Arabic|search|Abortion | Euthanasia|The lies of Abortion|This is my body|In-vitro Fertilization
Canadian Press
Winnipeg — A blind and partially deaf 88-year-old man who fatally stabbed his terminally ill wife in her hospital bed was sentenced to three years probation Thursday for an act the judge described as “illegal but understandable.”
Tony Jaworski pleaded guilty to manslaughter as part of a deal that saw the Crown drop its original charge of second-degree murder.
But he was spared further jail time after provincial court Judge Fred Sandhu accepted a joint recommendation that the sentence be limited to the 17 months he served in custody following the May 2004 slaying of Sophie Jaworski, 83.
“To say that what's happened in this case is a tragedy is a severe understatement,” said Judge Sandhu.
“When your loved one is dying . . . and living becomes a mere existence, to what extent can a loved one watch that and tolerate that? He took an action that was illegal, but understandable.”
Dressed in a striped shirt, blue pants and running shoes, Mr. Jaworski showed no emotion throughout the proceedings and declined to address the court.
Sitting next to defence lawyer Greg Brodsky, he told Judge Sandhu he couldn't hear a lot of the arguments but had discussed his plea with his lawyer in detail.
Mr. Brodsky said Mr. Jaworski stabbed his wife of 61 years in the heart as a mercy killing in order to spare her additional surgery for her recently diagnosed colon cancer.
Sophie, who also suffered from Alzheimer's disease, had lost 100 pounds in three months and was restrained to her hospital bed. Doctors had given her no more than a year to live.
Mr. Jaworski had been barred from visiting his wife a few weeks before her death because doctors feared he would unhook her intravenous and try to take her home.
Shortly after they relented, Mr. Jaworski took a knife from the assisted living home he was living in and left a note on his granddaughter's door that read “Forgive me.” He then went to the hospital, stabbed his wife during a shift change and then turned the knife on himself in a failed suicide attempt.
During his arrest, Mr. Jaworski told police: “Thank God she's not suffering any more.”
Mr. Brodsky said Mr. Jaworski could not face seeing the love of his life suffer and believed he was doing the right thing.
“This was not a life for him, this was not a life for her,” said Brodsky.
Judge Sandhu noted it is not up to the courts to say whether euthanasia is illegal, but courts must deal with the gaps in the law when such cases are presented to them.
In her sentencing arguments, prosecutor Melinda Murray noted there were few precedents in Canadian law for such cases.
However, she pointed to the case of Marielle Houle, a 60-year-old Montreal woman sentenced to three years probation last January for helping her ailing son commit suicide because he didn't want to cope with the effects of multiple sclerosis.
In Mr. Jaworski's case, three psychiatric reports have concluded he is not a risk to reoffend. He suffered extreme duress dealing with his own health problems, his wife's illness and conflicts with his daughter and son-in-law, who he lived with briefly after he and his wife sold their home.
“In essence, his life as he knew it was turned upside down,” said Ms. Murray.
But she noted that Mr. Jaworski still paid a price for his actions by having to spend 17 months in jail before he was granted bail last fall.
A legal expert says the Jaworski and Houle cases highlight the need for a political discussion in Canada about euthanasia.
“The law has always balanced the sanctity of life versus the dignity of the person, but right now we're not protecting the dignity of the person and we're only paying lip service to the sanctity of life,” said Sanjeev Anand, a law professor at the University of Alberta.
But he acknowledged judges must be careful not to leave the impression that disabled and ill people are worthless, while taking into account the context of each specific case and allowing motives such as compassion to be a factor.
Judge Sandhu accepted the Crown's recommendation for three years probation.
Mr. Brodsky asked for a shorter period due to his age, health problems and the fact his time served was “akin to being in solitary confinement” because his poor health prevented him from interacting with his fellow inmates.
As part of his probation, Mr. Jaworski must keep living at Forward House Ministries, a Winnipeg Christian-based organization which usually helps people suffering drug and alcohol addictions.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060420.wwinnipeg0420/BNStory/National/home
Saint Charbel for Life
Back to
Home page
E-mail us:
info@lilhayat.com