LET IT BE
Doctor convicted of
murder gets no jail, no penalty, no reprimand
December
25, 2002
The Hague, Netherlands
The Dutch supreme court Tuesday upheld the conviction of a family doctor who helped a healthy 86-year-old man kill himself because he was ``tired of living.''
The court said it was clear Dutch euthanasia rules were never intended to cover such cases.
The court ruled on an appeal by Philip Sutorius, a doctor who was convicted of malpractice for giving lethal pills to Edward Brongersma, who wasn't ill.
Sutorius was neither fined nor jailed, however. The appellate court ruled that his transgression was ``so minor that any form of punishment would be inappropriate.''