Inclusion Daily Express -- Prosecutors: Euthanasia Campaigner And Partner Convinced Man To Change His Will, Then Killed Him

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Prosecutors: Euthanasia Campaigner And Partner Convinced Man To Change His Will, Then Killed Him
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
March 6, 2007

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA--Two women accused of murdering a 71-year-old man who had severe dementia and Alzheimer's disease were released on bail Tuesday.

Last week, police arrested Shirley Justins, 58, and Caren Jenning, 74 over the March 22, 2006 death of Graeme William Wylie.

Justins had been Wylie's partner for 20 years at the time of his death. Jenning was a family friend and member of Exit International, which has strongly campaigned for assisted suicide and "mercy killing" to be legalized in Australia and elsewhere.

After Wylie's death, toxicology tests revealed that his body contained Nembutal, a drug used to euthanize animals and which is not available in Australia.

According to The Age, Wylie's death came nearly one year after Swiss authorities refused to allow him to travel to Switzerland, where assisted suicide is legal, on the grounds that his dementia prevented him from making such a decision.

Prosecutors claim that, shortly before his death, Justins and Jenning convinced Wylie to change his will, increasing the portion of his $2.5 million estate that would go to Justins.

Prosecutors further claim that police found a book in Jenning's home, with notes referring to liquid Nembutal, along with instructions to visit veterinary supply shops in Tijuana, Mexico. Jenning's diary also detailed a trip she took to Tijuana on March 13, about a week before Wylie died.

Dr. Philip Nitschke, a well-known crusader for legalizing assisted suicide, reportedly showed up Tuesday to show his support for the two women.

Dozens of disability rights groups have opposed efforts to make assisted suicide and euthanasia legal. Many have expressed fear that doing so would make people with certain disabilities more vulnerable because of some family members who might have ulterior motives, and the attitudes of some doctors and others that it is "better to be dead than disabled".

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