Québec man sentenced to two years in the death of his wife. He claimed it was a "mercy killing."

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Michel Cadotte

Michel Cadotte, the Québec man who killed his wife, Jocelyne Lizette (60) by suffocation on February 20, 2017, was found guilty of manslaughter by a jury.

Cadotte, claimed that his wife wouldn't have wanted to live this way. Cadotte had asked for euthanasia for his wife and was turned down because she was not capable of making the request herself as repored by CTV news.

Yesterday, Cadotte was sentenced to two years, less day and three years probation for killing his wife by suffocation. Jesse Feith, reporting for the Montreal Gazette stated:

Superior Court judge Di Salvo added while sentencing him to prison Tuesday, Cadotte also “committed the irreparable” by suffocating Jocelyne Lizotte to death, an act that can’t be excused “even if it was done in the name of compassion.”

The article reported Justice Di Salvo state:

“You cannot do this to someone who is ill, vulnerable, dependent and incapable of expressing their will,” she said. “Even if they’ve expressed a desire to die in the past.”

The Canadian government is considering extending euthanasia to incompetent people who made a previous request for euthanasia.

Feith reported that the Crown and the Defense are both examining the sentence. The article reported:

Prosecutor Geneviève Langlois told reporters the Crown will closely review the decision before deciding if it will appeal the sentence.

Defence lawyer Elfriede Duclervil said she was disappointed with the sentence. She then took the opportunity to reiterate how the case shed light on gaps in the health system —  especially when it comes to helping caregivers — that pushed Cadotte to his breaking point.

The Justice system upheld the rule of law by convicting Cadotte but it remains confused when similar acts are done based on "Medical Aid in Dying."

Quebec man found guilty of manslaughter in the death of his wife. He said it was a "mercy killing."

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director - Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Michel Cadotte convicted.

Michel Cadotte, the Québec man who killed his wife, Jocelyne Lizette (60) by suffocation on February 20, 2017, was found guilty of manslaughter by a jury.

Cadotte, claimed that his wife wouldn't have wanted to live this way. Cadotte had asked for euthanasia for his wife and was turned down because she was not capable of making the request. CTV news reported:

The trial has heard that a year earlier Cadotte sought a medically assisted death for his wife of 19 years and was told by centre staff she didn't qualify. A head nurse at the Emilie Gamelin long-term care facility testified Cadotte admitted to her she suffocated his wife.

Nicolas Welt, the lawyer for Cadotte, argued that his client was not criminally responsible because of his state of mind at the time of the murder.

Michel Cadotte trial. Murder or "Mercy Killing?"

The National Post stated that the media framed the case as a "compassionate killing." and reported that Justice Helene Di Salvo charged the jury with determining whether Cadotte was to be convicted of second-degree murder or manslaughter. The National Post reported:

Cadotte’s lawyers had argued, without the jury present, that an acquittal should be possible, but the judge ruled it wasn’t an option. 

The accused had admitted to killing Lizotte and the legal criteria had not been met for acquittal, Di Salvo ruled. In her final instructions, she told the jurors they should not take into account the potential sentence, because sentencing is the judge’s responsibility.

I agree with how the judge ruled and the decision of the Jury, but I expect that this court decision will be appealed.

Michel Cadotte trial. Murder or "Mercy Killing"

The following update was part of the webcast produced by the disability rights group, Toujours Vivant - Not Dead Yet. You can watch the full webcast here.

In Québec, the trial of Michel Cadotte in the homicide of his wife Jocelyne Lizotte two years ago is wrapping up. Mr. Cadotte is accused of second degree murder after he admitted to smothering his wife who had dementia; he claims he wanted to end her suffering.

Québec man uses "mercy killing" defense in wife's murder.

Psychologist Gilles Chamberland testified that Cadotte’s actions were not related to depression. Nor was he overwhelmed with caring for his wife, since she was in a long-term care facility. Mr. Cadotte had asked for euthanasia on his wife’s behalf but been refused.

Evidence presented at trial showed that Ms. Lizotte’s condition was no better or worse than it had been in some time, but that Mr. Cadotte had been drinking heavily over the weekend leading up to the homicide.

Mr. Cadotte claims he killed Ms. Lizotte “out of compassion,” but a report filed by Dr. Chamberland said Cadotte wanted “end her suffering,” to stop his own pain.

Intimate partner violence among elders is neither rare nor new. A 2007 study of murder-suicides from the Clinical Interventions in Aging journal found that life-ending violence is often explained away as “altruistic,” especially in cases where one party is ill. This distortion prevents “proper investigation into the specifics of the case, especially with regard to victim consent.” In one incident, a husband “claimed his wife had terminal cancer, but the autopsy found she had no evidence of any illness.”

These murders may be inspired by the perpetrator’s “strong need to control [the spouse’s] fate.” Some even thought death was preferable over sending their partners to a nursing home.
The study rightly concludes that “[domestic] violence events should never be viewed as romantic or altruistic as it is often erroneously reported in the news media.”

Disabled girls and women are also at a higher risk for abuse, including at the hands of their partners. In a 2017 submission to the United Nations, Women Enabled International explained that “women with disabilities worldwide experience domestic violence – including physical, sexual, emotional, psychological, and financial abuse – at twice the rate of other women.”

These women must also rely on the abuser “to meet personal needs; indeed, when the abuser is also a caregiver, it is frequently impossible for women with disabilities to get help.” Women may be unable to leave a dangerous living situation because they don’t have transportation or can’t find an accessible shelter. The longer women stay in abusive environments, the higher the risk that violence will escalate to homicide.

Quebec man uses "Mercy Killing" defense in wife's murder

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director - Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Michel Cadotte

I predicted several years ago, that once MAiD (euthanasia) was legalized in Canada that someone would use the law as a defense for murder.

On February 20, 2017, Michel Cadotte killed his wife, Jocelyne Lizette (60) by suffocation. 

Cadotte, who claims that his wife wouldn't have wanted to live this way, asked for euthanasia for his wife and was turned down because she was not capable to request death by lethal drugs. CTV news reported:

The trial has heard that a year earlier Cadotte sought a medically assisted death for his wife of 19 years and was told by centre staff she didn't qualify. A head nurse at the Emilie Gamelin long-term care facility testified Cadotte admitted to her she suffocated his wife.

Johanne Lizotte (her sister) told jurors their mother had Alzheimer's and died in 2005. She said her sister confided in her on numerous occasions that she didn't want to end up in the same state.

Nicolas Welt, the lawyer for Cadotte, is also arguing that his client was not criminally responsible because of his state of mind at the time of the murder.

The doctor who cared for Jocelyne Lizette told the court that her patient wasn't in the terminal phase of her condition: CTV news reported:

"If we foresaw an imminent death, then we would have added the therapeutic treatment for palliative care patients like opioids to manage pain and drugs to help breathing," Pelletier said. "But for her, we hadn't got to that point."

Legalizing MAiD has opened the door to a new disturbing defense for murder.

Murder of woman with dementia leads to demand for more euthanasia.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director - Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

The alleged murder of a Montreal woman with dementia has led to renewed pressure by the euthanasia lobby to extend "MAID" to incompetent people.

Michel Cadotte allegedly killed his wife, Jocelyne Lizette, because they were refused an assisted death. Cadotte has been charged with second degree murder.

In response to the death, the euthanasia lobby is pressuring the government to extend euthanasia to people who are incompetent, such as those with Alzheimer's or dementia, if the person previously stated a wish to die by euthanasia. The media is also using this tragic story to promote the extension of euthanasia.

If euthanasia (death by lethal injection) is extended to incompetent people, how would it be possible to determine whether or not someone has changed their mind?

Recently a woman in the Netherlands who stated, while competent, that she wanted euthanasia died by euthanasia without consent. According to the article in the Daily Mail:

The doctor secretly placed a soporific in her coffee to calm her, and then had started to give her a lethal injection. 

Yet while injecting the woman she woke up, and fought the doctor. The paperwork showed that the only way the doctor could complete the injection was by getting family members to help restrain her. 

It (the paperwork) also revealed that the patient said several times 'I don't want to die' in the days before she was put to death, and that the doctor had not spoken to her about what was planned because she did not want to cause unnecessary extra distress. She also did not tell her about what was in her coffee as it was also likely to cause further disruptions to the planned euthanasia process.

The Alzheimer Society of Canada disagrees with extending euthanasia to incompetent people. According to the CBC news report the Alzheimer Society of Canada stated that they do not support euthanasia for incompetent people. According to the Statement:

people can live with dementia for longer than ten years, and in that time, they may change their mind on doctor-assisted death. 

The statement says it's difficult or impossible for caregivers "to know what the person with dementia comes to value over time, especially if those values are at odds with previously expressed desires." 

Instead of calling for a broadening of the laws, the organization is calling for better palliative care in Canada.

Legalizing euthanasia gives the power to kill to physicians. No one should have the legal power to kill.