As anyone who follows the news of old, ill, and disabled people who get killed by family members or “caregivers,” it’s all to clear that if the perpetrator claims the act was a “mercy killing,” it’s frequently a successful defense strategy. The public tends to believe that the victim would have wanted to die, even … Continue reading Two recent cases show what it takes to screw up a “mercy killing” defense
Back on April 1, 1998 I sent out an obviously bogus press release from an email address I reserved for just such purposes. It was an attempt at some (I thought) outrageous satire, taking pro-assisted suicide arguments based on “quality of life” to one of their many logical conclusions. What would happen, I wondered, when … Continue reading Yesterday’s Joke Becoming Today’s Reality – Death Row and Assisted Suicide
Disappointing, but not entirely unexpected news from Arizona: Lawrence Egbert, 83, an anesthesiologist from Baltimore, was found not guilty of conspiracy to commit manslaughter by aiding suicide in the April 2007 death of Jana Van Voorhis, 58. But the jury was unable to reach a unanimous decision as to whether Franklin Langsner, 86, a retired … Continue reading Arizona: Jury in Final Exit Network Trial Acquits One, Unable to Reach Verdict with Other
The long-awaited trial of two members of the Final Exit Network (FEN) relating to their roles in the death of Jana Van Voorhis is all but over – it’s all in the hands of the jury now after a roughly week-long trial at the Maricopa County Superior Court in Arizona. The only ongoing press coverage … Continue reading Final Exit Network Members Await Jury Decision in One State (AZ) and Lose Court Challenge in Another (GA)
Wesley Smith has two related pieces on an op-ed by a death row prisoner that was published in the NY Times on March 6th. Christian Longo, who admits to being guilty of killing his wife and three children, wrote to the newspaper to promote voluntary organ donation by death row prisoners. In Wesley’s first blog … Continue reading Organ Donation by Death Row Inmates – Get Ready to Start Hearing More About How it’s “Good” for Everyone
