Jos Hall watched with interest this week as the highly charged issue of death as mercy played out in Brisbane’s Supreme Court via an attempted murder trial. It so easily could have been her.
, 47, who will spend at least 10 months in jail for the attempted murder of her father in September 2020 at his aged care facility.The court heard how 68-year-old Steven Burden, who suffered severe dementia and cognitive impairment following a 2017 car crash, asked his daughter to “please, just kill me, I don’t want to be here anymore”.
The court heard Burden’s father had no memory of what happened, and her attempt at killing him would have likely never been aired in court had she not immediately confessed to the facility’s staff, and later to police. “Someone who had known him … visited him the day before he died,” she says. “I don’t know who that man was, he’s probably dead now anyway, so it doesn’t really matter. But I can only say, I am so thankful to that man. And I’m so sorry that I could not help my father.”
“Dad was very clear from the get-go that he wanted us as far away from [his death] as humanly possible,” Jen says.“But, admittedly, there were times when he was planning, and I was thinking, ‘What do I do if we come home and it hasn’t worked? Do I finish it? Do I have to get involved?’ Of course, it never got there, thankfully.”
To access VAD, suffering adult Queenslanders must show they have an eligible condition that is expected to cause their death within 12 months. They must also have decision-making capacity and be acting without coercion. Patients would then go through a multi-step assessment phase with medical professionals.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
'Our forgiveness is not contrary to justice': Victims' families stunned by sentence cut for Oatlands crash driverThe families of the four children killed by a drunk and drugged driver in Oatlands two years ago have expressed their shock at his sentence being reduced by eight years on appeal. Via SBSArabic24
Read more »
'Bring your gumboots': Splendour in the Grass festival-goers urged to turn up despite first-day washoutOrganisers are confident day two of this year's Splendour in the Grass music festival will go ahead, despite events on the first day being cancelled, with more rain forecast overnight.
Read more »
Abbi Pulling: ‘It’s possible a woman can be in F1 in the next five years’Teenager impressing in W Series has her sights set on F1 and says new deal with Alpine is helping her on the road to the top
Read more »
Wealth boom masks big gaps between haves and have-notsWhen COVID-19 smashed into the world economy a little over two years ago, who would have thought we’d end up with a massive boom in household wealth?
Read more »
Of all the gin pricepoints in the world ... Why’s craft gin so expensive?Why is craft gin so expensive when it’s sold immediately after it’s been distilled? | By Huon Hooke
Read more »
'It's depressing': Millions of Australians face growing HECS debts as indexation rate hits 10-year highFrom 1 June this year, the indexation rate applied to HECS-HELP loans rose to 3.9 per cent. While experts say this won't have short-term consequences, students are worried about accruing debt.
Read more »