Pro-Life News

Harlan Drake Finishes Testimony: 'I Don't Feel Bad About The Murders'

By Dan Armstrong / TV-12 News Toledo On The Move
Harlan Drake, the man who says he shot and killed a pro-life advocate and a local businesses man, takes to the witness stand in his own murder trial. Drake described in detail his thought processes throughout the whole ordeal. The prosecution wants to use his testimony to show premedidation while the defense wants to use it to show he's a reasonable man who's battling mental illness. The day before killing pro-life advocate Jim Pouillon and Fuoss Gravel owner Mike Fuoss, 33 year old Harlan Drake says he had lunch with his family the day before. He says his mother was upset by Jim Pouillon's pro-life signs and said he was protesting at Owosso High School that day. Harlan Drake says, "Kind of under my breath I said 'I'll take care of that tomorrow.'"
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Related:
Mama Says Protesters Are the Devil
By Allen Hunt
Harlan Drake may employ the Bobby Boucher defense. After all, it appears he was just trying to please his mother. The classic mama's boy. Adam Sandler found success playing the apron-strings-still-attached Boucher in The Waterboy. Boucher is best remembered for his line, “Mama says, mama says, mama says, girls are the devil.” Harlan Drake, on the other hand, is not a movie character but rather is presently on trial for murdering Jim Pouillon in Owosso, Michigan, on September 11, 2009. Drake's defense appears to consist, at least in part, of the phrase, “Mama says protesters are the devil.”

Accused Killer: 'You Should Be Nicer To Your Employees'
Harlan Drake tells his jury he killed two Owosso men because they upset his mother
WILX TV-News Lansing MI
"I did kill two men, sir," Harlan Drake says as he takes the stand in his own defense Tuesday. Two moments that have forever devastated some local families were as ordinary as running chores for accused killer Drake; that's according to his testimony. "I put the guns in the bag, I took the dog out for a walk, I went back inside," he lists in court. Drake tells a jury of six women and eight men that his mother was upset with local anti-abortion activist, Jim Pouillon. So he loaded his car with weapons and decided if Pouillon was protesting outside Owosso High School September 11, 2009, he'd kill him. "I grabbed a 45 with my left hand, leaned out the window, and shot him three times," Drake says. Then he says he shot him once more in his lower half. "I didn't want him to suffer, if that makes sense." Then, Drake tells the jury he'd figured if he'd killed one person, might as well kill anyone else who "deserves to be shot." He then headed straight for the office of Mike Fuoss, his mother's and his former employer. "Mr. Fuoss was coming out of his office. He was yelling at me 'what the hell do you want?' I pulled out a .22 semi, and fired once in his chest," he says. Drake testifies he shot Fuoss 17 times in total-- including four in the head.

Harlan Drake: 'I Deserve to Die for Committing Those Murders'
By Laura Angus / Flint Journal
SHIAWASSEE COUNTY, Michigan -- Harlan Drake said he feels he deserves the death penalty for gunning down two men on Sept. 11, 2009, and said he is not a "safe person" to be on the streets. "I deserve to die for committing those murders," he told the court under at-times argumentative questioning from the prosecution. Drake is accused of gunning down two men and seeking to kill a third, and his attorneys are seeking a legal insanity defense. His trial began last week, and he first took the stand Monday. Drake told the court he deserved to be "locked up somewhere" since there is no death penalty in Michigan because he's not a "safe person." Drake told the court he is not sad his victims, anti-abortion activist James Pouillon and gravel pit owner Michael Fuoss, are dead, and said he shot the men in a way to ensure they would die quickly and not suffer.

Harlan Drake Testifies That He Asked to See Victims' Autopsy Reports, Finishes Testimony In Murder Trial
By Laura Angus / Flint Journal
SHIAWASSEE COUNTY, Michigan -- Harlan Drake told the court today that he asked to see his victims' autopsy reports, the last point of his testimony in his murder trial. "I asked to see the autopsy reports so I could see what my aim was like," he said. Drake, 34, told the court he is a shooting and target practice is an activity he enjoys, and a skill he worked hard to improve.
Mental health professionals also testified for the prosecution, serving as rebuttal witnesses. Dr. Candyce Shields, a forensic psychologist at the Center for Forensic Psychiatry, testified that in her opinion Drake is criminally responsible and did not suffer mental illness as defined by Michigan law. She gave details about Drake's actions that day, including ensuring he killed his victims rather than let them suffer, to show he was aware of what he was doing. "These are all indicative of someone who appreciates the nature, the quality and the wrongfulness of his actions," she said. Shields is expected to be questioned by defense lawyers tomorrow.
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Posted by Editor at March 10, 2010 02:41 AM