Swiss prisoner convicted of child rape is being considered for assisted suicide.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director - Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Peter Vogt

A Swiss prisoner convicted of sexual assault and rape of girls and woman ranging in age from 10 to 56 is being considered for death by assisted suicide.

An AFP news article by Agnès Pedrero reported that Peter Vogt (69) who has been diagnosed with several psychological disorders and reportedly lives with health issues related to his kidney and heart, contacted the assisted suicide group Exit, and is being considered for assisted suicide. Vogt has been declared a dangerous offender and is unlikely to be released from prison.

Pedrero reported that Vogt responded to his questions by writing:

"It is natural that one would rather commit suicide than be buried alive for years to come" 

"It would be better to be dead than to be left to vegetate behind these walls"

Switzerland outlawed capital punishment in 1942.

• What’s Cruel for the Incarcerated is Cruel for the Terminally Ill: The Connection between Lethal Injection and Assisted Suicide.

Pedrero reported that the Swiss Centre of Expertise in Prison and Probation Foundation studied the issue and responded by supporting assisted suicide for prisoners.

According to Pedrero, Barbara Rohner, lead author of the foundation's report, stated:

assisted suicide rights should apply to prisoners under certain conditions, noting that in cases of mental illness two independent specialists should be consulted. 

Any detainee possessing discernment should, in principle, have assisted suicide rights if they have "a physical or mental illness resulting in unbearable suffering,"

The foundation also recommended that authorities responsible for the prisoner's welfare must ensure the suicide request is not the result of a short-term emotional crisis.

Vogt told Pedrero that his "quality of life" is unbearable:

Vogt insisted that he wanted to die because of the "unbearable" deterioration in his quality of life, along with the fact that he can no longer see his gravely ill mother, who lives in Austria.

Vogt may be the first Swiss prisoner to request death by assisted suicide but his request is leading to more prisoners requests.

Once a society accepts that killing is an acceptable response to human difficulties, then killing will become acceptable for other forms of human difficulty.