Victims of Eric Rudolph, the anti-abortion extremist who committed bombings across the South, say he is taunting them from the nation’s most secure federal prison, the Associated Press reports. There is little authorities can do to stop him. Rudolph, who pleaded guilty in deadly bombings at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and a Birmingham abortion clinic, is serving life in prison at the “Supermax” penitentiary in Florence, Co.
Rudolph’s long essays have been posted on the Internet by a supporter who maintains an Army of God Web site. Rudolph mocks former abortion clinic nurse Emily Lyons, who was nearly killed in the 1998 bombing in Birmingham. “He’s still sending out harassing communication. He’s still hurting us,” said Lyons’ husband. Diane Derzis, who owns the clinic that was bombed, killing a police officer, said someone should stop Rudolph. The Bureau of Prisons allows its wardens to reject correspondence by an inmate for “the protection of the public, or if it might facilitate criminal activity.” That includes material “which may lead to the use of physical violence.” U.S. Attorney Alice Martin, who helped prosecute Rudolph in Alabama, said there is nothing the prison can do to restrict Rudolph or the supporter who keeps posting his writings. “An inmate does not lose his freedom of speech,” she said.
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