Woman Gets Life In Prison For ‘Mercy’ Killing Of Her Friend
Devout churchgoer, 54 year-old Heather Davidson has been given a ‘life sentence’ after smothering her terminally ill friend to death with a pillow. According to Express, just before the killing, Heather called a cancer support hotline and spoke to the operator about her friend, 82 year-old David Paterson. She reportedly said “I just think it would be better if I just put a pillow over his head.” She went on to ask the person at the other end of the line, “Would I be a murderer if I did that?” and was told: “Yes.”
Although the call was urgently passed on the police, they were unable to trace her whereabouts in time. After she hung up, Heather reportedly took a pillow and covered the David’s face while fighting off his desperate struggles for breath. Davidson later admitted to the act, but according to her barrister, she genuinely thought her action constituted an act of mercy.
Davidson received a life sentence, which carries a minimum of 9 years imprisonment. Judge Simon Bourne-Arton said, “Your act was completely unnecessary. You saved him only a few hours suffering but in doing so you deprived him of what he really wanted, a natural death.”
