Consensual homicide
Encyclopedia
Consensual homicide refers to a case when one person kills another, with the consent of the victim.
, in which terminally ill
people seek assistance from their doctor
s (or family members) to alleviate their suffering by ending their lives. This practice is legal in some jurisdiction
s, but remains controversial because of the legal, ethical
and practical issues it raises. Dr. Jack Kevorkian
was the most well-known advocate of this practice. Another notable case is suspected serial killer John Bodkin Adams
, who claimed that patient Edith Alice Morrell
—for whose murder he was tried in 1957—had wanted to die. He was controversially found not guilty but later suspected of murdering up to 163 of his patients.
Attempts to legalize assisted suicide in various US states have generally failed in recent years. Washington state is a notable exception. Washington legalized assisted suicide with a law that took effect March 4, 2009, becoming the second state, after Oregon, to have done so. California, on the other hand, rejected the practice in 1992, 1999, 2005, 2006 and 2007. Opposition to assisted suicide legalization came from a wide range of organizations including the California Medical Association
, disability rights organizations, faith-based organizations, and Latino and civil rights groups.
entrepreneur
named Sharon Lopatka
arranged for her own torture
and strangulation over the Internet
. In 2001 German
Armin Meiwes
was found to have murder
ed and cannibalized
a willing victim he found over the internet. These two cases attracted considerable media
attention. Beyond their lurid sexual details, both cases introduce paradoxes about the respective responsibility of the parties
, the legal differences between consensual homicide and suicide
.
In 2005, Japan, Hiroshi Maeue
lured three people via the internet with promises to assist in their suicides, and strangled them. They may have consented to their killings at first, but the method was different from his promise. Maeue had previous convictions and his motivation was clearly sexual. He was regarded as a serial killer and was sentenced to death.
Euthanasia
The more common form is assisted suicideAssisted suicide
Assisted suicide is the common term for actions by which an individual helps another person voluntarily bring about his or her own death. "Assistance" may mean providing one with the means to end one's own life, but may extend to other actions. It differs to euthanasia where another person ends...
, in which terminally ill
Terminal illness
Terminal illness is a medical term popularized in the 20th century to describe a disease that cannot be cured or adequately treated and that is reasonably expected to result in the death of the patient within a short period of time. This term is more commonly used for progressive diseases such as...
people seek assistance from their doctor
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
s (or family members) to alleviate their suffering by ending their lives. This practice is legal in some jurisdiction
Jurisdiction
Jurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility...
s, but remains controversial because of the legal, ethical
Ethics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
and practical issues it raises. Dr. Jack Kevorkian
Jack Kevorkian
Jacob "Jack" Kevorkian , commonly known as "Dr. Death", was an American pathologist, euthanasia activist, painter, composer and instrumentalist. He is best known for publicly championing a terminal patient's right to die via physician-assisted suicide; he said he assisted at least 130 patients to...
was the most well-known advocate of this practice. Another notable case is suspected serial killer John Bodkin Adams
John Bodkin Adams
John Bodkin Adams was an Irish-born British general practitioner, convicted fraudster and suspected serial killer. Between the years 1946 and 1956, more than 160 of his patients died in suspicious circumstances. Of these, 132 left him money or items in their will. He was tried and acquitted for...
, who claimed that patient Edith Alice Morrell
Edith Alice Morrell
Edith Alice Morrell , was a resident of Eastbourne and patient of the suspected serial killer John Bodkin Adams. He was tried for her murder in 1957 but acquitted...
—for whose murder he was tried in 1957—had wanted to die. He was controversially found not guilty but later suspected of murdering up to 163 of his patients.
Attempts to legalize assisted suicide in various US states have generally failed in recent years. Washington state is a notable exception. Washington legalized assisted suicide with a law that took effect March 4, 2009, becoming the second state, after Oregon, to have done so. California, on the other hand, rejected the practice in 1992, 1999, 2005, 2006 and 2007. Opposition to assisted suicide legalization came from a wide range of organizations including the California Medical Association
California Medical Association
The California Medical Association is a professional organization representing more than 35,000 physicians in the state of California. The organization was founded in 1856 and is a member of the American Medical Association.-Audio-Digest Foundation:...
, disability rights organizations, faith-based organizations, and Latino and civil rights groups.
Exceptional cases
In 1996 a MarylandMaryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
named Sharon Lopatka
Sharon Lopatka
Sharon Rina Lopatka was an Internet entrepreneur in Hampstead, Maryland, United States, who was killed in a case of apparent consensual homicide. Lopatka was tortured and strangled to death on October 16, 1996, by Robert Frederick Glass, a computer analyst from North Carolina. The apparent...
arranged for her own torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
and strangulation over the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
. In 2001 German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Armin Meiwes
Armin Meiwes
Armin Meiwes is a German man who achieved international notoriety for killing and eating a voluntary victim whom he had found via the Internet. After Meiwes and the victim jointly attempted to eat the victim's severed penis, Meiwes killed his victim and proceeded to eat a large amount of his flesh...
was found to have murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
ed and cannibalized
Cannibalism
Cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other human beings. It is also called anthropophagy...
a willing victim he found over the internet. These two cases attracted considerable media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
attention. Beyond their lurid sexual details, both cases introduce paradoxes about the respective responsibility of the parties
Party (law)
A party is a person or group of persons that compose a single entity which can be identified as one for the purposes of the law. Parties include: plaintiff , defendant , petitioner , respondent , cross-complainant A party is a person or group of persons that compose a single entity which can be...
, the legal differences between consensual homicide and suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
.
In 2005, Japan, Hiroshi Maeue
Hiroshi Maeue
, aka "Suicide Website Murderer", was a Japanese serial killer, who lured his victims via the internet and killed three people in 2005.Maeue suffered from a paraphilic psychosexual disorder which translated into being unable to achieve sexual release absent of performing an act of...
lured three people via the internet with promises to assist in their suicides, and strangled them. They may have consented to their killings at first, but the method was different from his promise. Maeue had previous convictions and his motivation was clearly sexual. He was regarded as a serial killer and was sentenced to death.