WHO
IS SHELLEY SHANNON?
Shelley is a Soldier
Mom's Jail Time Total
Shelley Shannon was a soldier from the start. She, as part of
Operation Rescue,
engaged in 35 different actions, beginning in 1988. In a computer
file, entitled
"Mom's Jail Time Total, " Shelley kept a record of her jail time
which was the
price she paid for being a soldier dedicated to rescuing babies.
Her recorded count for Mom's jail time totaled 98 days.
"Then I realized that I needed to stop the killing too."
Sometime in 1991, Shelley underwent a transformation,
having come to a deeper
understanding of just what was happening to innocent babies inside
the brick and
mortar of the death chambers.
In a document entitled "Join the Army" Shelley writes:
The biggest hurdle was being willing to
even consider that God
could indeed require this work of anyone.
Christians don't do that
kind of thing, do they? but prayer and
God cleared that up. Then I
realized that I needed to stop the killing
too.
She began to correspond with men and women jailed for their
actions on
behalf of the babies, who were listed in the "Prisoner's of Christ"
list.
Why didn't more of her comrades in arms realize that babies were
being
murdered, and therefore see the need to stop the holocaust? Convinced
that most rescuers were not willing to put their convictions into
action
because they were unwilling to pay the price, Shelley decided to
risk her
freedom, and find a way to stop the slaughter of the innocents.
One of the Prisoners of Christ incarcerated for arson was Marjorie
Reed.
She wrote:
...Just like you
said, if you are going to get 5 years for just blocking
the doors, you might as well do much more drastic measures. The
more the authorities take our avenues of legal redress away the
more compelling to do more drastic measures. It is going to get a
whole lot worse. Blood will be shed not just the babies' blood
either.
Shelley Shannon participated in her last blockade on November
17, 1992.
Although she was a wife and the mother of teenagers, she committed
herself to stop the killing of the innocent any way she could. The
following year,
she engaged in a holy war of arson and butyric acid (liquid)
rescues across three
states.
"If
I was going to spend what's left of my life in prison or die in an explosion,
I was at least going to do so in the will of God !"
The transformation of Shelley Shannon began as early as the
summer of 1991
when the late term abortion mill operated by George Tiller in Wichita,
Kansas,
was being exposed by Operation Rescue, and many other anti-abortionists.
She was sick at heart over the extermination of the unborn.
Shelley told a journalist at that time, she was convinced
that the use of force
was the way to save unborn children from being murdered. According
to her
sentencing report, Shannon had "the will, but not the way"
until she read
two books: When Bricks Bleed, I'll Cry by Rev. Michael Bray
of Maryland,
and an early version of the "Army of God" manual.
By the time she read the Army of God manual, Shannon had already
entered into
direct rescue (D.R.), with an attack on a clinic in
Ashland. She tells of her
experiences as novice bomber in Join the Army or How to
Destroy a Killing
Center if You're Just an Old Grandma Who Can't Even Get the Fire
Started in
Her Fireplace. Shelley wrote in this article,
God, if you
really want me to do this, you're gonna have to show me how,
because I can't even
get the fire started in my fireplace. The ideas kept
coming, including thoughts
from people who had accomplished Big Rescue.
My plan was to fill five
plastic milk cartons (the kind with the pop off tops)
with gasoline, throw
them through the window, throw in a lit torch (a stick
with oil soaked rags
tied on the end), and scram. I had to know for sure I
had God's
how, when, and where before I would act. If I was going to spend
what's left of my life
in prison or die in an explosion, I was at least going to
do so in the will of
God !
In practicing for D.R., Shelley discovered a need for a five
gallon gas can.
She believed it was a sign to go ahead from God when a five
gallon gas can
miraculously appeared in her garage. (Her husband brought it home
from work,
where they were throwing them out.) At that point, Shannon purchased
the remaining
equipment she needed and went out to save babies by destroying the
places of
their slaughter. She writes about her goals and her
priorities:
1) Shut the place down good.
2) Nobody gets hurt, hopefully not even me.
3) Not get caught.
Shelley succeeded in her first attempt by starting a
fire at an abortion mill
in Ashland which resulted in considerable damage. After this, she
wrote
"Join the Army" and used her Army of God name for the first
time: Shaggy West.
"I'm
going to require a little more of you, Shelley."
In another article entitled Adventures, Shelly
wrote about her next
D.R.
Was feeling really restless
and wanted more to do. Debated getting
a job. Asked people to pray
for me, for God's guidance. Was reading
my Bible and God clearly
said, 'I'm going to require a little more of
you, Shelley.' and the Scripture
I read just then was 'The way of the
righteous is made plain' in
Proverbs 15:19, and an idea come to me
of tossing jugs of gas on the
roof of Lovejoy and lighting it with a
firework (have lots of ground
bloom flowers which throw out sparks
but aren't too noisy).
Practiced and found I can't
throw whole gallons high enough. Looked
at old videos and thought the
roof in back wasn't too high and was flat.
*******************
Shaggy West continued on to the (Feminist Women's Health
Center) F.W.H.C.
where she succeeded in starting a fire, even though she "forgot
to light the napalm."
During her active duty saving babies, Shelley also employed
the use of liquid rescue,
commonly known as butyric acid. Many abortion chambers had to be
closed because
of the devastating fragrance. Shelley described the liquid rescue
in her diary:
Got the disgusting stuff. Had
it around here a while. We opened it at Pat's
and just from touching
the outside of the jar my hand stunk for a very long time!
Having studied the techniques described in the Army of God
manual, Shelley
bought the necessary equipment - syringes to deliver the acid into
building walls.
Around this same time period, Soldier Shelley drove to Eugene
to once again try
to save the babies scheduled to die at the Feminist Women's Health
Center.
The plan might have succeeded if the fire had not melted a plastic
water pipe which
extinguished the flames.
Liquid Rescue
Information obtained from her sentencing report tracks Shelley
to Reno
where she went undercover as a mommy to get inside the abortion
mill.
Shelley used the bathroom, and while there she made a hole in the
wall with
her ice pick and injected four hypos of butyric acid.
She wrote of the incident in her diary:
In the car, I changed needles and
guess I bagged up used ones. I had got
far more than one drop on me. Even
tasted it. It's awful. Didn't dump them
at rest area on the way to Susanville
though. Stinks!
Driven on by the thought of the lives she could saved,
Shelley moved on to California.
Over the course of the next two days, three clinics were treated
to liquid rescue.
She wrote in her diary:
The same week these happened, eight mills in Michigan also had butyric
acid attacks, followed by at least four more the next week, PtL!
(Praise the Lord)
Her last crusade
November of 1992 saw the beginning of Shelley's final
crusade. She had been
studying explosives for the past few months and learned, as she
described it,
"how to blow up a building real good with acetylene gas."
Her desire to save
the pre-born from a torturous death gave rise to the hope of destroying
three
killing centers in the same night. More practically, she would
have to settle
for just one, the Alhambra clinic. Shelley was elated in her belief
of being used
by God to accomplish the saving of innocent lives. Her diary
entry for the day
reflects her state of mind.
Didn't even care if I
made it back, or care so much about getting
caught or killed, just
wanted to close the place good. It was supposed
to be a birthday present
to Jesus, early for expediency, but I found it was
He who gave me a gift.
From Him and to Him and through Him.
What could I do for Him or give Him?
Trip was so good.
Fresh batteries, so I listened to White Cross a lot.
Someone was definitely
praying for me...
That night, The Alhambra sustained $175,000 in damages,
and
was forced to relocate. Her direct rescue was a huge success.
In January 1993, Shelley wrote a letter to Life Advocate
magazine, and commented
about recent attacks on the buildings housing abortion chambers.
Shelley
spoke of the possible collateral damage which occurs in any war.
I'm sure the bombers are acting in the will of
God, and doubt they would
or should stop if a guilty bystander or innocent
person is hurt. If they don't act,
a lot of people will be killed. Let's pray no
one gets hurt, but this is war and we
have to be realistic.
"He didn't shoot Mother Teresa"
Some months later, abortionist David Gunn was shot by Michael
Griffin as he attempted to
enter the building where he was scheduled to murder approximately
30 pre-born babies.
Shelley commented on Michael Griffin's action in her computer diary:
He didn't shoot Mother
Teresa, he shot a mass murderer such as Saddam
Hussien or Hitler.
I don't even think it is accurately termed 'murder.'
God is the only one who
knows whether Gunn would ever have repented or
if he would have killed
another 5,000 babies and probably 3 or 4 more women
who probably weren't
Christians either.
Although Michael Griffin was condemned by
many Christians, Shelley
Shannon stood by him. She wrote:
I'm not convinced that God didn't
require it of Michael to do this.
It is possible. I'm praying God will push more
of us 'off the deep end...'
and: "He is definitely a Christian."
The action taken by Michael Griffin caused Shelley to
spend time in prayer
and deep reflection on her position. She believed that God
could not lead her
to do anything sinful, even if it seemed to be sinful to the world.
Her course of
action was clear. Like Phinehas, and Jael, and even Samuel
of the Bible, the
righteous thing to do was to meet deadly force with equally
deadly force.
The babies were innocent, the abortionist was not. The choice was
simple,
dead babies or a dead abortionist.
Shelley prayed "please help me do it right."
"I'm not denying I shot Tiller. But I deny that it was wrong."
George Tiller, a.k.a. "Tiller the Killer" practices
his deadly trade in Wichita,
Kansas. He performs late term abortions sometimes killing
children only
days before natural birth. Shelley wrote to her daughter Angi
after her arrest
and told of her preparations to stop this baby killer.
After acquiring a .25 caliber pistol, she practiced target
shooting.
She then took a bus to Oklahoma City and there, rented
a car and drove on to Wichita. She entered the abortion mill,
posing as a
patient, but was not able to access the abortionist inside.
Eventually she left
the building and took a position near the protesters outside. At
that point, Shelley
decided to shoot "Tiller the Killer" as he left the building
having achieved
his daily quota of slaughtered infants.
Around 7:00 pm the abortionist and another woman left the
building. Shelley
wrote:
...Fortunately her car was right in front
of him, so if he lost control, his vehicle
would only smash into
hers. So I kept praying, shot, and took off. It never
occurred to me that people
would come after me, but they did!
Abortionist Tiller was not seriously wounded, and both he
and the woman chased
Shelley through the streets of Wichita. She was able to elude them
and headed for
Oklahoma City, disposing of the gun along the way. It was
never found. Shelley was
arrested while returning the rental car and taken into custody.
She was later convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to 11
years.
Although incarcerated, Shelley remained in good spirits knowing
she acted in
the will of God. A few days after her arrest she wrote,
I'm not denying I shot Tiller. But I deny that it was wrong.
It was the most holy, most righteous thing I've ever done. I have
no regrets. I hope he's not killing babies today. If he is, at least I
tried.
After Shelley was convicted on the
attempted murder charge, she was sent
to Portland to be tried for arson. Her spirits were
still high as reflected in her
"Christmas letter" of December, 1994.
Well,
for the ARMY OF GOD 1994 was a pretty great year.
Paul Hill performed a termination procedure on an abortionist
and his accomplice, and may be put to death for his obedience to
God, a most honorable way for a Christian to die. In Canada an
abortionist was shot, and the culprit(s) are still free, as far as
I
know. There were quite a few fires and bombings at American death
camps and no one was arrested in connection with them, that I know of.
The year ended with a bang thanks to John Salvi III. I have to
admire his determination. Even after they knew who he was, he took
his gun to another mill rather than hiding out and quitting. God, please
help and bless him.
Shelley was, and still is, a good soldier. She continues
to be faithful to God in
all areas. In 1995, she was convicted of the arson charges and sentenced
to
an additional 20 years. As Shelley reports, the authorities do not
leave you
alone in prison. After constant badgering to incriminate
other anti-abortion leaders (whether or not they were really involved)
and confinement in a cold and wet cell with a chronically overflowing
toilet,
she succumbed to a small measure of weakness in exchange for a deal.
Shelley talked to authorities about some of the information
contained in her
computer diaries and letters. She revealed some information about
some
of her fellow soldiers. In April 1995 Shelley realized the
trap she had fallen
into and openly confessed to the saints her complicity with those
who
sought to preserve the baby killing industry. Needless to say, she
also repudiated the government's deal.
Shelley is still incarcerated
for doing her utmost to save babies. She is
truly a Warrior Soldier in the Army of God.
To e-mail Shelley click here Put Shelley's name in subject line and include a U. S. Postal address for a reply
Back
to Shelley Shannon Home Page.
To
View Helpless babies murdered by babykilling abortionists click here.
Genesis 9:6
Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by
man shall his blood be shed:
for in the image of God made he
man.
Numbers 35:33 So ye shall not pollute
the land wherein ye are:
for blood it defileth the land:
and the land cannot be cleansed of the
blood that is shed therein, but
by the blood of him that shed it.