John Salvi

John C. Salvi III (March 2, 1972 – November 29, 1996) was an anti-abortion activist and a convicted murderer. He carried out two fatal attacks on two abortion clinics in Massachusetts, on December 30, 1994. These were the subject of intense media coverage. On March 19, 1996, he was found guilty of killing receptionists Lee Ann Nichols and Shannon Lowney. Despite claims of schizophrenia, he was convicted in both killings. Salvi was found dead in his prison cell on November 29, 1996.

The official report states that Salvi's death was a suicide. This was a source of some controversy, as other reports claim he was found with his hands and feet tied together, with cotton shoved in his mouth and a bag placed and tied with a shoelace over his head. His lawyers are quoted as saying that his body showed marks of having been beaten before his death.

During Salvi's trial, the defense argued that Salvi suffered from schizophrenia. Several expert witnesses testified that Salvi exhibited schizophrenic behavior and was not competent to stand trial. John's mother Anne Marie Salvi testified that her son had told her that he, "was the thief on the cross with Jesus." Salvi was found competent to stand trial and was found guilty.

Salvi's conviction was ultimately overturned by the sentencing judge due to a legal technicality. Judge Barbara Dortch-Okara invoked a little-known legal principle to overturn the conviction due to the fact that Salvi died before his appeal.