Graham Mansfield was found not guilty of murder after slitting his wife’s throat “in an act of love” before trying to kill herself after a judge accepted the couple had made a suicide pact.
It took 90 minutes for jurors to acquit Mansfield, 73, of Hale, Greater Manchester, of murder after he gave emotional evidence about how he killed his wife Diane because she was in such pain from terminal cancer. However, he received a two-year suspended sentence after being found guilty of manslaughter.
Outside court on Thursday, the retired porter and union representative called for a change in the assisted dying law. “I would just like to say that the law needs to be changed,” he said. “No one should have to go through what we went through. Unfortunately, my wife is gone today. He should not have died under such barbaric circumstances. That was what we had to resort to.
what is the law
Euthanasia is illegal in the UK and can be prosecuted as murder or manslaughter.
“Aiding or abetting” another person’s suicide is illegal in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. There is no specific offense in Scotland for aiding or abetting suicide.
How often do prosecutions happen?
There were 174 cases referred to the CPS by the police that were recorded as assisted suicide in England and Wales between 1 April 2009 and 31 March 2022. All but 26 of these were withdrawn by the police or not referred to the CPS.
By March 2022, there were eight ongoing cases in England and Wales. Four cases of encouraging or assisting suicide were successfully prosecuted. One case of assisted suicide was charged and acquitted after a trial in May 2015, and eight cases were referred for prosecution for murder or other serious crime.
The last known prosecution in Scotland was in 2006 in an unreported case.
Have people ever tried to change the law?
Diane Priti, who had motor neurone disease, wanted to control the time and manner of her death, but needed her husband’s help to die. Priti asked the government to ensure that her husband would not be prosecuted if he helped die. The House of Lords and the European Court of Human Rights rejected her case.
Priti died on 11 May 2002 at the age of 43.
Tony Nicklinson had a stroke in 2005. He wanted to end his life, but because he was paralyzed, he couldn’t do it without help.
Nicklinson asked the Supreme Court to declare that it would be legal for a doctor to help him die or that the ban on assisted dying was inconsistent with his right to privacy. The court refused to do either. Shortly thereafter Nicklinson refused food and water and died of pneumonia.
His wife, Jane, took his case to the Court of Appeal and to the Supreme Court, adding Paul Lamb to the case. Lamb was unable to move anything but his right arm after a car accident in 1991. He also wanted help to end his life.
A majority of the high court said it could not decide the ban was incompatible – unless Parliament acted to reform it. This, campaigners said, was a clear signal to Parliament that if assisted dying was not addressed, the courts could.
Martin suffered a brain stem stroke in August 2008 that left him almost completely unable to move. He wanted to end his life by going abroad. Martin argued that the DPP’s policy on encouraging or assisting suicide was not clear enough for people to know how they could provide help without risking prosecution.
The DPP clarified the policy in 2014: the law now states that anyone providing assistance is breaking the law.
What are the main arguments used in the debate against physician-assisted dying?
What are the main arguments used in the physician-assisted death debate?
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Palliative care cannot relieve all pain and suffering.
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Physician-assisted dying is legal for more than 150 million people worldwide with eligibility criteria, safeguards, and regulations.
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End-of-life practices are legal in the UK. The same safeguards can be used in assisted dying legislation.
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The current law does not work with UK citizens traveling to facilities such as Dignitas in Switzerland. But they have to be well enough to travel, which means they often end their lives sooner than they would like.
In the UK and Ireland you can contact Samaritans on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the Lifeline crisis support service is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org.
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