A good or bad thing to do?

[IceNineKills]

2 days ago, an old man on my block 'killed' his wife. she was in terrible pain, being 78 herself and from what i've been told, she wanted to die to end the pain. her husband, 85 years old, suffocated her with a pillow to end her misery.

at the moment we're not sure if the 85 year old man is going to be charged with anything or do prison time.


was he in the right to do this, or the wrong? and would you put this man into prison?

Thread moved here by Bolt660 (Forum Moderator): From 'Discuss Anything' as its more suited here.

[OldLoveSong]

this would be good in debates thread, but idk. theres 2 sides to every story. On a personal level I believe it's non-ethical, was she hospitalized or did he just kill her at home?

[IceNineKills]

it was just at their home.

[Bails]

I think that the human race have a right to die, If the suffocation was at her own will, he shouldn't be charged?

[-:Undertaker:-]

If she wanted to die and consented then it's not the business of the state.

[buttons]

i think if she asked him to then yeah it's fine, don't think i could do it for someone no matter how much pain they were in or how much i cared about them though or say if someone did it for my family member or close friend i'd be really upset too and ask for the person who did it to be punished probably :/ its a tricky one

[Empired]

Don't think he should go to prison, but I don't think suffocating someone with a pillow is the nicest way to let someone go... :/

[Stephen]

maybe if she'd done a lovely goodbye recording of herself saying that she is happily letting her husband suffocate her

[Doughnut]

Gotta agree with Stephen ;P
There's no real way in knowing if she let him do it or not.

I mean, if there was a way to find out if she let him, I don't think he should be charged. But knowing our legal system, he will be.

[Martin]

I'm kind of split on this one. I think if you really love and care about someone, you would do anything to see them put out of their pain and would do your very best to respect their wishes etc and help them in any way you can. Not sure why he used a pillow though :O That must have been so hard for him to do! :(:(

[geo]

if the story about her really wanting to die is true (which you can't really tell as she didn't give any proof) then i guess it's okay, although i can't even begin to imagine how hard that would have been for him and idk how brought himself to do it. :( i guess he just did what she wanted but in maybe the wrong way, idk. this is a real hard one and i'm kinda stuck as to what i think

[Kardan]

If she consented, then he should have the right to do it, but it's a shame that the government think otherwise...

[Sian]

Not only am I for the whole "if consented then they should get their wish" ordeal, but also, could you really imagine an 80 year old man doing it for nothing more than love and respect when it's his wife? I can't.

[GommeInc]

Regardless of the possible sentences, imagine what must of been going on in his mind when carrying out such an act on someone you care about.

That said, it is important to know if she consented. Like Stephen! said, a recorded message, preferably video, and even an accompanying letter written by the wife would be incredibly useful for this otherwise it's going to come off as a murder than a mercy killing - consensual or otherwise.

[Kyle]

What do you mean by "terrible pain"? Terminal illness or just a bit of a headache? If it's established that she was terminally ill then I'd definitely assume it was a mercy killing and, given their relationship and high probability that she would have asked him, it's acceptable. Because of his age it's unlikely that he'll be sentenced, regardless of his motives, but he'll still have to live with the fact that his wife is now gone and that is down to him. Poor chap.

[IceNineKills]

im not sure what kind of pain she was in. just got told that she had been in bad pain for ages.

[Grig]

2 days ago, an old man on my block 'killed' his wife. she was in terrible pain, being 78 herself and from what i've been told, she wanted to die to end the pain. her husband, 85 years old, suffocated her with a pillow to end her misery.

at the moment we're not sure if the 85 year old man is going to be charged with anything or do prison time.


was he in the right to do this, or the wrong? and would you put this man into prison?

Thread moved here by Bolt660 (Forum Moderator): From 'Discuss Anything' as its more suited here.

This was similar to a debate I just did, whether it's moral to choose death by choice in such circumstances such as pain.

I would argue that it's up to the said person, if they are genuinely in as much pain and guaranteed to die anyway and plead someone to kill them to avoid it, then they have every right.

[Charz777]

I think I'm the only person who thinks it's wrong. If a person wants to take their own life then fair enough. But to consent for another to take a life is unfair on the person who 'kills' them. The man can't have wanted her to die if he loved her and it must have pained him so much to have done it. And it would have been the worst situation for him. He did what he thought was best for her but at his own pain and sorrow and guilt. And this could scar him mentally. It's horrible. And now he could face charges and all sorts of life ruining stuff as a result. The woman should never have consented and he should never have agreed to it. Technically he murdered someone, no I don’t think he should be charged, but what they did between them is horrendous. How do we know she consented? Could be a murderer? Awful situation to bring upon himself. If he’s innocent I feel awful for the poor man.

[dggood]

The debate in what you guys are wanting to talk about here is 'Euthanasia' for those of you that dont know, it is the act of ending ones life in order to relieve pain or suffering.
However the manner in which the event occurred does not fall under euthanasia, because it requires a 'peaceful ending of ones life without suffering', and well... Suffocate.. suff...suffer....Suffocate.. suffering.. I'm sure you see what i am doing here.
So it is questionable the intent of the event, as there are many ways to end a life then to suffocate with a pillow, however out of respect if it is the care we shouldn't question the morals further unless evidence suggested otherwise.
Unfortunately he would most likely go to jail, as it has been a while since the first post. It would be interesting to see if i am wrong, but euthanasia is a crime and is only acceptable in some Asian cultures i believe. Therefore under the law he did break it and would most likely go to jail, i don't agree with it. Some peoples lives aren't really living with the conditions they are in and it can be quite unfair, in my opinion almost torture.
What he would have been better of doing, would have been to try an aid in her ending her own life, and suicide is also illegal however the victim is not able to face charges.

[Catchy]

What do you mean by "terrible pain"? Terminal illness or just a bit of a headache? If it's established that she was terminally ill then I'd definitely assume it was a mercy killing and, given their relationship and high probability that she would have asked him, it's acceptable. Because of his age it's unlikely that he'll be sentenced, regardless of his motives, but he'll still have to live with the fact that his wife is now gone and that is down to him. Poor chap.


Omg stop I can't cope with this thread, I've had 3 outbursts of laughter reading Empired;'s reply cos it was so blunt "not the nicest way to let someone go :/" and then stephans reply and now urs 'a bit of a heacache' I KNOW ITS BAD I JUS CANT HELP IT

but anyway urm, i agree with empired... surely there was a more HUMANE way???? what's wrong with good old fashioned overdose (i guess it'll be slow) guess he could of hanged her? but guess it'll be a bit tricky for an elderly person to prop her up but SURELY there was a more humane way cos being suffocated would be AWFUL. idk I don't think he should be sentenced if the story is true

[peteyt]

maybe if she'd done a lovely goodbye recording of herself saying that she is happily letting her husband suffocate her


Gotta agree with Stephen ;P
There's no real way in knowing if she let him do it or not.

I mean, if there was a way to find out if she let him, I don't think he should be charged. But knowing our legal system, he will be.

I know this is an old post but both you two have basically shown why euthanasia should be legal.

At the moment people who want to kill themselves legally have to travel abroad. I think a lot of UK people go to Switzerland if I remember correctly. This is better than nothing but some people might be to ill to actually travel.

I know assisted suicide has been brought forward in the UK before a few times but failed to get enough support. I wonder with the more support for gay marriage would this be something people would be open more to seeing now compared to in the past or is it something too bad in most people's eyes to allow?

I hope someday it does become legal. I had a great gran who spent years stuck in a chair needing helping going anywhere. Obviously she wasn't in a serious condition, but that was bad enough. To think it would be illegal to have someone take their own life if they where in massive pain saddens me deeply.

[Teabags]

doesn't really matter if it's ethically sound.
in the eyes of the law, he's going to prison - despite having many mitigating factors, he may get a lenient sentence.

[GommeInc]

doesn't really matter if it's ethically sound.
in the eyes of the law, he's going to prison - despite having many mitigating factors, he may get a lenient sentence.
Not necessarily. The Courts are recently changing their verdicts when it comes to these sorts of cases. With euthanasia debates causing uproar in society quite a few cases result in suspended sentences (when brought before the High Court). Although many defendants are found guilty in lower courts, the cases tend to go before the High Court and the High Court is suspending sentences for elderly defendants on the grounds of compassion. They need not necessarily be a problem on society if their records are clean and there is strong evidence the victim of the crime was of ill health.

[bondyboy99]

It was a sad thing that the old man done but he was caring for his wife which was in pain, so i think the man did right putting his wife out of the pain.