ABSTRACT
In July 2004, 100-year-old Bernard Heginbotham was convicted of manslaughter for the mercy killing of his wife, Ida, aged 87 (Carter and Khaleeli 2004). Mrs Heginbotham had been suffering seriously from arthritis and had received two hip replacements. Following a fall in January 2003, she was admitted to a care home; one month later, when her condition deteriorated, she was moved to another home; shortly after that she was again relocated, at her husband’s request.
