Woman who killed longtime friend battling cancer for 20 years receives reduced sentence in appeal trial

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] A woman in her 40s who killed her longtime friend suffering from cancer at her request received a reduced sentence in the appellate court.

The Gwangju High Court 2-3 Criminal Division (Judge Park Jeong-hoon) overturned the original sentence of 2 years and 6 months imprisonment and sentenced A (47), who was charged with assisted euthanasia, to 1 year in prison in the appeal trial.

A was tried on charges of killing B (40), a woman living with her at her home in Gwangju around noon on March 19 last year, at B's request to "kill me."

A and B had worked together at the same workplace over 20 years ago and had a sister-like relationship, and they started living together in the same house about 10 years ago.

B was diagnosed with cancer in 2014. Her health deteriorated over time, causing her to suffer and have many sleepless nights, and just before her death, her condition worsened to the point where she could not control her bladder and bowels.

From early last year, B repeatedly pleaded with A, saying, "I am in pain and cannot live. Please kill me."

At the end of 2020, they went to the hospital together and obtained a prescription for sleeping pills, after which A attempted the crime once. A tried to kill B while she was asleep after taking the medication, but stopped when B woke up and told her to stop, resulting in an attempted crime.

A sobbed while standing throughout the trial at the defendant's seat that day.

The court stated, "The defendant has remorse for her actions, has confessed to the crime, and has no prior criminal record," and "accepts the defendant's claim that the original sentence was too harsh and unfair."

Previously, the first trial court said, "Although the crime was committed at the victim's request, it is a serious crime that took a human life," and "Although the defendant was not family, as a cohabitant who lived together for a long time, she should have tried to find a better way than assisted euthanasia to relieve the victim's suffering."

However, the court considered "the fact that the crime was committed at the victim's request to reduce pain, that the victim was isolated from family and depended solely on the defendant for a long time, that the defendant earned a living alone but lost her job due to COVID-19 and lived in poverty, and that the victim wrote in her will that she made a difficult request to her sister."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.