The trial against the man in his 50s who was convicted of manslaughter at the Helsingborg district court on Tuesday was largely about extenuating circumstances.
The district court ruled that the man shot his wife and that it was an intentional killing but that he did it out of pity.
Planned it together
The police investigation gave a picture of the couple living an isolated life with extensive physical ailments. These limited their existence to the point where they felt that life was no longer worth living. Part of the evidence was suicide notes and pictures that they would leave behind.
And it is precisely this that are the mitigating circumstances: The woman’s expression of wanting to die, the joint planning and subsequently the man’s action to end her suffering.
Therefore, the man is sentenced to eight years and six months in prison for manslaughter despite his denial. The man is also convicted of several other crimes, including aggravated weapons offences.
– Since the killing took place with the wife’s consent and in accordance with her wishes and since she has died immediately and without any unnecessary suffering, the district court shares the prosecutor’s assessment that the act should be assessed as murder, says Chief Councilor Margareta Hansson, chairman in a press release.
The minimum penalty for manslaughter is six years in prison, while the maximum penalty is ten years.
The defense: “Innocent”
The defense has claimed throughout the trial that the man is innocent and that an unknown perpetrator was the actual murderer. That was questioned by the district court, which already a couple of weeks ago ruled that the man was guilty.
Now it was about what punishment the man would receive.
In Sweden, you are not allowed to kill another person – even if they want to die. But such an act done with strong humanity is called a mercy killing. But it takes a lot to get there.
The district court did not consider this a mercy killing. The judgment states: “The woman had mental and physical suffering but that she was not terminally ill and it was not an illness that would take her life.”
In the video below, hear the prosecutor explain why she changed from considering it a homicide to a manslaughter.