Christine Malèvre: Difference between revisions
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==Controversy== |
==Controversy== |
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Malèvre's arrest raised a national debate in France over the case as well as over the controversial topic of [[euthanasia]] in France, which disallows euthanasia, unlike its neighbors, Belgium and the Netherlands.<ref name="French nurse"/> France itself was divided between strong Roman Catholic hostility towards euthanasia and mounting pressure from the [[Liberalism and radicalism in France|liberals]] to decriminalize [[assisted suicide]].<ref name="Sage"/> |
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After initially admitting to having helped 30 gravelly-ill patients kill themselves, Malèvre received an outpouring of support from both the public and from [[French cabinet|minister]]s.<ref name="Sage"/> She received over 5,000 letters from the public showing support and appreciation for her acts of compassion, and health minister [[Bernard Kouchner]] stated that people should avoid hasty moral judgement when it came to Malèvre's case.<ref name="Sage"/> |
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The media were also generally sympathetic toward Malèvre, someone they described as a model nurse who was helping terminally-ill patients to end their own lives.<ref name="heroine"/> Despite this outpouring of support, public opinion seemed to turn against Malèvre when details of the case were leaked by judges and family members. These leaks stated that the terminally-ill patients had neither wanted nor asked Malèvre to aid in their suicide.<ref name="heroine"/> The principal French association supporting the right to die immediately dropped its support for Malèvre. Public opinion turned quickly against her to support the prosecutor's and lawyer's opinion that Malèvre did not help her patients, but rather was a serial killer who murdered her patients to satisfy her own compulsions.<ref name="heroine"/> |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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Revision as of 00:54, 24 May 2021
Christine Malèvre | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 10, 1970 |
| Nationality | French |
| Occupation | Nurse |
| Criminal charge | Murder |
| Details | |
| Location(s) | François Quesnay Hospital, Mantes-la-Jolie, Paris |
| Killed | 30 |
Date apprehended | 1998 |
Christine Malèvre (born January 10, 1970) is a former nurse who was arrested in 1998 on suspicion of having killed as many as 30 patients. She confessed to some of the murders, but claimed she had done so at the request of the patients, who were all terminally ill. France, however, does not recognize a right to die, and Malèvre eventually recanted most of her confessions. The families of several of her victims strongly denied that their relatives had expressed any will to die, much less asked Malèvre to kill them.
Charges
Malèvre initially admitted to assisting in the deaths of 30 terminally ill patients at François Quesnay Hospital in Mantes-la-Jolie.[1] She later recanted, stating that she had made her original confession under duress.[2] Although originally charged with the lesser charge of manslaughter, Malèvre's charge was upgraded to murder, following a report stating that she had a “morbid fascination” with death and disease, with patients being three to four times more likely to die during her duty periods.[2]
According to Olivier Morice, a lawyer for families of five patients who had died in Malèvre's care, the charge of murder came about because the judge had realized “we are dealing with a serial killer more than with a Madonna of euthanasia”.[1][2]
Shortly after her release on bail, Malèvre tried unsuccessfully to commit suicide by overdosing on drugs.[2]
Trial
Malèvre went on trial in Versailles on 20 January 2003 on charges of murdering seven gravely ill patients between 1997 and 1998.[2] She faced up to life in prison.[3] She admitted to having killed four patients by injecting them with lethal doses of morphine, potassium or other drugs,[2] but denied being responsible for the other three deaths.[3] She stated that her reason for lethally injecting these patients was because the patients requested to die, and she helped them to do so out of compassion.[2] In a book she later wrote, called “My Confession”, Malèvre stated “I helped people to end their suffering and depart in peace. I did not kill. I am not a criminal.”[2]
Prosecutors did not agree with her statement. Having been nicknamed "the black widow" by her colleagues, prosecutors told the court that Malèvre's motives for ending the lives of her patients were not merciful, but rather due to her morbid fascination with death and illness; by killing these patients, she was satisfying her compulsions.[2] Families of the deceased also went on the record agreeing with the prosecution that Malèvre killed for her own good, not for the good of her patients, denying that their relatives had ever asked to die,[3] statements which would later turn many of Malèvre's supporters against her.[2]
Sentencing
After a four-hour deliberation, Malèvre was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment for the murder of six of the seven patients she was accused of killing. She was also permanently banned from working as a nurse.[3]
Controversy
Malèvre's arrest raised a national debate in France over the case as well as over the controversial topic of euthanasia in France, which disallows euthanasia, unlike its neighbors, Belgium and the Netherlands.[3] France itself was divided between strong Roman Catholic hostility towards euthanasia and mounting pressure from the liberals to decriminalize assisted suicide.[1]
After initially admitting to having helped 30 gravelly-ill patients kill themselves, Malèvre received an outpouring of support from both the public and from ministers.[1] She received over 5,000 letters from the public showing support and appreciation for her acts of compassion, and health minister Bernard Kouchner stated that people should avoid hasty moral judgement when it came to Malèvre's case.[1]
The media were also generally sympathetic toward Malèvre, someone they described as a model nurse who was helping terminally-ill patients to end their own lives.[2] Despite this outpouring of support, public opinion seemed to turn against Malèvre when details of the case were leaked by judges and family members. These leaks stated that the terminally-ill patients had neither wanted nor asked Malèvre to aid in their suicide.[2] The principal French association supporting the right to die immediately dropped its support for Malèvre. Public opinion turned quickly against her to support the prosecutor's and lawyer's opinion that Malèvre did not help her patients, but rather was a serial killer who murdered her patients to satisfy her own compulsions.[2]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e Sage, Adam. "'Mercy killer' on murder charges." Times [London, England] 16 June 1999: 14. Academic OneFile. Web. 7 Mar. 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Paris euthanasia 'heroine' on trial for 7 murders." Times [London, England] 21 Jan. 2003: 15. Academic OneFile. Web. 7 Mar. 2014.
- ^ a b c d e "French nurse jailed in 6 deaths." New York Times 1 Feb. 2003: A4. Academic OneFile. Web. 7 Mar. 2014.
External links
| International | |
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| Other | |
