01:00 PM
Tuesday, January 24, 2023
Books – Agencies:
An American woman in Florida killed her terminally ill husband with a bullet in the head, at his request, after his health deteriorated.
Police said Jerry Gilland, 77, a terminally ill man, made an agreement with his wife about three weeks ago that if his failing health did not improve, he wanted his wife, Elaine Gilland, 76, to kill him. “.
The New York Times reported that Gilliland’s health continued to deteriorate, so Ms. Gilliland brought a gun to AdventHealth Hospital in Daytona Beach, Florida, went to her husband’s room on the 11th floor and shot him in the head, according to police.
Daytona Beach Police Chief Jacare Young said the wife “planned to shoot herself as well, but in the end, she just couldn’t do it.”
“It’s a tragic circumstance because it shows that none of us are immune from the trials and tribulations of life,” Young told a news conference. “Gylland locked herself in the room and refused to drop the gun when the police arrived,” he added.
After a confrontation that lasted for hours between the police and the woman, the police managed to detain her, and Young said, “Even after the shooting, she never tried to get up and leave, and everything was confined to the room. The patients and hospital staff were not threatened,” according to the American “Al-Hurra” website.
He noted that “Gilliland could face a charge of first-degree murder.” Gilland was transferred to the Volusia County Jail. Young concluded, “She is very sad. This is clearly a difficult situation, and Ms. Gilliland was in a state of depression.”
Gilland’s crime highlights euthanasia or assisted suicide, which is prohibited in most countries of the world, as it is considered a thorny matter for ethical and religious considerations.
Some European countries allow patients with incurable diseases to choose euthanasia with strict controls. In some countries, the law limits this to adults, ie those over the age of eighteen. Only the Netherlands and Belgium also granted minors the “right to die”.
In addition, there are severe restrictions on euthanasia for mentally ill patients. This is because psychosis is not considered a directly life-threatening disease, and many countries make the ability to discern a condition for euthanasia. But as of 2023, Canada is one of the few countries that allows euthanasia for mentally ill patients.
