was arraigned in state court on charges of murdering two people and wounding five at two clinics in Brookline on Dec. 30.
Last week, he pleaded not guilty to federal firearms charges in the Brookline slayings.
Salvi was initially charged with the shooting at the Hillcrest Clinic in Norfolk. The charge of shooting into an occupied building was set aside by prosecutors, however, so he could be returned to Massachusetts to stand trial on murder and assault charges there. The Norfolk charges can be refiled later.
Although Salvi's arrest Dec. 31 made him the center of the nation's abortion debate, there were no indications that any family, friends or demonstrators were present to support him Monday. The only protesters outside the court were for abortion rights.
Two types of metal detectors, an X-ray machine and hand searches were used to screen those entering the courtroom.
``It was an extraordinary crime and it needed extraordinary measures as far as security,'' Police Chief Howard Brackett said. He said there had been no threats against Salvi.
Salvi has been held in a medical observation cell with three glass walls, said Sheriff Cliff Marshall, adding that Salvi showed no signs of mental problems.
Security also was tight about two miles away at the clinics where the shootings occurred. Preterm Health Services resumed seeing patients on Monday; the other clinic, run by Planned Parenthood, reopened on Friday.
At Preterm, a police car was stationed outside and several officers were inside. The few patients were able to watch Salvi's arraignment on television in the waiting room.
``It's really weird to see his face,'' said a clinic employee at the waiting room desk. ``There he is on television and then, you think, he was here last week.''
Prosecutor John Kivlan, in arguing against bail, said Salvi had planned the killings for months, and he noted that Preterm receptionist Lee Ann Nichols had been shot nine times. Kivlan said the shootings were ``deliberately premeditated murders committed with extreme atrocity and cruelty.'' ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS
John C. Salvi III, right, confers with his court-appointed attorney,
J.W. Carney Jr., Monday in Brookline, Mass.
KEYWORDS: ANTI-ABORTION SHOOTINGS ABORTION CLINIC SHOOTINGS JOHN
SALVI PLEA ARRAIGNMENT by CNB