This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/england/sussex/8479211.stm
The article has changed 12 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Mother cleared in ME death trial | Mother cleared in ME death trial |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| A mother has been found not guilty of the attempted murder of her severely ill daughter who suffered from ME. | A mother has been found not guilty of the attempted murder of her severely ill daughter who suffered from ME. |
| Bridget Gilderdale, 55, of Stonegate, East Sussex, was cleared of attempting to murder Lynn Gilderdale by jurors at Lewes Crown Court. | Bridget Gilderdale, 55, of Stonegate, East Sussex, was cleared of attempting to murder Lynn Gilderdale by jurors at Lewes Crown Court. |
| Mrs Gilderdale had previously admitted aiding and abetting the suicide of her 31-year-old daughter and was given a 12-month conditional discharge. | Mrs Gilderdale had previously admitted aiding and abetting the suicide of her 31-year-old daughter and was given a 12-month conditional discharge. |
| Miss Gilderdale was found dead at their home on 4 December. | Miss Gilderdale was found dead at their home on 4 December. |
| Jurors were told that after Miss Gilderdale made a failed suicide bid her mother crushed up pills with a pestle and mortar and fed them to her through her nasal tube, handed her morphine and injected three syringes of air into her vein. | |
| The court was told Mrs Gilderdale tried to stop her daughter ending her life but backed down after she told her: "I want the pain to go" | |
| Lynn Gilderdale had suffered from ME for about 17 years | |
| Jurors heard she was a loving and devoted mother who gave round-the-clock care during Miss Gilderdale's 17-year battle with ME. | |
| After developing ME at the age of 14, Miss Gilderdale became paralysed and unable to swallow so she had to be fed through a tube. | |
| Sarah Wootton, chief executive of charity Dignity in Dying, said the law made little distinction between the act of murder, euthanasia, assisted dying and assisted suicide. | |
| She added: "Given that Lynn Gilderdale was mentally competent, made persistent requests to die and had an Advance Decision stating that she did not want to be kept alive, it seems that Kay Gilderdale's actions should have been investigated under the Suicide Act, rather than under murder law. | |
| "Ultimately, the government needs to review the law in this area, as this case highlights at present the law is a mess." |