On 24 May 2010, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided to free a husband who placed a bag over his wife’s head to help her commit suicide following years of chronic pain.
The CPS admitted that there was enough evidence to charge Michael Bateman, 62, of Monk Ings in Birstall, West Yorkshire, with aiding or abetting the suicide of his wife, but stated that it would not be in the public interest to do so.
Mr Bateman’s wife Margaret died at the family home after inhaling helium which caused death by oxygen starvation. It is reported that on 20 October 2009 he assisted her with the placement of a plastic bag over her head and with assembling the helium gas apparatus, but it was Margaret who tightened the strings of the plastic bag and turned the valves to start the supply of helium.
After the death of his wife, Mr Bateman was arrested and questioned on suspicion of aiding and abetting the suicide and has since been on bail waiting for a decision from the CPS on whether he should be charged.
Bryan Boulter, reviewing lawyer for the CPS Special Crime Division, said:
“I concluded that a prosecution would not be in the public interest because Mrs Bateman, who had suffered from chronic pain for decades, had a clear and settled wish to commit suicide. Interviews with Mr Bateman and the couple's sons supported this.
“It was also clear that Mr Bateman was wholly motivated by compassion. He cared deeply for his wife and had taken care of her daily needs for several years. There was no evidence to suggest any motive other than compassion.
“Mr Bateman cooperated fully with the investigation into the suicide and freely admitted assisting Mrs Bateman. As such, there was sufficient evidence to charge the offence of aiding or abetting a suicide, but it would not have been in the public interest to do so in the particular circumstances of this case.”
The new CPS guidelines on dealing with cases of assisted suicide, which allowed Mr Bateman to escape prosecution, were issued by Kier Starmer, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) on 25 February 2010. Although Mr Starmer stated at the time that the guidelines ‘do not change the law on assisted suicide’, they were welcomed as a ‘victory’ by pro-euthanasia campaigners and by Dignity in Dying — the pro-euthanasia lobby.
(See the CCFON report)