Senior gets probation for wife mercy killing
Source: Agencies |
March 31, 2013, Sunday
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Print Edition
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AN 86-year-old man who carried out a mercy killing by shooting his ailing wife in the head was sentenced to probation in Phoenix, Arizona, on Friday, after an emotional hearing where family members spoke on his behalf.
George Sanders could have faced more than 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter. The judge opted for probation.
The World War II veteran told authorities his wife was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1969, and the couple moved from Washington state to the retirement community of Sun City outside Phoenix in the 1970s for the warm, dry climate.
Virginia Sanders, 81, had been diagnosed with gangrene on her foot days before the shooting.
In a videotaped confession, Sanders said his wife begged him to kill her.
"She never wanted to outlive me and be left at the mercy of someone else," Sanders said. "We loved each other so much."
Sanders was initially charged with first-degree murder for the November 9 shooting but later pleaded guilty to manslaughter in what attorneys on both sides called a "mercy killing."
Virginia Sanders survived the shooting but died a few days later in hospital.
George Sanders could have faced more than 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter. The judge opted for probation.
The World War II veteran told authorities his wife was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1969, and the couple moved from Washington state to the retirement community of Sun City outside Phoenix in the 1970s for the warm, dry climate.
Virginia Sanders, 81, had been diagnosed with gangrene on her foot days before the shooting.
In a videotaped confession, Sanders said his wife begged him to kill her.
"She never wanted to outlive me and be left at the mercy of someone else," Sanders said. "We loved each other so much."
Sanders was initially charged with first-degree murder for the November 9 shooting but later pleaded guilty to manslaughter in what attorneys on both sides called a "mercy killing."
Virginia Sanders survived the shooting but died a few days later in hospital.
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